The Presteigne Festival is a classical music festival which takes place at the end of August each year in the town of Presteigne

Presteigne

Presteigne is a town and community in Powys, Wales. It was the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, and is in the Diocese of Hereford...

 situated in the Welsh Marches

Welsh Marches

The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...

.
The Festival promotes a wide variety of concerts together with many complimentary music-related activities.

History

1983 Presteigne Festival founded by a small group of local enthusiasts including Adrian Williams, the first artistic director;

1984 Mid Border Arts formed to promote both the Festival and a series of year-round arts events;

1990 Incorporation of Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited, which separated the Festival from Mid Border Arts;

1992 Tenth anniversary ‘Open Borders’ Festival, which commissioned twelve new works, one from each of the then European Community countries;

1993 Appointment of George Vass as Artistic Director. Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited registered as a charity;

1994 Establishment of annual composer-in-residence scheme;

1999 The Festival was short listed for one of the annual Royal Philharmonic Society

Royal Philharmonic Society

The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...

 awards(nominated again in 2003);

2006 Pēteris Vasks

Peteris Vasks

Pēteris Vasks is a Latvian composer.Vasks was born in Aizpute, Latvia, into the family of a Baptist pastor. He trained as a violinist at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music, as a double-bass player with Vitautas Sereikaan at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and played in several...

 first non-British composer-in-residence; Baltic music feature;

2007 25th anniversary festival which included seventeen world premieres. Australian musician Peter Sculthorpe

Peter Sculthorpe

Peter Joshua Sculthorpe AO OBE is an Australian composer. Much of his music has resulted from an interest in the music of Australia's neighbours as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of native Australian music with that of the heritage of the West...

 was composer-in-residence;

2008 New executive structure introduced, which enabled the Festival to become more flexible and professional in its outlook;

2010 Introduction of a new community and education programme; introduction of an annual Competition for Composers.

Aims

The Presteigne Festival specialises in the promotion of contemporary music and programmes contemporary works alongside standard repertoire. It supports living composers and aims to make their work more accessible. It focuses on nurturing young performers and composers. The festival also supports education projects for the local community.

Funding

The Presteigne Festival is a registered charity and relies on grants, sponsorship and donations from individuals to maintain its activities. The Festival receives financial support from trusts, foundations, corporate supporters, government bodies and individuals. Around a third of the income is raised from ticket sales.

Organisation

The Festival is run by a management team of three led by Artistic Director George Vass. The organisation is governed by a board of trustees. The Festival also has a president, Michael Berkeley

Michael Berkeley

Michael Berkeley is a British composer and broadcaster on music.-Early life:His father was the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley...

 and a group of vice-presidents – Geraint Lewis, David Matthews

David Matthews (composer)

David Matthews is an English composer of mainly orchestral, chamber, vocal and piano works.- Life :He was born in London into a family that was 'not especially' musical; the desire to compose did not manifest itself until he was sixteen, and for a time he and his younger brother Colin Matthews,...

, John McCabe

John McCabe (composer)

John McCabe CBE is an English composer and pianist.- Biography :John McCabe was born in Huyton, Liverpool, Merseyside. A prolific composer from an early age, he had written thirteen symphonies by the time he was eleven...

, Simon Mundy, Hilary Tann

Hilary Tann

Hilary Tann is a Welsh composer now based in the United States.Tann holds a degree in music composition from the University of Wales, Cardiff. Her overture, With the Heather and Small Birds, commissioned by the 1994 Cardiff Festival, is her tribute to the land of her birth...

and Adrian Williams.