75 glorious years: arising out of work to celebrate the Guildhall of St George, the King’s Lynn Festival is in celebratory mood

The Guildhall of St George in King’s Lynn (Image: Matthew Usher)

Founded in 1951, the King’s Lynn Festival has a long and distinguished history. It arose because Alexander Penrose and Lord and Lady Fermoy wanted to save the Guildhall of St George – now believed to be the oldest working theatre in the UK that once hosted Shakespeare – which was nearly lost after the Second World War. Penrose’s vision of using it as an arts centre captured the imagination of Lord and Lady Fermoy. Together, they formed a trust, raised restoration funds, and transformed the Guildhall into a cultural hub.  

Now, the festival is celebrating its 75th anniversary with two weeks of events from 12 to 25 July 2026 encompassing a diverse programme of music, talks, exhibitions and events. There is a memorial recital for Ruth, Lady Fermoy being given by pianist Boris Gilburg, as well as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony which closed that first festival. There are visits from BBC New Generation Artists, and Coffee Concerts showcasing a range of young artists. Other distinguished visitors include two of the Kanneh-Mason Siblings, the Academy of Ancient Music, guitarist Craig Ogden, and baritone Roderick Williams is giving two concerts

This year, things open with a concert by Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band encompassing Elgar, Eric Coates and Berlioz. In a more challenging vein, Contemporary Consort invites listeners to explore the music of Mark-Anthony Turnage with a concert putting his chamber music next to that of Stravinsky, Copland and Bernstein, then the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective bring music clarinet quintets by Coleridge-Taylor and Brahms.

The Guildhall Singers, conductor Andres Hernandez Salazar premiere a new piece by Norfolk–based composer James McConnel in a programme that moves from Purcell and Lassus to Mantyjarvi, Whitacre and Shearing.

Siblings Sheku and Issata Kanneh-Mason bring their distinctive musicality to music by Mendelssohn, Nadia Boulanger, Schumann and Rebecca Clarke (a transcription of her Viola Sonata).  Anne Heemsker, Kate Bennett Wadsworth and David Wright (flute, cello and harpsichord) explore the chamber music of the two great contemporaries Bach and Telemann. The Novo Quartet, BBC New Generation Artists, pair quartets by Haydn and Mendelssohn. 

At St Nicholas’ Chapel, organist Francesca Massey will be presenting an eclectic recital of organ music from Bach to Frances Pott.  Still in St Nicholas Chapel, the viol duo Jacqui Roberson-Wade and Peter Wendland will be exploring music from pre-Revolutionary France. Bojan Cicic directs the Academy of Ancient Music in a programme of Italian concertos, mixing Vivaldi with Mossi, Locatelli, Velentini and Corelli with music for one, two and four solo violins. 

The King’s Lynn Festival Chorus are joined by violinist Charlie Lovell-Jones, baritone Roderick Williams, pianist Ella O’Neill and conductor Ben Horden for RVW’s The Lark Ascending, and Five Mystical Songs, plus Elgar’s Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands. Roderick Williams returns with pianist Iain Burnside for a recital that puts cherished English song by Vaughan Williams, Gurney and Howells, alongside Rhian Samuels and Vaughan Williams arrangements of songs from the Appalachian Mountains.

Guitarist Craig Ogden will be taking listeners on a journey from Fantasy to flamenco, and Dowland’s Foundry mark the composer’s 400th anniversary. 

There are five coffee concerts, with the Novo Quartet returning for Mozart and Nielson; Joel Munday, violin and Julian Trevelyan, piano in sonatas by Mozart and Brahms, plus Ravel’s Tzigane; Rose McLachlan, piano plays Schubert and Chopin; Sirius Chau, flute and Gwenellian Llyr, harp in Spohr, Debussy and more; and the Paddington Trio in Haydn and Beethoven’s Archduke Trio.

On a lighter note, Magpie Lane present an evening of traditional English song and dance, whilst the Bowjangles quartet takes things in a more cabaret direction, and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra encourages us to take a step back to a more glamorous era.

The Ruth, Lady Fermoy Memorial Concert features pianist Boris Giltburg in a virtuoso programme encompassing the Bach/Busoni Chaconne, Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, preludes by Rachmaninoff and Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. The Festival concludes with Adam Hickox conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto (with BBC New Generation Artist, Hana Chang) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, a work which concluded the first festival in 1951.

Full details from the Festival website.