Rhian Morgan on this year’s High Barnet Chamber Music Festival

A female singer at the High Barnet Chamber Music Festival — A performance from a previous High Barnet Chamber Music Festival

This year’s High Barnet Chamber Music Festival was set to open on Saturday (29th June) with a return visit to the borough from BBC New Generation Artists, The Mithras Trio whose sold-out recital featured in the festival’s debut season.

With Beethoven’s well-known Archduke Trio, as well as works by Saint-Saëns and Germaine Tailleferre, this carefully crafted programme has something to appeal to all tastes according to artistic director Dr Joshua Ballance.

He says: “We’re delighted to be back in Barnet with this enticing mixture of familiar favourites and little-known pieces by women and contemporary composers featuring in this year’s High Barnet Chamber Music Festival … from Beethoven to Benjamin and Purcell to Poulenc … we anticipate repeating our successes of earlier years.”

The festival was founded four years ago to help some of the UK’s most promising young musicians find opportunities after Covid as well as bringing world class performers to Barnet and enhancing the area’s cultural life.

Ballance says he’s delighted by the opportunities the festival has given, both to audiences and performers.

“We have first class venues in St John’s Church and the fantastic new recital hall at QE Boys and it’s marvellous to be able to share both the music and the spaces with our audiences.

“We’re again supported by the Cavatina Trust so there will be free tickets for under-25s on 29th June and 14th July.”

Ballance says he is particularly delighted to be bringing new versions of old favourites in the Mad Song concert: “There are enticing arrangements of some Purcell fantasias by George Benjamin, Oliver Knussen and Colin Matthews while elsewhere, there are familiar masterpieces of the repertoire including a ravishing arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de Lune for solo harp on 14th July.”

Tickets for all concerts are available at www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/high-barnet-chamber-music-festival-33283016585 with more information at: www.hbcmf.co.uk

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