Danby & Egton Bridge Host Chamber Music Extravaganza

Sunday, 17 August 2025 06:00

A unique concert is coming to Danby's St Hilda's Church today.

Now in its 17th year, the much-loved North York Moors Chamber Music Festival has returned with a festival designed to mirror the 14-line structure of a sonnet.

Fourteen concerts are taking place up until Saturday 23 August, guiding audiences through a pagan year with its unfolding seasons, solstices, and equinoxes.

The four elements – Fire, Air, Water, and Earth – are explored through the lens of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets, and staged in four historic moorland churches: St Hilda’s, Danby; St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge; St Michael’s, Coxwold, and St Mary’s, Lastingham. The remaining ten concerts will be held in an acoustically-treated venue on the grounds of Welburn Manor, near Kirkbymoorside.

Festival curator and internationally renowned cellist Jamie Walton says it's a special tour:

Combining moorland churches with an acoustically-treated venue in the grounds of Welburn Manor – an innovation first introduced in 2020 to allow the festival to continue despite the pandemic – has proven to be a popular formula for the festival, attracting international artists, many of whom commit to the entire fortnight by taking up residencies.

This year, these include Alena Baeva, Benjamin Baker, Emma Parker, Oliver Heath, Charlotte Scott and Victoria Sayles (violin); Simone Gramaglia, Simone van der Giessen and Gary Pomeroy (viola); Rebecca Gilliver, Tim Posner and Jamie Walton (cello); Will Duerden (double bass); Katya Apekisheva, Joseph Havlat, Daniel Lebhardt, Anna Tibrook and Huw Watkins (piano); David Gerrard (harpsichord); James Gilchrist (tenor); Julian Bliss and Matthew Hunt (clarinet); Ben Goldscheider (French horn); Silvija Ščerbavičiūtė (flute) and Celine Souat (harp). Completing the line-up is The Waldstein Trio.

The Danby concert is at 2pm on Sunday, while Egton Bridge is 2pm on Wednesday and features Vivaldi's Four Seasons with four newly-written sonnets.

Jamie says he loves performing at those venues:

Tickets for individual concerts are £18; a season ticket for all 14 costs £190. As ever, under-30s get free entry to any of the concerts. To book, please email bookings@northyorkmoorsfestival.com, call 07722 038990, or visit www.northyorkmoorsfestival.com

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