Saturday 11th July
Armonico Consort - Musical Director: Christopher MonksSt. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
Step into an enchanting evening where music, brings ancient myths and legends to life.
Following last year’s huge success, the Armonico Consort return with a bold and beautiful reimagining of King Arthur – presented in their unmistakable style: fresh, vibrant, and alive for today’s audiences. Set against the backdrop of, St Teilo’s Church with its wonderful acoustic, this performance promises an unforgettable experience. Narrated by Oz Clarke with a newly written script by the gifted William Towers, the legendary tale of King Arthur is retold with warmth, wit, and imagination, seamlessly interwoven with Purcell’s glorious music. The result is a performance that feels both timeless and thrillingly new—perfect for devoted Purcell fans and equally enchanting for families looking for a memorable night out. Join us for an evening of extraordinary music, storytelling, and summer magic.
Book your tickets now and experience Purcell’s King Arthur as you’ve never seen it before.
Sunday 12th July at 11.00am
Festival ServiceFestival Choir Director - Andrew Douglas Forbes
Address by Rev. Carys Hamilton - Vicar
Wyn Turner - Organ
Sunday 12th July
Luma DuoHarp and Flute Recital Mared Emyr (Harp) - Royal Harpist to King Charles.
Lucy Driver (Flute)
Newton House at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
Mared Emyr is an internationally acclaimed, prize-winning harpist and was appointed Harpist to His Majesty The King in 2024. She has appeared as guest soloist in a sell-out performance with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, performing Patrick Hawes’ celebrated Highgrove Suite.
Lucy Driver performs regularly with some of the UK’s leading ensembles, including the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Ballet and Opera, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Opera North, and Britten Sinfonia.
Founded while studying at the Royal Academy of Music, Luma Duo has gone on to captivate audiences with recital performances across the UK and internationally.
Programme to include Alwyn’s heavenly Naiades, Debussy: Prélude à l’Après midi d’un faun
Book early to avoid disappointment!
Monday 13th July
The Heath String QuartetMaja Horvat, Sarah Wolstenholme - Violins
Gary Pomeroy - Viola
Christopher Murray - Cello
St. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
The Telegraph calls the “delicate perfection” of their sound “a marvel,” with “an exquisite tenderness,”
The Washington Post praises their “winsome blend of impetuosity and discipline.”
The dynamic and charismatic Heath Quartet is one of the most exciting British chamber ensembles of the moment, steadily building a reputation for their upbeat and integrated sound.
Programme: Benjamin Britten: Three Divertimenti
Amadeus Mozart: Quartet no. 1 in G major, K. 80, Lodi
Josef Suk: Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn ‘St Wenceslas’, op. 35a.
As well as Robert Schumann’s delightful Quartet F major, op. 41, no. 2
Image – Christian Sinibaldi
Tuesday 14th July
An Evening Of ChopinLuke Jones - Piano Chopin the Poet of the Piano
St. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
Experience the magic, drama, and romance of Chopin’s greatest piano masterpieces, performed by an award-winning virtuoso whose artistry has captivated audiences around the world.
“Luke Jones allows the listener to take his prodigious technique for granted, he plunges straight to the intellectual and emotional heart of the music. The consequences are thrilling and fulfilling!” – Leslie Howard, Concert Pianist.
“Luke Jones, who is one of the most remarkable, accomplished, and musically mature young pianists I’ve heard in a very long time, is a musician’s musician. He is a good deal more than a pianist to watch; he is an abundantly imaginative virtuoso who puts his phenomenal technical and interpretive apparatus in the service of musical substance.” – John Bell Young, Pianist, Music Critic
Programme to include: 24 Préludes, Op.28 and Ballade No.4 Op.52 – considered to be one of the masterpieces of piano music.
Wednesday 15th July
Violin/Piano RecitalLawrence Power - Violin/Viola
Simon Crawford Phillips - Piano
St. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
Award-winning artistry. World-class performances
Simon Crawford-Phillips and Lawrence Power are a dynamic chamber music duo celebrated for their electrifying performances and innovative programming. From London’s Wigmore Hall to New York’s Lincoln Centre, they have captivated audiences at the world’s leading venues and festivals. Their acclaimed recordings showcase the breadth of their artistry, combining virtuosity, insight, and a shared passion for exceptional music-making.
Programme:
Bowen – Phantasy in F for viola and piano, Op.54
Purcell – Full fathom five from The Tempest, arr.T. Adès
Adès – Berceuse No.2
Britten – Waltz Op.6, arr. Viola
Benjamin – Le Tombeau de Ravel
Tchaikovsky -None but the lonely heart (violin/piano)
Stravinsky – Divertimento (violin / piano)
Stravinsky – Tombeau de Debussy (solo piano)
Brahms – Sonata in F minor, Op.120, No.1
Thursday 16th July
REVERIE - The Life and Loves of Claude Debussy.Lucy Parham - Piano
Sir Simon Russell Beale - Narrator
Scripted by Lucy Parham
St. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
Unforgettable performance!
“One of the must-see events on the musical calendar” BBC Magazine..
Lucy Parham is no ordinary pianist …. she has the ability to get inside the personality of the composers whose music she plays and to devise programmes of words and music which enable audiences to share the experience.
