Torbay Musical Weekend 2023

Evergreen music festival returns to the Grand Hotel

Since the early 1970’s Torquay has hosted the renowned Torbay Musical Weekend; for many years at the Palace Hotel in Babbacombe and more recently at The Grand on Torquay’s seafront.

Primarily aimed at classical music the weekend has always been leavened with a sprinkling of jazz, operetta, shows and lighter fare.

Over the years we have hosted presenters such as….. writers  and TV personalities Humphrey Burton and Tony Palmer; BBC Radio 3’s Petroc Trelawny; academics including Natasha Loges, Jeremy Dibble and Roderick Swanston, and Gramophone Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, James Jolly.

However, practising musicians certainly haven’t been neglected either….. with feature recitals by clarinettist Emma Johnson, guitarist Craig Ogden, keyboard player Richard Lester and organist Jennifer Bate. Whilst, on the lighter side we’ve enjoyed performances from jazz ensembles Andy Panayi & Friends, and Digby Fairweather, and an exploration of operetta with soprano Marylin Hill Smith.

This year we major on live music provided by Ensemble Hesperi, a period instrument group who will look at Handel and his contemporaries in London. The musicians will also talk separately about their outreach programme. Meanwhile, harpist Fiona Hosford, features on Sunday evening, playing classical repertoire, jazz…and beyond.

We welcome back conductor Peter Fender to explore just how much we really know about Beethoven’s Ninth, and Andrew Borkowski illuminating the art of the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. New faces include accomplished choral conductor and composer Robert Mansell, talking about the colourful life of a colourful man…Franz Liszt. Also ushered into the presenting arena is Dave Wherrell, “It’s all the Seine to me”, whose explores French chanson…both classical and the output of various chanteuses of the 50’s and 60’s

Completing the line-up are members of our ‘Home Team’, David Duncan taking us for “A look around opera”, and Kevin Ryland investigating “The other side of the Pond”…some less obvious candidates of the American repertoire………we think there’s plenty to appeal to a wide audience.

Check out: www.fot.org.uk for our programme, booking details (ie for the full weekend and day/session passes) as well as further information.