Welcome to the
Sutton Music Festival
incorporating Speech & Drama
2026 – The 93rd Annual Festival
Entries for the 2026 Festival are now open and will close at 23:59 on the 1st October
Entries close in
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The Run My Festival System is now open for making entries to the 2026 Festival
Click here for link or click on the Entries tab
The Syllabus for the 2026 Festival has now been published
Click here for link or click on the Syllabus tab
Details of 2026 Festival announced
Sutton Music Festival is pleased to announce the dates and adjudicators for this year’s Festival
The 93rd annual Festival will be held between 7 and 27 November this year. All sessions will take place at Overton Grange School, except for Vocal at Homefield School and Choirs at Holy Trinity, Wallington.
The provisional dates for sessions are as follows:
Vocal – Sat/Sun 7/8 November
Instrumental Concerto Class – Friday evening 13 November
Piano – Sat/Sun 14/15 November, Fri/Sat/Sun 20/21/22 November, plus possible extra session on Friday 27 November, if needed
Strings – Sat/Sun 14/15 and Sun 22 November, if needed
Speech & Drama – Sat and Sun14/15 November
Choirs – Friday 20 November (afternoon and evening)
Winds – Sat 21 and Sun 22 November, if needed
This year’s Gala Concert will be on Sunday 29 November, at 3 pm at Overton Grange School.
Once again we are fortunate to have secured the services of our adjudicators:
Paul Harris (Winds)
Belinda Mikhail (Choral)
Katrina Mulvihill (Speech & Drama)
Luis Parés & Alexis White (Piano)
Heidi Pegler (Vocal)
Hilary Sturt (Strings, General Instrumental and Instrumental Concerto)
Oboist Melanie Ragge
Celebrity Woodwinds Masterclass 2027
Next year’s Masterclass will be for Wind instruments led by Melanie Ragge.
The next in our series of celebrity masterclasses, for Woodwind and Brass instruments will be held next March (date to be confirmed) at Homefield Preparatory School, Western Road, Sutton
The Wind instruments’ Masterclass will provide a fantastic opportunity for some of our most talented woodwind and brass players from this year’s Sutton Music Festival to receive expert coaching from celebrated oboist Melanie Ragge.
Melanie has performed nationally and internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral player.
Originally a medical student at King’s College Cambridge, Melanie ultimately graduated with a Master of Philosophy degree in Musicology. She was subsequently awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship at the Royal College of Music where she studied oboe with Michael Winfield, contemporary oboe with Edwin Roxburgh and piano with Phyllis Sellick.
She regularly coaches and gives masterclasses; she has been a guest tutor for numerous projects, including Chamber Music International, the Aberystwyth Music Festival, Hamburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater and the Penderecki Musik Akademie, and was for many years Associate Director and woodwind tutor for the National Youth Chamber Orchestra. As well as her work at the Royal Academy, she teaches at the Purcell School of Music, and coaches for Cambridge University. Her scientific interest continues in the form of ongoing research into the use of Electromyography to help to reduce strain injuries in musical training.
Our series of Masterclasses, which began in 2015, has proved very popular with our talented performers. Originally funded by a bequest from the late Neil Heayes, it is now funded by Tony Kerslake MBE.
The date of the Masterclass will be confirmed as soon as possible.
The Festival is run completely by volunteers. If you would like to help, either during the Festival or at other times, please let us know by contacting us at information.smf@gmail.com .
Further details can be found on our Supporting Tab.
Vivienne Cunningham & Participants at the 2026 Masterclass
Speech and Drama Masterclass brings drama and performance
Our Masterclass for Speech and Drama, led by drama teacher Vivienne Cunningham, brought a stimulating afternoon of drama on Sunday 8 March. Ten talented performers from the 2025 Sutton Music Festival took part. We enjoyed excepts from a variety of works from Roald Dahl to Shakespeare, with Vivienne providing expert coaching and feedback.
Vivienne Cunningham has worked in the theatre, television and the film industry, and taught speech and drama, public speaking and performance techniques to all ages.
It was fascinating to watch her working with such enthusiasm and encouragement on the works presented by the young participants. Vivienne offered a range of fresh ideas about stagecraft, movement and timing, eye line, voice projection and communication with the audience.
Said Vivienne, after the performances: ‘The Masterclass was well organised and the young performers were confident and very attentive. It was a pleasure to watch them work.’
Sutton Music Festival Gala Concert 2025
Prize Winners from the 2025 Gala Concert
Report on Sutton Music Festival Gala Concert 2025
The 2025 Festival came to an end on Sunday 30 November with the prizewinners’ concert where the Mayor, Cllr Louise Phelan, presented the trophies. The Mayor said: ‘This Festival is very important for Sutton. It gives an outlet for all the music and drama talent we have here, especially for young people. It gives them the opportunity to perform in public and to get expert feedback from professional adjudicators. So I thank the Festival for its achievements.’
