Vale of Glamorgan Festival of Music programme for 2016

St. Illtud’s Church, Llantwit Major

This year's Vale of Glamorgan Festival will be celebrating the birthdays of three composers, Pēteris Vasks (70), Steve Reich (80) and festival artistic director John Metcalf (70). The festival, which runs from 10 to 20 May 2016 will include five world premieres and eight UK premieres. 

Performers include the Latvian Radio Choir, Quatuor Tana, Ensemble MidtVest, accordionist Andreas Borregaard , violinist Parmela Attariwala and tabla player Shawn Mativetsky at a range of venues across the Vale of Glamorgan including Penarth’s All Saints Church, St Augustine’s Church and Penarth Pier Pavillion, Ewenny Priory Church, St. Illtud’s Church, Llantwit Major, and BBC Hoddinott Hall and BayArt Gallery in Cardiff Bay.

Quatuor Tana & Nick Baron at Ewenny Priory
at the 2014 Vale of Glamorgan Festival

The 2016 Festival will feature the first of three new commissions (2016-2018) scored for symphony orchestra by major international composers, a new Viola Concerto written for Maxim Rysanov by Pēteris Vasks will be premiered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on 20 May, at BBC Hoddinott Hall. The orchestra also gives the world premiere of Ghyll by Mark David Boden (12 May, BBC Hoddinott Hall) conducted by Edwin Outwater. Belgium-based group Quatuor Tana will give the premiere of David Hudry's Anamorphosis (BayArt Gallery, 13 May).

Event and talks include musician and teacher of yoga and meditation, Matthew Jones, exploring meditation techniques and mindfulness as they affect the process of listening to music, and writer and broadcaster, Ian Skelly, exploring the interests of featured composer, Pēteris Vasks, in the relationship between man and the environment.

The full festival programme will be on the festival website from 19 February 2016.