Early Music for Everyone: Paul McCreesh on sharing baroque masterpieces at Portsmouth Cathedral
When Paul McCreesh returns to Portsmouth Cathedral with Gabrieli for the Festival of Early Music 2026, it will be about far more than performing beautiful music. It will be about opening doors.
McCreesh, founder and Director of Gabrieli, has spent a lifetime bringing early music to new audiences, particularly young people encountering it for the very first time. Speaking to Mary from the Cathedral team ahead of the concert, he reflected on how his own musical journey began in a place not unlike where many young people are today.
“I grew up in the suburbs in the 1970s, playing in youth orchestras,” he explains. “I was interested in the symphonic repertoire, but it wasn’t until I went to university in Manchester that I heard this completely different world of music, polyphony and Monteverdi, music I’d never really encountered before. It was transformative.”
Although much of McCreesh’s work today is rooted in the symphonic tradition, baroque music has always remained close to his heart. “I think it’s absolutely beautiful,” he says. “And I love the world of old instruments. That sound world is a big part of who I am musically.”
Falling in love with the music again
The Portsmouth concert will feature three baroque masterpieces, works well known to many seasoned concertgoers, but new to the young performers taking part through Gabrieli’s education work. That, for McCreesh, is where the real excitement lies.
“What’s wonderful about this project is that we’re sharing this music with young people for the first time,” he says. “It allows us to fall in love with it all over again.”
That sense of passing something precious from one generation to the next sits at the heart of Gabrieli’s work, particularly through its long running Gabrieli Roar programme. While the project has helped launch some professional careers, including singers now performing at the highest international level, McCreesh is clear that this is not its primary purpose.
“It’s not really about producing professional musicians,” he says. “It’s about opening the door to this whole world of music and culture for ordinary young people and families, helping them feel comfortable in cultural spaces, and encouraging them to pass that love on to their own children in the future.”
Music as a necessity, not a luxury
McCreesh speaks with passion about the pressures facing music education today. Years of working closely with schools have shown him both the dedication of music teachers and the growing challenges they face.
“There are outstanding music teachers doing remarkable work, often in very difficult circumstances,” he says. “The crisis is really about funding and access. Music education, and access to culture more broadly, has been under pressure for decades, and it’s reaching a critical point.”
For him, the stakes could not be higher. “If we don’t address this, where are the music lovers of the future going to come from?”
Music, he argues, is not an optional extra. “With the pressures young people face today, mental wellbeing isn’t a luxury. Music, like sport or other creative activities, plays a huge role in helping people stay connected, motivated and hopeful. Can you imagine a world without music? People turn to it constantly. It’s essential.”
Why Portsmouth Cathedral matters
McCreesh is full of admiration for Portsmouth Cathedral and its approach to music, praising Director of Music David Price and the wider Cathedral team for combining musical excellence with a deep commitment to access and participation.
“I love the way the Cathedral embraces high quality music making, while being absolutely serious about widening access,” he says. “There’s such a sense of joy in the music making at Portsmouth, full of commitment and spirit, which is incredibly powerful.”
For Gabrieli, Portsmouth is exactly the kind of partner they want to work with, rooted in its community, ambitious in its musical vision, and open to sharing that vision with young people across the city.
“It’s a real privilege to come and build on the fantastic work already happening in schools,” McCreesh says, “and to offer young people a broader experience, different instruments, different repertoire, and a deeper connection to music’s history and meaning.”
Early Music for Everyone
That ethos aligns perfectly with the Festival of Early Music 2026, whose theme, Early Music for Everyone, reflects a simple but powerful idea, that this extraordinary repertoire belongs to all of us.
When Gabrieli performs at Portsmouth Cathedral, audiences can expect music of richness, beauty and depth, alongside an event shaped by generosity, curiosity and welcome. Whether you are a long time lover of early music or hearing it live for the first time, this concert is an invitation to listen, to discover, and to be part of something that reaches far beyond the final note.
Gabrieli appears at Portsmouth Cathedral as part of the Festival of Early Music 2026. Full programme details and ticket information can be found at festivalofearlymusic.com