We are so pleased that BREMF’s artistic director Deborah Roberts has been awarded a BEM (Medal of the Order of the British Empire) in the King’s Birthday Honours today, 15 June 2024. Deborah says: “I am of course extremely  grateful for this recognition, but would like to make clear that I have always worked for the Brighton Early Music Festival as part of an outstanding team of committed people, from the core executive team via the trustees, Festival donors, and volunteers to our wonderful artists and loyal audiences, and therefore feel that this Honour is owing to everyone who is p ..read more

Our plans for the 2024 Festival are taking shape, and whilst some events are still subject to funding, we have exciting plans in the pipeline for the autumn! The theme for 2024 is Connections, and Artistic Director Deborah Roberts says “If we start with the premise that everything is connected, it’s then a question of selecting some musical and cultural connections that have had a major impact in the past, and that have a continuing power to connect with us now.” Here’s your guide to what’s coming up this autumn in Brighton: Pre-festival events Saturday 7 September – a workshop on medieval gre ..read more

As well as planning for the 2024 Festival (more news to come very soon), BREMF is working with our BREMF Live young artist ensembles this spring on a series of online training development sessions which are also open to the wider sector. Between now and the end of March, BREMF will be running a series of 5 online training sessions via Zoom, which are aimed at helping young artists develop skills and awareness of some of the practical elements involved in developing a successful career. These sessions are open to the whole sector, and can also be a useful reminder for more established artists a ..read more

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who made a donation to BREMF for the Quiz, and even more congratulations to those brave souls who decided to  send in their entries. Here are the results: 60 – Nick Boston & Kevin Edwards of Brighton 59½ – Chris & Kate Darwin of Hove (winners of the first ever quiz) 59 Alan & Dena Mynett of Hurstpierpoint and Jane & Howell Richards of Brighton 58½ Hilary Ougham of Brighton 55 Susan Chadwick of Guildford 54 Andrew Connal of Brighton 51½ Sally Morris of Clapham, near Worthing 47½ Paul Chandler & Frances Lindsay-Hills of Brighton 4 ..read more

In February and March 2023, the five ensembles who were part of our BREMF Live! young artist scheme in 2022/23 completed their year on the scheme with a series of workshops in primary schools across Sussex. The groups first received a day of training on planning and developing work for schools, led by Cherry Forbes, education director of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Emma Bright from Westdene Primary School. Flutes and Frets at Westdene Primary School, Brighton It was a privilege to see this work in action, and to witness the children’s responses to the music. In many cases ..read more

October 2023 sees a return to a major series of autumn events, for the first time since 2019. As in previous years, our main festival concerts will be preceded by a series of pre-festival events including participatory workshops, family concerts, and a festival introduction day. As ever, we have to add the “subject to funding” caveat, and the funding climate is becoming increasingly challenging. However, we are not planning to cancel any of these events, although we may have to adapt a few if funding is not forthcoming. If you feel passionately about supporting a particular event or events, d ..read more

Between now and the end of March, BREMF will be running a series of 6 online training sessions aimed at helping young artists, particularly those playing in an ensemble to learn about some key elements of managing their career. These sessions are open to the whole sector, and can also be a useful reminder for more established artists. Sessions currently scheduled are: Monday 16 Jan, 16.00 – 17.30 UK time – Managing your ensemble and building a sustainable career with Cathy Boyes (BREMF) and Hannah Ely (Fieri Consort) Wednesday 1 Feb, 11.30 – 13.00 UK time – Building a programme and working wi ..read more

Thanks to all who entered – somewhat fewer than usual, but there were fewer opportunities to buy!  The outright winner, and therefore the proud recipient of the £30 Waitrose voucher, is Nick Boston from Brighton, with 56½.  The runner-up, winning the £10 book token, is Hilary Ougham, also from Brighton – the only person who managed to answer question 14 in part 1. She got a score of 50.  Congratulations also to the others who scored over 40: The Whitehouse family (47½), Susan Clough (46½), Frances Lindsay-Hills (44) and Joan McGregor & Ian Denyer (41½) There were other ..read more

Probably because the June BREMF period was so short, fewer people bought the quiz and responded to the challenge, but it still raised well over £100 for BREMF – so thanks to all who donated, either for a copy of the quiz or to persuade the quiz seller to go away! There were 5 good entries, all from regular entrants and attenders, and the overall winner was Hilary Ougham of Brighton (58½/60). Susan Chadwick of Guildford came second with 51/60. Congratulations to them; their prizes will be on their way to them shortly. The other entrants, all with marks in the 40s, were, in alphabetical order ..read more

We’re busy planning for our 2022-23 season which will have the theme of TRANSITION. This feels like a particularly apt theme for this point in time, while we’re navigating the seismic changes of the past two years, and trying to work out where we can get back to doing things more ‘normally’, and where some of the changes brought about by the pandemic have been positive and led to new ways of doing things which we’d like to retain. It’s clear from audience feedback that our outdoor Midsummer Season was a popular addition to the calendar, and is definitely something we’ll be continuing into 202 ..read more