The British Music Festival focuses on chamber and choral music by a wide-range of British composers, and seeks to encourage the celebration of a strikingly diverse collection of work amongst both performers and listeners in Poland. The programme includes music by some of the great figures of the past - Parry, Stanford and Elgar, who led what became known as the Second English Musical Renaissance (the first being the choral music that flourished during the first Elizabethan era in the 15/1600s); important composers from the early-mid twentieth century- Delius, the remarkable Rebecca Clarke, Ireland, Walton, Berkeley, Finzi and Arnold, as well as some major composers working today - Dame Judith Weir (former Master of the King's Music - who will be in residence at the Chopin University of Music), Sir James Macmillan, Michael Berkeley, Diana Burrell and Sir John Rutter, who this year celebrates his 80th birthday.
The event is held under the honorary patronage of the British Embassy. The project is supported by the British Council as part of UK/Poland Season 2025.
The festival will feature two chamber music concerts at the Nizio Gallery, a concert by the MUSICA SACRA Warsaw - Praga Cathedral Choir conducted by Paweł Łukaszewski at St. Florian's Cathedral as well as the accompanying event - “Dame Judith Weir Portrait Concert” organized by the Chopin University of Music. A choral workshop – as part of the 7th International Scientific and Artistic Conference ‘The Personality of the Conductor’ led by David Wordsworth and workshops for composers guided by Dame Judith Weir will also accompany the festival – both open to the public and giving a rare chance to witness artists at work.
We will listen to outstanding performers, including Magdalena Bojanowicz, Christian Danowicz, Andrzej Ciepliński, Tomasz Bińkowski, Mischa Kozłowski, Paweł Głowiński, Julia Samojło, MUSICA SACRA Choir of the Warsaw-Prague Cathedral conducted by Paweł Łukaszewski as well as distinguished students and doctoral students of the Chopin University of Music: Ariadna Laddy, Maria Kożewnikow, Maria Belica-Mieczkowska, Marcelina Rucińska, Adam Doniec, Sebastian Kozub, Jakub Gorka, Paweł Popko, Xiwen Yu and Alisa Zviezdova.
Curated by David Wordsworth and Julia Samojlo-Paszkowska
Organizer – Polish Chamber Musicians Association – Warsaw Branch
Co-organizers – Polish Chamber Musicians Association, Nizio Foundation
Partners – The John Ireland Trust, The Chopin University of Music, Nizio Gallery, Pasja – music shops, Bösendorfer, The British Alumni Society, Melody – French macaroons, Klonn Restaurant
Financial support: The John Ireland Trust, Delius Trust, The Lennox Berkeley Society, Ms Sidney Buckland, The Rainbow Dickinson Trust, Finzi Friends, The Finzi Trust, The Elgar Society, Elgar Works, Chris Johnson/www.rebeccaclarkecomposer.com, Deep Harmony Ltd
Media patronage: TVP KULTURA