Updated 29 June 2026

Header photo: Ceruleo

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Dear Friends,

Thank you SHIRY RASHKOVSKY and HIROAKI TAKENOUCHI for performing under difficult circumstances last weekend. You delighted your audiences with an arranged version of the Philip Glass Violin Sonata in a interesting and varied programme of Bach, Vaughan Williams, Delius, Kreisler, Clarke, Waley-Cohen and Piazzolla.

In the middle of July CERULEO are returning. They will perform in Bridport and Ilminster on 10 July and Crewkerne on 11 July. They were last with us in 2018 and performed Burying the Dead, which some of you may remember. This time they are focussing on Barbara Strozzi who was a great composer of her time.

VOICES OF LONGING
Barbara Strozzi made her name as both a performer
and composer in the semi-private spaces of the ‘accademici’ of 17th century Venice, meetings of the intelligentsia to discuss and perform music, poetry and art. Described as the ‘virtuosissima cantatrice’ (most virtuous/virtuosic singer) she was to become the most published composer of secular song of her time. Her distinctive style is characterised by virtuosic vocal lines, sophisticated interplay between voice(s) and basso continuo accompaniment. With this new programme CERULEO bring to life the music of this extraordinary composer with two singers and two instrumentalists, combining a selection of her finest works with instrumental pieces by her contemporaries.

CERULEO create dramatic programmes using spoken text alongside music for two sopranos and continuo. Every member of the group performs as a soloist.

They specialise in performing the music of Restoration England and Seventeenth Century Italy. Welcome back.
www.ceruleo.co.uk

In case you are wondering, Kate Conway and Toby Carr will not be with us but Kinga Gáborjáni will come instead.

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Ham Farm Festival
24th-26th July 2026
Ham Farm Cottage, Emersons Green, BS16 7AT

Ham Farm Festival is a charity which puts on world-class professional music concerts in Emersons Green, just outside Bristol. Our main event is an exciting annual festival with music for every taste, held each July in a stunning half-acre private garden. In addition to the summer festival, we also put on isolated concerts within the year in local venues, and work with local schools and the town council to get high-quality musical experiences for local children within the school year.

Ham Farm Festival is run on a voluntary basis by two local professional musicians Emily and Francisco Correa, and we are grateful to Emersons Green Town Council for all their support.

This little Festival started from scratch a few years ago and offers something different and for all ages.

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Booking started on 5 January for the whole season. We look forward to seeing you at one of our venues – all our regulars and new faces.

You can download the Brochure 2026 HERE.

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The best way to hear about upcoming concerts is by receiving our email newsletters. You can join the list very simply by filling in the form at the bottom of this page.

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You can find the dates for 2026 HERE. Details are available via the BOOK TICKETS button above.

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News – please check for news about our artists.

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Taking part – We are delighted to hear from musicians who would like to take part in the series. However we get so many requests that it is difficult to respond to every email (we do try) but thank you for your interest. I am sorry if this appears rude but we are a very small team. If you don’t hear from me then I am afraid there are no dates available for the foreseeable future.

Applications will be considered carefully but as we only have eight to ten tours a year I can make no promises. You will need to email me a CV, a concert biography and a photograph. Our performers have generally been trained to a minimum of post-graduate conservatoire level and are in the process of establishing themselves in the profession; some are a little older and returning to CinW. A little warning: we are not able to pay big fees as we play in small, intimate venues; we are a charity; and out of London, where life is very different.

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To return to this Home page click on the Concerts in the West logo at the top of any page.

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Bridport Arts Centre – please note that bookings for Bridport go through their booking arrangements. All the concert tours go to Bridport.

Ticket prices: £20 for evening concerts – £16 for the morning concerts in Bridport.

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2019, 2020, 2020 Online, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Seasons – you can see the list of performers for each year under our News section.

Archived concerts from 2006 when the concert series began – if you go to Concerts by date, scroll down to Previous concerts, this will take you back to earlier seasons.

Under Concerts by venue you will find venues where we have held concerts in the past as well as those we go to currently. In 2026 we will be visiting Bridport (all tours), Ilminster (all tours), and Crewkerne (all tours).

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Concerts in the West was launched in 2006. We aim to bring talented young professional musicians to small, intimate venues in the West Country, in areas that may not have easy access to music of this quality. Short intensive tours, lasting a few days, are arranged mainly in Dorset and Somerset.

We feel privileged to hear music performed to such a high standard. The repertoire is enormously varied and gives local audiences a wonderful opportunity to hear both familiar and unusual works for voice and instrument in many combinations.

CERULEO

CERULEO
Jenni Harper &
Emily Owen, sopranos
Kinga Gáborjáni,
viola da gamba
Satoko Doi-Luck, harpsichord

10 – 11 July 2026