History of Winchfield Festival

Our History

What started out as a single event to raise funds to overhaul St Mary’s church organ in 1990 has expanded to become a  
series of nine inspiring concerts, right in the heart of Hampshire’s idyllic countryside, 33 years later! Now you can expect high calibre performances from world class musicians, covering many musical genres, from sublime chamber music in St Mary’s intimate Church setting to exhilarating music in the Festival Marquee, including jazz, global, orchestral and pop.  In August 2021, concerts were held in the Festival Marquee only, due to Covid-19 restrictions and there was no food or drink for sale, although festival-goers were invited to bring their own picnic.

The next full Winchfield Festival will be held in 2025 but come back soon to see the various 'interim' concerts we are planning to hold before the next Festival.

Festival founders John Profit and Alan Melbourne were passionate about music, art and education. Then as now, a central aim of the Festival is to encourage the appreciation of music in the community and we have an active Outreach Programme which includes concerts and master-classes for local schools.

Our concept is really simple - amazing live music and a friendly and informal atmosphere, making a Festival celebrated as much by the musicians as by the audiences and local supporters. Over the years the Festival has played host to a range of world class musicians such as Peter Donohoe, Noriko Ogawa, Humphrey Lyttleton, Hugh Wiggin and many more.

The Festival has become the centrepiece of the village calendar. Winchfield is a small village of only 650 inhabitants and the Festival is actively supported by around 100 volunteers, enthusiastically helping with everything from marshalling parking, checking tickets to hosting the performers.  We shall be asking for volunteers for our next Festival in 2025 - if you are interested in helping the team, please use our Contact page to email us.