Swaledale Festival 2025 has come to an end after 15 days filled with more than 60 music, arts and walking events.
The festival opened with Fauré in a Day in Aysgarth, a choral workshop that brought singers of all levels together under the guidance of conductor Sarah Latto.
World-class artists performed for Dales audiences, including folk supergroup Granny’s Attic, Royal Northern Sinfonia with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd, comedian Mark Steel, folksinger Martha Tilston, Carducci String Quartet and choral ensemble Apollo5.
A unique project saw workshops with British-Iranian turntablist and composer Shiva Feshareki giving students at The Wensleydale School a rare opportunity to explore sound in imaginative ways.
The architect of nature recovery policy in England, Professor Sir John Lawton, delivered Swaledale Festival’s annual Reeth Lecture, telling a packed Reeth Memorial Hall that “a very great deal” was happening in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and across the country, to restore and create habitats, and that within two or three decades the prevailing story of nature in decline could change.
Twelve guided walks explored the environment and natural history of the Dales, with one walk featuring an impromptu jamming session by Jo Lawrence and her musical family on violin, conch and tuba near the old lead mines of Gunnerside Gill.
Ten young artist platform concerts brought young stars to the festival.
Organisers say pianist Xiaowen Shang dazzled with a virtuosic Ravel performance.
Expert on the Italian Triple Harp, Lise Vandersmissen, played a UK premiere and a world premiere in one concert, highlighting the festival’s role in championing new music.
And BBC new generation artist Ryan Corbett gave an accordion recital in Arkengarthdale in a performance that aimed to connect with the wildness of the surrounding moors and fells.
Orchestra Exchange saw 80 young musicians from Richmond School Orchestra in North Yorkshire and Bammental School Symphony Orchestra in south Germany uniting for a shared performance in St Mary’s Church, Richmond, connecting pupils musically, culturally and socially.
On the festival’s final Friday, two special events took place within ten miles of each other.
In Grinton’s ancient church, sarod grandmaster Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, performed a concert that one audience member described as “song flowing through the sarod.”
Meanwhile, up the road in Muker Public Hall, Muker Silver Band gave a performance in tribute to their longtime conductor, the late Norman Guy.
The concert, conducted by his son Allan Guy, was a celebration of musical legacy, community and brass.
Behind the scenes, professional musicians performed in local schools and care homes for students and residents, and beyond music, the festival offered hands-on workshops in painting, photography, foraging, folk dancing and basketry.
A moment of reflection arrived with Passing Through, a multi-arts talk on two distinctive woodlands that invited audiences to savour each fleeting moment and go deeper into lived experience.
Swaledale Festival will return from May 23 to June 6 next year.
