October 2023 sees a return to a major series of autumn events, for the first time since 2019. As in previous years, our main festival concerts will be preceded by a series of pre-festival events including participatory workshops, family concerts, and a festival introduction day.
As ever, we have to add the “subject to funding” caveat, and the funding climate is becoming increasingly challenging. However, we are not planning to cancel any of these events, although we may have to adapt a few if funding is not forthcoming. If you feel passionately about supporting a particular event or events, do check out our newly relaunched Concert Sponsorship scheme which allows you to underwrite the events about which you feel most strongly.
BREMF 2023: NEW HORIZONS
Pre-festival events
Sat 16 September – Byrd & Cornysh choral workshop led by Andrew Carwood (Friends Meeting House)
Sat 23 September – The Byrd Crawl: a series of free daytime short performances by BREMF Consort of Voices around central and east Brighton
Sat 30 September – Daytime instrumental workshop for early & folk instrumentalists on Playford’s The Dancing Master, led by Emily Baines, followed by a Community Ceildh (St George’s Church)
Sat 7 October – OAE TOTS family concerts with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Brighton Unitarian Church), followed by a Festival Introduction Day to introduce the season (Fabrica Gallery)
Thurs 12 October – Freshly Ground Bass: a spicy collaboration between Liturina and Ground Bass Jazz Trio (Ironworks Studios)
Secret Byrd with The Gesualso Six & Fretwork – photo by Mark Allan
Main Festival events
Fri 13 October – Secret Byrd: an immersive music-drama with The Gesualdo Six and Fretwork (St Bartholomew’s Church)
Sat 14 October – lunchtime concert with Ensemble Hesperi (Friends Meeting House); evening Casulana/Strozzi programme from Fieri Consort (St George’s Church)
Sun 15 October – The Whispering Dome: large-scale multi-media event on the theme of bird migrations, involving BREMF choirs, local schools and musicians from Morocco and West Africa, devised by Jeremy Avis (St Martin’s Church)
Fri 20 October – Medieval Enigmas with La Fonte Musica from Italy (St George’s Church)
Sat 21 October – lunchtime concert by Helen Charlston & Toby Carr (St Nicholas Church); afternoon showcase by 2023 BREMF Live! ensembles (St George’s Church); evening BREMF Live! clubnight (The Rose Hill)
Sun 22 October – Mother, Sister, Daughter with Musica Secreta & Celestial Sirens (St Martin’s Church)
Sat 28 October – Buxtehude Membra Jesu nostri with the BREMF Players & Baroque Collective Singers (St Martin’s Church)
A brochure with full details of the autumn 2023 events will be published in June 2023. Make sure you are on our postal mailing list to receive your copy. Tickets will go on sale to members of the BREMF Friends scheme on 17 July 2023, and on general sale from 31 July 2023.