York Early Music Festival announces partnership with Flanders
Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
The collaboration will facilitate festival performances celebrating the musical heritage of the Belgian region
York Early Music Festival (YEMF) has launched a new partnership with the Belgian region of Flanders. The collaboration will facilitate festival performances celebrating the musical heritage of the region, organised in association with the Alamire Foundation and AMUZ, with support from the Flanders government.
Partnership concerts will take place on 12 July, with vocal ensemble Utopia performing at the festival’s hub, the National Centre for Early Music, and Cappella Pratensis & I Fedeli presenting an evening concert within the Quire of York Minster.
YEMF director Dr Delma Tomlin said: ‘We are particularly delighted to be part of this exciting new partnership, the beginning of a new collaboration with artists and colleagues based in Flanders… This marks a very important moment in this city’s musical history and highlights York’s historical relationship with Flanders, giving us the opportunity to celebrate our cultural heritages. We look forward to building on this partnership in the future.’
The new partnership celebrates historic trading ties between York and Flanders dating from the medieval period. Delegates from Flanders will host a reception with York’s Civic Party and representatives of local industries with links to Flanders in York’s Mansion House on Flanders National Day (11 July) to welcome artists and celebrate the new partnership.
Bart Brosius, general representative of Flanders in the United Kingdom and Ireland, said: ‘Flanders and York share historical connections through several key aspects of their heritage and centuries of cultural and economic exchanges. We share bustling medieval markets, elegant Gothic architecture, entrepreneurship, and academic excellence. We are celebrating this connection in York in July, through Early Music. We are delighted to work with the local authorities, the University of York and the renowned York Early Music Festival. We also look forward to welcoming our friends from York later in the summer for the Flanders Festival Antwerp.’
