National Festival

12-14 April 2019 at Ushaw College, Durham
Hosted by the Durham and Newcastle branches

The 2019 SRP National Festival will be held just outside Durham City, in the stunning setting of Ushaw College. The popular small group playing sessions will be run by a team of experienced conductors; festival guests include Joris van Goethem of the Flanders Recorder Quartet, and BLOCK4; and the opening concert will be given by Piers Adams and Red Priest.

A strong theme of the 2019 festival will be the future of recorder playing. The dynamic young quartet, BLOCK4, will be in residence during the weekend, and will perform the shortlisted pieces in the finals of a new composers’ competition as well as working with the playing groups. There will be also be new music commissioned from
Rosemary Robinson for the massed playing session.

Festival highlights:

• Friday Concert: Red Priest
• Group playing sessions suitable for a range of abilities
• Massed playing of Rosemary Robinson’s 2019 festival commission
• Inaugural finals of a new SRP composers’ competition (more details)

Guests and conductors include:

Lead conductor: Joris van Goethem (Flanders Recorder Quartet)
Piers Adams
Resident quartet: Block4

Venue

Ushaw College is located just a few miles outside Durham City. All of the Festival events will take place in the college’s stunning Victorian Gothic buildings, with performances held in the Exhibition Theatre (left). Festival visitors will have the opportunity to explore and make music in this unique set of spaces as well as dining in the refectory and relaxing in the newly restored gardens.

There is ample parking at Ushaw, and a shuttle bus for Festival guests will run between the college and the city centre.
Map and directions
Ushaw college website: www.ushaw.org

Durham itself is easily reachable by train on the London-Edinburgh East Coast line or Cross Country routes and by car from the A1(M). With its magnificent Norman cathedral and castle, set high above the wooded banks of the river Wear, the city is a delightful place to explore, and has a wide range of accommodation and dining options – details to follow.

Further details will be available after the end of the 2018 Festival. For any enquiries, the festival committee can be contacted via festival2019srporguk  (festival2019srporguk)  

Previous Festivals

You can find information about previous SRP Festivals on a separate page.