SPEAK OF THE NORTH: A day of music and walking

Claire Booth, Tamsin Waley-Cohen & Tim Horton

St Anne's Church & St Peter's Church, Beeley & Edensor

Thursday 21 May 2026, 10.00am

Tickets:
£40 for 2 concerts plus guided walk and talk
£20 UC, PIP & DLA
£10 Students & Under 35s

Home› What's on› SPEAK OF THE NORTH: A day of music and walking

10.00am St Peter’s Church, Edensor
GRIEG
   Violin Sonata No.2 in G (20’)
   Haugtussa (26′)

11.00 am Guided walk (choice of routes of approx 1.8 or 3 miles)

1.00pm St Anne’s Church, Beeley
Poetry, Song and Landscape talk

2.15pm Guided walk (approx 1.8 miles)

3.30pm St Peter’s Church, Edensor
GRAINGER Folk Music (selection) (20’)
HIGGINS Speak of the North (35’)

There will be an opportunity to have lunch before the concert in Beeley. Please bring your own food and drink.

In two beautiful churches on the Chatsworth Estate, violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, praised for her “undeniably fabulous playing” (Classical Source), joins soprano Claire Booth and Ensemble 360 pianist Tim Horton to perform music by Grieg and Grainger, and a Music in the Round co-commission, ‘Speak of the North’.

Described as a vast and sprawling journey across the moors, mountains, cities and coasts of the north of England” (The Guardian), this new work by Gavin Higgins features poems by northern writers, such as Tony Williams and the Brontë sisters, interwoven with folk violin in a collection of musical pictures brought to life through song, including the work ‘Sycamore Gap’.

This is music that sings of the Northern landscape in all its breathtaking glory.

“Thinking of the north gives me a feeling of rootedness. It grounds me and reminds me of who I am and, in returning to the north for this song cycle, I feel like I’ve come home.” Gavin Higgins

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Additional info for ticket-holders:

Directions

– regardless of your approach, the Chatsworth estate is well signposted from Baslow, Bakewell and Rowsley.

Parking

– Please head to St Peter’s Church, Edensor, stewards will be present to guide you to parking spaces

– For satnav users, the postcode is DE45 1PH

9.30am: St Peter’s Church, Edensor, doors open
10.00am: St Peter’s Church, Edensor. Concert 1

11.00am: staff from Music in the Round will guide you along the route. The first stage of the walk is 3 miles on good paths and tracks (and only a very short section by the roadside), but it includes a gentle climb for the first mile. Please bring appropriate footwear, waterproofs and water. A shorter 1.8 mile version of the route is also available and will also be guided for those who would prefer an easier walk.

There will be an opportunity to have lunch before the event in Beeley. Please bring your own food and drink.

1.00pm: St Anne’s Church, Beeley. Event 2

2.15pm: Guided walk. Everyone will walk the shorter 1.8 mile route back to Edensor. It is an easy walk along the riverside by Chatsworth House.

3.30pm: St Peter’s Church, Edensor. Concert 3 (doors open from 3.00pm)

4.30pm: Concert ends

About the Artists

Claire Booth

“An actor-singer who can raise the dramatic heat as soon as she enters the stage” (Opera Now), “that most questing, resourceful and intelligent of sopranos” (Daily Telegraph), British soprano Claire Booth has been widely acclaimed for her “radiant, rapturous, wonderfully nuanced performances” and voice of “piercing purity [and] luscious richness” (The Scotsman). She is renowned for her breadth of repertoire, and for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform, with a versatility that encompasses repertoire spanning from Monteverdi and Handel, through Rossini, Berg and Britten, to a fearless commitment to the music of the present day. Booth has won the 2025 RPS Singer Award with the jury celebrating an artistry that “knows no bounds.” Read more.

Tamsin Waley-Cohen

British-American violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen is known for her visceral and deeply expressive performances in repertoire spanning six centuries. With musical storytelling central to her approach, she has gained a reputation for her “undeniably-fabulous playing” (Classical Source) and poetic performances that go straight to the heart. In addition to concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Hallé, Liverpool Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia and BBC orchestras, amongst others, she has twice been associate artist with the Orchestra of the Swan and worked with conductors including Andrew Litton, Vasily Petrenko, Ben Gernon, Ryan Bancroft and Tamás Vásáry. Read more.

Tim Horton

Tim Horton is one of the UK’s leading pianists, equally at home in solo and chamber repertoire. He has appeared as soloist with major orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra.

Tim gave his debut solo recital at Wigmore Hall in 2016, and appears there frequently as both soloist and collaborative artist. He is regularly invited to play at distinguished festivals and series across the UK and abroad, including Music in the Round for whom he has presented a number of solo piano cycles, alongside his work with Ensemble 360. During 2026 Tim presents the fifth and sixth instalments of his Chopin Cycle at London’s Wigmore Hall and embarks on a new Beethoven cycle for Music in the Round at the Crucible. Alongside his solo work Tim maintains a busy performing schedule with Ensemble 360 and the Leonore Piano Trio, and is a founding member of both groups. He is regularly broadcast by BBC Radio 3. Read more.

SPEAK OF THE NORTH: final concert only

Claire Booth, Tamsin Waley-Cohen & Tim Horton

St Anne's Church & St Peter's Church, Beeley & Edensor

Thursday 21 May 2026, 3.30pm

Tickets:
£17 for the final concert in ‘a day of music and walking’
£10 UC, PIP & DLA
£5 Students & Under 35s

Book Tickets

Home› What's on› SPEAK OF THE NORTH: final concert only

GRAINGER Folk Music (selection) (20’)
HIGGINS Speak of the North (35’)

In a beautiful church on the Chatsworth Estate, violinist Tamsin Waley Cohen, praised for her “undeniably fabulous playing” (Classical Source), joins soprano Claire Booth and Ensemble 360 pianist Tim Horton to perform music by Grainger, and a Music in the Round co-commission, ‘Speak of the North’.

This is music that sings of the Northern landscape in all its breathtaking glory.

“Thinking of the north gives me a feeling of rootedness. It grounds me and reminds me of who I am and, in returning to the north for this song cycle, I feel like I’ve come home.” Gavin Higgins