Festival 2026

Northern Chords Festival 2026

We are delighted to present the 17th Northern Chords Festival, which will take place on the 26 – 28th June in venues across the region. We have an incredible group of musicians travelling to the North East and we can’t wait to welcome you to our concerts.

To buy tickets for individual concerts, use the buttons below. If you’d like to buy a festival pass, this option is available on all 3 of the ticket pages.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jonathan Bloxham
Artistic Director & Founder

Friday 26th June 2026, 7.30pm
St. Mary’s Church, Whickham

Opening Gala Concert
“The Trout Quintet” 

Northern Chords Festival returns home to St Mary’s Church Whickham – the venue of the very first Northern Chords concert – with a programme featuring superstars of the classical music scene. Martin James Bartlett is British pianist signed to Warner Classics, recognised across the globe for his expressive performances and impressive technique, and was awarded the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014. He will be joined chamber musicians including the Festival’s Founder Jonathan Bloxham on cello and Benjamin Baker, an outstanding violinist known well to our audiences. In fact Ben and Jonathan have just recorded the complete Mozart Violin Concerti for release on CD and online later in the year. Our dear friend Ben Johnson will also be performing, renowned for his commanding voice and remarkable versatility, has been captivating audiences with his stunning performances in major opera houses and concert halls worldwide.

Martin James Bartlett piano
Benjamin Baker violin
Jonathan Bloxham cello
Natalie Loughran viola
Ben Johnson tenor

The programme is headlined by Schubert’s “Trout Quintet” – a piece perfect for first-time concert goers and regular audience alike!

Tickets £15. Under 25 + students free.

Saturday 27 June 2026, 7.30pm
Wood Hall, The Mining Institute, Neville Hall, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE

Nature and Folk

Tonight’s program invites us into a world where music draws its breath from the natural landscape and the voices of folk tradition. Across cultures and centuries, composers have turned to the rhythms of the earth—rustling forests, open skies, and the pulse of dance—to shape melodies that feel both deeply personal and universally familiar. Folk music, with its raw energy and storytelling spirit, meets the evocative power of nature, creating soundscapes that are at once vivid and timeless.

At the heart of this journey stands the Violin Concerto in D major by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a work that captures both the lyric sweep of the natural world and the spirited character of dance. From its soaring opening to its electrifying finale, the concerto blends heartfelt song with folk-inspired vitality, culminating in a dazzling celebration of virtuosity and joy.

Konstantia Gourzi “message between trees”
R.Vaughan-Williams The Lark Ascending
G.Holst St. Paul’s Suite

-interval-

P.Tchaikovsky  Violin Concerto (in a special arrangement for string orchestra)

Benjamin Baker violin
Jonathan Bloxham conductor
Northern Chords Festival Strings

Directions to venue 

Tickets £15. Under 26 + Students Free.

Sunday 28 June 2026, 4pm
St James’ and St Basil’s Church Fenham

Messiah

After the success of Dido and Aeneas last season we are very excited to end of 2026 Festival with a new & shortened version of Messiah. It will be specially arranged for Northern Chords in a semi-staged concept, and directed for the space by Ben Johnson. We will again be collaborating with the incredible Voices of Hope for this special afternoon concert. To open the concert the fabulous Martin James Bartlett will perform Bach’s First Keyboard Concerto in D minor.

Bach Keyboard Concerto in D minor
Handel Messiah

Northern Chords Festival Orchestra

Voices of Hope
Martin James Bartlett piano
Mark Edwards chorus master
Jonathan Bloxham conductor

Cast tba.

Tickets: £20. Under 25 + students free.