The life and music of one of Britain’s most celebrated composers is to be commemorated at the inaugural Vaughan Williams Festival that gets underway later this month.

Ralph Vaughan Williams composed chamber music, operas, ballets and orchestral compositions over a sixty-year career, his most popular works include the much-loved ‘Fantasia on a Theme’ and ‘The Lark Ascending’. On the 60th anniversary of his death, the quiet Cotswold village of Down Ampney will come alive with music as some of the leading musicians in the country perform numerous concerts dedicated to one of Gloucestershire’s greatest sons.

The festival, which gets underway on 24th August, will be held in the same village the legendary composer was born in in 1872, with all concerts performed in the picturesque thirteenth century village church. On the opening evening renowned tenor James Gilchrist will be joined by members of The Vaughan Williams Ensemble to play some of his lesser-known early work. As well as numerous performances of Vaughan Williams’ music there will also be an educational lecture on the life and works of Vaughan Williams, provided by Richard Morrison, Chief Music Critic at The Times newspaper.

Festival Manager Caroline Dukes-Lefillatre says the hard work in organising the festival will all be worth it when the opening performance gets underway on the opening evening. She said: “We’re very excited to welcome so many wonderful musicians to Down Ampney for what promises to be a fantastic celebration of the career of Ralph Vaughan Williams. We’re absolutely delighted with the programme of musicians that will be performing at the festival and the guest speakers who will give us a real insight into the life and work of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

“This is the very first festival dedicated to Ralph Vaughan Williams and we couldn’t be happier with the quality of musicians we’ve booked. Ticket sales have been very positive so far, it’s great to see the enthusiasm shown from so many music lovers across Gloucestershire and further afield.

“This is a pilot year for us, we’re thrilled with the quality of performers we’ve managed to book and are confident we’ll be able to build on this year’s festival for many years to come and hold it a bigger venue as it becomes more widely known.”