Feel at home at Lake District Music Festival

Homegrown Cumbrian talent will be among a vast array of artists performing at this year’s Lake District Summer Music Festival.

Superstar contralto, Jess Dandy from Barrow sings at the Sunrise to Sunset concert in Hawkshead Parish Church on July 30 and also in the finale concert at Kendal Leisure Centre on August 4 while Ulverston-based Martin Roscoe, one of the UK’s best loved pianists, performs Hommage à Gabriel Fauré at Kendal Town Hall on August 3.

Jess and Martin are friends and collaborated previously but for the festival, Jess will be accompanied by the Alkyona String Quartet and Northern Chamber Orchestra, and Martin plays alongside award-winning violinist, Fenella Humphreys.

Cumbrian-born Jess has been described as the foremost British contralto of her generation and during the 2023/2024 season she has performed with Bergen Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony and the Tampere Philharmonic and she appears regularly at the BBC Proms.

She will bring operatic drama to the intimate chamber setting of Hawkshead Parish Church when performing Respighi’s tragic and haunting adaptation of Shelley’s poem, The Sunset. Works by Purcell, Beethoven, Chance and Mendelssohn will also combine in this celebration of the Sun at the Sunrise to Sunset concert.

Jess will also perform Brahms Alto Rhapsody with the Northern Chamber Orchestra conducted by festival director Stephen Threlfall in the final concert of the festival: Music of the Spheres.

The programme includes a specially devised performance of Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite incorporating otherworldly soundscapes created by sonic artist, Allan Harry.

Martin Roscoe joins forces with Fenella Humphreys to celebrate the centenary of Fauré’s birth in an all-French affair including music by his close friends Saint-Saëns and Lili Boulanger. Works by Ravel also feature.

Martin’s career spans more than five decades and in that time he has performed or recorded more than 100 concertos. He has especially close links with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, the Northern Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic where he has given more than 90 performances.

One of the most regularly played pianists on BBC Radio 3, Martin has also performed for more than 600 broadcasts and made seven BBC Proms appearances.

As well as providing a platform for Cumbrian-based musicians, Lake District Summer Music Festival also inspires the next generation including the Heath String Quartet who make a long overdue return to Cumbria after forging their talent at the festival’s summer school.

“Many of our most formative musical experiences happened at the Lake District Summer Music Festival and it feels very special to be returning again after nearly 20 years,” said cellist, Chris Murray.

They will perform a programme of Haydn, Lyadov, Ravel and Tippett at Ambleside Parish Church on August 2.

Formed in 2002 at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Heath Quartet have many awards to their name and their 2023/2024 season has seen them perform in America and continue their longstanding relationship with Wigmore Hall in London.

The festival’s artistic director, Stephen Threlfall, said: “With our hallmarks of highest quality concerts given by an array of outstanding and emerging artists, our resident  ‘next generation’ student ensembles programme and a range of participatory events, the festival once again is endeavouring to work in collaboration with numerous organisations, venues and societies across the region. 

This is something I firmly believe in and continues to be part of my vision for developing Lake District Music as a key, collaborative organisation.” 

The Lake District Summer Music Festival runs from July 26-August 4. For more information and to book, visit www.ldsm.org.uk or ring the box office on 01539 266200.