Great Bowden Music Fest Returns With World-Class Musicians
- Karin Blak
- May 18
- 2 min read
For more than a decade, Great Bowden Music Fest has built a reputation as one of the area’s most welcoming and intimate music festivals, a place where internationally trained musicians perform just a few feet away from audiences in the beautiful surroundings of Great Bowden’s Parish Church.
What began in 2014 as a small gathering between friends has evolved into a much-loved annual event attracting audiences from across the Midlands. Professional musicians Christopher White and Melanie Reinhard, both residents of Great Bowden, originally invited fellow musicians to spend a few days performing classical music together in the village church. The atmosphere, musicianship and sense of community proved so successful that an annual festival was the natural next step.
Today, many of those performers return year after year, creating not only a festival but an ongoing musical community. Alongside the summer festival, the organisers now also stage a popular New Year’s Day concert and occasional special events, including this year’s Candlelight concert featuring film and theatre music.
Running from June 5th–7th, this year’s festival offers six concerts across three days, blending classical music with swing, big band favourites and patriotic Proms classics. Visitors can enjoy three relaxed lunchtime concerts, each including coffee for just £10, alongside three evening performances designed to appeal to a wide audience.
Friday evening promises a particularly lively atmosphere as the Harborough Big Band fills the church with swing and dance classics made famous by artists including Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Adele. Meanwhile, Sunday evening’s finale will embrace the spirit of the Last Night of the Proms, complete with “Land of Hope and Glory”, “Jerusalem” and “Rule Britannia”. Audiences are actively encouraged to bring flags and singing voices along.
The festival’s carefully curated programme combines internationally recognised musicians with local talent. Among this year’s returning artists is Romanian-born pianist Radu Prisada, now based in the UK, alongside Liverpool musicians Lizzie Elliot-Capulli on cello and Marino Capulli on violin. Locally based flautist Lisa Nelsen will perform Mozart’s Flute Quartet, while Brooks Griffith, a regular festival favourite now living in New York, will fly in specially with his cello to perform a Bach sonata.
Despite the impressive calibre of performers, organisers believe the festival’s greatest strength lies in its warmth and accessibility. “It is small, intimate, inexpensive and friendly,” they explain. “You can sit right up close to the musicians to study how they perform. After each concert, you can chat with the performers.”
That sense of closeness has helped the festival develop a loyal audience, with many visitors returning each year and some purchasing season tickets to attend every performance. The event also brings wider benefits to the village, with local cafés, pubs and businesses welcoming an influx of visitors throughout the weekend.
At a time when many festivals are becoming increasingly commercial, Great Bowden Music Fest continues to offer something refreshingly personal: world-class live music in a setting where audiences and performers genuinely connect.
View the programme and book tickets:
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