WALES’ most prestigious classical musical festival has launched its programme for 2017 and it will culminate with a grand finale in Harlech.

This year’s Gregynog Music Festival promises to be the most ambitious yet, taking Pageantry as its overarching theme, presenting musical performances, dance productions, historical exhibitions and fascinating talks at a host of venues from 16 June to 2 July.

The crowning glory of the festival will be a five-day extravaganza throughout Harlech with performances even taking place on the beach, visits and tours around iconic locations and headline acts including cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, violinist Sara Trickey, pianist Clare Hammond, Septura, the brass chamber music septet and many more.

Gregynog is Wales’ oldest extant classical music festival, but its most significant predecessor was the Harlech Castle Musical Festival, and this has inspired Gregynog Festival curator Rhian Davies,

“Bringing the festival to Harlech is a great honour and seeing my 20 years’ of research come alive in and around the community will be incredible,” she said.

The festival will close with a spectacular concert in Harlech Castle that brings together all the curatorial threads by evoking the historical pageants as well as the musical festivals in which the members of Harlech’s celebrity set took part.

Read the full story in this week’s north editions of the Cambrian News