This year’s Tetbury Music Festival will feature a new and exciting event: a Best Dressed Window competition.
From Monday 23 September to Sunday 6 October, more than two dozen local shops will compete to create the most beautiful and innovative shop window design, as judged by interior designer, television star and music lover Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen.
The competition, spearheaded by Tetbury Music Festival Director, Caz Weller Knight, aims to increase footfall in the town, celebrate the wonderful music-making on offer during the festival, and raise much-needed funds for St Mary’s Primary School in Tetbury to enhance their music provision.
Entrants will decorate their windows so as to reflect some aspect of the Tetbury Music Festival.
Llewellyn-Bowen will visit Tetbury, judge the competition and crown the victor on Thursday 26 September.
The displays will be available to view from Monday 23 September to Sunday 6 October.
Festival Director Caz Weller Knight said: “This competition is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together, support our local businesses, and celebrate the rich musical heritage of Tetbury. We are especially pleased to contribute to St Mary’s Primary School’s music programme, fostering the next generation of musical talent.”
Known for its charming streets and as a haven for antiques hunters, Tetbury boasts a wealth of outstanding independent shops and businesses. Those taking part in the competition include Brownrigg Antiques, French Grey, Closa, Domestic Science, Overrriders, Scentiments and many more.
Tetbury is home to the historic parish church of St Marys’, where the majority of Tetbury Music Festival’s concerts are held by candlelight. The church, an early example of Georgian Gothic architecture, offers a sublime setting for musical performances, with its elegant columns and floating candelabra enhancing the atmosphere. Many of the Festival’s concerts have been recorded by BBC Radio 3, attesting to its excellent acoustics. The festival is supported by its Patron, His Majesty King Charles III, as the town is local to his Cotswolds home, Highgrove.
Highlights of this year’s festival include world-class artists such as guitarist Craig Ogden, pianist Imogen Cooper, Polyphony and Stephen Layton; the world premiere of a new work by Gary Carpenter, performed by bassoonist Amy Harman and Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective; and the much anticipated reunion of violinist Vilde Frang and Arcangelo, conducted by Festival Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen. A comprehensive series of lectures and interviews will complement the live music programme and offer unique insights into the performances.
For more information and full programme details, visit www.tetburymusicfestival.org/
