Autumn in Malvern Festival Brochure 2026

25th Sept to 17th Oct 2026

Founder Peter Smith MBE, FRSA

SEPTEMBER Friday 25th Tenebrae 7pm Great Malvern Priory Saturday 26th Elgar at the Asylum 11.30am 12.15pm & 1pm Malvern Theatres Sunday 27th Elgar at the Asylum 2pm, 2.45pm & 3.30pm Malvern Theatres Sunday 27th Finding Barry 3pm & 5.30pm Festival Theatre Tuesday 29th Ockham’s Razor 7.30pm Festival Theatre

OCTOBER Saturday 3rd War Paint: Women at War 1.45pm Malvern Cinema Saturday 3rd Storm Over Our Town 5pm & 7pm Studio One Saturday 3rd Vivaldi’s Gloria 7.30pm Christ Church Avenue Road Sunday 4th Storm Over Our Town 3pm Studio One Tuesday 6th Armonico Consort 7.30pm Great Malvern Priory Thursday 8th Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia 7pm Festival Theatre Friday 9th BBC Big Band – Cole Porter 7.30pm Festival Theatre Saturday 10th Iain Simcock (Organ) 12 noon Great Malvern Priory Saturday 10th Margy Kinmonth 3pm Studio One Saturday 10th Evelyn Glennie 7.30pm Festival Theatre Sunday 11th Jenny Lind Singers 3pm Stanbrook Abbey Tuesday 13th Britten’s Endgame 5pm Malvern Cinema Thursday 15th Dr Paul Golz – Immersive Arts 12 noon Studio One Friday 16th Peter Donohoe (Piano) 7.30pm Big School, Malvern College Saturday 17th I Musicanti & Peter Donohoe 3pm Big School, Malvern College Saturday 17th The Elgar Chorale 7.30pm Great Malvern Priory

We’re pleased to announce details of this year’s Autumn in Malvern Festival, now in its 37th year. The Festival celebrates classical music, literature and the visual arts, with an emphasis on work that has a local connection. This year, the number of events featuring creative artists and performers from our immediate community is larger than ever.

At the start of the festival, The Monday Night Club in collaboration with C&T, Dancefest and Vamos Theatre present Elgar at the Asylum, a production which places learning disabled artists at its centre. The same weekend, Malvern Theatre Players marks its 50th Anniversary with Steve Burford’s play about Sir Barry Jackson, co-founder of the first Malvern Festival and this year’s Dame Laura Knight Society Lecture is given by Margy Kinmonth. It is complemented by a screening of her film War Paint: Women at War as well as Rachel Tobin’s new play Storm Over Our Town: Malvern’s Rebel Dame.

Local community choirs feature large in the programme. The Elgar Chorale closes the festival in Great Malvern Priory on October 17th and The Jenny Lind Singers present A Celebration of Women’s Voices in Stanbrook Abbey. Christ Church, Avenue Road will be the venue for the 875 Singers whose programme includes Vivaldi’s Gloria, accompanied by instrumentalists studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Armonico Consort present Supersize Polyphony 3 in the Priory and internationally famous choir Tenebrae open the festival in the same venue. The first visit to Malvern by the Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia will be keenly anticipated and they will play music by Holst, Finzi and Vaughan Williams as well as Warlock’s Capriol Suite, exactly 100 years after its premiere. The concert also remembers Benjamin Britten 50 years after his death with a performance of his much-loved Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings and, on October 13th, there’s an opportunity to see John Bridcut’s acclaimed film Britten’s Endgame.

World-renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie is joined by the New London Chamber Ensemble on October 10th and the following weekend, pianist Peter Donohoe presents a solo piano recital at Malvern College before joining Leon Bosch and the strings of I Musicanti for a chamber music programme the next day.

Fans of circus theatre won’t want to miss the latest piece by Ockham’s Razor and jazz enthusiasts will look forward to the BBC Big Band. The festival promises two free events: an organ recital

by Iain Simcock and a talk by Dr Paul Golz on the Future of Dance Performance. This forms part of a wider Culture and Conversation series in collaboration with the University of Worcester this autumn.

We look forward to welcoming you to the festival later this year.

