About Us

Bangor Music Festival is a charitable organisation dedicated to presenting contemporary music performed by artist of the highest calibre and has a strong commitment to enrich and educate the North Wales community through workshops and concerts.

We see music as a living and thriving art-form and our enthusiasm for new music is reflected in our festival. Contemporary musicians of all ages from around the United Kingdom find inspiration, promotion and most of all, support through the festival. Thanks to the generous and continuous support from the community, we have successfully hosted festivals since 2000.

The primary objectives of the Festival are:

to provide the public with the opportunity to experience and learn about contemporary music
to commission and/or perform new works from composers of varied nationalities
to allow school pupils, students and members of the general public to compose and perform new music
Every year, the Festival endeavours to present the latest trends and developments in contemporary composition, with a particular emphasis on chamber music, mixed-media events, electroacoustic music and experimental music. New or recent works from artists of international standing are performed, where possible, in the presence of the composer.

Festival Staff

Guto Pryderi Puw (Artistic Director)

I have been the Artistic Director since the festival was established in 2000, but the enjoyment and excitement of organising some of the most recent music for Bangor and its surrounding areas is as enjoyable as ever! It is always gratifying when audience members leave the event being excited about and inspired by the music, it shows that all the hard work is well worth the effort. My day to day job is being Music Lecturer at the School of Music, Bangor University but my other (and main) passion is composing. I’m currently working on an opera (Y Tŵr) and a violin concerto. (The adjacent photograph is my ‘academic look.’)

Gwydion Davies (Festival Administrator)

I joined the Bangor Music Festival team to work towards the Festival in 2016. I studied B.Mus and Masters in Music at Bangor University, and developed an interest in music education. This lead me to work for Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias who provide music education at its music centres in Caernarfon and Denbigh, and later also for the Festival. I’m thrilled to be part of the Festival with the rich variety of concerts, masterclasses and educational projects that go hand in hand with the event each year.