Leeds Song Festival returns from Saturday 11 April to Saturday 18 April 2026, bringing together some of the world’s most captivating voices, inspiring musicians, cutting-edge creators, and rising stars for a packed 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 thoughtfully-programmed recitals, new commissions from exciting voices, community celebrations, and collaborations that reflect the vibrancy of the city of Leeds. On-line audiences will have the chance to access the work free-to-view as part of Leeds Song’s commitment to grow audiences for the art form.

Headlining this festival include internationally acclaimed performers performing a thrilling range of repertoire: Dame Sarah Connolly, Louise Alder, Huw Montague Rendall, Marianne Crebassa, Roderick Williams, Joseph Middleton, Katharina Konradi, Axelle Fanyo, Patricia Nolz, Nardus Williams, Elizabeth Kenny, Iain Burnside, Elizabeth Kenny, Theodore Platt 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 and pianists.

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 to the Festival, showcasing the excellent pipeline of creativity we support: Héloïse Werner, a YA in 2019, presents her Knight’s Dream, performed by Helen Charlston and Sholto Kynoch, alongside welcome appearances from Keval Shah, recent John Christie Glyndebourne Award-winner Charles Cunliffe and Gerald Moore Award-winner Jong Sun Woo.

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, including our award-winning projects in schools across the region that foster creativity in thousands of children each year and introduce them to classical music. The Composers & Poets Forum also returns to add to the rich tapestry of our ongoing “Leeds Songbook” - a celebration of the city’s inhabitants and their stories: 10 poets local to Leeds create work about the people of Leeds, set to music by post-graduate composers who write specifically for our Young Artists who are drawn by competitive entry from around the globe. For the first time visual artists will join the conversation and produce work in collaboration with the poets and composers culminating in a performance in the heart of the city: Leeds City Museum. Partnering with our friends at LiedBasel, Heidelberger Frühling, Schubertiada Vilabertran and LiedStadt Hamburg, we have launched a European-wide Art Song Challenge and are thrilled to introduce the Leeds Song winners, Arko Mukhaerjee and Nishad Pandey, to perform a recital of tribal and classical music from the South Asian subcontinent with contemporary influences. This concert is part of our ongoing showcasing of daring new interdisciplinary approaches presented in inspiring buildings in Leeds not associated with classical music.

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

Joseph Middleton Photo: ©Richard Cannon

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