The 2025 Cowbridge Music Festival will present an eclectic and vibrant line-up across ten days this September, blending chamber music tradition with innovation, Welsh cultural heritage, and global musical influences.
This year’s programme showcases a wealth of Welsh talent, from Sinfonia Cymru’sSeascapes and a new festival commission by John Metcalf to appearances by Dafydd Jones, Kat Rees, and folk trio Vrï. An emphasis on diverse musical voices includes works by underrepresented composers such as Fanny Hensel, Rebecca Clarke, Dora Pejačevič and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Chamber music remains at the heart of the festival, with performances from the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Carducci Quartet, and clarinettist Robert Plane, alongside a host of internationally acclaimed artists. Highlights include Brahms’ Horn Trio, Coleridge-Taylor’s Piano Quintet, and the continuation of the festival’s special late-night ‘By Candlelight’ series.
Global connections run throughout the festival: Elaha Soroor performs traditional Afghan music, Tango Calor brings South American flair with a concert and dance workshop, and American musical traditions take centre stage at the jazz brunch and Great American Songbook concert.
Artistic Co-Directors Joseph Fort and Rosalind Ventris said: “Since its inception in 2010, the Cowbridge Music Festival has brought an array of international artists to this beautiful market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, while also providing an important platform for leading Welsh musicians. In 2025, we continue this tradition with a line-up that celebrates the rich musical life of Wales while embracing international perspectives and fresh creative voices. We are delighted that BBC Radio 3 will return for a fourth consecutive year to broadcast the festival.”
In addition to concerts at Holy Cross Parish Church, Cowbridge Town Hall, and the Duke of Wellington Ballroom, the festival offers a Family Concert and Festival Evensong, and concludes with a new musical theatre concert by Welsh of the West End and a jazzy Welsh-language finale from Kat Rees and the Siglo Section.
Tickets will go on sale on 19 July 2025 at www.cowbridgemusicfestival.co.uk.
