Hastings Chamber Music Festival

Under the artistic direction of violinist Jane Gordon, Hastings Chamber Music Festival brings together internationally acclaimed musicians, award-winning ensembles and emerging artists for imaginative programmes spanning Early Music, the Classical and Romantic repertoire, and contemporary composition.

The 2026 Festival, Transfiguration, explores music shaped by change, reflection, conflict and pacifism, with four contrasting concerts at Christ Church and Kino-Teatr in St Leonards-on-Sea.

The Festival opens on 22 October with the Felix Ensemble performing Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Brahms’s String Sextet No. 2. On 23 October, winners of the 2026 Royal Over-Seas League International Music Competition, the Elmore String Quartet, present Haydn, Bridge and Ravel alongside Unfurling, a new work by Leo Geyer. A particular highlight is the appearance of Ensemble Molière on 24 October, the former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Baroque Ensemble. Their programme, Hidden Gems, explores the richness and imagination of the French Baroque, bringing rarely heard repertoire to life on period instruments.The Festival concludes on 25 October with Voices Across Time, featuring the Rautio Piano Trio, soprano Hannah Deans-Williams and clarinettist Steve Williams. The programme pairs Amy Beach’s Piano Trio with the world premiere of a new work by Jan Rautio, setting poetry by Anna Akhmatova.

The Festival continues with a special fringe concert on 15 November, featuring the Rautio Piano Trio performing on historical instruments, including fortepiano. Patronage and Influence in Vienna explores the musical world of Marianne Martines, Haydn and Beethoven, with new transcriptions by Jan Rautio. The concert forms part of the Trio’s historically informed performance work, supported by the Continuo Foundation.

Alongside the concerts, artists’ conversations, composer talks and open rehearsals offer audiences an opportunity to explore the music and meet the performers. The Festival aims to make exceptional chamber music accessible in intimate settings, bringing established artists and new musical discoveries to the Hastings and St Leonards community.