The 2025 Festival has been very successful, and the quality of performance at the concert was impressive. Many thanks to all who entered to make the Festival such a success, and to families, friends and teachers who give so much support.
Participants in the 2025 Gala Concert
Winners of the Mary Shackel Cups for Junior Duologue
Winners of the Mary Shackel Cups for Junior Duologue
Winners of the H R Taylor Charitable Trust Vocal Prize – Singing Memory
Winners of the H R Taylor Charitable Trust Vocal Prize – Singing Memory
Winner of the Recital Cup (Junior Strings) – Playing Nightingale
Winner of the Recital Cup (Junior Strings) – Playing Nightingale
Winner of the Blüthner Golden Jubilee Cup
Winner of the Blüthner Golden Jubilee Cup
Winner of the Beethoven Junior Cup
Winner of the Beethoven Junior Cup
Reciting – You’re a good man Charlie Brown
Reciting – You’re a good man Charlie Brown
Playing Mozart Concerto in Bb Major, 2nd Movement
Playing Mozart Concerto in Bb Major, 2nd Movement
Performing – I am Adolpho
Performing – I am Adolpho
Celebrity Vocal Masterclass 2025
Vocal MasterClass 2025 – Heidi Pegler & Participants
Vocal
Our Masterclass for Vocalists, led by singer and teacher Heidi Pegler, brought a wonderful afternoon of singing on Sunday 12 May. Seven singers sung a variety of songs from classics by Handel, Fauré and Brahms to more modern pieces.
Said Heidi, after the performances: ‘I have had a most enjoyable afternoon working with a wide variety of ages and repertoire. The singing was of a very high standard and the singers were very responsive to my suggestions. We have had a good time working together.’
This year’s Sutton Music Festival will open on the weekend of 8/9 November with Vocal Classes at Homefield School, which will be adjudicated by Rebecca Lodge-Birkbaeck.
Sutton Music Festival Gala Concert 2024
The Mayor Cllr Colin Stears with the Prize Winners from the 2024 Gala Concert
This year’s Festival came to an end on Sunday with the prizewinners’ concert where the Mayor, Cllr Colin Stears, presented the trophies. The 2024 Festival had attracted the highest number of entries in recent years and the quality of performance was outstanding. Many thanks to all who entered, to make the Festival such a success, and to families, friends and teachers who give so much support.
Participants in the 2024 Gala Concert
Folklore Choir Maghida sang Bulgarian Folk Songs
Folklore Choir Maghida sang Bulgarian Folk Songs
Group photo with the Mayor
Group photo with the Mayor
Playing ‘Montagues and Capulets’
Playing ‘Montagues and Capulets’
Singing ‘I believe’
Singing ‘I believe’
Winner of the 90th Festival Trophy
Winner of the 90th Festival Trophy
Winner of the Arts Network Sutton Speech and Drama Prize
Winner of the Arts Network Sutton Speech and Drama Prize
Winner of the Beethoven Junior Cup
Winner of the Beethoven Junior Cup
Winner of the Colin Peel Speech and Drama Prize
Winner of the Colin Peel Speech and Drama Prize
Winner of the H R Taylor Strings Prize
Winner of the H R Taylor Strings Prize
Winner of the H R Taylor Vocal Prize
Winner of the H R Taylor Vocal Prize
Winner of the Junior Pianoforte Cup
Winner of the Junior Pianoforte Cup
Winner of the McGrath cup for Junior Poetry
Winner of the McGrath cup for Junior Poetry
Celebrity Piano Masterclass 2024
Vanessa Latarche FRCM & Masterclass Participants
SMF MASTERCLASS 24 MARCH 2024 – PRESS RELEASE
Masterclass for Piano given by Vanessa Latarche
Sutton Music Festival organised a very successful and enjoyable Piano Masterclass given by Vanessa Latarche on Sunday 24 March at Trinity School. The masterclass gave an opportunity for some of the Festival’s most outstanding musicians to work with an internationally renowned pianist. They played works by Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt and Kapustin.
Said Vanessa after the class had finished: ‘It has been a wonderful afternoon of music. The students were all very well prepared and were responsive to the feedback. It is such a joy to work with such talent.’
Professor Latarche has been Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music since 2005. Awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Music in 2010 for outstanding services to music, an honour conferred on her by HRH Prince of Wales, in September 2011, she was granted a Personal Chair at the RCM, which gave her the title of Chair of International Keyboard Studies. As an extension to her keyboard faculty work, Vanessa was appointed as the Associate Director for Partnerships in Asia, which involves managing the RCM’s collaborative work in China and the RCM’s degree programmes at Nangyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore.
