The Swaledale Festival was founded in 1980 by Trevor and Emma Woolston, not only to celebrate the music already within the Yorkshire Dales, England but also to bring internationally renowned musicians and composers into the area, making it “to music what St Ives is to painting”. The Festival attracts over 5,000 visitors a year, and is the principal provider of professional music across the Northern Yorkshire Dales.
The main focus of the Swaledale Festival is on small-scale chamber music. In 2006, for example, the complete Shostakovich string quartets were performed, among others. Choral music, folk music, brass bands, rock and jazz also feature, sometimes on their own, sometimes integrated with the classical core. Talks, films, exhibitions, poetry readings, workshops and guided walks complete the line-up.
The Festival takes place over two weeks in May-June each year. The focal point is the town of Reeth, whose triangular village green hosts a number of events - but most concerts and performances take place in churches, chapels, ‘Literary Institutes’ and village halls scattered around Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and Wensleydale. The largest venue is St Mary's Church in Richmond, which seats about 400 people; the smallest venues may seat as few as 40.
A key feature of the Swaledale Festival is the commitment to new commissions, which are premiered each year at Festival concerts.
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