An internationally acclaimed pianist Lucy is equally at home on the concert platform and the airwaves, appearing regularly as a guest and presenter on BBC Radio 3.
Narrated by the actor, Sir Simon Russell Beale, described by The Independent as “the greatest stage actor of his generation”, he has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, three Laurence Olivier Awards, and two British Academy Television Awards.
Claude Debussy was undoubtedly one of the most prolific and innovative composers of the early 20th century, absorbed and transformed cultural influences from countries as far apart as Scotland (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair), Japan (Poissons d’Or) and the USA (Cake Walk). A crucial element of Debussy’s complex intellectual and emotional world was an entangled love life that brought illicit trysts in Jersey, a brush with a revolver and even a suicide.
Friday 17th July
Lumas Winds QuintetFrederico Paixo - Flute
Rennie Sutherland - Clarinet
Chris Vettraino - Oboe
Flo Plane - Bassoon
Benjamin Hartnell-Booth - French Horn
St. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
Lumas Winds are a multi award winning quintet at the forefront of the new generation of wind ensembles and have been described as an ‘effervescent wind quintet, lively in their performance style and enterprising in their choice of repertoire’ (Seen and Heard International). Committed ambassadors for wind chamber music and the rich variety of repertoire it offers, they regularly feature at festivals in the UK and abroad.
Programme
Leonard Bernstein, arr. D. Stewart: Overture to Candide
Gustav Holst: Wind Quintet in A flat major, op. 14
Jean Françaix: Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon
Alexander von Zemlinksy: Humoreske (Rondo)
Jacques Ibert: Trois Pièces Brèves
György Ligeti: Six Bagatelles
Johann Sebastian Bach, arr. Mordechai Rechtman: Organ Concerto in A minor, BWV 593, after Antonio Vivaldi
Malcolm Arnold: Three Shanties, op. 4
Image – Inis Oírr Asano Photography
Saturday 18th July
Celebratory Closing Concert - CôrdyddConductor - Huw Foulkes
Accompanist - Branwen Gwyn
St. Teilo's Church at 7.00pm
Admission: £20.00
“known for their exhilarating standard” … “vast depth of sound and emotion”
Now celebrating their 25th year, Côrdydd has won a number of competitions, and performed on international stages with world renowned composers. Highlights include winning the Choir of Wales title in 2022 and, on 7 occasions, being crowned Choir of the Festival at the National Eisteddfod. The choir has won the Wales International Choral Festival, the Choir of the Festival at the Pan Celtic Festival and the mixed choir competition at the Interkultur International Festival. Côrdydd has performed across Wales and beyond – in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Canada and Barbados.
Programme to include works by Eric Whitacre, Paul Mealor, Purcell, John Rutter, Samo Vovk, Arrangement by Jeffrey Howard and others.
Free Lunchtime Concerts
All in St. Teilo's Church at 1.00pm
Monday 13th July - Organ Recital with Wyn Turner.
Tuesday 14th July - Harp Recital with Eleri Jones.
Wednesday 15th July - Piano Recital with Leslie Prosser.
Thursday 16th July - Lunchtime Recital - Clara Greening (Soprano), Ifan Thomas (Tenor) and Caradog Williams (Piano).
Friday 17th July - Organ Recital with Gareth Jones, a 14 year old organ scholarship student at Llandovery College.
1996 National Eisteddfod Exhibition
Hengwrt
Admission - Free
Remember the 1996 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol ?
Pop into Hengwrt during the Music Festival to explore a fascinating collection of items relating to the 1996 Dinefwr National Eisteddfod. From programmes and newspapers to meeting minutes and photographs, a range of archival materials will be on display in the heritage centre throughout the week, marking 30 years since the festival came to the area.
Hengwrt, 8 Stryd Caerfyrddin, Llandeilo, SA19 6AE
Academy Of Barmy Composers
Friday 10th July - To Be Confirmed.
A school workshop ‘ABC’ – Academy Of Barmy Composers. Over the last 10 years, ABC has delivered workshops to over 50,000 children across Wales and beyond, using music, storytelling, creativity and laughter to empower children with the message that “Any Body Can.”
Ideally, within one school day working with two groups of children, morning and afternoon, allowing us to reach as many young learners as possible across the day. The sessions are highly interactive and curriculum-linked, combining live music, storytelling, singing, drama, costumes and creativity to make classical music exciting, accessible and unforgettable.
The Academy of Barmy Composers books are now also part of the national Summer Reading List, so this could be a wonderful way to begin a partnership between the festival and schools in the area — linking music, literacy, creativity and wellbeing together. I’m excited to share that Carmarthenshire Libraries have come onboard for the Read to the Beat ABC reading challenge so more partnerships around the county.
Schools are also left with additional online resources and materials to continue the journey after the workshop.
Saturday 11th - Saturday 18th July
(Except during Concerts and Services).
St. Teilo Gospels Exhibition
The beautifully illuminated Biblical Manuscript belonged to the religious community founded by St. Teilo in Llandeilo Fawr between the 8th – 10th Centuries. Records made in the margins at that time are the earliest surviving examples of written Welsh and are a fascinating insight into Medieval Wales