HACS Harrogate Music Festival

Harrogate International Festivals is celebrating its 60th anniversary in style by bringing some of the biggest names and brightest emerging stars in classical music to Harrogate this summer.

The HACS Harrogate Music Festival 2026 – which runs from 6 June to 5 July – will bring a dazzling array of talent from much loved orchestras to trailblazing performers and ensembles, to the North Yorkshire spa town.

Genre-defying cellist Abel Selaocoe, who has taken the world by storm since bursting onto the music scene in 2021 with his BBC Proms debut, will kick off this year’s Music Festival alongside his Bantu Ensemble in dramatic fashion, with a special concert at Ashville College on 6 June.

And when it comes to stars, they do not come much bigger or brighter than Davóne Tines, who has changed the face of modern opera. He is appearing at the Wesley Centre on 12 June, in what will be his only performance in the North of England this season.

Orchestras have created some of the Music Festival’s most thrilling moments, making a major contribution to classical music in the north of England, and as part of this year’s landmark celebrations the globally renowned Festival is bringing not one, but two orchestras to the magnificent Royal Hall.

The boundary-pushing Aurora Orchestra, renowned for their innovative, memorised concerts, will perform at this historic venue on 24 June. This is a rare opportunity to see this remarkable orchestra, regular performers at the BBC Proms, in Yorkshire. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, one of classical music’s best loved orchestras, returns to the Royal Hall on what promises to be a memorable evening on 5 July, when their concert will be recorded for BBC Radio 3.

Festival legends Oddsocks also make a welcome return with their unique and wonderful take on Shakespeare, performing Romeo and Juliet in the stunning setting of RHS Harlow Carr on 30 June and 1 July.

The 60th anniversary celebrations will continue throughout 2026 with landmark events spanning music, literature and outdoor spectacles.