Southwell is a market town in the heart of Nottinghamshire, with a grade I listed cathedral, Southwell Minster. For the last ten years, the town has been the home of Southwell Music Festival, founded by the Artistic Director, Marcus Farnsworth.
Farnsworth was born and raised in Southwell and was a chorister at the Minster. He went to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and sang in the cathedral choir there. He studied at the University of Manchester and the Royal Academy of Music. He is now Head of Vocal and Choral Studies at Chetham’s, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, and Musical Director of Southwell Choral Society. He has performed regularly in recital, as a principal artist with opera companies across Europe and North America, and with major orchestras and early music ensembles in the UK.
The Music Festival draws young professional musicians from major UK and European orchestras and ensembles, and singers who perform with professional choirs and as soloists. Many of them return to the Festival every year, and new ones come each year as well. Farnsworth conducts some of the concerts, and is sometimes a baritone soloist. The Festival Sinfonia Strings are led and directed by the violinist Jamie Campbell, Principal 2nd violin with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Aurora Orchestra. This year’s Artist in Residence was the distinguished tenor Mark Padmore. The Festival also featured new and specially commissioned music from, amongst others, Martin Bussey, Edmund Finnis, Sarah Cattley, Gemma Bass, Roderick Williams, Sally Beamish and Cheryl Frances-Hoad.
Follow the links below for day by day reviews of a selection of events from the Festival:
Day Two: English Song Recital with Mark Padmore; Beethoven Live and Late
Day Three: Tenth Anniversary Concert: Mozart Requiem and Cheryl Frances-Hoad World Premiere