Fred Moroni, CEO, Malvern Theatres

01684 892277 malvern-theatres.co.uk

Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae, under the direction of Nigel Short, is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles renowned for its passion and precision. The choir has earned international acclaim for its interpretations of choral music from the Renaissance through to contemporary masterpieces and returns to Great Malvern Priory following its sell-out concert last year. In 2026, their programme features glories of the Spanish Renaissance, centring around Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Requiem Mass. This masterpiece is one of a handful of large-scale works which enjoys mainstream appeal in the 21st century and for many, it represents what Renaissance polyphony is, what it sounds and feels like, and how expressive it can be. The programme also features the captivating Versa est in Luctum by Victoria’s contemporary Alonso Lobo.

Alonso Lobo: Versa est in Luctum Tomás Luis de Victoria: Tenebrae Responsories and Lamentations Tomás Luis de Victoria: Requiem Mass, 1605

“Victoria called on all his imaginative resources in this Requiem, and Tenebrae interprets them magnificently” The Daily Telegraph “For purity and precision of tone, and flawless intonation, Nigel Short’s chamber choir Tenebrae is pretty much unbeatable” The Times

Fri 25th Sept Great Malvern Priory 7pm Unreserved Seating £38.64 (Front Nave) £32.48 (Rear Nave) £22.40 (Choir Stalls/Monks Stalls – Partial View) £12.32 (North and South Aisles – No View) Price includes 12% booking fee

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This remarkable new production invites audiences to encounter the music and legacy of Edward Elgar through a powerful and unexpected lens.

Elgar at the Asylum is a promenade performance that moves between multiple spaces at Malvern Theatres: cinema, studio and foyers, turning the whole building into an immersive experience. It draws on Elgar’s early career as a young composer, when he was commissioned to write music for patients at the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, later known as Powick Hospital. This formative yet often overlooked chapter becomes the starting point for a bold and moving reimagining.

Created by The Monday Night Club in collaboration with C&T and a host of artistic collaborators including Dancefest and Vamos Theatre, the production places learning disabled artists at its centre.

Their perspectives reshape Elgar’s story through performance, music, and contemporary storytelling, exploring themes of identity, care, and creative voice.

Developed through an ambitious process of co-creation, the work balances reverence with innovation. It honours the emotional depth of Elgar’s music while opening new interpretations of cultural heritage, asking who has the right to tell these stories. Visually striking and emotionally resonant, Elgar at the Asylum offers a rare opportunity to experience a familiar figure anew. It is both a tribute and a provocation—inviting us to listen differently, and to recognise the richness of voices too often unheard.

Sat 26th & Sun 27th Sept Malvern Theatres £5.60 Sat 11.30am, 12.15pm, 1pm; Sun 2pm, 2.45pm, 3.30pm Ages 15+: includes options for audiences to choose to access archival film footage and historical content from the asylum system Price includes 12% booking fee

As part of its 50th Anniversary Celebrations, Malvern Theatre Players return to the Festival Theatre to perform a play about Barry Jackson: designer, director, manager, writer and co-founder of the first Malvern Festivals. But who was Barry Jackson? How, after so many years, do you capture the truth about a man who was friends with Shaw, Elgar and many famous actors of the time, some of whom are still household names?

In Steve Burford’s original play, one playwright struggles with the problem – and receives help from some unexpected sources ...

Finding Barry is a light-hearted journey through the life of this fascinating man, and has been written to give as many members of the Malvern Theatre Players, past and present, a chance to be involved and once again perform on the Festival Theatre stage.

Sun 27th Sept 3pm & 5.30pm Festival Theatre £13 Price includes 12% booking fee

Ockham’s Razor return with an intimate duet crafted and performed by the two Artistic Directors.

For 20 years Alex and Charlotte have been making circus together. Lifting, catching and carrying; stepping on and around each other. They have been dropped. They have picked each other up.

Featuring two performers, a suspended frame and a stage: this is a show about creation and compromise. An irreverent, highly physical and heart felt dive into navigating a relationship and the negotiation involved in making stuff.

For anyone who has ever tried to make something with someone else: a decision, a work of art, a life.

