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Hertfordshire Festival of Music 2026 – 30 May to 8 June

Tenth Anniversary Festival

2026 is the tenth anniversary of the Hertfordshire Festival of Music (HFoM). HFoM is marking this milestone across 2026 and 2027 with the theme Made in Herts! – celebrating music, art, place and community in Hertfordshire.

The 2026 festival, Made in Herts: Part One, presents a focused programme of concerts and events that bring music into contact with local places, ideas and people.

During the festival period, concerts and events take place in venues in the towns of Hertford and St Albans. The programme brings together musicians at different stages of their professional lives, including artists with strong local connections and familiar Festival collaborators, and explores music alongside wider artistic and cultural contexts.

Events range from intimate concerts and solo recitals to talks and projects that place music in dialogue with visual art, film, landscape and a sense of place. The Festival also continues its commitment to supporting emerging musicians from the county, offering them a professional platform within the wider programme.

2026 Festival highlights:

  • Forms in Stone and Sound with art historian Barry Dodge and composer James Francis Brown
    An illustrated talk on sculptor Henry Moore (who lived and worked in Hertfordshire from 1940 until his death in 1986), interspersed with movements from string quartets by Elizabeth Maconchy (who was born in Broxbourne, Herts).
  • ‘Made in Hertford’ walk with Elizabeth Eastwood
  • Lunchtime Piano Recital with Adrian Oldland
  • New Virtuosi: A Meeting of Friends Featuring former HFoM masterclass participants and invited artists
  • Film Music from the Hertfordshire Film Industry with the Festival Community Concert Band. Often called “Hollywood in Herts,” Hertfordshire is a premier UK film and TV hub, home to world-class studios where films such as the Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones series, and TV shows like The Crown and Strictly Come Dancing are produced. 
  • Lunchtime recital in the Lady Chapel at St Albans Cathedral
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It’s never just the performances that define a festival – it’s the shared spirit behind them.
JAMES FRANCIS BROWN Artistic Director

Made in Herts: Part One marks the starting point of the Festival’s tenth‑year celebrations. Made in Herts: Part Two sees the programme opening out into an expansive and celebratory festival in 2027.

The Hertfordshire Festival of Music is fundamentally a community endeavour, created to bring people together, educate, and foster meaningful dialogue. Every element – from performances and educational projects to outreach and talks – is part of a larger conversation linking shared history with the promise of a more engaged future.

Full details of this year’s programme and performers can be found here: hertsmusicfest.org.uk

we are so lucky in Hertford to have such a wonderful festival

a wonderful celebration of music!

I love that the Festival brings us new music and young musicians

fantastic

Audience comments

Website: http://www.hertsmusicfest.org.uk
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