WINCHESTER CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL 2026
FRIDAY 1 – MONDAY 4 MAY
KATE GOULD ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/ CELLO
DAVID ADAMS VIOLIN/VIOLA
LUCY GOULD VIOLIN
JONATHAN STONE VIOLIN
HÉLÈNE CLÉMENT VIOLA
ALICE NEARY CELLO
BENJAMIN RUSSELL DOUBLE BASS
JÂMS COLEMAN PIANO
LUMAS WINDS WIND QUINTET
KATHARINE DAIN SOPRANO
KARELIA EMERGING QUARTET QUARTETIN-RESIDENCE
NEIL VALENTINE SCHOOLS WORKSHOP LEADER
ROBERT PLANE FAMILY CONCERT PRESENTER
JAMES LEA MUSICOLOGIST TALKING ABOUT TIPPETT AND BRITTEN
Over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 1 – 4 come and hear an exceptional line-up of musicians who will be travelling from far and wide to present another wonderful Festival of classical concerts and events in the heart of Winchester.
For 2026, I have shone the spotlight on the European masters with an abundance of well-known works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák and Ravel. These dominate the core concerts at St Paul’s Church on Friday, Sunday and Monday as well as two special themes weaving through the whole Festival: how composers have described the weather through their music and a celebration of exquisite works by British composer Benjamin Britten, who died fifty years ago this year.
To perform it all, we welcome back many extraordinary guests, including American soprano Katharine Dain, cellist Alice Neary and the vibrant young quintet, Lumas Winds. Popular Welsh pianist, Jâms Coleman, will make his Festival debut and I am excited that two ex-members of the wonderful Doric String Quartet will be featured – Jonathan Stone and Hélène Clément. We kick off on Friday morning when pupils of Westgate Lower School joyfully share the songs created in our school workshops. Meanwhile, Lumas Winds head to The Arc to give an informal concert for our partner charity, Winchester Go LD.
On Saturday, adults and children alike will have fun at our weatherthemed Family Concert in the Nutshell. How did the Italians depict those explosive summer storms…?! Next up on Saturday is a Masterclass on Ravel’s celebrated String Quartet: a rare chance to hear Hélène Clément share her experience with our 2026 Emerging Quartet-in-Residence, the award-winning Karelia Quartet. Throughout the run-up to the Festival, the Quartet will have presented their own concerts to local schools and received daily coaching from our visiting professionals. They will then join the pros for the the big Festival Gala at Theatre Royal Winchester: Katharine Dain’s arias from Mozart and Handel operas are not to be missed and we treat you to the treasured Octet by Schubert in the second half.
Sunday’s more relaxed double-bill of short concerts presents our first Young Musicians Platform for talented under-18s, followed by ‘Theatre Night’, featuring music and songs with links to stage and film by composers such as Gershwin, Korngold and Bernstein. Earlier, the Britten v Tippett talk given by James Lea, will explore Tippett’s 2nd String Quartet before its performance and compare his composing style with his revered contemporary.
All in all, it’s sure to be another wonderful Festival, which wouldn’t be possible without you, the audience, and all our incredible sponsors, partners, Friends, Associates and Patrons, trustees and volunteers.
With thanks and best wishes,
Kate Gould – Artistic Director
FRIDAY 1 MAY
11am – 12 noon
St Paul’s Church
SCHOOLS PERFORMANCE
Come and hear children from The Westgate Lower School perform the songs they have written during the Festival workshops with leader Neil Valentine accompanied by Festival musicians.
Admission free!
12.30pm – 1pm The Arc Community Space
WINCHESTER Go LD FUNKY LUNCH
Pop into The Arc to hear Lumas Winds at this popular outreach event with our partner charity. It’s free!
5pm – 7pm
St Paul’s Church
OPENING CONCERT
Lucy Gould, David Adams, Katharine Dain, Lumas Winds, Lucy Gould, Hélène Clément, Alice Neary, Kate Gould, Jâms Coleman
Nadia Boulanger Three Pieces for cello and piano (8’)
Mozart Quintet for piano and winds in Eb, K.452 (30’)
Nadia Boulanger Soir d’hiver for soprano and piano (4’)
Dvořák Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81 (40’)
Tickets: £23, £19 in side aisles
9pm – 10pm St Lawrence Church
LATE NIGHT CONCERT
Alice Neary, Karelia String Quartet
Britten Cello Suite No 3, Op. 87 (22’)
Grieg String Quartet in G minor, Op. 27 (34’)
Tickets: £19 unreserved
SATURDAY 2 MAY
SUNDAY 3 MAY
11.30am – 12.30pm The Nutshell
FAMILY CONCERT – MUSIC AND THE WEATHER!
Presenter Robert Plane with Festival musicians
Grab your tickets for a funpacked concert featuring music inspired by the weather, with audience participation. Book early as this concert sells out quickly! Age 4+ recommended but all are welcome.
Tickets: £5. Free to under 3s.
