The latest edition of Beverley’s popular New Paths Music festival takes place 21th-23rd September. Known for exhilarating live performances, creative programming and a buzzing atmosphere, the event fills every corner of the town with music, performed by celebrated artists from across Europe.
Performers this autumn include winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World audience prize operatic mezzo-soprano Claire Barnett-Jones, current BBC New Generation Artist cellist Leo Popplewell, and a handpicked consort of vocalists from choirs including St Paul’s Cathedral and the BBC Singers. Programmes range from Bach motets and pop-up cello performances to late-night performances in St Mary’s and the Minster, and an atmospheric Saturday night finale inspired by the Autumn Equinox.
Sponsored by the Georgian Society for East Yorkshire, this year’s festival also celebrates Beverley’s Georgian heritage, with music from this period and concerts inspired by broader aspects of the Georgian era: voyaging, discovering, adventuring and inventing. Other events include a film screening at Parkway cinema and a talk from celebrated speaker Katy Hamilton exploring some of the less familiar music on the programme.
New Paths Music was born in 2016 and since then has put on 10 festivals to popular acclaim. Founder Roland Deller, who was recently made an Honorary Freeman of Beverley for services to the town, says, “Moving to Beverley at the age of eight transformed my life. The opportunities I was given as a Minster chorister and in the East Riding Youth Orchestra gave me a key to a different world, and I’m forever grateful. New Paths has been an amazing way to give something back to the town, and to continue Beverley’s incredible musical legacy for the next generation.’
Young people are once again at the heart of the festival. Brass and wind players from the East Riding Music Hub have a day of workshops, ‘Inspire!’, tutored by expert New Paths musicians. The festival’s popular baby and toddler concert is back, providing free opportunities for the youngest audiences to hear live music in a relaxed environment. And through its Golden Ticket scheme, the festival offers free tickets to under-18s and full-time students to all festival events – an extraordinary opportunity to hear world-class performances in the heart of the East Riding without paying a penny.
‘We believe passionately that music is for everyone,’ says artistic director Libby Burgess. ‘People sometimes think you have to know a lot about music to appreciate it, but that’s just not true. Whether it’s jazz or classical or folk, live music is all about the same thing: an emotional experience, in the moment, that takes you out of your everyday world. All you have to do is turn up and respond to that how you like – clap, or cry, or beam from ear to ear!’
‘Our programme includes some of the most famous pieces in the world by Bach and Mozart and Beethoven, but it also includes music whose stories haven’t always been given a voice: composers like Imogen Holst or Joseph Bologne wrote stunning music that was for many years written out of history because of the composers’ gender or race. So there are things here even the most experienced concert-goers won’t have heard!’
Festival tickets start from as little as £5, and festival passes offer discounts for those attending multiple events. Tickets can be bought from Beverley TIC or online, and all details of events are at www.newpathsmusic.com.
