- INSPIRATION THROUGH PERFORMANCE
COULSDON & PURLEY FESTIVAL
The Coulsdon and Purley Festival is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech.
Registered Charity No: 1037897 The Coulsdon and Purley Festival aims to provide opportunities to advance, promote and encourage generally and by means of competition, a platform for public performances encompassing all ages. PRESIDENT Russell Keable BA MMus |
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FOLLOW US ON:
CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
The 2026 Coulsdon and Purley Festival is now at the half-way stage. We have already enjoyed some outstanding performances from many competitors, and we have much more to look forward to. There are two further days in the piano section, and the speech and drama classes have several sessions over the next couple of weeks.
Make a date in your diaries for the Hervey Alan Cup, which takes place in the Recital Hall at Trinity School on Saturday, March 21st at 7. 00pm. A celebration of the best of the Festival, this is when we hear a choice selection of the very best performers across all the music sections in competition for the Hervey Alan Cup. This is always a great highlight of our Festival and we would love to have a full house for this event. Come along and enjoy a truly memorable evening. |
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2026 FESTIVAL OVERVIEW
For section timetables,
please click here 
UPCOMING FESTIVAL EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY Eden Agranat Meged, winner of the 2024 Piano Concerto Class, will be playing with the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Dominic Grier on Sunday 7th June 2026 at 3pm in the Worthing Assembly Hall. He will be playing Variations Symphoniques by C Franck and Piano Concerto No 27 in B-flat major by W A Mozart Sherri Lunn, winner of the 2025 Piano Concerto Class, will be playing with the Orchestra of St John's with John Lubbock conducting on 19th September at 7pm at
Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire She will be playing Schumann Concerto in A minor op.54 27th February - 1st March
The hills of Sanderstead were alive 'with the sound of music' last weekend. The choirs brought richness and unity of sound, while the solo singers captivated audiences with confident and expressive performances. We were delighted to welcome six new choirs this year: Hazelwood Year 2 Choir. LKYC, LKWC, Cultural Heritage, Celeste and Show Choir from Norbury High Girls School. 
Norbury High School for Girls
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FESTIVAL UPDATE 6th-8th March
The second weekend of the Festival proved to be a particularly busy and rewarding one. Proceedings began at Wilson’s School with an impressive class of 43 novice string players performing their prepared pieces with impressive enthusiasm. The evening continued with solo woodwind performances, followed by three contrasting adult ensembles: a brass band, a handbell group and a recorder ensemble. Saturday brought a varied programme of woodwind, brass and percussion classes, and the day concluded with the Advanced Recital Class. The winner of this prestigious class was Hiu Yan Kwan, who gave a fine performance on the oboe. We look forward to hearing her play at the Lunchtime Recital at St Bride’s Church, London on Friday 9th October.
Meanwhile, Trinity School hosted a full day of piano classes, while vocal classes continued at Sanderstead United Reformed Church. Sunday was another busy day back at Trinity, with pianists and string players performing throughout the day. A particular highlight of the weekend was the Piano Concerto Class on Sunday, which featured sixteen remarkable young pianists performing works by some of the greatest composers including Chopin, Grieg, Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Ravel and Rachmaninoff. Ryan Sheng’s exceptional performance of the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in B♭ minor earned him first place, along with the exciting opportunity to perform with the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Dominic Grier on a date to be arranged.
Meanwhile, over in the Recital Hall at Trinity School, some fine performances were happening in the Strings Section of the Festival, featuring a wide range of impressive performances from young musicians across the various classes. The Advanced Recital Class, which brought the evening to an exciting conclusion, was won by Sigal Nachshen whose performance stood out for its musical assurance and expressive playing. We look forward to hearing her play at the lunchtime recital at St Bride's Church on 9th October. 
Sigal Nachshen
On Sunday, over at Warlingham Park School, the Speech and Drama section brought the stage to life with a wonderful range of performances. Budding public speakers and young actors presented structured speeches, thoughtful critical reviews, and engaging poetry and prose recitals. There was also plenty of creativity on display in the Write a Poem classes, where our very own poets performed their original work with imagination and confidence. It was a lively and inspiring day celebrating both the spoken word and creative expression. These poem will soon be appearing on the website for you all to share.
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https://youtu.be/Z9adJF4CRhM
To view this short Video about the work of BIFF (The British and International Federation of Festivals) click on the link above.
To view this short Video about the work of BIFF (The British and International Federation of Festivals) click on the link above.
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HOW YOU CAN
HELP THE FESTIVAL TO CONTINUE ITS SUCCESS AND GROWTH 
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CATERING - for both public refreshments and volunteer lunches etc Contact cpfes[email protected]
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Coulsdon and Purley Festival are grateful for the support
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