For those who love the Holy Icons that enrich S. Mary’s:
25th March – 24th April at Hereford Cathedral, South Transept, during cathedral opening hours
An iconography exhibition featuring the work of Hay residents Christina Watson, whose beautiful icons adorn S. Mary’s, and Petro Birov, a Ukrainian who arrived in Hay seeking sanctuary after the Russian attack on his country. Whilst living in Ukraine, Petro founded the iconography studio ‘Icon Experience’ and was the curator of a team of artists and craftspeople as well as a workshop tutor.
During the exhibition, Petro and Christina will be working in the South Transept on selected dates to allow members of the public to witness the process of icon writing and ask any questions they may have. For further details, please visit Hereford Cathedral website.
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Saturday 3rd May, 10.30 am coffee for performance at 11 am
MONTHLY ORGAN RECITAL at S. Mary’s, with Barrie Magill
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Hay Festival 2025 events at S. Mary’s
FOR FULL DETAILS AND TICKETS, SEE HAY FESTIVAL 2025.
Refreshments will be available at S. Mary’s – tea, coffee and cakes by day; wine, beer and soft drinks in the evening.
THURSDAY 22 MAY, 8.30 pm
#13 Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound
Cellist Cara Berridge and music critic Kate Kennedy present an evening of storytelling and music, looking at the lives of remarkable cellists who suffered persecution, and discussing their own relationships with the cello.
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FRIDAY 23 MAY, 7.00 pm
#36 John Kirkpatrick in Concert
Traditional music and song from one of the most prolific performers and recording artists on the English folk scene.
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SATURDAY 24 MAY, 10 am
#39 Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
SATURDAY 24 MAY, 11.30 am
#45 Lucy Mangan talks to Nicola Cutcher
Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives
SATURDAY 24 MAY, 1 pm
#49 Zahaan Bharmal
The Art of Physics
SATURDAY 24 MAY, 2.30 pm
#54 Lamorna Ash
Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search For Religion
SATURDAY 24 MAY, 7 pm
#73 Cerys Hafana In Concert.
Come and experience the magical, progressive sound of Cerys Hafana, from Machynlleth, Wales. Cerys is a Welsh triple harpist and composer who mangles, mutates and transforms traditional music.
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SUNDAY 25 MAY, 2.30 pm
#97 Ilya Chetverikov and Maki Sekiya
Hay Music Concert
A two-piano concert by husband and wife pianists Maki Sekiya and Ilya Chetverikov. The programme includes Ravel, on the 150th anniversary of his death, as well as the world première of a piece by the Oxford-based composer Jeremy Arden.
Programme:
Maurice Ravel Daphne and Chloe suite
Jeremy Arden Passacaglia (world première)
György Ligeti Three pieces for two pianos: Monument, Self-portrait and Movement
Dmitri Shostakovich Concertino
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MONDAY 26 MAY, 1 pm
#131 Danny Driver: Ravel and more
BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert 1
A BBC Radio 3 lunchtime concert series marking the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. This first of three recitals recorded for broadcast explores the music of Ravel and others.
Programme:
Claude Debussy Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir
Thomas Adès Darknesse Visible
Gabriel Fauré Barcarolle No 4 in A flat
Gabriela Lena Frank Nocturnoe Nazeueño
Maurice Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit
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TUESDAY 27 MAY, 1 pm
#165 Mithras Trio: Ravel and more
BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert 2
A BBC Radio 3 lunchtime concert series marking the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. The Mithras Trio – Ionel Manciu (violin), Leo Popplewell (cello) and Dominic Degavino (piano) – perform a programme including Ravel, Bonis and Tailleferre.
Programme:
Mélanie Bonis Soir et Matin, Op 76
Germaine Tailleferre Piano Trio
Maurice Ravel Piano Trio
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WEDNESDAY 28 MAY, 1 pm
#204 Kleio Quartet: Ravel and more
BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert 3
A BBC Radio 3 lunchtime concert series marking the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. This last of three recitals explores the music of Ravel and others. The Kleio Quartet – Juliette Roos (violin), Katherine Yoon (violin), Yume Fujise (viola) and Eliza Millett (cello) – perform a programme including Ravel and Alice Smith.
Programme:
Alice Smith String Quartet in E ‘Tubal Cain’
Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F
WEDNESDAY 28 MAY, 9 pm
#237 Father Richard: Silent Film with Live Organ Accompaniment – A Cottage on Dartmoor
A special screening of Anthony Asquith’s great 1929 classic silent movie A Cottage on Dartmoor, with live organ accompaniment by FatherRichard Williams. Father Richard’s film nights are renowned. The former Hay parish priest trained as a professional musician at Trinity College of Music, London. Don’t miss this chance to see him perform a live accompaniment on the Bevington organ.
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THURSDAY 29 MAY, 1 pm
#F50 Shea Ferren and David Woollcombe
Peace Child Time Travel Chat Show
Join Shea Ferren, Male Singer of the Year at the International Eisteddfod 2023, and Peace Child International’s David Woollcombe, for what may be the most consequential conversation you will ever have.
THURSDAY 29 MAY 2.30 pm
#254 Connor Allen, Hanan Issa, Gwyneth Lewis, Mike Parker and Bedwyr Williams
Wales and its Borders: Our National StoryExplore the rich national story of Wales and its dynamic relationship with the English borderlands. From medieval conflicts to modern-day connections, this panel delves into the people, places and politics that define Wales and its borders.
THURSDAY 29 MAY, 9 pm
#281 Father Richard: Silent Film with Live Organ Accompaniment – Nosferatu
Father Richard Williams, organist, composer and former parish priest of St Mary’s Church in Hay, performs his stunning live accompaniment to FW Murnau’s classic, silent Dracula film Nosferatu, using the church’s outstanding Bevington organ.
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FRIDAY 30 MAY, 1 pm
# 296 Xiaolu Guo
Fictions: Call Me Ishmaelle
Writer and filmmaker Xiolu Guo reimagines Moby-Dick from the perspective of a cross-dressed female sailor, in her latest work. Call Me Ishmaelle looks afresh at the epic battle between man and nature in Herman Melville’s great novel, through the eyes of a woman.
FRIDAY 30 MAY, 4 pm
#309 Isobel Waller-Bridge
Was Jane Austen Gay?
In 1995, the London Review of Books ran the cover line ‘Was Jane Austen gay?’ Many people were horrified, including Terry Castle, the literary critic whose essay led to the uproar. To mark Austen’s 250th birthday, the LRB returns to Castle’s essay in the latest of the magazine’s series of ‘live essays’. Actors will read from Castle’s piece and the texts it interrogates with live musical counterpoint arranged by Isobel Waller-Bridge.
FRIDAY 30 MAY, 8.30 pm
#328 Stevens & Pound
Live at Hay Festival
A chance to see an unprecedented collaboration between BBC Radio 3’s award-winning Delia Stevens and three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year nominee Will Pound, as they follow the creative evolution of the classical composers inspired by folk.
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SATURDAY 31 MAY, 2.30 pm
#355 James Woodrow
Hay Music: Guitar Concert
Hay Music presents an afternoon of music with one of the country’s leading contemporary classical and electric guitarists whose repertoire spans back to Milhaud and Bach.
SATURDAY 31 MAY, 7 pm
#376 Hal Cazalet
Play on Words
PG Wodehouse, best known for creating Jeeves and Wooster, once had a record-breaking five musicals playing simultaneously on Broadway. In Play on Words, devised and directed by Hugh Wooldridge, Wodehouse’s step-great grandson Hal Cazalet and pianist Simon Beck transport us back to the Golden Age of stage and screen through stories, anecdotes and songs.
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