The biggest event of the year at Paxton House is Music at Paxton, our annual music festival from 22 to 31 July.  For the past 16 years, Music at Paxton has brought top class musicians from all over Britain to this quiet corner of the Borders for 10 days of exceptional musical performances for fans, families and even for toddlers.

Music at Paxton ­now dominates two weeks in July but when it started in 2006, it was just a weekend.  Organiser Elizabeth Macdonald explains “We may be a relatively small festival, but we punch above our weight artistically. Over the years we have built up a national reputation with a loyal following of supporters, and we are now able to attract some of the best musicians and performers and to do some things that are really innovative.”

One innovation is the ‘associate ensemble’ status given to one chamber group over three years. 2022 is the final year in which the award-winning Maxwell Quartet is associate ensemble allowing this exciting young string quartet to return to Paxton bringing their special mix of classical and folk music.

Sponsoring young musicians is a key element of Music at Paxton, giving audiences in Northumberland and the Borders a chance to hear the talent of tomorrow. This year, established artist Roderick Williams, one of this country’s most sought after baritones, will be sharing a platform with rising star, Jerome Knox, and singing works by young composer Sarah Cattley in a Scottish premiere performance.

In other big name concerts, Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt plays Bach, Brahms and Mozart and Britain’s leading mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly sings a selection of 19^th and 20^th century songs from Schoenberg to Kurt Weill.

A partnership with Live Music Now Scotland, a charity which aims to expand access to music, has allowed the festival to take over the marquee for events for all the family. Expect lively folk music sessions and ‘Traditional Tunes for Tiny People’. In addition, a fun family concert will be held in Paxton’s Picture Gallery where the Echéa Quartet will stage a special programme for all ages following their acclaimed ‘For Crying Out Loud’ programme at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Music at Paxton offers the all-too-rare opportunity to hear chamber music in an original setting, just as the first audiences would have heard it, with all the intimacy and authentic sound quality that implies. The beauty of the setting of Paxton House’s Regency Picture Gallery really adds to the performance for the audience. A highlight of Festival fortnight will be young Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov’s programme of music to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of French writer Marcel Proust, a mix of Proust’s favourite composers and music from the concert halls of Paris in the Belle-Epoque. This concert is kicked off with an expert-led discussion about the glamorous high society life of fin-de-siecle Paris that Proust loved. Or for something surprising, book to hear young prize-winning musician Ryan Corbett on the accordion, mixing a classical Baroque repertoire of Bach and Scarlatti with contemporary pieces.

If you are in any doubt that audiences come a long way to enjoy Music at Paxton, follow the example of one couple from the South of England who bring their campervan to the Walled Garden Campsite for a week long holiday of music at Paxton each year. Paxton’s location just an hour south of Edinburgh and north of Newcastle with easy access from Berwick-upon-Tweed means that this exceptional programme of music draws in audiences from across the region. You are sure of hearing top class music in a setting of unrivalled splendour at this true Festival for the Borders.

Music at Paxton runs from 22-31 July. Tickets are still available. Book here.