The Festival is the annual celebration of the great British composer, Sir Edward Elgar, in Worcester and Malvern
The Worcestershire-based Elgar Festival, the official annual celebration of the life and music of Britain’s greatest composer, has announced the cancellation of the 2020 Festival, originally to have taken place from 28 – 31 May in venues across Worcester and Malvern, due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
“We are very disappointed that we have had to cancel the 2020 Festival, but, like most of our peer organisations, we have reluctantly accepted that the current pandemic means that it will not be possible to present concerts in May of this year,” says Dr. Adrian Gregson, Chair of the Elgar Festival. “Our first concern must always be for the health and well-being of our audiences and performers.”
Artistic Director Kenneth Woods says the Festival has already begun looking at plans for the future. “This is a time of unprecedented challenge for musicians and musical organisations worldwide, but we must all have faith that this is only a temporary setback, and so we are looking to the future in a hopeful spirit. We’re monitoring the situation closely, and as soon as we have a realistic idea of when it will be safe to resume concert giving, we will be ready with exciting plans to bring Elgar’s music back to the city and county of his birth.”
The Elgar Festival was established as the official celebration of the life and music of Edward Elgar by a resolution of Worcester City Council in 2017. The inaugural Festival in 2018 was a ‘Critic’s Choice’ in both The Times and The Guardian, as was the 2019 Festival, which was also the subject of a feature article in the Saturday Telegraph.
Ticketholders will be offered a refund, but are also encouraged to consider donating their ticket purchase to the Festival. Enquires can be made via elgar@elgarfestival.org