Age recommendation: 8+ “A QUIETLY REBELLIOUS PIECE OF CIRCUS THEATRE” Everything Theatre

★★★★ “STRENGTH, INTIMACY AND FUN THAT CAN ONLY COME FROM A TRUE PARTNERSHIP” Reviews HUB

★★★★★ “OCKHAM’S RAZOR HAS SET A GOLD STANDARD FOR BLENDING MODERN CIRCUS AND THEATRE” The Stage

★★★★ “A LUMINOUS PORTRAIT OF PARTNERSHIP” Cor Blimey ★★★★★ “WHILE THIS MIGHT BE ALEX AND CHARLOTTE’S LAST PERFORMANCE PIECE, ONE HAS TO HOPE NOT AS THE WORLD WILL BE A POORER PLACE WITHOUT IT.” North West End

★★★★★

Tues 29th Sept 7.30pm Festival Theatre £15.12; Under 26s £10 Price includes 12% booking fee

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Ockham’s Razor produced by Turtle Key Arts present

collaborator “DRAMATIC YET INTIMATE”

“A REAL CIRCUS POWER COUPLE”

North West End

The Guardian

★★★★★

★★★★★

Sat 3rd Oct 1.45pm Malvern Cinema £9.50/£8.50 (£1 Concessions) Cert: 12A Price includes 12% booking fee

Dame Laura Knight Society Lecture

Knight at War Margy Kinmonth This year’s lecture is presented by BAFTA award winning film and television director, writer and producer Margy Kinmonth. She follows Dame Laura Knight into war zones, discovering how conflict becomes a catalyst for some of Knight’s best known and most challenging work.

Sat 10th Oct 3pm Studio One £11 Price includes 12% booking fee

Storm Over Our Town

Malvern’s Rebel Dame

A play by Rachel Tobin

Dame Laura Knight, one of the most popular twentieth century English artists and husband Harold, spent over 30 creative years around Malvern. Her incredible journey is brought to life in Rachel Tobin’s play Storm Over Our Town. From humble beginnings to becoming a Dame and a celebrity in her lifetime, Laura Knight’s story inspires. What drove her to keep pushing boundaries throughout her life, in a male dominated world? What shaped her as the female artist we know and love?

Storm Over Our Town is performed by actors from Malvern Skyline Productions and produced and directed by Rachel Tobin, whose previous plays include The Last Free Rave and Malvern’s Secret War Heroes.

Sat 3rd & Sun 4th Oct Studio One Sat 5pm & 7pm; Sun 3pm £14.50 Price includes 12% booking fee

Vivaldi’s Gloria Conducted by Alison Hunka With Carl Roewer (Bassoon), Daniel Roughly (Trumpet) and Andrew Caskie (Organ)

Vocal Soloists

Brittany King, Lara Johnson and Charlotte Moore Formed to celebrate 875 years since the founding of Little Malvern Priory, the 875 Singers is a local choir, directed by Alison Hunka.

They are joined by instrumentalists from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for a programme of music by Mendelssohn and Vivaldi, including Vivaldi’s famous Gloria RV 589, first heard in Venice in 1715.

Programme to include: Mendelssohn: A Selection of Psalm Settings, Anthems and Pieces from Elijah Vivaldi: Bassoon Concerto in G Minor Vivaldi: Trumpet Concerto in G Major Vivaldi: Gloria

Sat 3rd Oct 7.30pm Christ Church, Avenue Road £17.50 Price includes 12% booking fee

‘PURE PLEASURE’ THE GUARDIAN

★★★★★ THE INDEPENDENT ★★★★★ THE TIMES ★★★★★ BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE ★★★★ THE TELEGRAPH

SUPERSIZE POLYPHONY 3

Venetian Blinders!

ARMONICO CONSORT 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

ARMONICO CONSORT & BAROQUE PLAYERS THE ENGLISH CORNETT & SACKBUT ENSEMBLE DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER MONKS

Armonico Consort and Director Christopher Monks bring their cinematic, surround sound polychoral performances to Great Malvern Priory for this, their 25th Anniversary Concert. Monteverdi and the Venetian Schools, as well as composers influenced by them, have been an inspiration for the singers and musicians of the consort throughout their quarter-century and this is reflected in their programme, which also includes a David Buckley World Premiere for which the ensemble is joined by local special guest choirs.

