Harrogate Music Festival celebrates beauty and wonder of nature

This Earth theme is embodied by Luke Jerram’s astonishing Gaia installation, which will be displayed inside St Wilfrid’s Church in Harrogate (July 4-12) with the support of North Yorkshire Council.

This breathtaking 3D illuminated artwork, which measures six metres in diameter and was created using Nasa imagery of the Earth’s surface, replicates what it is like seeing our planet from space.

The Marian Consort – an award-winning British vocal ensemble – is making its Festivals debut performing as part of ‘Gigs at Gaia’ with an atmospheric candlelit concert (July 6) in the glow of Jerram’s evocative Gaia sculpture.

The festival has a rich tradition of ‘concerts by candlelight’ over the years and this promises to be another in a long line of memorable evenings.

The Marian Consort is a collective of artists and collaborators that has appeared regularly on UK and international TV and radio, having made a name for themselves with their imaginative programmes of music from the 12th century to the present day.

For their Harrogate programme the acclaimed ensemble will perform a diverse concert titled The Language of Flowers, inspired by this year’s Earth theme. This exploration of flowers, gardens and all things earthy and earthly, both actual and allegorical, combines rich, expressive choral works by Renaissance composers, evoking lush landscapes and themes of love, nature, and spiritual longing, as well as atmospheric live premieres of works by exciting contemporary composers Hugo Bell and Nneka Cummins.

Also performing as part of the ‘Gigs at Gaia’ programme is Orchestra for the Earth (July 4), set up in 2017 by conductor John Warner with a mission to highlight the importance of caring for and protecting our planet.

The orchestra’s Harrogate concert, titled Earth, Sea and Sky, will open fittingly with Grieg’s ‘Morning Mood’ from Peer Gynt which captures nature’s quiet awakening, and also includes Vaughan Williams’ beloved The Lark Ascending, part of a musical journey through light, shadow, and open sky – an evening to stir the senses and connect with the natural world through sound.

Elsewhere, the Fergus McCreadie Trio will bring their unique blend of jazz and Scottish folk inspired by the country’s wild, natural landscapes to The Crown Hotel (June 29).

McCreadie, a critically acclaimed pianist and composer, garnered plaudits for his 2022 album, Forest Floor, which topped the UK Jazz and Blues charts and earned him a Mercury Prize shortlist nomination. He also won the 2022 Jazz FM Instrumentalist of the Year Award as well as the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award - the first jazz artist ever to be awarded the prize.

His follow-up album, Stream, which came out in 2024 continues his exploration of the nature and landscapes of his Scottish homeland, this time delving into the essence of water. He and his band will bring its distinctive and evocative sound to this year’s Festival.

Berwins Salon North – the evening that gets everybody talking – continues this nature theme when it returns to The Crown Hotel on Thursday July 10, with ‘Stories from the edge of the World’, hosted by the former Calendar presenter Gaynor Barnes.

Science journalist Joshua Howgego will be joined by author, public speaker and environmentalist Isabel Losada, and writer and journalist Tom Phillips, known for his irreverent popular history books, as they explore what it means to live on, and love, planet Earth.

For more information about the Festival programme and to buy tickets visit the Harrogate International Festivals website at harrogateinternationalfestivals.com or call the Box Office on 01423 562 303.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​