Intimate Chamber and Jazz Across West Berkshire
NEWBURY SPRING FESTIVAL 2026 SPOTLIGHTS: Intimate Chamber and Jazz Across West Berkshire
HOMECOMING WITH RUBY HUGHES, TAMSIN WALEY-COHEN AND HUW WATKINS (12 MAY)
WHAT’S NEW WITH IAN SHAW, IAIN BALLAMY AND JAMIE SAFIR (20 MAY)
Now in its 47th year, Newbury Spring Festival returns from 9–23 May 2026 with more than 45 events across West Berkshire, bringing world-class music to churches, country houses and cultural venues throughout the region.
Alongside its large-scale orchestral concerts, this year’s festival places a particular emphasis on intimate, close-up performances, offering audiences the chance to experience leading artists in distinctive and atmospheric settings.
CHAMBER MUSIC HIGHLIGHT
Homecoming
Ruby Hughes (soprano) | Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin) | Huw Watkins (piano)
Holy Cross, Ramsbury
Tuesday 12 May, 7.30pm
Three of Britain’s most compelling musicians come together for a specially curated programme exploring themes of return, memory and musical storytelling.
Soprano Ruby Hughes, a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, is joined by internationally acclaimed violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen and composer-pianist Huw Watkins for an evening culminating in an arrangement of Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock.
Set within the intimate surroundings of Holy Cross Church in Ramsbury, Homecoming reflects the festival’s longstanding commitment to presenting chamber music in characterful spaces that bring audiences closer to the performers and the music itself.
JAZZ & CLASSIC SONGBOOK HIGHLIGHT
What’s New
Ian Shaw | Iain Ballamy | Jamie Safir
Corn Exchange, Newbury
Wednesday 20 May, 7.30pm
One of the UK’s most distinctive jazz vocalists, Ian Shaw, returns to the festival alongside tenor saxophonist Iain Ballamy and pianist Jamie Safir for an evening centred on their album What’s New.
The programme explores human connections – friendships, relationships, both positive and otherwise – drawing on eight decades of popular song.
These are fresh arrangements of songs of love and hope – including Bernstein’s Some Other Time as well as the Bacharach/David classics Alfie and You’ll Never Get To Heaven alongside works by Legrand, Jobim and Ellington.
ALSO AT THE FESTIVAL
Elsewhere, the festival’s chamber and jazz strands continue across the fortnight with performances including:
- Dominic Aldis Trio(17 May, Combe Manor) – an intimate cabaret-jazz evening inspired by the golden age of New York supper clubs
- Paddington Trio(13 May, Corn Exchange, Newbury) – one of the UK’s most exciting young chamber ensembles, bringing fresh energy to the piano trio repertoire
- Septura(14 May, St Mary’s Church, Shaw) – a genre-crossing brass programme exploring the meeting point between classical and jazz traditions
A FESTIVAL ROOTED IN PLACE
Founded nearly five decades ago, Newbury Spring Festival has become a cornerstone of the UK’s regional cultural calendar, combining internationally recognised artists with emerging talent and a strong connection to its local community.
From major performances at St Nicolas Church to concerts in rural churches and private houses across West Berkshire, the festival offers a distinctive blend of musical excellence and local character across two weeks of live performance.
Mark Eynon, Festival Director, commented: “What makes Newbury Spring Festival distinctive is its sense of place – the chance to hear exceptional artists in venues that feel personal and rooted in the community.
Whether it’s chamber music in a rural church or jazz in the heart of historic Newbury, those close-up experiences are central to what we do.”
Tickets and information for all shows are available here.
The Newbury Spring Festival
Newbury Spring Festival is one of the most popular and successful music festivals in the South of England.
Over the last years the Festival has grown hugely in size and quality building up a reputation of international status.
The very best young musical stars appear alongside some of the world’s most distinguished and famous names.
Newbury Spring Festival is a glorious fortnight of world class music in Newbury and its beautiful neighbouring villages, with up to 45 events in 18 venues, and where international symphony orchestras, ensembles and soloists rub shoulders with jazz legends, world music artists and the stars of tomorrow.
The Festival was founded in 1979 to provide the opportunity to promote culture in the region by creating an annual festival accessible to all.
It aims to bring excellent, new and innovative work from around the world to a variety of local venues adding to the economic and cultural wellbeing of the area, and to continue to create opportunities for young people, existing and new audiences to enjoy the arts.
Newbury Spring Festival is funded entirely by private donation, charitable giving and corporate sponsorship and enjoys its reputation as one of the most important cultural events in the region, attracting audiences of several thousand each year from the immediate area and beyond.
Over the past few years, highlights have included the Soweto Gospel Choir at Douai Abbey which has become one of the Festival’s major venues and established a tradition of world class choirs.
Also in 2006, the Victoria Mullova Ensemble performed an unforgettable concert at Englefield House.
In 2008 John Williams and Emanuel Ax both performed in the Corn Exchange, developing a pattern of an International Celebrity Recital Series in this venue.
In 2004 the Tibetan Monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastry took part in an exciting week long Festival residency.
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