BREMF 2026: Bringers of Dreams

Our 2026 Festival takes the theme of Bringers of Dreams. The boundaries between real and imagined, between past and future, between aspiration and fear become blurred when we dream. For centuries, this nebulous tideland of imagination has fuelled ideas for countless pieces of art and music, new inventions, alternative fantastical universes, and provided the backdrop for idealised worlds of change. This year’s festival celebrates our power to dream ambitiously and create a better world, the dreams that visit us in sleep, and the mysteries of the night sky.

Here are some festival highlights – we’ll be adding more information here in the coming weeks.

Pre-Festival Period: from 19 September 2026

Including our popular Choral & Instrumental Workshops (20 & 26 September), a return of Baroque Dance Workshops (27 September), and events for families and the whole community.

Weekend 1: 2-4 October 2026

We open the festival on Friday 2 October with City of Dreams – a concert tracing 200 years of Florentine art and invention featuring the Monteverdi String Band, BREMF Consort of Voices, children from local schools, and Emerging Artists alumni The Royal Sackbut Collective. Another of this weekend’s large scale events features Spiritato with The Planets (Pre-imagined), an orchestral journey through the 17th-century solar system on Saturday 3 October.

Weekend 2: 9-11 October 2026

This weekend features our 2026 BREMF Emerging Artists – the ensembles will be presenting a showcase and clubnight on Saturday 10 October, whilst the solo singers will be performing alongside the London Handel Players in a performance of Purcell’s glorious semi-opera The Fairy Queen on Friday 9 October.

Weekend 3: 16-18 October 2026

2026 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of John Dowland, and we’ll be commemorating this with a whole Dowland Day on Saturday 17 October. Across three events, the day will showcase a range of interpretations of Dowland’s lute songs by Kieran White, Ruby Hughes, Jonas Nordberg and Dowland’s Foundry.

Weekend 4: 23-25 October 2026

Our festival concerts come to a close on Saturday 24 October with a focus on stories of migration, connection and hope including Lassus Lamentations with the Belgian-based Utopia Ensemble. We’ll spend the final day exploring nature and music with a return of last year’s popular SongPath walk in Stanmer Park on Sunday 25 October.

We hope you will join us!