MAJOR artists from the world of classical music will head to the North York Moors this summer to take part in a festival which will also see the launch of a new series for young up-and-coming musicians.

Now in its 13th consecutive year, the 2021 North York Moors Chamber Music Festival will run from Saturday, 7 to Saturday, August 21, attracting world-class musicians to the area, performing some dazzling repertoire around the theme of ‘Epoch’.

“Our history is punctuated by defining moments which influence the course of humanity and its cultures,” said festival director and internationally renowned cellist Jamie Walton, who lives within the boundaries of the National Park.

This year’s festival will comprise ten main concerts featuring a plethora of international musicians in music by many epoch defining composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Dvorak, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Elgar, alongside an additional series of five Young Artists lunchtime recitals showcasing talent from the Royal Academy of Music.

All rehearsals will take place at Ayriel Studios – a brand new state-of-the-art soundproofed recording studio in the heart of the North York Moors, initiated by Jamie Walton and due to open commercially in January 2022. Some of the artists taking part in the festival will be recording there this autumn as the new facility builds its identity and reputation, putting North Yorkshire firmly on the cultural map.

The line-up for the main festival includes tenor James Gilchrist, oboist Nicholas Daniel, clarinetist Matthew Hunt, local mezzo-soprano Anna Huntley, violinists Benjamin Baker and Charlotte Scott, violist Timothy Ridout, pianists Katya Apekisheva and Alasdair Beatson and many others from the classical music industry who regular collaborate with one another all over the world.

All the main festival concerts will take place again this year in a specially adapted marquee in the grounds of Welburn Manor Farm, near Kirkbymoorside. For more information call 07722 038990, or visit www.northyorkmoorsfestival.com