65th Little Missenden Festival: 3rd to 12th October 2025

 

2024 Festival Closes with Christmas Brass... 

Following a hugely successful main Festival in October, we wrapped up our programme in December with a delightful concert of Christmas Music for Brass which played to a packed church in true festive fashion. Featuring some of Britain's top players, the music ranged from renaissance Venice via Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker to new commissions hot off the press. 

...and 2025 Festival Programme is coming soon

Planning for this year's Festival is now well-advanced. The programme covers our usual broad range and, even at this stage, every event looks truly memorable, so please clear your diaries from Fri 3rd to Sun 12th October 2025... We will be announcing more details very soon.

In the meantime,if you would like to revisit some of the events from 2024, please take a look at this wonderful collection of images courtesy of our resident photographer, the excellent Robert Piwko. 

Do keep in touch through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or email us if you have any questions.

 

More about the Festival

The village of Little Missenden has hosted a Festival of Music and the Arts every October since 1960, with 2020 the one exception. This year will be our 65th.

We have from the beginning been rooted in the local community. Most of our audience comes from nearby, with villagers themselves welcoming the opportunity to offer hospitality to our performers by way of food and accommodation. Our enthusiastic Friends of the Festival provide us with very necessary financial support and, just as important, also help spread the word around the neighbourhood. For the first two weeks of October every year Little Missenden is the Festival.

At the heart not only of the village but also of our music-making is the 10th-century church of St John the Baptist. The building itself contains medieval wall-paintings of national significance, which help produce a genuinely magical atmosphere in a timeless setting. And, of even more importance, this small and intimate space creates a perfect acoustic. Every note can be heard clearly, and the result is spellbound audiences and delighted performers.

“…it felt this time as though one was “coming home” in the best way, to friends and listeners that I’ve known for a long time.” Mahan Esfahani, harpsichordist

“Always a pleasure to perform at the Festival - it’s a very special acoustic and atmosphere in the church (helped by your lovely audience!)” Rory McCleery, Marian Consort

Find out more about our story here.