The programme has been announced for the annual Southern Cathedrals Festival 2026, which this year will take place at Chichester Cathedral from 16 - 19 July.
The Festival brings together the combined choirs of Chichester, Salisbury and Winchester Cathedrals for four days of exceptional musicmaking in Chichester Cathedral and other distinguished settings throughout the historic city centre. Audiences are warmly invited to enjoy a vibrant programme of concerts, recitals and services that showcase the depth, history and creativity of cathedral music.
The Southern Cathedrals Festival is one of the most enduring collaborations between English cathedral music foundations, representing many decades of shared artistry, friendship and commitment to musical excellence.
Festival Patrons will have access to priority booking from 7 April. Public booking opens on 5 May.
A rich and varied programme
This year’s Festival celebrates the legacy of Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876), Organist of Winchester Cathedral and a pivotal figure in the revitalisation of English cathedral music during the nineteenth century. The Festival also acknowledges the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence, featuring repertoire that reflects the breadth of early and modern American composition. Highlights include Aaron Copland’s great choral work In the Beginning, alongside pieces by Charles Griffes and Earl Wild, offering fresh perspectives on the development of the American choral and instrumental tradition.
The programme’s two headline concerts sit at the heart of this musical journey. On Friday 17 July at 6.30pm, Wesley, Parry & Brahms brings together a sweeping evening of Romantic and Anglican choral repertoire, exploring the musical traditions that shaped both Wesley’s era and what followed.
The following night, on Saturday 18 July at 6.30pm, Vivaldi, Copland & Hussey offers a vibrant blend of Baroque colour, American modernism and contemporary composition, culminating in the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Christopher Hussey, set to a text by Rowan Williams. This much anticipated new piece will be heard for the first time at the Festival’s final concert, presented alongside earlier repertoire including Vivaldi’s Gloria and movements from Purcell’s King Arthur.
The Festival’s recitals and talks showcase an exceptional mix of performers and speakers, from rising soprano Natasha Page with pianist Ella O’Neill at Pallant House Gallery to a reflective late-night piano recital in the Cathedral by Tim Rumsey. Duo Dorado, specialists in Baroque chamber music, will perform works for violin and harpsichord, while acclaimed German organist Markus Eichenlaub takes to the Cathedral’s Mander/Hill organ. The programme also includes a conversation between Dr Alan Thurlow, former Organist of Chichester Cathedral (1980–2008), and David Riley, who retires this year after 35 years as a Lay Vicar.