How I programmed Cheltenham Music Festival in a pandemic

When did you start planning the programme for the 2021 Cheltenham Festival? How did you navigate all the uncertainty around Covid at that time?

Elements of the programme have been in progress for more than a couple of years, but there was the tricky balancing act of fulfilling those plans and also making sure that key projects lost in 2020 were given performances this year. The uncertainty has been tough; we’ve had plans a, b, c, d and e in play at times! In the end I decided to err on the side of caution so that we had a water-tight programme that could work in all possible scenarios, apart from a complete return to lockdown. It was important to me that our artists could prepare in plenty of time, and that any hoops we were jumping through affected them as little as possible.

What kind of measures did you put in place to ensure the programme could go ahead, even if restrictions tightened?

First and foremost the safety of audiences and performers was our main concern, so we worked closely with our venues and larger partners like Radio 3, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and BBC NOW, who had the trickiest set of logistics to manage. Once we’d made sure their performances were feasible, and that we could meet their expectations in terms of social distancing, disinfecting chairs, stands – everything, ventilating venues (it’s a pretty long list!), the smaller concerts were easier to plan. We’re definitely lucky being part of the larger Cheltenham Festivals family, so we benefitted from the experiences of our Literature Festival in autumn 2020, and the Science Festival in June, which helped to ensure that all our safety measures were well tested and we’ve been able to communicate clearly with everyone involved.

How, if at all, have the developments in concert streaming over the last year shaped Cheltenham’s programme this year?

We made the decision fairly early on that the cost of bringing in all the equipment needed to deliver an artistically satisfying streamed programme wasn’t going to be manageable – we essentially pop-up in our venues, none of which have existing streaming set-ups, so we’d have been starting from scratch. Instead, we chose two key projects to focus on and do really well: Ballad of a Changing World by Sarah Nicolls and Maja Bugge, a film about climate change and the consequences of creating during Covid which will be available to watch online until 14 July, and a special digital version of our annual Concert for Schools, hosted by saxophonist and star of CBeebies Band Jam, YolanDa Brown. As I write, we’ve got over 12,000 primary school children in Gloucestershire and around the UK who will be tuning in this Friday to watch – something we never could have dreamed was possible before this year.

Have there been any unexpected challenges?

It’s been a surprising and very special Festival. Audiences are thrilled to be back in the concert hall, and musicians (almost all of whom haven’t performed in front of a live audience since March 2020) have been incredibly emotional. It’s been quite something to see people coming off stage saying ‘I still love performing! I’ve remembered how much I need this!’ In any year there are an almost limitless number of challenges during the Festival, but I think this must be the first time that an entire 30-piece choir has had to cancel due to track and trace, less than 24 hours before a concert! Thankfully we have a wonderful team, and some generous musicians who stepped into the breach so everything worked out ok, but it was a slightly tense few hours.

What has been your highlight so far? What are you looking forward to in the remainder of the festival?

This year I can genuinely say that every single event has felt magical. BBC NOW with Martyn Brabbins with a gorgeous English music programme, and a moving tribute to all the orchestras’ performers was a particular highlight with not a dry eye in the house, but I’ve also been blown away by Luke Styles’ premiere of Awakening Shadow (catch it again in August at Presteigne Festival), and The Carice Singers’ premiere of Matthew Whittall’s Songs of Travel. Still to come, we’ve got three more BBC New Generation Artist recitals (always brilliant), La Serenissima, Jess Gillam Ensemble, and of course closing the Festival in Gloucester Cathedral, the 12 Ensemble. I’ve wanted to bring them to Cheltenham for years, so this feels like the perfect way to say farewell to a Festival we never could have predicted, and which against the odds has proved to be one of the most remarkable and memorable in our 76-year history.

Cheltenham Festival is running this year from 2-11 July. For more information visit https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/music/