Cheltenham admits music festival downgrading
NewsAfter six days of denial, the Cheltenham Music Festival has finally admitted that all of its staff have departed and that next summer’s event has been comprehensively downgraded to a shadow of its former glory.
CMF has appointed a local person, Tamsyn Hamilton, as ‘producer’ for next summer, which will have far fewer events. Hamilton is a former assistant to past directors Michael Berkeley and Martyn Brabbins. She will be the only person on the books.
In place of international performers who might draw a committed audience, the festival will rely on relative unknowns from the BBC New Generation Artists. No orchestra has yet been named.
CMF’s full equivocating statement below:
Cheltenham Music Festival is pleased to announce the appointment of Tamsyn Hamilton as its Music Festival Producer for the 2024 season.
Tamsyn has previously worked at Cheltenham Music Festival under both Michael Berkeley and Martyn Brabbins, and will take the reins for the 2024 Festival, finalising its programme and overseeing all aspects of its delivery and management.
The 2024 Cheltenham Music Festival will take place from 6-13 July. It will be characterised by the commitment to classical music, and passion for all its diversity, that has been the Festival’s hallmark since its inception in 1945.
From its spotlight on new talent and its famous series of morning chamber music recitals, to its annual new commissions, work with schools, and specific spaces for orchestral, choral and contemporary classic music, the Festival is widely regarded as a vibrant showcase for the breadth of twenty-first-century classical music.
Tamsyn will deliver a Festival programme consisting of around 15 concerts and recitals that has been largely designed by the Festival’s outgoing Head of Programming, Michael Duffy, who left the charity in November. The programme will include a celebration of Cheltenham-born composer Gustav Holst, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Planets composer, and a number of performances from BBC New Generation Artists.
“I am thrilled to be able to bring to life Michael’s wonderful programme, delivering a world-class celebration of classical music which we can all be proud of,” she said. “I am so looking forward to working with the team on a Festival with such a long and proud history – and to the enthusiasm of the Cheltenham audiences, which makes the Festival a genuine celebration.”
From rousing orchestral works to intimate chamber recitals, and from baroque choral to plugged-in contemporary, the Festival will provide a sample of all that is vital in today’s classical music. Cheltenham Music Festival will also remain dedicated to talent development and educational outreach, with a full schedule of schools outreach work, including concerts for pupils and activity expressly designed for children with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND).
The shape of the programme is a considered response to the challenging landscape for classical music: there will be fewer events than in 2023, and the Festival’s well-regarded talent incubator, Composer Academy, will take a year out on hiatus. The aim is to safeguard the essence of Cheltenham Music Festival, says the co-CEO of parent charity Cheltenham Festivals, Ian George.
“As recent reporting from across the sector has made clear, funding and revenue for arts organisations of all kinds, but especially those which focus on classical music, has been challenging in recent years,” says Ian. “Next year’s season is being intentionally designed to fulfil our mission and vision to provide a platform for the best, most exciting musicians performing and composing today – and to position the Festival for a strong and expanding future.”
He continues: “We are especially keen to hear from and speak with everyone who cares about classical music,” he says, “and to work with people from across the arts sector on building a bright future for the music we love. For us, that work will continue in earnest next July.”
Full details of the 2024 programme will be released in March of 2024.
Duffy wasn’t there long at all… did he leave or was he pushed?
If funds are an issue, perhaps they could invite contingents from the specialist music schools to perform? They could also run a composition competition this year, including for u18s, with a performance as the prize, in place of their usual Composer Academy. The top performers and orchestras usually sell out at the festival so I cannot see any good reason for dropping any of those.
Sadly, in classical concerts (especially in the relatively small capacity venues that Cheltenham can offer) selling out does not come anywhere close to breaking even.
It’s a fact of life that most professional concerts make a substantial loss, even when all the seats are sold (unless there is subsidy or sponsorship). Presumably that may be why for the most part “top performers and orchestras” probably won’t be in much of Cheltenham 2024, as such concerts simply cost too much money to present, even though they provide the glitz and headlines that any festival needs for its PR. It’s not just fees, but all the other costs that accompany a top-quality concert. So UK festivals like this gratefully pull in, for instance, BBC “New Generation Artists” as their fee structure is markedly less onerous as BBC R3 absorbs some of the costs (as well as providing a load of free PR).
It’s not just UK festivals having to do it “on the cheap”. Mainland European festivals are peppered nowadays with youth orchestras, academies, training schemes – anything that will give them cheaper (or ideally free) performances whilst raising funds (and justifying not employing professionals) by saying they are – which they indeed are – training the performers of tomorrow.
The irony though (and the fly in the ointment) is that, a few years later, these usually supremely talented performers will join the professional musician’s struggle to make a living: for the vast majority of the UK’s excellent musicians it is very hard nowadays to earn enough to survive purely as a performer.
At least there will be something.
I grew up in Cheltenham and attended the festivals decades ago. The Music Festival was originally “of Contemporary Music” and had a clear strategy; there were signs of struggles from the moment it became the “International Music Festival” since as pointed out above there weren’t the venues to compete with the big European music festivals.
However at the same time the Literary Festival, pretty low key at the time, came close to folding and the directorship was taken by local second hand bookseller Alan Hancox. Without impossible expectations on him he was able to give that festival a character which has led it to be a major annual event. I just hope Tamsyn Hamilton can take the similar opportunity to shape the future of the Music Festival.
Thank you for your historical perspective and positivity. I’ve lived here for 50 years and seen the festivals get bigger. We wish it all best
If influential backers could put together a good team to lead it maybe the Music Festival could break away from the over arching festivals organisation and provide a better programme of events. Other festivals in the area such as Tetbury and Chipping Norton seem to flourish.
Plus we must of course take into account the effect of Brexit which has has a chilling effect and led to extra costs for musicians crossing the channel. Once again this is becoming the ” land of no music”.
“A larger music festival would be perceived as intimidating and elitist to the people we want to attend.”
The “unknown” BBC New Generation musicians have been a central feature of the Festival for several years and their concerts are usually packed out. They are after all the stars of the future and many return to Cheltenham in later years. It is a good sign that they are being retained for 2024. Perhaps a change of direction for the Festival would be to concentrate more on chamber music in the excellent Pump Room.
A shame. In the Barbirolli days, the Festivals were a significant part of my musical education. With some memorable concerts, especially one with RVW’s London.