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Inspiring Generations
Join us to discover the vibrant world of local arts, featuring a myriad of creative talents at the Chesham Arts Festival. Dive into our artistic community!
CHESHAM ARTS FESTIVAL
About
Our Story
Chesham Arts Festival serves as a platform for local young performing artists, fostering a vibrant arts scene. We promote creativity and cultural exchange in the community.
Established to celebrate and unite artistic talents within Chesham, Bucks and the surrounding areas, our festival brings together the performing arts, encouraging participation and appreciation among attendees. We aim to inspire, connect and enrich the community.
Do you have a passion for music, dance and Chesham? If so, we'd love to hear from you. The Chesham Arts Festival is a non-profit charity run by a dedicated team of volunteers. We are are always looking for new people to assist with the Festival. If you are interested in any capacity, please email the festival administrator at james.bowers@cheshamartsfestival.onmicrosoft.com or speak to a committee member during the festival.
A message from the President
The Chesham Arts Festival held its first Competitive Festival in 1977. The Chairman who was the driving force behind its inception was Arthur Holt. His daughter, Rebecca Holt has in recent years adjudicated the Piano classes. Sadly Arthur passed away early but his legacy was continued by others especially Gwen Woodstock who has tirelessly worked for the Festival for over 40 years.
Since those early days the Festival has expended in size and now caters for about 1000 performers most of whom are of school age, both in competitive and non competitive classes. It has a proud tradition of nurturing young talent and focuses on encouraging confidence, performance, composition and many other educational and developmental skills. Our distinguished panel of adjudicators bring to the Festival a huge wealth of experience, knowledge and love of the performing arts which they share with the participants to foster those skills and celebrate with them the effort and practice they have put in to achieve their performances.
On behalf of the Chesham Arts Festival I would like to welcome and encourage everyone who would like to take part in the Forthcoming Chesham Arts Festival 2026 to do so. I hope you will find the updated syllabus easy to follow and will enjoy what is a celebration of your hard work next February. If you have any queries please email james.bowers@cheshamartsfestival.onmicrosoft.com
I would like to thank the Elgiva Theatre for hosting the event and all the committee members, volunteers, teachers, accompanists and parents for supporting their youngsters on their artistic journeys by helping them to take part in this wonderful annual event.
Timothy Bowers
A Message from the Chairman
A very warm welcome to the 49th annual Chesham Arts Festival. It will, I know, be an extremely enjoyable week with lots of talent on display. Chesham has a long tradition of support for the arts – there cannot be many towns of this size which have their own theatre and their own Arts Festival. Long may the tradition continue!
It is great to see all this taking place at the Elgiva in Chesham. The Bucks Free Press recently ran a feature on the best places to live in Buckinghamshire, and it highlighted Chesham’s “growing arts and culture scene.” It is a scene that Chesham Arts Festival is proud to be a part of.
The Festival was launched in the late seventies, another very gloomy period economically, hardly a propitious time for a new venture like an arts festival, but the founders’ optimism was well placed. Chesham Arts Festival has not just survived but has gone from strength to strength, a sign of just how important the arts are to us in good times and bad.
Michelle Obama opened a concert which she was once hosting at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School with the words, “We believe strongly that the arts aren't somehow an 'extra’ part of our national life, but instead we feel that the arts are at the heart of our national life. It is through our music, our literature, our art, drama and dance that we tell the story of our past and we express our hopes for the future.” I believe that Chesham Arts Festival plays an important part in keeping the arts at the centre of our life locally.
Cllr Alan Bacon
President
Timonthy Bowers DPhil, BMus Hons, FRAM, ARCM
Vice Presidents
Gwen Woodstock, ALCM
Mrs P Cracknell, ALCM LLCM (TD)
Officers and Committee Members
Chairman - Cllr Alan Bacon
Vice Chair - Catherine Bowers LRAM, CertEd
Treasurer - Martin Sims
Dance Officer - Johnny Schwerzmann AISTD, IDDC, AAC1
Festival Administrator & Music Officer - James Bowers BA (Hons), MA, LRSM