About the Festival

‘Sublime’
‘…. a highlight of the Musical Year’
‘To have such easy access to such brilliant performers is really a wonderful bonus’
‘A key date in my Spring diary’

The Investec International Music Festival brings world-class artists to perform in beautiful venues in the Surrey Hills, in early May each year.

IIMF is a registered charity and in addition to putting on concerts, the Committee commits to promoting music to children through special pricing for under 21’s and supporting the Guildford Royal Grammar School String Scheme. The Festival also provides a performance platform for top post-graduate conservatoire students and early career musicians, which is a valuable opportunity for those starting out as professional performers.

After studying at the Royal Academy of Music, Festival Founders Wu Qian and Tessa Marchington were keen to bring their musician friends back home to where they both grew up, in the area of the Surrey Hills. In 2010 they founded the Festival with three days of concerts given by artists including Nicola Benedetti and Lucy Crowe. After the first year, a management committee was set up and the Festival has expanded and gone from strength to strength. The tragedy of Covid-19 has meant that 2020 which would have been our eleventh is the ‘Lost Season’, but we are offering access to a virtual season of concerts and talks, and we are very optimistic for the future of the Festival.

Past artists have included Dame Sarah Connolly (Festival Patron), Natalie Clein, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Maxim Rysanov, Tenebrae, The English Concert, The London Mozart Players, the Philharmonia and many other eminent international artists and conductors.

Our venues are beautiful and create a wonderful sense of closeness to the performers and to their music. Many of our audience come year after year and this creates a lovely spirit of friendship and a shared enthusiasm for the music. We are incredibly lucky to have such a loyal and supportive community around the festival, and we are told that the Festival is a highlight of the year. So, why go to Vienna, Paris, New York or even London when you can see international stars in the Surrey Hills? The Festival weekends offer visitors wonderful walking and many enjoy opportunities for pre-concert dining either at the venue or in country pubs and restaurants.

Julia Pearson, Chair IIMF=