The Festival provides performance opportunities for dancers, singers, instrumentalists and actors of all ages and constructive feedback from a panel of industry experts. As a charity it gives grants to those who go on to professional course of study.
Hastings Musical Festival is one of the biggest and most prestigious Festivals in the country, and a member of the British and International Federation of Festivals.
Hastings Musical Festival takes place at the White Rock Theatre over 2 weeks in March each year. Dancers, singers, musicians and actors of all ages perform in classes which are marked by an adjudicator who is a specialist and an expert in the field. Feedback is given to everyone and the winners of each class are announced. In many classes a trophy is also awarded.
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Hastings Musical Festival presents a one-of-a-kind Musical Evening celebrating the life of our beloved former chairman, Molly Townson (1943-2019). Molly was an inspiration to several generations of singers and performers, and this is our chance to remember her joyfully together.
This gala evening will honour every aspect of Molly’s musical life, from her own singing to her subsequent career as a singing teacher, with special focus on her long association with the Hastings Musical Festival and the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. As such, we welcome back previous Festival winners who have gone on to successful careers as performers, including Molly’s daughters, singers Melanie Stace and Emma Stace. There will also be contributions from the various performing groups with which she was associated, including Soirée, her touring Edwardian musical entertainment and Cantabile, her choir, with choreography by Pauline Ash of Laton Ash Dance Centre.
