Three Choirs Festival announces Naomi Belshaw as first woman chair

The Three Choirs Festival has appointed Naomi Belshaw to the role of chair of Board of Directors. Belshaw will be the first woman chair in the festival’s history and will succeed Dr Timothy Brain OBE who has held the role for 11 years.

Having worked across the music industry with organisations including PRS for Music, PRS Foundation, and WildKat PR, Belshaw now owns Naomi Belshaw Consultancy for composers and artists. Her experience extends across a broad range of areas, including funding, publishing, licensing, royalties, PR and marketing.

Festival Chief Executive, Dr Alexis Paterson, said: ‘Naomi brings a wealth of experience and expertise to a board and organisation optimistic about the future and committed to ensuring the festival’s long-term impact for local communities.’

The Three Choirs Festival can trace its origins back to the 17th century. Having celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2015 it is thought to be the oldest continuously running classical music festival in the world.

Belshaw said: ‘The festival has such an amazing musical heritage… As a keen advocate for living composers and classical music in my professional work, the role the Three Choirs Festival has played in past, present, and what I see in the future as it modernises, is hugely important to the future of classical music.

The event rotates between the three cathedral cities. The next festival will take place in Hereford from 23 to 30 July 2022.

You can find out more about the Three Choirs Festival here.

You can find out more about Naomi Belshaw here.