The Three Choirs Festival is one of the oldest music festivals in the world, with a tradition that dates back to 1715 and beyond, but although the Festival has a rich musical heritage, it is a modern and accessible festival experience.

While classical and choral music is potentially perceived as an art form that can only be enjoyed by certain sectors of society, we at the Three Choirs Festival believe that it can be enjoyed by all.

If you thought you knew what the Three Choirs experience was like and believed that it wasn’t for you, we urge you to think again - the scope of the 2012 Festival will surely encourage you to take the plunge!

Three Choirs Festival performances are enjoyed by festival attenders of all ages. There is no dress code for festival events, and ticket prices start at a very realistic rate, to ensure that monetary constraints are less of a barrier to enjoying the Three Choirs experience. We encourage concert attenders to take great joy and delight from our performances, and to display that delight exuberantly!

The 2012 Festival programme features popular classical and choral programmes, including works by Elgar, Bach, Haydn, Delius & Stravinsky. We have international artists (young & old!) and we have even invited back the wonderful Festival Players Theatre Company to perform their unique production of "Richard III".

The Zimmerman Building at Hereford Cathedral School and the Shire Hall are hubs of creative energy, where artists and audiences meet and mingle, informal performances take place, and there is the opportunity to eat, drink and make merry.

In addition to high-profile events in the Cathedral, the Festival takes performances out to many areas of Herefordshire, including Wyastone Concert Hall, Ledbury Parish Church and Tewkesbury Abbey.

The Three Choirs Festival believes in the power of participation and education to encourage the next generation of classical music fans, and in 2012, will be undertaking a range of community and educational activities, including our "Gathering Wave" performance and our wide reaching Three Choirs Plus events in and around High Town .....

Think you know the Three Choirs Festival? Think again!

Keep an eye on the Hereford 2012 section of the website for more news and event information.