In recent years the themes of the Vale of Glamorgan Festival have been broadly geographical – composers from Celtic countries in 2000, from Australia in 2001 and from Northern countries and Finland, in particular, last year. This year, by comparison, the themes are more elliptical. In planning the Festival the composers and pieces chosen have thrown-up unexpected comparisons and intriguing cross–connections. In particular many of the composers featured this year are concerned with clarity and simplicity. Their music often has a bright attractive surface that belies the intellectual rigour beneath it.

The work of living composers remains at the centre of the Festival and this year we celebrate the work of a number of composers: Matthew Hindson, one of the most distinctive younger voices in Australian music; Stephen Montague, an American who has made his home in Britain and Ned Rorem - another American who celebrates his eightieth birthday this year and whose music has not been heard in Britain as much as it might. Next to these composers we have a wide range of other voices – some that might be new to our audiences and others, such as Ross Edwards or Anne Boyd, who the Festival has championed in the past and who we will continue to feature in the future.

This year we have two ensembles in residence: Chamber Domaine, who some of you may remember from last year, and Sinfonia Cymru and its conductor Gareth Jones. This year also features the most unusual venue which the Vale of Glamorgan Festival has ever visited: British Airways Maintenance Cardiff at Cardiff International Airport. Much as I love some of the beautiful and ancient churches in which we perform, the Festival is about contemporary music and it seems particularly appropriate that we should present a concert of Matthew Hindson’s "high-tech" music in "high-tech" surroundings.

We are also pleased to be hosting concerts by Okeanos and Isabel Ettenauer promoted by the British Music Information Centre as part of its "Cutting Edge" tour and to once again have a substantial programme from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. I do hope you will join us to hear their concert in the superb new theatre space that Stanwell School have recently built.

I do not need to remind our regular audiences of what a special experience visiting the Festival is – a week of concerts at atmospheric and intimate venues, the chance to meet composers, old friends and hear intriguing new pieces. But if you’re new to contemporary music and think that it might not be for you, there is no better way to open the door on a whole new world.

John Metcalf, May 2003

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