Just to say how very much I enjoyed the concerts I attended on Friday and Saturday nights.  All the musicians were brilliant.  Sophia is to be congratulated on putting together such inspirational programming, variety and talent.  Please do kindly pass this on to her.  The calibre of performance, as clearly enjoyed by the audiences, is outstanding.  Having played the Schumann Piano Quintet myself many times (as a violinist), I have never heard it performed with such a wide range of dynamics, sensitivity and innovative interpretation, to say nothing of the beautiful playing.  It was a revelation to me!  The atmosphere at Whittington is electrifying, and clearly, we are enormously lucky to be able to enjoy such a high standard of musicianship throughout.  Thank you all very much indeed.

Looking forward already to next year

Whittington Music Festival provides a vibrant and inspiring environment for both established and aspiring musicians to come together and make music. Its mixture of elite musicianship with friendly experimentation; jaw-dropping excellence with open-armed encouragement, makes this festival hugely important for the community, for families, for young people and for the future of music.

I loved the generous inclusion of budding musicians, encouraged to learn and showcase their talent, with the joyful virtuosity of experienced musicians, producing world-class performances. The need for and the success of Whittington Festival is obvious in the size of its audiences and their enthusiastic response. It was a privilege to take part in Whittington Festival this year!

Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason

The Whittington Festival provides an environment that allows for musicians to interact in imaginative ways due to Sophia Rahman’s visionary approach.

I was delighted to compose a new piece, “ Break Out”, for the 2026 festival. It is a special experience to play and direct my own work. This gives scope for endless artistic discoveries and a workshopping approach in rehearsal that is artistically rich.

We took the new work to Derwen College and played an excerpt to the students there. It was wonderful to see and hear their reaction to the music. It is so important to connect with local communities in a variety of ways, and I believe that we did exactly that.

Katherine Hunka, composer-in-residence, violin, viola