Monteverdi: Lauda Jerusalem (from Vespers of 1610) Valls: Missa Scala Aretina a 16 Monteverdi: Beatus Vir David Buckley: World premiere & Lamentations Monteverdi: Ave Maris Stella a 8 Tallis: Spem in Alium Tues 6th Oct 7pm Great Malvern Priory Unreserved Seating £39.20 (Nave); £35.84 (Choir Stalls); £11.20 (North & South Aisles, No View) Price includes 12% booking fee

Malvern Theatres is delighted to host the Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia for the first time, featuring an orchestral concert conducted by the acclaimed John Andrews.

Andrews offers his graceful style to this special event, having led many of the UK’s leading orchestras and ensembles. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra. He has won the BBC Music Magazine Award three times and his recording of Smyth’s Der Wald won Presto Music’s ‘Rediscovery of the Year’ in 2023.

Renowned for his elegant tone and commanding stage presence, Ed Lyon has established himself as one of the most versatile tenors of his generation. Equally at home in baroque repertoire, classical masterpieces, and contemporary works, he has appeared on the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, ENO, and the Festival d’Aixen-Provence.

Alexei Watkins graduated with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in 2018, having been awarded the prestigious Dennis Brain Prize. As a soloist, he has performed recitals extensively across the UK and in 2025 performed the Britten Serenade alongside renowned Tenor Mark Padmore.

Vaughan-Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves Holst: Brook Green Suite Vaughan-Williams: Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Warlock: Dance Suite after John Dowland Finzi: Romance Warlock: Capriol Suite

Thurs 8th Oct 7pm Festival Theatre £23.52 £19.60 Price includes 12% booking fee

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BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET

SINFONIA Tenor ED LYON

Horn ALEXEI WATKINS Conducted by

JOHN ANDREWS

Organ Recital Iain Simcock Iain Simcock is an internationally renowned organist, who has held prestigious posts at St George’s Windsor and Christ Church Oxford.

Winner of the international competitions in Chartres and Wasquehal, Iain is currently Director of music at l’Académie Vocale de Paris.

Olivier Messiaen: Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité No.6 Louis Vierne: Organ Symphony No. 5 in A minor, Op. 47

Sat 10th Oct 12 noon Great Malvern Priory Admission Free on the day Retiring collection in support of Great Malvern Priory

Immersive Arts and the Future of Dance Performance Dr Paul Golz, Senior Lecturer in Dance and Performance, University of Worcester Step into the evolving world of immersive performance, where movement, technology and storytelling merge to create unforgettable experiences. In this engaging lunchtime talk, choreographer and researcher Paul Golz introduces audiences to the exciting possibilities emerging at the intersection of dance and digital innovation. Paul will share insights from recent creative projects, discuss how immersive technologies are transforming both the making and experiencing of dance, and offer a glimpse into what the future of performance might hold, including a short practical demonstration showing how digital tools and movement combine to create new forms of expression.

Thurs 15th Oct 12 noon Studio One Admission Free

The internationally acclaimed BBC Big Band, led by renowned conductor Barry Forgie and featuring special guest vocalist Matt Ford, takes to the stage to celebrate the incredible music legacy of Cole Porter. Through a wonderfully diverse repertoire, arranged and curated by conductor Barry Forgie, the concert showcases and celebrates the musical genius of one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. Renowned for his music for Broadway and Hollywood, such as Kiss Me Kate, High Society, and Anything Goes, Cole Porter’s music would also go on to form an essential element of the Great American Songbook. Expect numbers such as: Let’s Do It, I’ve Got You Under my Skin, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Anything Goes, Begin the Beguine, Love For Sale, and much, much more.

Fri 9th Oct 7.30pm Festival Theatre £34.72 £31.36 Price includes 12% booking fee

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Join world-renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and the acclaimed NLCE wind quintet for a concert that pushes the boundaries of live performance.

Blending dazzling rhythmic complexity with moments of serene reflection, this unique collaboration invites you into an extraordinary sound world of shimmering vibraphones, exotic percussion, and expressive wind textures.

Featuring works by celebrated composers including Dobrinka Tabakova and Ailís Ní Ríain, the programme showcases innovation and imagination at every turn.

