Chiltern Arts Festival

In 2026, Chiltern Arts invited you to lose yourself in the sounds of the world around you as we presented eight days of concerts, walks and events that were inspired by nature. The 2026 Festival was a chance to take time to slow down, to find new ways to look and listen and to reconnect with the nature in your own life through the music and literature our artists included in their programmes. 

We took you to stunning spots across the Chiltern Hills with concerts, walks and readings that explore flora and fauna, landscapes and the changing seasons. There wa drama too — Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons and Philip Glass’ energetic Saxophone Quartet accompanied by dance. Ensemble Hesperi taught us of Telemann’s love of gardens (and we enjoyed a cream tea in the prestigious surroundings of the Leander Club); we heard Britten’s Flower Songs at the centre of The Marian Consort’s concert that combined Renaissance and contemporary choral music; and we experienced meditative candlelit moments with Ludovico Einaudi, Arvo Pärt, Gabriel Fauré and François Couperin arranged for harp and saxophone. 

A dawn call from solo French horn atop Whiteleaf Hill opened the second iteration of our Dawn to Dusk day; nature-inspired writings, both in poetry and prose, made appearances throughout the Festival; and in a choral and string quartet programme that was full of hope and heartbreak, we contrasted Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet with Christopher Tin’s breathtaking The Lost Birds, performed in an exquisite chamber arrangement. Plus, in line with our commitment to support new work within the arts, the Festival this year hosted two world premieres (one commissioned especially for our Sing the Trees walk) and one UK premiere. 

It wouldn’t be a nature-themed programme without walking and an opportunity to be amidst nature itself. 2026 offered three walking opportunities, including one that encounters music along its route. Our partnership with the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) meant we have local wildlife experts on hand, and our craft workshops at College Lake with Growing Bright gave an opportunity for everyone to get hands-on with nature.

There was so much packed into our Festival this year: thank you for joining us as we explored what it means to be ‘rooted’ in our world.

— Naomi Taylor, Creative Director

Since its inception in 2017, Chiltern Arts has committed to bringing the highest quality music and arts to the Chiltern Hills. Held annually, the festival spans a week in May with a musically diverse programme, featuring some of the UK’s most extraordinary musicians — and now also including a number of familiar names from the world of literature too.

In partnership with the Worshipful Company of Musicians since 2022, our newly renamed Musicians’ Company Concerts (previously Take Note) continue to support young and emerging professional ensembles, and our outreach projects are developing fast following a year of R&D in 2024 with the pilot phase of ListenUp & ListenIn, bringing young people into the concert hall and providing free online resources that offer new ways to enjoy and explore music.

Our events are hosted in a variety of picturesque locations across the Chilterns, including over the years churches, halls and theatres in Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Princes Risborough, High Wycombe, Great Missenden, Amersham and Berkhamsted.