Philharmonia Orchestra announces further six year partnership with Three Choirs Festival

The Philharmonia Orchestra is excited to announce a further six-year partnership with the Three Choirs Festival. Beginning in 2024 and running through 2029. This extension of the relationship, which began in 2012, will see the Philharmonia continue as the Festival’s orchestra in residence and will include a number of new initiatives to celebrate both the Orchestra’s 80th anniversary in 2025 and the 300th edition of the Festival in 2028.

One of the key goals of the new partnership is to deepen artistic ties between the Philharmonia and the Three Choirs Festival. This will be achieved through a number of collaborations, including recordings with the Three Choirs Festival Chorus, new co-commissions, and programming that features a roster of world-class Philharmonia associated conductors and artists.

The Three Choirs Festival Chorus will also be invited to perform in the Philharmonia’s London season during this period, and from next year the Philharmonia will bring their groundbreaking virtual reality and digital installations – Philharmonia VR – to the Three Choirs’ cities of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester. This new activity will celebrate the Three Choirs’ 300th Festival anniversary, with work to be presented both in Hereford and as part of the Philharmonia’s London season at Royal Festival Hall.

The next Three Choirs Festival takes place in Worcester between the 27 July and 3 August, with a programme celebrating the natural world and marking anniversary years for Stanford and Holst as well as the 70^th birthday of Judith Weir.

Full details of the evening programme can be found at Worcester 2024 | Three Choirs Festival (3choirs.org)

Thorben Dittes, Chief Executive, Philharmonia Orchestra said: “I am thrilled that we have been able to secure an extension of this important residency relationship for the Philharmonia which enables us to build on our significant presence outside of London and create an even greater sense of organisational partnership with the Three Choirs Festival, while also shining a light on the amazing legacy and current developments of the festival in the capital.”

Samuel Hudson, Artistic Director of the Worcester Three Choirs Festival, said: “I am thrilled that we will be welcoming the Philharmonia to the Three Choirs Festival stage in Worcester next year, as we renew our relationship with them as orchestra-in-residence. It is a joy and a privilege to work with such a dynamic and sensitive orchestra, whose first-rate musicianship is so highly valued by so many as we continue to present outstanding performances of the greatest choral and orchestral works in our very special and world-renowned festival.”

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