4th April - 12th April 2026
53rd St Endellion Easter Festival
St Endellion Easter Festival
4th-12th April 2026
The 53rd St Endellion Easter Festival brought musicians, singers and audiences together once again for a memorable week of music-making in the beautiful surroundings of St Endellion Church.
This year's Festival opened on Saturday with a lively Come & Sing day devoted to Purcell, directed by Lucy Goddard. Around fifty singers gathered to explore some of Purcell's most beloved choruses and solos, including Dido's Lament, setting a warm and welcoming tone for the week ahead.
The Festival concerts began on Easter Monday with a programme ranging from Zelenka and Haydn to Britten and Mozart. The orchestra rose splendidly to the challenges of Britten's Prelude and Fugue for 18 Strings, while Haydn's vivid cantata The Storm and Mozart's Symphony No. 40 provided a dramatic and exhilarating conclusion to the evening.
Tuesday's chamber concert offered a rich variety of music and performers. Claire Sutton-Williams and Ashok Gupta brought great insight to songs by Mahler, while David de Winter and Alis Huws gave a compelling performance of Britten. The concert closed with Schubert's String Quintet in C major, performed in memory of David Watkin, whose contribution to the Festival over many years remains deeply cherished.
The evening took a very different turn with the Late Night concert from the MZ Duo. Their imaginative combination of accordion and saxophone delighted the audience, revealing an astonishing range of colours and styles and reminding us how rewarding unexpected musical partnerships can be.
Contemporary music featured prominently throughout the week. Kerenza Peacock's lunchtime concert included the première of Passhyon Agon Arioedh by Hugo Bell, winner of the 2026 Easter Festival Commission Competition, alongside a new Sonata for Violin, Piano and Double Bass by Libby Croad. Festival-goers also had the opportunity to hear another performance of Anita Mawhinney's The Forsaken Merman, winner of last year's composition competition.
On Thursday morning, the Festival continued its commitment to supporting young Cornish musicians. George Barnes Collier, a regular participant in St Endellion Brass Days, brought the opening movement of a symphony inspired by his visits to the Festival. The orchestra worked through and rehearsed the movement, and afterwards George spent time with Daniel Hogan and Rees Webster discussing his music and gaining valuable insights into conducting and orchestral rehearsal techniques.
The evening's choral and orchestral concert, conducted by Ben Glassberg, was one of the highlights of the Festival. Ravel's elegant Le Tombeau de Couperin was followed by a rare performance of Vaughan Williams's Epithalamion, with Gareth Brynmor John as baritone soloist, before a thrilling account of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony brought the evening to a close. Later that night, audiences gathered by candlelight for a sequence of Bach keyboard works performed by Ashok Gupta, Seb Gillot and Jamal Sutton, creating one of the Festival's most intimate and atmospheric occasions.
Friday's concerto concert combined familiar favourites with one of Britten's most distinctive choral works. Bach's First Brandenburg Concerto opened proceedings, while the Festival Chorus gave an impressive performance of Rejoice in the Lamb under David Young. The concert concluded with Émile Souvagie's outstanding performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, sensitively directed by Daniel Hogan.
A particularly moving moment came on Saturday evening with a performance of Bach's Mass in B minor dedicated to the memory of David Watkin, who had served as the Festival's Principal Conductor for the past decade. Conducted by John Butt, and featuring a distinguished team of soloists including Sophie Bevan, Lucy Goddard, Tim Morgan, David de Winter and Gareth Brynmor John, the performance was both a fitting tribute and a musical highlight of the week.
The Festival drew to a close on Sunday with Copland's Appalachian Spring, beautifully played by the orchestra under Daniel Hogan. A further performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto by Émile Souvagie provided a graceful and memorable conclusion to another successful Easter Festival.
Throughout the week, participants and audiences enjoyed not only performances of the highest quality but also the unique sense of community that has characterised the St Endellion Easter Festival for more than fifty years. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2027.
