A celebration of Worcestershire's most famous composer will take place at Worcester Cathedral.
The Elgar Festival's Gala Concert, launched in 2018, is traditionally held on the weekend closest to Elgar's birthday - June 2 1857.
Organisers of The Elgar Festival have announced the dates for the 2023 event which will take place between Tuesday, May 30 and Sunday, June 4 across Worcestershire.
The gala concert will be held at the cathedral on Saturday, June 3 at 7.30pm.
The concert will be performed by the English Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Woods, with special guests, featured composer Michael Berkeley, and contralto Jess Dandy.
The Elgar Festival Chorus, an amalgamation of singers from choirs across Elgar country, will make their second appearance at the Festival following their debut last year.
The programme will include Michael Berkeley’s Secret Garden, Elgar’s The Music Makers, and his Symphony No 1 in A flat major.
Kenneth Woods, artistic director at the Elgar Festival said: "Perhaps no work in musical history was as eagerly awaited as Elgar’s First Symphony.
"Music lovers across Europe and the British Empire were all waiting to see if Elgar could produce a symphony worthy of comparison with those of Beethoven and Brahms.
“The words of the opening lines, ‘We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams’ encapsulate the festival’s spirit of community and celebration – we are all the music makers.
"The spirit of celebration is further heightened by the inclusion of featured composer Michael Berkeley’s Secret Garden, one of his most colourful and ebullient works.”
Some of the other highlights for 2023 include:
• The annual Elgar’s Strings by the English String Orchestra concert at Worcester Guildhall
• Late night Club Elgar concerts featuring jazz, world music, blues and more with some of the UK’s most interesting musicians
• An evening concert in Malvern Priory featuring the music of Worcester’s greatest living composer, Ian Venables
• Throughout the festival, The Guildhall in Worcester, will have an exhibition on display of Elgar memorabilia on loan from prestigious private collections
Tickets cost from £5 to £28 and are available at www.elgarfestival.org.
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