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Friday 5 August 2022

Songs from my Homeland: Cowbridge Music Festival's 2022 season under artistic directors Rosalind Ventris and Joseph Fort

Cowbridge
Cowbridge

Under artistic directors violist Rosalind Ventris and conductor Joseph Fort, the Cowbridge Music Festival returns from 16 to 25 September 2022, filling the south Wales market town with world class musicians. This year's theme is Songs from my Homeland and visitors to the festival will include soprano Natalya Romaniw, Cowbridge Music Festival Associate Artist Llŷr Williams, singer Kizzy Crawford, cellist Laura van der Heijden, pianist Tom Poster and violinist Elena Urioste, plus a rare opportunity to hear music from Afghanistan. Co-artistic director Joseph Fort will be conducting the Choir of King's College, London, in Rachmaninov's Vespers, whilst Tom Poster and Elena Urioste's Kaleidescope Chamber Collective will be performing a programme of Mendelssohn, Mozart, Dvorak and Errollyn Wallen.

Introducing the programme, Rosalind Ventris and Joseph Fort commented, "We are tremendously excited to unveil the programme for the 2022 Cowbridge Music Festival. This year’s theme of ‘Songs from my Homeland’ invites us to explore the idea that one’s home has long been a source of inspiration for composers and performers alike. Several artists draw deep on Welsh connections and roots: Llŷr Williams’s programme celebrates of the centenary of Bartók’s first visit to Wales, while Kizzy Crawford offers her own unique brand of Welsh-language soul-folk jazz. Other performers bring their home to us: Tom Poster and Elena Urioste recreate the award-winning Uriposte Jukebox that they first broadcast from their own living room, while musicians of Afghan heritage present a programme of their native folk music. Meanwhile, other musicians explore the notion of home as an inspiration for composers, ranging from Welsh-Ukrainian opera star Natalya Romaniw’s selection of heartfelt songs by Dvořák, Grieg and Rachmaninoff to jazz legend Darius Brubeck’s upbeat finale. With such a broad range of artists uniting around this theme, there is surely something for everyone here, and we hope that all will join us for the 2022 festival!"

Concerts take place at venues throughout the town, including Holy Cross Church, The United Free Church and Cowbridge Comprehensive School. For those who may be unable to travel, the festival will also bring music out into the community with a number of performances in care homes and a full slate of outreach workshops reaching over a thousand pupils across the local area.

Full details from the festival website.

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