Somewhere for the weekend: A rousing start to Cheltenham Music Festival's 75th birthday

Cheltenham Music Festival

The Cheltenham Music Festival is 75 this year, and so there are celebrations. Things get off to a rousing start with a new Fanfare for Three Trumpets, and then a weekend of free music (5-7 July 2019) in Imperial Gardens with everything from a carnival, soul and jazz bands, to up-and-coming singer songwriters, gospel and world music, not to mention circus performers, face painting, balloon modelling and lots of bubbles. The opening concert, on 5 July 2019 at Cheltenham Town Hall features Elim Chan (the Hong-Kong born chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra) conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), and will be broadcast live on Classic FM.

The festival's opening Fanfare for Three Trumpets will be chosen as a result of a competition. Composers of all ages are asked to submit a fanfare, with a closing date of 1 July 2019. The winner will receive a £250 prize, and the winning entry will be performed by three professional trumpeters on the festival's free stage at the opening celebrations on Friday 5 July 2019. Full details of the competition from the festival website.

The opening concert from Elim Chan and the LSO features the world premiere of Dani Howard's Gates of Spring, plus Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Emmanuel Tjeknavorian and Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade .

This year's festival runs from 5 to 14 July 2019, and is the first under the artistic directorship of trumpeter Alison Balsom.

Full details from the Cheltenham Music Festival website.