Wirral Chamber Music Festival reveals inaugural programme

A new classical music festival will see live concerts across venues in Wirral this month performed by some of the region's top professional musicians.

The inaugural Wirral Chamber Music Festival takes place from July 16-18 and is the brainchild of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's leader Thelma Handy and cellist Alex Holladay.

The programme will feature live brass, string and gypsy jazz concerts, all performed in Covid-secure surroundings.

The festival opens at St Luke’s Church in Hoylake on July 16 when the Liverpool Brass Quintet performs a programme of music including Susato, Rossini and Leroy Anderson.

Thelma Handy will be joined by other leading local musicians on July 17 to perform Schubert’s String Quintet in C at St Peter’s Church in Heswall.

And the popular Klezmer-ish will take centre stage at Hulme Hall at Port Sunlight on July 18 with their irresistible brand of klezmer, tango and their own gypsy jazz.

Meanwhile young performers from the Youth String Quartet Academy play a concert for family and friends at the West Kirby Arts Centre on July 17, and there will be a free daytime Music Making family event in the Dell at Port Sunlight on July 18.

Handy, who is the festival’s artistic director, says: “The long period of lockdown has left us starved of opportunities to enjoy live performances of any kind.

“Now that restrictions are gradually lifting, our aim with the festival is to promote a love of classical music and its proven wider benefits, including shared social connections and heightened emotional experiences, by making world-class chamber music exciting, accessible and inclusive for the Wirral community.”

Wirral Chamber Music Festival runs from July 16-18. Concert details and tickets via the website HERE