training, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears had established both on the Suffolk coast,
where they lived. They invited their friends, whether recognised international stars or
young emerging talents, who were drawn here by the inspiring landscape, which gave
them the space to think, compose, practise and perform.
Springing directly from this legacy, we have an ambitious plan to make Aldeburgh a
European ‘creative centre’ that will fire the imagination and stretch the world’s best musical
and artistic talent. This is underpinned by Arts Council England picking us to become the
national centre of excellence for the professional development of musicians – all the more
extraordinary as we are perched about as far east in England as you can go.
To achieve this we need to provide world-class facilities, raising the quality and quantity of
our artist workspaces and in so doing, create Europe’s first centre dedicated to fulfilling the
potential of musicians and artists at all levels. We have the finance in place to operate our
new facilities when they are complete and, although this is one of the most ambitious non-
metropolitan arts projects in this country, we are determined to raise the capital we need.
To do that we are going to need all the support we can get.
The Lord Stevenson of Coddenham
Chairman of Aldeburgh Music