Masterclass: the art of opera

East Riding Theatre 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

New Paths is delighted to team up with The University of Hull to offer its music students masterclass opportunities with New Paths performers. In this masterclasses, selected singers will have the chance to work on operatic performance.

Free

Opera gala: Meetings and partings

East Riding Theatre 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Some of the UK's most exciting young opera stars, fresh from the stages of English National Opera and the Royal Opera House, sing us a programme of operatic meetings and partings, with extracts from operas including Don Giovanni, La Bohème and La Traviata.

£12

Barbershop drinks

East Riding Theatre 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Have a drink in the East Riding Theatre bar after the Opera Gala, and be serenaded by the charming Queen's Six as they make you laugh and cry in lewd madrigals, haunting folk songs and upbeat jazz and pop arrangements.

Free

Organ recital: Die Kunst ist lang, das Leben kurz

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Richard Pinel (St George's, Windsor Castle) presents the second of two dazzling lunchtime recitals on the fine Snetzler organ of the Minster, exploring the richness of the great Germanic repertoire.

£8

Shakespeare in English Romantic Song

Beverley Memorial Hall 73- 75 Lairgate, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Well-known to local audiences as an esteemed professor at the University of Hull, and to international audiences as a leading Shakespeare music scholar, Professor Christopher R Wilson here gives us an insight into Shakespeare in English Romantic Song, ahead of our Shakespeare Celebration at 3:30pm.

Free

A Shakespeare celebration

East Riding Theatre 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Settings by Haydn, Quilter, Dove, Schubert, Poulenc, and Finzi of Shakespeare texts mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. Interspersed with these songs are Shakespeare readings, and Benjamin Britten's Lachyrmae for viola and piano.

£8

Closing concert: A Poet’s Love

St Mary's Church, Beverley North Bar Within, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

For our closing concert we return to Schumann and Brahms, where the New Paths idea began. One of the best-loved song cycles, Dichterliebe, is paired with Brahms' magnificent B major piano trio, in a concert of true greats.

£12

Babies & toddlers: What’s that noise?

Toll Gavel United Church, Beverley Toll Gavel, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

New Paths performers present a free mid-morning concert designed especially for babies and toddlers - and their grown-ups! Enjoy the sounds of different instruments, see them up close, dance to their music, and join the merry mayhem of a New Paths pre-school concert.

Free

Introduction to the Baroque

Toll Gavel United Church, Beverley Toll Gavel, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Local teenage musicians – the crème of the East Riding’s youth music – receive specialist coaching from resident baroque ensemble Contraband on the aesthetic and style of baroque music, and enjoy playing alongside them. An invaluable day of inspiration with this wonderful repertoire, from the people who live and breathe it.

Free

The art of performance

Toll Gavel United Church, Beverley Toll Gavel, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Undergraduate music students from the University of Hull receive public coaching and advice from New Paths performers on a range of instrumental and sung repertoire. A fascinating insight into the work that goes into preparing music for performance.

Free

Babies & toddlers: What’s that noise?

St Nicholas Church Holmechurch Lane, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

New Paths performers present a free mid-morning concert designed especially for babies and toddlers - and their grown-ups! Enjoy the sounds of different instruments, see them up close, dance to their music, and join the merry mayhem of a New Paths pre-school concert.

Free

Organ recital: French connections

Bridlington Priory Church Green, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire

Organist of the American Cathedral in Paris, multiple-prizewinning organ virtuoso Andrew Dewar presents an all-French programme, on Bridlington Priory's spectacular organ - acknowledged to be one of the largest and finest parish church organs in the country. The focal point of this programme is Olivier Messiaen, in the 25th anniversary of his death, and around his music we explore composers connected with him, from Dupré and Widor to Dukas' fantastical 'Sorcerer's Apprentice'.

£8

Pub lunch

The Bull & Sun, Bridlington 11 Baylegate, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire

Join us for a traditional pub lunch in between the organ rectial and masterclass, in The Bull & Sun just outside Bridlington Priory.

£5

Organ masterclass

Bridlington Priory Church Green, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire

Young organ students Asher Oliver, Ben Mills and Paul Greally – some of whom are recipients of the Alan Spedding Memorial Fund bursaries – are put through their paces by festival organists Andrew Dewar and Christian Wilson.

Free

Talk: Let the Florid Music Praise! A Journey Through 20th-Century British Song

Peter Harrison Room, Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

English song expert and Vaughan Williams specialist, Ceri Owen introduces some of the songs by British composers performed at this year's festival. A fine introduction to one of the key programming stands at New Paths this year.

Free

Opening Night: On This Island

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

‘Let the florid music praise’ - the opening line of Britten’s On This Island - opens our festival in appropriately celebratory fashion, sung by local-girl-turned-international-singer Claire Booth. Set in front of the great West door, with its carvings of the seasons, we hear Beethoven’s effervescent Spring Sonata and Messiaen’s Trois Mélodies. Brahms’ heartfelt and virtuosic Trio for Violin, Horn & Piano - by turns brooding and uplifting - closes this programme.

£12

Late-night Bach Cantatas

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

We are thrilled to host one of the very first performances of brand-new baroque group Contraband, founded and directed by one of the finest harpsichordists of his generation, Christopher Bucknall. Featuring a hand-picked selection of the best baroque players of Europe, and joining with New Paths singers, Contraband will present a reflective late-night concert of great Bach solo cantatas, in the atmospheric chancel of the Minster.

