About the Festival

President: The Marquess of Salisbury
Patron: HRH The Duchess of Kent
Artistic Director: Guy Johnston

The Hatfield House Music Festival is a long weekend of concerts, curated by Artistic Director Guy Johnston, which takes place annually in September/October at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. The setting, musicians and audiences make this a warm, friendly festival with exceptionally high artistic standards. Now approaching its 13th year, the Festival has grown into a very successful and much-anticipated event by both locals and also by those who make a special journey to attend the Festival.

Over the past 12 years the Festival has welcomed performers such as the Navarra Quartet, pianists Tom Poster, Kathryn Stott and Melvyn Tan, Nicholas Daniel  oboe, Alison Balsom  trumpet, Sheku Kanneh-Mason  cello, Lucy Crowe  soprano, Rachel Podger  baroque violin, James Gilchrist  tenor, The Sixteen, the Aurora Orchestra and VOCES8, all to perform in the beautiful surroundings of Hatfield House.

The Festival has a very strong education strand which runs alongside the main event and is committed to commissioning new works. Previous new commissions at the Festival include works by Charlotte Bray Perseus for cello and piano (2015 and at least 3 subsequent  performances), Mark Simpson (Oboe Quartet 2019, co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall and Leicester International Music Festival) In 2017 HHCMF dedicated the whole Festival theme of Creation to works by contemporary composers Sally Beamish, Alec Roth, Thomas Adès, Joseph Phibbs, Donald Grant and others.  In 2021 as part of our 10th anniversary celebrations the Festival commissioned two pieces, one for cello and piano by Joseph Phibbs and one solo cello piece by Matthew Kaner.