Previous Festivals

Past Festivals

The Budleigh Music Festival started life as the Budleigh Salterton Festival in 2005, when visionaries Roger and Brenda Bowen founded an annual arts festival in this small seaside town.

The aim of the first few Festivals was to deliver a great variety of musical performance and artistic activity, featuring two daily concerts, folk music at Otterton Mill, visits from Imperial College Opera Students, talks, a river trip, garden parties and art exhibitions. Following the success of those early days, the Festival has diverged and grown into a separate Literary Festival and a Music Festival, which since 2012 has focused on a classical music repertoire.

From its inception the Music Festival has sought to bring musicians of international standing to Budleigh Salterton. It has also focused on encouraging young musicians, and regularly showcases ‘BBC Young Musician’ winners with an international career ahead of them. In addition, the Festival aims each year to highlight talented young musicians from the South West; these are featured at the popular free lunchtime concerts where a supportive audience helps them to develop their repertoires and performance skills. The lunchtime concerts also provide a platform for a wider range of music. Recent years have featured medieval instruments, the Devon Junior Choir, organ recitals, brass band players – as well as vocal and instrumental recitals.

With the increasing support and help from within the community, the Festival continues to attract large audiences from Budleigh Salterton and further afield.

2023

Evening Concerts

Ben Goldscheider/James Gilchrist

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason

Armonico Consort

Lara Melda and Carducci Quartet

Jacqui Dankworth

Jennifer Pike and the Ali Bangash Brothers

The Jess Gillam Ensemble

Lunchtime Concerts

Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra

Nina Savicevic

Maxim Calver

The Maynard School

Woon Ngee Ng

Alexander Hume

Bone-Afide

Special Event

Bob Chilcott Choral Workshop

2022

Evening Concerts

Danielle De Niese

Laura Van Der Heijden

Eric Lu

Chloë Hanslip & Bath Philharmonia

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason

Castalian Quartet and Sacha Rattle

Ning Feng

Lunchtime Concerts

Superlocrian

Isabella FArleigh & Peter Adcock

Emily Ambrose & Sally Goodworth

Sarah Potjewijd

Emily Wilson & Adam Taylor

Summer Brooks & Rocket Brooks

Eliza Talman & Stan Talman

2021

Evening Concerts
The Brodsky Quartet. 4 people holding string instruments, two wearing all-black suits, two wearing navy blue gowns.

Brodsky Quartet

Coco Tomita holding a violin, Coco has shoulder length dark brown hair

Coco Tomita

Craig Ogden and Miloš Milivojević. Craig holds a guitar and Miloš holds an accordion.

Craig Ogden & Milos Milivojevic

Saxophonist Jess Gillam stood outside, playing a saxophone, wearing a shiny colourful suit, with a long straight blonde ponytail.

Jess Gillam

Pianist Peter Donohoe stood in front of a grand piano, with hands raised in the air.

Peter Donohoe

Illustrated poster for On Wenlock Edge. Silhouette of a person wearing armour, holding a spear, stood on a hill. At the bottom of the hill is a large face looking at them with a sad expression.

On Wenlock Edge

Willard White wearing a smart white shirt and black waistcoat, singing in front of an orchestra.

Willard White

Lunchtime Concerts

Eliza Haskins

Millfield School

Joel Munday

Lucas Krupinski

Meadow Brooks

Rachel Stoneham

Alex Wilson

Ella Leonard

2019

Evening Concerts
The Sitkovetsky Trio. Two stood wearing blazers, both with short brown hair, one holding a cello, one holding a violin. One sat on a chair in front of them with curly brown shoulder length hair, wearing a formal rose-coloured gown. All smiling.

The Sitkovetsky Trio

The 12 Ensemble. A grid of 6 photos showing the group holding their string instruments.

12 Ensemble

Devon Opera performers on stage. 6 people dressed in costumes - two in wedding dresses and veils, two in white suits with black bow ties, one in pin-up style clothing with red hair wrap and gingham shirt, and one with a straw fedora, raising glasses as a toast together over a table with two red a white stripe tiered cakes, a bottle of champagne, and mini French flags.

Devon Opera

The Elias String Quartet. 4 people holding various string instruments, three with long hair wearing t-shirts, one with short hair and a short beard wearing a shirt.

Elias Quartet

Martin James Bartlett wearing a suit and bow tie, sat on a piano stool in front of a grand piano. Martin wears glasses and has short, wavy brown hair.

Martin James Bartlett

The Pleyel Ensemble, a group of 5 people dressed in smart black clothes, holding wind and string instruments.

Pleyel

Vocal choir Sansara performing. There are 15 of them, holding sheet music folders, facing a conductor.

Sansara

Lunchtime Concerts

Alex Wilson

Eliza Haskins

ISCA Ensemble

Isabelle Barber

Jade Gall

Jerome Blackburn

Nina Savicevic

Joseph Pritchard

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