This week will see the start of the third annual Music@Malling Festival, which will be taking place in West Malling, Kent. The event will be celebrating the 100^th anniversary of Benjamin Britten, showcasing composers who he championed as a performer. Also to be performed will be great works by contemporary composers such as Arvo Pärt and the young composer and clarinettist Mark Simpson.

Starting on Thursday 26^th September and lasting until Sunday 29^th September, some of the highlights include works such as Stravinsky – Three pieces for Clarinet, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, a cello sonata by Britten and Schumann’s Fantasiestücke to name just a few.

Music@Malling not only provides and celebrates the opportunity for people to experience great classical and contemporary music live, but also has an underlying vision of engaging the local community through education and outreach work, raising the profile of music in and around West Malling. The event is founded by Thomas Kemp, who is particularly centred on giving music in schools a greater focus in order to keep music performance alive and growing within education and the younger generation.

Thomas’s recent article for Gramophone gives a great insight into his passion and the work he has done within this area of music. You can read it here.

Take a look at the website here to find out more about Music@Malling, what’s on and where to buy tickets. Also you can follow Music@Malling via Twitter and Facebook to keep track of the latest news.