Unreserved seating
1.45pm – 2.45pm The Nutshell
MASTERCLASS
Hélène Clément shares her expertise with the Karelia Quartet on Ravel’s celebrated String Quartet
Tickets: £5. Unreserved seating
6.30pm – 7.30pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
PRIVATE RECEPTION
FOR FESTIVAL FRIENDS
7.30pm – 9.30pm
Theatre Royal Winchester
FESTIVAL GALA CONCERT
Katharine Dain
Festival String Orchestra with Lumas Winds directed by David Adams
Mozart Overture to the opera
The Marriage of Figaro K.492 (4’)
Mozart Ruhe Sanft aria from the opera Zaide K.344 (7’)
George Walker Lyric for strings (6’)
Archie John Branches of Joy for wind quintet WORLD PREMIERE (14’)
Handel Da Tempeste aria from opera Giulio Cesare (3’)
Schubert Octet in F, D.803 (60’)
Tickets: £30, £23 and £19 (ticket prices include £2 theatre restoration levy)
2.45pm – 3.15pm
St Paul’s Church
PRE-CONCERT TALK
BRITTEN v TIPPETT
James Lea explores Michael Tippett’s Quartet No 2 and compares two of the great British composers of the early 20th Century Tickets: Free. Unreserved seating
3.30pm – 5.15pm
St Paul’s Church
AFTERNOON CONCERT
Katharine Dain, David Adams, Lucy Gould, Jonathan Stone, Kate Gould, Karelia Quartet, Jâms Coleman
Brahms The Rain Violin Sonata in G, Op. 78 (25’)
Tippett String Quartet No 2 (22’)
Britten On This Island Op. 11 (poems by W H Auden) (13’)
Ravel String Quartet in F (30’)
Tickets: £23, £19 side aisles
Bar at St Paul’s Church open from 6.45pm for the whole evening. Take a drink to your seats and enjoy our double-bill of short, more relaxed programmes
7pm – 7.45pm
St Paul’s Church
YOUNG MUSICIANS PLATFORM
Come and support our first concert for local, talented, young musicians. Programme will include a movement from Schumann’s Piano Quintet and other much-loved chamber and sonata works. Admission free!
8pm – 9pm
St Paul’s Church
EVENING CONCERT – THEATRE NIGHT
Katharine Dain, Lumas Winds, Jâms
Coleman, Lucy Gould, David Adams, Jonathan Stone, Alice Neary
A more relaxed programme featuring music from Hollywood composers, the stage and the American songbook.
Bernstein Overture to Candide arr. for wind quintet (12’)
Korngold Four Shakespeare Songs, Op. 31 (10’) Zemlinsky Humoreske (Rondo) for wind quintet (5’)
Korngold Marietta’s Lied from Die Tote Stadt, arr. for soprano, piano and strings (6’)
Luciano Berio Opus Number Zoo (with theatricals!) (7’)
Selection of arrangements from the American Songbook including songs by Gershwin, Bernstein and Porter (12’)
Tickets: £23, £19 side aisles
MONDAY 4 MAY
11am – 12 noon
St Paul’s Church
COFFEE CONCERT
(Coffee served from 10.30am)
Jonathan Stone, Lucy Gould, Hélène Clément, Kate Gould, Benjamin Russell, Jâms Coleman
Rebecca Clarke
Midsummer Moon (6’)
Rossini La Tempesta String Sonata No 6 (13’)
Britten Elegy for solo viola (11’)
Mozart Dissonance
Quartet in C, K.465 (30’)
Tickets: £19, £16 in side aisles
3.30pm – 5pm
St Paul’s Church
FESTIVAL FINALE
Jonathan Stone, Lucy Gould, Hélène Clément, Kate Gould, Alice Neary, Benjamin Russell, Jâms Coleman
Britten Three Divertimenti for string quartet (10’)
Brahms Two Songs for soprano, viola and piano, Op. 91 (12’)
Beethoven Serioso
Quartet in F, Op. 95 (22’)
Dvořák Bass Quintet in G, Op. 77 (35’)
Tickets: £23, £19 in side aisles
SUBSCRIPTION TICKET
Book for all 8 priced events (in any price bracket) and save 10%.
Offer excludes tickets for the Family Concert.
HOW TO BOOK
General booking from Tuesday 24 February 01962 840440 www.winchesterchambermusic.com
Theatre Royal Winchester, Jewry Street, Winchester
Box Office open for in person and phone bookings Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 1pm
On the door: Subject to availability 30 minutes prior to the concerts.
Concessions: £6 Tickets available to disabled people with their accompanying person and jobseekers with relevant ID cards. Also available to Under-25s – please also see FREE ticket scheme details below.
FREE Under-25s Ticket Scheme: Available across whole Festival (except Family Concert). Bookable online. Subject to availability – limited number available for each event. Proof of age ID to be shown at the concert.
Booking Fee: Ticket prices include all booking fees.
VENUES
St Paul’s Church
St Paul’s Hill, Winchester SO22 5AB
Theatre Royal Winchester Jewry Street, Winchester SO23 8SB
St Paul’s Church and Theatre Royal Winchester are both short walks from Winchester Station. Several buses stop outside the station.
Nearest car parks: Tower Street Car Park, Tower St, Winchester SO23 8TA and Winchester Station, off Andover Road SO23 7BT
The Nutshell 15 Kings Walk, Winchester SO23 8AF
Nearest parking Friarsgate Car Park SO23 8AD
St Lawrence Church
The Square (off Great Minster Street), Winchester SO23 9EX
Nearest parking Colebrook Street SO23 3SD