Ferenc Farkas: Ancient Dances 3 Movements E Glennie/Philip Shepperd: Orologeria Aureola Samuel Barber: Summer Music Ailís Ní Riaín: Revelling and Reckoning James Keane: Piece for Dance Dobrinka Tabakova: Frozen River Flows Julian Philips: Stranger Encounters

Evelyn Glennie & new london chamber ensemble conducted by

darren bloom

Sat 10th Oct 7.30pm Festival Theatre £28.56 £25.20 Price includes 12% booking fee

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Patron Countess Dr Inga Lewenhaupt (former Chair of the Jenny Lind Society of Sweden)

A Celebration of Women’s Voices Directed by Lynne Lindner with Anwen Mai Thomas (harp) and Tim Sidford (piano) The Jenny Lind Singers is a group of talented local female singers, well known for the exploration of new music, especially by women and local composers, including the award-winning Liz Dilnot Johnson and Kate Hill. The group is named after the renowned ‘Swedish Nightingale’ Jenny Lind.

For their 2026 Autumn in Malvern concert, the Jenny Lind Singers have chosen the beautiful setting of the Great Hall at Stanbrook Abbey, home to an order of Benedictine nuns from 1838 to 2009. With its high vaulted ceiling, and fine acoustic, this is a wonderful example of the dramatic Victorian gothic revival style of Pugin, with lovely stained-glass windows and a stunning East Rose Window.

Programme to include: Imogen Holst: Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow Hilary Campbell: Our Endless Day Liz Dilnot Johnson: Four Angel Songs Sarah Deere-Jones (arr. Amy Bebbington): Veni Coronaberis Sarah Quartel: Sing My Child Amy Bebbington: I Sing of a Maiden Kate Hill: Gentle Friend Gemma McGregor: Love was his meaning Joanna Forbes L’Estrange: Give us Grace Amy Bebbington: Fire Photo credit ©Michael Whitefoot

Sun 11th Oct 3pm Stanbrook Abbey, Great Hall £15 (Unreserved) Price includes 12% booking fee

P E T E R D O N O H O E “One of our greatest home grown performers” Petroc Trelawny, BBC Radio 3

Since his success as joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Peter has gained international renown as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique. He returns to Malvern with this varied programme of music spanning two centuries.

Bach/Busoni: Prelude and Fugue in E Flat Major ‘St Anne’ Schubert: Six Moments Musicaux Op. 94 Chopin: Barcarolle Op 60 Rachmaninov: Variations on a theme of Chopin Op. 22

Fri 16th Oct 7.30pm Big School, Malvern College £16.80 (Unreserved) Price includes 12% booking fee

Schubert’s Trout Quintet

Martyn Jackson (Violin) Robert Smissen (Viola) Ursula Smith (Cello) Leon Bosch (Double Bass)

with Peter Donohoe (Piano)

I Musicanti comprises some of the most experienced and respected musicians to be found in the UK, hand-picked by the group’s artistic director, international double bass virtuoso Leon Bosch. For this recital, I Musicanti are joined by pianist Peter Donohoe for a programme of piano quintets including Schubert’s celebrated Trout Quintet.

Schubert: Adagio and Rondo Concertante D 487 Hummel: Piano Quintet in C Major Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major D 667 ‘The Trout’

Sat 17th Oct 3pm Big School, Malvern College £16.80 (Unreserved) Price includes 12% booking fee

Elgar:

The Spirit of England Conducted by Piers Maxim With John Upperton (Tenor), Christopher Allsop (Organ) and Nia Evans (Harp) Following their successful concert in last year’s festival, The Elgar Chorale returns under the direction of Piers Maxim with a programme including works by Brahms, Janacek, Elgar and ColeridgeTaylor. At the heart of the concert are Janacek’s powerful setting of the Lord’s Prayer and Elgar’s Spirit of England, the composer’s last major choral work. A heartfelt setting of poems by Laurence Binyon, the piece is Elgar’s response to the horrors of the First World War. Programme to include: Coleridge-Taylor: Te Deum in F Op.18 No.1 Brahms: Geistliches Lied Janacek: The Lord’s Prayer Brahms: Schicksalslied Coleridge-Taylor: Jubilate in F Op.18 No.3 Elgar: The Spirit of England

Sat 17th Oct 7.30pm Great Malvern Priory £14.50 (Unreserved) Price includes 12% booking fee

Tues 13th Oct 5pm Malvern Cinema £9.50 / £8.50 (£1 Concessions)

01684 892277 malvern-theatres.co.uk