Early Music is for Everyone: Festival Returns to Portsmouth Cathedral
This spring, from 6 to 14 March 2026, the Festival of Early Music returns to Portsmouth Cathedral with a clear and confident message: early music is for everyone. The festival invites people of all ages and backgrounds to discover the colour, emotion and relevance of music from centuries past, in a programme designed to be welcoming, accessible and full of life.
At the heart of this year’s festival is a renewed commitment to opening doors. Whether you are discovering live music through our Small Sounds sessions for babies and toddlers, exploring new sounds as a student, or returning to concerts later in life, the Festival of Early Music offers a warm invitation to take part.
Across nine days, musicians, ensembles and community partners come together to show that early music belongs far beyond traditional concert halls. Performances will take place in the Cathedral and reach into its wider life, weaving through worship, education and community activity, creating moments of connection where history meets the present day.
Gabrieli ROAR present ‘Baroque Masters’.
Highlights include Gabrieli’s Baroque Masterpieces, presented through the ensemble’s ROAR education and performance programme, which places young musicians at the centre of professional music-making. It is a powerful example of how early music can inspire confidence, creativity and ambition in the next generation.
Innovation continues with Baroque Alchemy, where recorder virtuoso Piers Adams and keyboardist Lyndy Mayle bring fresh energy to familiar works, blending tradition with contemporary flair. Their performance shows how music written hundreds of years ago can still feel bold, exciting and relevant today.
The Solent Symphony Orchestra adds a vibrant orchestral dimension with its Spring Concert, while a special screening of the much-loved film Shakespeare in Love offers another way into the world of early music, inviting film lovers to experience the sounds of the past through a different lens.
Baroque Alchemy performers Lyndy and Piers.
Community and participation are central to the festival’s spirit. Young performers take centre stage as pupils from The Portsmouth Grammar School present Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, a joyful retelling of Noah’s Ark that brings families, schools and audiences together in a shared musical experience.
The festival comes to a close with Handel’s Messiah, performed by the Portsmouth Cathedral Choir. This powerful work will fill the Cathedral, offering audiences the chance to experience one of the most loved pieces in the choral repertoire.
David Price, Master of the Choristers and Organist, said: "Early music has a remarkable ability to speak across time. It carries stories, emotions and ideas that still resonate today, and hearing it performed in a space built to hold such sound is something truly special. This festival is a chance for people of all ages, from every walk of life, to experience music that is both ancient and alive, and we are thrilled to welcome audiences to share in it with us."
Professor George Burrows of the University of Portsmouth gives a lecure on Handel’s Messiah ahead of the concert.
Throughout the festival, the Cathedral becomes a place where music, community and belonging meet. With a strong focus on welcoming people who may not usually see themselves reflected in classical music spaces, the festival aims to create experiences that feel open, inclusive and genuinely for everyone. By putting inclusion and access at the heart of the programme, the Festival of Early Music is redefining what this repertoire can be and who it is for.
Tickets are now on sale and early booking is strongly advised. Discounted tickets are available for under 25s to help ensure that cost is not a barrier to attending. Secure your place at this celebration of sound and community by visiting the Cathedral website at festivalofearlymusic.com or by purchasing in person from the Cathedral Shop.