Cambridge Music Festival
In a city buzzing with live music, CMF explores the best the classical world has to offer and presents it to the people of Cambridge.
We book artists whose touring schedule usually misses out smaller cities, and we select intriguing repertoire that tells a story: from Mozart masses to14th-century middle eastern music; and from Shostakovich quartets to new commissions for percussion. We invite a wide range of international musicians and ensembles for intimate recitals, chamber concerts and larger events with dozens of performers on stage. We’re the only classical promoter in the city to offer this variety and high standard on a regular basis.
CMF has undergone different models since its foundation in 1991, and is now run as a twice-annual series presenting classical music in bold, imaginative and inspiring ways.
See our gallery of past guest artists for a flavour of what we do.
Festival Team
Festival Director Justin Lee
Finance Nina Welch, N-TRUST Accountancy
Event Management Naomi Faulkner
Marketing Chloe Priest Griffiths
Design concepts Kate Benjamin & Ian Fenton
Design Annie Rushton, Rushton Design
Press & PR Damaris Brown, Artium Media Relations
Stewards Co-ordinator Fahimeh Westwood
Trustees
Justin Lee – Festival Director
Taking over CMF in 2012, Justin had a vision to streamline and hone the Festival into an inclusive celebration of the very best in classical music. No prior knowledge required, is his mantra; you just need to like the sound it makes.
Having secured regular appearances from artists such as The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Joshua Bell and the Takacs Quartet, Justin has also engaged soloists and ensembles such as Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Jordi Savall, Steven Isserlis, Jan Lisiecki, Mahan Esfahani, Tenebrae, the Tallis Scholars and the 12 Ensemble.
Keen to use the most appropriate venue for each event, Justin has mapped a CMF footprint across Cambridge’s chapels, concert halls and auditoria, and even transformed the neo-classical façade of the Senate House into a backdrop for a sound and light spectacular involving pupils from four city schools.
Justin has previously held posts at Southbank Sinfonia, the Academy of Ancient Music and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and now programmes the chamber series at Kettle’s Yard alongside his role at CMF.
GUEST ARTISTS
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Choirs
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Orchestras
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Chamber Ensembles
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Soloists
BBC Singers (2023, 2025, 2026)
Cardinall’s Musick (2015)
Choir of King’s College Cambridge (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)
I Fagiolini (2019)
Gabrieli Consort (2017)
Juice Vocal Ensemble (2018)
The Tallis Scholars (2012, 2018, 2023, 2025, 2026)
Tenebrae (2022, 2024, 2026)
Theatre of Voices (2024)
Windborne (2025)
12 Ensemble (2021, 2022, 2024)
Arcangelo (2024)
Academy of Ancient Music (2012, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025)
Academy of St Martin in the Fields (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
BBC Concert Orchestra (2015, 2024, 2025)
Britten Sinfonia (2013, 2014, 2016, 2024, 2025)
Chineke! (2017, 2018, 2021)
Dunedin Consort (2021)
London Mozart Players (2021, 2022)
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (2014, 2015)
Philharmonia (2014, 2024)
Aquarelle Guitar Quartet (2018)
Aurora Percussion Duo (2018)
Berlin Philharmonic String Quintet (2014)
Borodin Quartet (2014)
Brodsky Quartet (2018, 2022)
Bugallo-Williams Duo (2024)
Colin Currie Group (2016, 2018)
Colin Currie Quartet (2026)
Endymion (2015)
Ensemble Bash (2017)
Escher Quartet (2013)
Explore Ensemble (2019)
Fitkin & Friends (2014, 2022)
Florilegium (2013)
Gabrieli Players (2017)
Jordi Savall Trio (2023, 2025, 2026)
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective (2019)
Kaleidoscope Saxophone Quartet (2018)
Nash Ensemble (2013)
NEXT (2021)
Pavel Haas Quartet (2025)
Piano Circus (2016, 2023)
Philip Glass Ensemble (2014, 2024)
Quatuor Danel (2025, 2026)
Takacs Quartet (2018, 2021, 2026)
Trio Manouche (2019)
Solo artists: Strings
Matthew Barley (2016)
Joshua Bell (2015, 2017, 2019)
Natalie Clein (2019)
Jasdeep Singh Degun (2024, 2026)
Tarek Elazhary (2026)
Steven Isserlis [with Connie Shih 2022 & Robert Levin 2018]
Guy Johnston (2025)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (2021, 2022)
Nigel Kennedy (2013)
Jali Bakary Konteh (2024)
Pekka Kuusisto (2013)
Theotime Langlois de Swarte (2024)
Viktoria Mullova (2014)
Solo artists: Piano/keyboard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (2017)
Julien Brocal (2018)
Federico Colli (2015)
Danny Driver (2026)
Mahan Esfahani (2017, 2021)
Boris Giltburg (2024, 2025, 2026)
Benjamin Grosvenor (2025)
Angela Hewitt (2023, 2025)
Stephen Hough (2021, 2023, 2024)
Zubin Kanga (2019)
Isata Kanneh-Mason (2021)
Paul Lewis (2016)
Jan Lisiecki (2018, 2022)
Steven Osborne (2019)
Murray Perahia (2012, 2013, 2016)
Andras Schiff (2015)
Solo artists: Wind
Alison Balsom (2012)
Michael Collins (2014, 2017)
Amy Dickson (2019)
Solo artists: Percussion
Joby Burgess (2015, 2021)
Manu Delago (2014)
Kaviraj Singh (2025, 2026)
Maya Youssef (2023)
Solo artists: Voice
Ian Bostidge [& Julius Drake 2016]
Dame Sarah Connolly (2024)
James Gilchrist (2013)
Sir Simon Keenlyside (2024)
Ute Lemper (2026)
Mark Padmore (2013)
Andreas Scholl (2012, 2013)