The Masterclass is funded by the Neil Heayes bequest. Sutton Music Festival is supported by Arts Network Sutton, the HR Taylor Charitable Trust, and is grateful to Trinity School for the use of their piano and recital room.
90th Sutton Music Festival Gala Concert 2023
The Mayor Cllr Colin Stears with the Prize Winners from the 2023 Gala Concert
Gala Concert Brings The 2023 Sutton Music Festival To A Close
The 2023 Sutton Music Festival came to a close on Sunday 26 November at Overton Grange School with a Gala Concert of prize winners. Trophies and prizes were presented by the Festival president and Sutton Mayor Councillor Colin Stears.
Participants in the 2023 Gala Concert
90th Festival Trophy
90th Festival Trophy
The Mayor with previous prizewinners at the 90th Festival Concert
The Mayor with previous prizewinners at the 90th Festival Concert
Winner of the 90th Festival Trophy
Winner of the 90th Festival Trophy
Impromptu – winners of the Church and Chapel and the Open Challenge Shields
Impromptu – winners of the Church and Chapel and the Open Challenge Shields
The Choirs of St Elphege_s Schools winners of the Borough Challenge Shield
The Choirs of St Elphege_s Schools winners of the Borough Challenge Shield
Singing _Pie Jesu_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Singing _Pie Jesu_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Winner of the Junior Vocal Challenge Cup
Winner of the Junior Vocal Challenge Cup
Winners of the Instrumental Ensemble Challenge Shield
Winners of the Instrumental Ensemble Challenge Shield
Winner of the Colin Peel Speech and Drama Prize
Winner of the Colin Peel Speech and Drama Prize
Winners of the Recorder Group Challenge Sheld
Winners of the Recorder Group Challenge Sheld
Winner of the Diamond Anniversary Cup for outstanding acting
Winner of the Diamond Anniversary Cup for outstanding acting
Winner of the Elocution Challenge Cup
Winner of the Elocution Challenge Cup
Winner of the HR Taylor Piano Prize and the Beethoven Junior Cup
Winner of the HR Taylor Piano Prize and the Beethoven Junior Cup
Winners of the Winifred Burton Piano Ensemble Cup
Winners of the Winifred Burton Piano Ensemble Cup
90th Trophy with Piano cake
90th Trophy with Piano cake
Celebration cup cakes
Celebration cup cakes
Celebrity Masterclass for Strings 2023
The Mayor of Sutton Cllr Trish Fivey with Ruth Rogers and Masterclass participants
SMF Masterclass for strings given by Ruth Rogers
Sutton Music Festival organised a very successful and enjoyable Masterclass given by Ruth Rogers on Sunday 5 March in Wallington Library. The masterclass included participants from the 2022 Festival, playing violin and cello. They played works by Bach, Sarasate, Paganini, Rachmaninov and others.
Said Ruth after the class had finished: ‘It was an honour to work with these incredibly talented young musicians. They responded so well to ideas and suggestions, and I think that it was a lovely opportunity for them to perform to an audience and interact with a professional musician. Huge thanks to the Sutton Music Festival for giving young people this opportunity.’
Ruth Rogers is currently one of the Leaders of the London Mozart Players, and regularly guest leads other major orchestras. She studied at the Royal College of Music, has won many prestigious awards including the Tagore Gold Medal and the Manoug Parikian Award. She now performs both at home and abroad both as a soloist and in various chamber music ensembles including the Iuventus String Quartet and the Aquinas Piano Trio.
The Masterclass is funded by the Neil Heayes bequest. Sutton Music Festival is supported by Arts Network Sutton, the HR Taylor Charitable Trust, and is grateful to the London Borough of Sutton for the use of the library.
With support from the
H.R. TAYLOR CHARITABLE TRUST
and ARTS NETWORK SUTTON
ADJUDICATORS for the 2026 Festival
Piano |
Luis Pares – BMus(Hons), MMus |
Piano |
Alexis White |
Vocal |
Heidi Pegler |
Choral |
Belinda Mikhail |
Speech & Drama |
Katrina Mulvihill – RBTC (Hons QTS), LRAM, AGSM, ALAM, IPA |
Winds |
Paul Harris – FRAM HonTCL, GRSM, LRAM, ARCM, ARAM, MTC |
Strings |
Hilary Sturt |
Concerto Class |
Hilary Sturt |
CONTACT US
Festival Helpline: TBA
e-mail: information.SMF@gmail.com
Web: www.suttonmusicfestival.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sutton-Music-Festival-616423451739315/
