Set in the magical Orkney islands off the north coast of Scotland, St Magnus International Festival is preparing a special programme to celebrate its 50th edition next summer.
Festival Director, composer Alasdair Nicolson, is bringing together a festival that marks this golden milestone inspired by the theme of ‘Air’ reflecting on breath, sound, wind, flight and freedom.
Across music, theatre, spectacle and arts and crafts the festival brings together Orkney’s special creativity, community and culture rooted in its spectacular setting alongside its outward perspective on the world and international influences.
Co-founded in 1977 by composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and poet George Mackay Brown, the St Magnus Festival was born from a vision to bring world-class artistic experiences to the Orkney community. From these beginnings, with concerts hosted across churches, halls, and community spaces, the festival quickly gained international recognition for its bold programming, stunning setting, and distinctive inclusive spirit.
Over five decades, the festival has become a vibrant meeting place for artists and audiences from across the world. It has premiered countless new works, supported generations of musicians, writers, and performers, and transformed Orkney’s landscape every midsummer into a stage for music, theatre, dance, and visual art from its shores and around the world. This story will be told through the festival this year.
The festival’s full programme will be announced in the coming months, but an early reveal of some highlights promises the festival debut of Voces Thules, the renowned Icelandic male vocal ensemble as part of a wider focus on Iceland with chamber groups and a solo opera to be announced. This theme celebrates Orkney’s deep and ancient connections with Iceland, particularly through literature in the Icelandic Sagas, and the Orkneyinga Saga especially.
Also already lined up for 2026 are Rory McCleery’s acclaimed Marian Consort, the emotionally impactful Fibonacci Quartet, the deeply attuned Intesa Duo and long-term favourites, themselves celebrating their 30th anniversary, The Hebrides Ensemble.
A new Festival Orchestra is being brought together especially for the 50th edition in 2026. There will continue to be a series of writers in conversation, and the Festival will soon launch its open call for creative ideas for the annual Johnsmas Foy, celebrating Orkney artists and local lore, this year themed ‘the air we breathe’, as well as its new Composers and Poetry competitions.
One of Orkney’s most recent ‘celebrities’ will also be celebrated in a large scale new work by composer Alasdair Nicolson written for the Festival Orchestra and local children. Jasper the Kirkwall Cat was king of Kirkwall’s high street with his own Facebook profile. A regular visitor to businesses up and down the main street, including the festival’s office and box office, Jasper passed away in 2023 but stories of him are still frequently and affectionally shared.
Festival Director Alasdair Nicolson said: “The St Magnus Festival has always been about connection, between people, place, and art in these very special islands. It feels like a major milestone for an arts festival located so far north in Scotland to be celebrating its 50th festival. We are busy confirming a programme which takes air as its inspiration in a cycle of festivals about earth, air, fire and water, Orkney is no stranger to fresh air and wind! As ever we aim to bring audiences from Orkney and those that join us from further afield together to experience the rich culture and landscape of these northern isles meshed with performers from across the globe: this year ranging from Iceland to New Zealand.”
The full 2026 programme will be announced early next year, with events running across Orkney’s islands from Friday 19 to Sunday 28 June 2026.
The St Magnus International Festival is supported by Creative Scotland.
For more information, visit www.stmagnusfestival.com