England's Sheffield Chamber Music Festival Appoints Two Guest Festival Curators

The Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, hosted by Music in The Round, will run from May 13–21, 2022. 11 musicians of Music in The Round's resident group, Ensemble 360, will perform in 15 concerts over the nine days of the Festival, forming duos, trios, string quartets, and wind quintets.  

The 2022 festival's first Guest Festival Curator is composer Helen Grime MBE. Following her, pianist Kathryn Stott will take the lead and curate the Festival in 2023.

Having performed on international stages, including the Last Night of the BBC Proms, Stott has led the artistic vision behind festivals and series in Norway, Italy, Leeds, and Manchester. She served most recently as Artistic Director for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music from 2018–2021.

"I’m absolutely thrilled to be a guest curator in 2023," Stott said. "Music in the Round has been very close to my heart for so many years and I’ve always loved the intimacy of this wonderful setting. It’s particularly exciting to programme for such versatile musicians, and I’m really looking forward to working with Ensemble 360 and the whole team on this new venture."

Then, in 2024, cellist Steven Isserlis CBE will take on the role and help celebrate Music in the Round’s 40th anniversary year. Isserlis leads a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. As a curator, he has led many series at Wigmore Hall, 92nd St Y in New York, and the Salzburg Festival. He is currently the artistic director of the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, in Cornwall.

"I’m very happy to be joining Music in the Round for their 2024 festival, particularly as so many members of Ensemble 360 are old friends of mine," said Isserlis. "No detailed decisions yet re: programming, but there will be a wide variety of works; one of the many joys afforded by the variety of instruments in Ensemble 360 is the almost limitless scope it gives for programming any number of chamber masterpieces.”

Founded in 1984 by the leader of the Lindsay String Quartet, Peter Cropper, the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival will include a nine-day celebration held in the Crucible Studio Theatre and other venues around Sheffield.

This year, over a third of the Festival's program will showcase chamber works by living composers and women composers (past and present) — including the world premiere of The Light Blinds, a new RPS commission by Angela Slater.

"As we approach our 40th anniversary we thought we would take it to the next level by inviting amazing musicians to curate each year, bringing their own personal perspective to the Festival," said Jo Towler, Chief Executive of Music in the Round. "Helen has been a fantastic start to this evolution, and we are absolutely delighted that Kathryn and Steven are on board for 2023 and 2024 to bring their sprinkle of stardust to Sheffield. I for one cannot wait to see what they and Ensemble 360 will put together!"