The Academy of Ancient Music, the world-renowned period instrument orchestra, announces an on-going residency at Chiltern Arts.

Chiltern Arts today announce an exciting new partnership with The Academy of Ancient Music. Following a much praised sell-out concert in Marlow to launch the Chiltern Arts Festival, this famous period instrument orchestra have agreed plans for a long-term residency at this new and ambitious winter festival. Future plans include appearances with star soloists including soprano Rowan Pierce and, in a special ‘festival encore’ concert next May, the violinist Nicola Benedetti.

Richard Egarr, Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music, commented: “I’m so thrilled that the AAM will be Orchestra in Residence for this Festival. I hope that it is the beginning of a lasting relationship which will bring joy and excitement to both the audiences and the musicians.”

Alexander Van Ingen, Chief Executive of the Academy of Ancient Music, said: “After a glorious sell-out concert in Marlow to launch the Chiltern Arts Festival, I’m delighted that the Academy of Ancient Music will be the Festival’s Orchestra in Residence. We look forward to taking inspirational music throughout the Chilterns together, with concerts in Tring in February and a very special ‘encore’ performance with Nicola Benedetti in May in Dorchester Abbey.”

Naomi Taylor, Chiltern Arts Founder and Creative Director, commented: “The upcoming concert with Nicola Benedetti in May will be the Academy of Ancient Music’s third appearance with Chiltern Arts, and we are very excited to be able to announce that it will certainly not be the last. We can’t wait to work with this fantastic group of musicians to create some stunning programmes for our Chiltern Arts audience over the next few years.”

The Academy of Ancient Music, under the direction of Richard Egarr, engages audiences across the world with historically informed performances of Baroque and Classical music. Creativity and spontaneity in performance is grounded in scholarship and a constant exploration of music in its broadest cultural context. International in its outlook after more than forty years of performing and recording, the AAM is rooted ‘at home’ in London and Cambridge as Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican Centre and Orchestra in Residence at the University of Cambridge. In 2017 it became Orchestra in Residence at the Grange Festival, and appointed Robert Levin as its inaugural Hogwood Fellow. Founded in 1973 by the late Christopher Hogwood and originally established as a recording orchestra, the AAM has an unrivalled catalogue of more than 300 CDs reaching millions globally with countless accolades, including Brit, Gramophone, Edison and MIDEM awards. As part of the AAM’s commitment to bring to life lesser-known works with the more familiar, recordings on its in-house label AAM Records include both JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion in their original versions, and most recently a set of sonatas by Dario Castello, a contemporary of Monteverdi’s. In 2010 the AAM launched its education and participation scheme. With partnerships in Cambridge, London, Manchester and Cardiff the orchestra now reaches thousands of children and young people each year, with future plans to develop programmes which will increase access to the orchestra and its music-making through partnerships with healthcare institutions in Cambridgeshire.

Chiltern Arts is an exciting and distinctive new initiative to bring music, literature and art to the towns and villages in and around the Chiltern Hills. Every February, churches, stately homes and outdoor spaces across the region will be transformed into stunning concert and arts venues, as a varied and exciting programme unfolds in beautiful surroundings: the Chiltern Arts Festival. This vibrant winter festival takes place 3rd–11th February 2018 and consists of 18 different events taking place in venues across the Chiltern Hills. Venue locations include Dorchester-on-Thames, Marlow, Hughenden, Henley-on-Thames, Great Missenden, Berkhamsted, High Wycombe, Wendover and Tring. The programme was created by Naomi Taylor with Chiltern Arts’ Artistic Partner, Grammy award-winning pianist, Christopher Glynn.