Leeds Song Festival returns from Saturday 11 April to Saturday 18 April 2026, bringing together some of the world’s most captivating voices, creators, and rising stars for a week-long celebration of art song. Building on the record-breaking success of last year’s festival, which saw ticket sales soar by over 30%, the 2026 Festival offers an ambitious programme spanning grand recitals, new commissions, community celebrations, and collaborations that reflect the vibrancy of the city of Leeds.

View the 2026 Festival guide

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Headlining this festival include internationally acclaimed performers: Roderick Williams, Dame Sarah Connolly, Louise Alder, Huw Montague Rendall, Marianne Crebassa, Katharina Konradi, Axelle Fanyo, and Fleur Barron. Legendary artists Bernarda Fink, Sir Thomas Allen, Mark Padmore and Julius Drake lead this year’s masterclasses, offering audiences the chance to witness great interpreters shaping the next generation of singers.

While the headline recitals take place in two of the finest recital spaces in Yorkshire, Opera North’s Howard Assembly Room and Leeds Conservatoire’s The Venue, Leeds Song will reach new audiences by taking the most eclectic programme of song to the very heart of the city’s diverse cultural scene: for the first time to the trendy Left Bank Leeds, Leeds City Museum, The Royal Armouries Museum, and Springwell Brewery.

Alumni of the Leeds Song Young Artist programme return: Héloïse Werner’s Knight’s Dream, performed by Helen Charlston and Sholto Kynoch, alongside welcome appearances from Keval Shah, Charles Cunliffe and Jong Sun Woo. The festival also continues its tradition of supporting emerging voices with recitals from Austrian mezzo Patricia Nolz, a pioneering lute-accompanied recital from Nardus Williams with early music luminary Elizabeth Kenny, and Theodore Platt, newly signed to Deutsche Grammophon.

Leeds Song also proudly presents the world première of Dunwich, an intermedia work by Martin Iddon blending spoken word, piano and video in a haunting meditation on history and memory.

The much-loved Bring and Sing! invites audiences to join broadcaster and choirmaster Gareth Malone in a rousing performance of Haydn’s Nelson Mass. The festival’s commitment to accessibility and outreach continues with education projects and events that connect deeply with Leeds’ diverse communities. The Composers & Poets Forum also returns, along with the Art Song Challenge winners, including Arko Mukhaerjee and Nishad Pandey, showcasing daring new interdisciplinary approaches.

The festival closes with a specially curated recital by Dame Sarah Connolly, joined by prize winners from the Northern Aldborough New Voices Singing Competition, a finale that celebrates both excellence and the future of song.

Festival Director Joseph Middleton says:
“Leeds Song Festival is not just a series of concerts; it is a vibrant gathering of artists, audiences, and ideas. Whether you are a lifelong devotee of art song or discovering it for the first time, we invite you to join us for what promises to be an unforgettable festival, where music’s power to connect, move and transform is celebrated in all its richness.”

Leeds Song Festival 2026 runs from Saturday 11 to Saturday 18 April 2026.
Full details and tickets are available via the Opera North Box Office.
Booking for Friends go on sale on Thursday 16 October
General tickets on sale from Thursday 23 October
Online: https://www.leedssong.com/whats-on/
Telephone: 0113 223 3600