Welcome to Stamford
International
Music
Festival
A three-day chamber music festival in the heart of rural LincolnshireWho We Are
SIMFestival is an annual chamber music festival held each May in the historic town of Stamford. Founded in 2016 by violinist Freya Goldmark, it brings together exceptional musicians for a dynamic series of performances, featuring both well-loved masterpieces and lesser-known works deserving of greater recognition.
Programming SIMFestival is one of my greatest joys—discovering connections between works, shaping each concert as a journey, and challenging both performers and audiences with fresh repertoire. The festival’s success is built on the enthusiasm and support of the Stamford community, where my own musical education began 25 years ago.
Each year, the festival presents a carefully curated programme, ranging from Bach and Beethoven to Ligeti and Messiaen, alongside world premieres and a dedicated children’s concert. Over the years, it has grown into a thriving musical community, with many musicians returning year after year and audiences deeply engaged in the performances.
For a better idea of what the festival is about, watch our founder and director, Freya, introduce our 2023 festival below:
Our Festivals
In the nearly ten years since our first outing, Stamford International Music Festival has gained a reputation for its ambitious programming, with performances of obscure and under-performed gems alongside the favourite mainstays of the chamber music canon. And with more than 60 different composers represented across nearly as many concerts, our festival remains ‘International’ in more ways than one.
Broad themes each year allow us the room to explore the many hidden connections between works that arise as a programme takes shape. Over the past few years, festivals have centred on Eastern European music of the early 20th century, French post-Impressionism, an intimate afternoon of English chamber music or a weekend of fiery Spanish inspiration. This year, our programme is shaped by a simple but powerful idea: music to laugh and cry to. Across the concerts, you will hear works that move swiftly between lightness and gravity, humour and intensity, private reflection and shared exhilaration.
- Bridge
- Sarasate
- Schumann
- Elgar
- Martinů
- Paesano
- Popper
- Widmann
- Corelli
- Poulenc
- Reich
- Chabrier
- Chausson
- Bliss
- Barber
- Françaix
- Falla
- Astor
- Schoenberg
- Grieg
- Messiaen
- Ravel
- Halvorsen
- Haydn
- Franck
- Bartók
- Adès
- Bizet
- Carreño
- Debussy
- Arensky
- Granados
- Howells
- Dohnányi
- Dvořák
- Tabakova
- Vivaldi
- Wieniawski
- Lecuona
- Brahms
- Tchaikovsky
- Zemlinsky
- Webern
- Korngold
- Ligeti
- Beethoven
- Scarlatti
- Boccherini
- Britten
- Smetana
- Szymanowski
- Janáček
- Ruiz
- Seiber
- Telemann
- Bach
- Castellanos
- Mendelssohn
- Glière
- Maconchy
- Klein
- Turina
- Mozart
- Rossini
- Schubert
- Piazzolla
Our Artists
Our festival is not just ‘International’ in name. With performers hailing from Australia, France, Latvia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, to those closer at home in London, Liverpool, Wales – the list goes on. Several of the 60 artists who have helped bring SIMFestival to life are now regular returners, familiar to our audiences, who have watched their careers blossom over the past decade.
You can read a little more about each of our musicians on our artists page, with a growing archive of past performers available to browse too.
