Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts
21-26 August 2008

The twenty-sixth Presteigne Festival will mark two important British anniversaries: the sixtieth birthday of the festival's president, Michael Berkeley, and the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The exciting young English composer Joe Duddell is to be composer-in-residence, and will be represented by orchestral, choral and chamber works, including a new work for piano trio. Other commissions include a work for clarinet and string orchestra from James Francis Brown, a fifth string quartet from Matthew Taylor, an orchestral work from Adrian Williams and instrumental pieces from Cheryl Frances Hoad and David Bruce.

Other strands include a birthday celebration for Olivier Messiaen and a feature of music by Dmitri Shostakovich. As usual, there will be plenty of supporting events, including exhibitions, children's events, talks poetry and much more.