THE Annual Fishguard Festival of Music has a lot left in store for us this year!

The second week of events kicks off on bank holiday Monday, August 28, with the National Youth Choir performing in St Davids Cathedral at 7.30pm. They will be conducted by Tim Rhys Evans.

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama will perform works by two Welsh composers – Vaughan Thomas and David Harries. The concert on Tuesday, August 29 will feature works originally commissioned by the Fishguard Festival in 1986 and 1993.

A concert on Wednesday, August 30, will see life, love and loss explored and celebrated through a special friendship and some of the ‘greatest songs ever written’.

It is curated by pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen. At Neuadd y Dderwen, Rhosygilwen on Wednesday, August 30, vocalists Nicky Spence and Claire Booth will perform songs by LGBTQ+ composers and poets including Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten and Aaron Copland, as well as Robert Schumann’s iconic song cycle on a woman’s life and love, Frauenliebe und leben, will be interwoven with Nathan James Dearden’s specially commissioned responses of a beloved friend.

At Bethel Chapel, Fishguard, on Thursday, August 31, The Gonzaga Band comprising a soprano, cornett and harpsichord, will perform a programme including Monteverdi and his contemporaries. It is led by Welsh musician Dr Jamie Savan, professor of performance-led research in music at Birmingham City University.

On Friday, September 1, there will be a special concert at Theatr Gwaun before outdoor performances from Kosmos Ensemble which is made up of Meg Hamilton, Harriet Mackenzie (violins) and Milos Milivojevic (accordion) on Fishguard Quay and at Oriel y Parc St Davids.

Pedair will perform at Theatr Gwaun on Saturday, September 2. The quartet – Sian James, Gwyneth Glyn, Meinir Gwilym and Gwenan Gibbard – return after a sell-out performance in 2022.

The closing concert on Sunday, September 3, at Theatr Gwaun, will feature harpist Amanda Whiting and her jazz trio.

Gillian Green MBE, Fishguard Festival of Music’s artistic director, said: “The Fishguard Festival of Music is once again delighting audiences with a showcase of world-class music in west Wales at a variety of atmospheric venues.

"The final week will see the return of some familiar faces to Pembrokeshire in some exciting concerts and audiences will get the opportunity to hear magical music by leading international soloists. Tickets are selling quickly this year.”

For more information and to get tickets, visit www.fishguardmusicfestival.com