The annual competitive Woking Music Festival, held in November, is a celebration of the musical and literary vitality of Woking and the surrounding area. People of all ages and standards are welcome to perform in front of a sympathetic audience and to receive feedback and encouragement from a professional.
Founded by Nancy Leigh in 1926, the Festival is now one of the largest of its kind in Surrey with hundreds of people taking part each year. It is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals (BIFF) who provide support for amateur festivals.
As a charity it is run entirely by volunteers and we welcome offers of time, helping to steward the Festival or with other administrative tasks (even if only for a couple of hours), or of financial support, by becoming a Friend of the Festival.
It gives musicians and dramatists the opportunity to perform in public and to have their performance assessed by respected teachers and performers who give valuable advice and guidance to all participants.
We welcome, indeed encourage, the wider public to come to listen. This is entertaining and instructive, too, as they can learn from hearing others perform and the adjudicators’ comments.
Adult entry: £4 per day.
Under 18s: free.
Rover tickets (giving access to all sessions): £12.
(All tickets available on the door.)
We welcome, indeed encourage, the wider public to come to listen. This is entertaining and instructive, too, as they can learn from hearing others perform and the adjudicators’ comments.
In early February, it organises the Woking Young Musician of the Year competition with outstanding solo performers between the ages of 14 and 20 from the main Festival being invited to participate.
Coronavirus
For the protection and comfort of our volunteers, participants and audience members who are not yet comfortable with gatherings in the large numbers typical of our choirs sessions, the committee has taken the decision to run the choral section (classes with a number beginning with A) “virtually” as it was last year; that is to say, choirs will be asked to submit a video recording of their performances which will be sent to the adjudicator. Classes in sections B, C, D, E and S will take place normally, subject to government guidelines in force at the time.
Pictures from the videos submitted (with the performers’ permission) from last year’s festival can be seen in the gallery .
As we were not able to hold the Woking Young Musician of the Year competition this year, we are planning a
at
7.00pm
on
16th October, 2021
at
Christ Church
in Woking town centre, when there will be an opportunity to hear some of the superb performers from the virtual festival.
We are restricting the numbers attending and you can obtain tickets in advance from the Showcase page on this site. There is no charge for admission but donations towards the cost of the evening will, of course, be very gratefully received.
Woking Music Festival is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals of which Her Majesty the Queen is Patron
Registered Charity No 287647