£8

A Retrospective

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

This timeturner of a programme travels backwards through life, from its final moments right through to childhood. Jonathan Dove’s rarely-performed gem The End, for tenor and chamber ensemble, is an atmospheric evocation of the end of life, while Brahms’ rich and passionate F minor sonata for clarinet and piano is written in the autumn of his years. Meanwhile, Poulenc’s cheeky Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano is full of youthful exuberance, and Richard Rodney Bennett’s Songs Before Sleep are delightful and humorous settings of familiar nursery rhyme texts.

£8

Musical Tour of the Minster

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Music lives in the very stones of this spectacular building, and this is a chance to explore it through music. Pieces have been chosen to reflect particular features of the Minster, and are performed by New Paths musicians in different areas of the building; festival organ students Asher Oliver, Ben Mills and Paul Greally provide processional music as we move from one space to another. Local expert on the building, and cherished son of the town, David Wilson acts as our tour-guide.

Free

Italian Hour

St Mary's Church, Beverley North Bar Within, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Join us for a glass of prosecco at this rush-hour concert of music inspired by Italy, the country described by Goethe as the ‘Promised Land’, and eternal source of inspiration for composers. All written by non-Italians, the programme ranges from Bach’s Italian Concerto to Liszt’s operatic Petrarch Sonnets and Mendelssohn’s Gondola Songs. Salute!

£8

Friday night dinner

Pizza Express, Beverley 37 North Bar Within, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

We are teaming up with Pizza Express in Beverley for a meal between Italian Hour and Under the Starry Skies. Sure to be a sociable occasion with other festival goers. Diners will be invited to pre-order any main course from the Pizza Express menu to ensure a prompt dinner service. Have a drink on us – each diner will receive one free drink!

£10

Under the Starry Skies

St Mary's Church, Beverley North Bar Within, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

In celebration of the stunning starry ceiling of St Mary’s, join us for a feast of magical nocturnes. Songs by Schumann and Brahms meet Schubert’s Auf dem Strom – for tenor, horn and piano – and Strauss’ very rare Notturno, the violin joining singer and piano as the voice of death. Night-time adventures with Debussy’s cello sonata, Schumann’s much-loved Fantasiestucke, and Strauss’ Nocturno for horn complete this stunning dream-filled programme. As pianist Graham Johnson writes, “It is only the greatest composers who can create the sound of starlight”.

£12

Come & Sing: Vivaldi Gloria

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Held in memory of Alan Spedding, this popular New Paths event is incorporated into the festival itself this year. Under the baton of outstanding choral director Oliver Walker, you can spend the morning working on Vivaldi’s joyous Gloria. Join with the massed choir of singers from throughout the region and beyond, and with stunning New Paths soloists Ildikó Allen and Helen Charlston, for the concluding performance in the Minster at 1:15pm (open to all).

For the love of coffee

East Riding Theatre House Café & Bar 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Since its discovery, musicians and bohemians alike have been addicted to coffee! Turning the East Riding Theatre's House Café into Café Zimmermann, home of concerts and coffee for Telemann and Bach, we present Bach’s witty short secular Coffee Cantata. The stories of those unable to get through the day without coffee will ring bells for many! Sung in English.

Free

Exploring Elwell: Tour of Beverley Art Gallery

Beverley Art Gallery Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Explore the beautiful Edwardian exhibition spaces of the Beverley Art Gallery, with particular reference to the paintings of famous local artist Fred Elwell, in advance of our ‘Inspired by Elwell’ concert at 4:30pm. Dr Gerardine Mulcahy-Parker, Curator of the Beverley Art Gallery, illuminates the works by Elwell in the collection of the gallery.

Free

Inspired by Elwell

East Riding Theatre 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Beverley’s most famous son, prolific artist Fred Elwell (1870-1945), provides the inspiration for this concert, accompanied by projections of some of his images. Elgar’s poignant and nostalgic Piano Quintet, full of longing for a better time, was written in the shadow of the First World War and illuminates the age of Elwell. Elwell’s figurative subjects explore some of the most intimate and personal stages of life, and so are paired with Schumann’s ‘A Woman's Love and Life’. A richly romantic exploration of music and art.

£8

Gourmet baroque

East Riding Theatre 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Brand-new baroque group Contraband – featuring some of the finest players in Europe – continue their festival-within-a-festival with this ‘suitcase concert’. Our troubadours each arrive carrying a bag containing their most treasured pieces of music – some of the greatest Handel arias and Bach concerti of the repertoire – and present them to our festival audience. A "Come Dine with Me" of music, each player serving up his or her best, this is sure to be an unmissable Saturday night.

£12

Festival jazz drinks

East Riding Theatre House Café & Bar 10 Lord Roberts Road, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Celebrated jazz pianist George King has played at the most prestigious venues in the world. Tonight he entertains festival-goers in the East Riding Theatre Bar for relaxed jazz piano drinks. An event sure to set you in the weekend mood.

Free

Festival worship

St Mary's Church, Beverley North Bar Within, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Asher Oliver (organ) and Alex Caldon (trumpet) join the choir and congregation of St Mary’s for its Sunday morning traditional service of Parish Communion. Asher and Alex play voluntaries before and after the service and add a festive flourish to the hymns.

Free

Organ recital: Orb and Sceptre

Beverley Minster Minster Yard North, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

Superb recitalist Christian Wilson, organist at The Tower of London, presents this sparkling programme of music of the British Isles for St George's Day on the fine Snetzler organ of the Minster.  Music of monarchs ranging from the music of Henry VIII to William Walton’s Orb and Sceptre, composed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, is set alongside works of Byrd, Purcell and Bairstow. Reaching across the border to Scotland, we hear Mendelssohn’s popular Hebrides Overture, arranged for the King of Instruments. New Paths continues its festival tradition of commissioning new music: Alasdair Nicolson is one of Scotland's foremost composers and this is the world premiere of his first piece of organ music, co-commissioned with Sound Scotland.

£8