Three Choirs Festival Chief Exec announces departure

ALEXIS PATERSON, Chief Executive of the Three Choirs Festival, has announced she will be standing down after eight years following this summer's festival in Worcester.

She will move on to become Senior Music Programme Producer with Oxford University’s Cultural Programme.

Paterson joined the Three Choirs Festival in 2016 and, during her period in the role, oversaw the merger of three charities – Three Choirs Foundation, Three Choirs Festival Society and Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival.

Continuing a tradition of championing new music, over 100 premieres have taken place between 2016 and 2024, along with a number of revivals including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's forgotten Solemn Prelude. Most recently, the festival has launched the New Voices Academy, supporting early-career composers to develop their choral writing.

Chair of Three Choirs Festival board, NAOMI BELSHAW said: “I want to express my profound gratitude to Dr Alexis Paterson for her pivotal work in professionalising and vitally modernising the Three Choirs Festival, thought to be the longest-standing classical music festival in the world. Alexis’s passion for classical music and unwavering commitment to excellence have been inspirational.”

Paterson added: “It’s been a huge privilege to lead the Three Choirs Festival through such a dynamic time in its history. I know the festival will continue to go from strength to strength because it’s valued by so many.”

The board has begun the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive.