WELCOME CEO’s

The Festival was recently praised as an ‘opera festival in full technicolour, unapologetically ambitious and fizzing with energy’. This year is no exception, with an excellent opera and musical offering, a quill of authors and a range of acclaimed jazz artists.

Welcome to Buxton International Festival for a season of inspiring performances and opinion-forming book talks in beautiful and historic venues across the town of Buxton. For two weeks in July you can witness mesmerising live performances from some of our country’s most exciting talent, hear from inspirational and engaging speakers and explore all that Buxton has to offer.

When I arrived in Buxton in 2018, Baroness Shirley Williams, a long-standing supporter of the Festival, took me under her wing. She invited me for a tour of the Houses of Parliament and over a plate of fish and chips with mushy peas suggested that I do ‘something musical’ on the life of her mother, Vera Brittain. I had no idea who Vera Brittain was and did not think any more about it. A year later Shirley hosted a coffee morning in Buxton and once again asked me if I had looked up her mother. To my shame, I dodged the question, but Shirley persisted and assured me I wouldn’t be sorry. It was only during the interminable lockdown in 2020 that all the pieces came together: Ivor Novello and Vera Brittain were both born in 1893, Vera was a resident of Buxton and the author of the powerful war memoir Testament of Youth and Novello’s music fell into the public domain in 2022. I spent the next year researching the lives of Vera and Edward Brittain and when the musical was finished and the idea had been approved by the board, I phoned Shirley to tell her the news. I left numerous messages but got no reply. That evening I learned that Baroness Shirley Williams had passed away in the early hours of 11 April 2021. It seemed fi tting to dedicate The Land of Might-Have-Been to Shirley for all her support of the Festival over the last twenty years.

The Festival was recently praised by The Guardian as an ‘opera festival in full technicolour, unapologetically ambitious and fizzing with energy’. This year is no exception. Adrian Kelly has once again curated an excellent opera and musical offering, and with the composers Bellini, Handel, Mozart and Novello you are in very safe hands. Victoria Dawson has wooed a quill of authors and speakers to Buxton for another round of opinion-forming talks. While Neil, no longer the new kid on the block, is determined to make Jazz a regular feature with a range of international and national artists.

We are thrilled the Arts Council England once again awarded the Festival a grant for the next three years. This confidence in our vision is shared by numerous Trusts and Foundations, corporate supporters, High Peak Borough Council, patrons, Friends of BIF, syndicate members and individual donors. We thank you all for your generosity.

If you want to support our ambition and keep us fizzing, please consider donating so we can plan 2024 with confidence. Every penny will be spent carefully to ensure that the tradition of live performances continues to thrive in beautiful Buxton.

See you on the forecourt,

Michael Williams Chief Executive Officer