The Royal Bath & West of England Society, The Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6QN

The ORCHESTIVAL site is located within the Bath & West Showground which is a 240 acre site outside Shepton Mallett. We are thrilled to be able to provide a stunning summer venue which is also geared perfectly for the unpredictable British climate. Regardless of the weather, we are in a unique position to provide you with a very positive Orchestival experience, residing as we do in a venue with excellent covered areas, in addition to the iconic outdoor Orchestival environment that our audience expects. The Main Stage concert venue itself is a beautiful lakeside setting which has far reaching views across the rolling hills of Somerset.

The showground is easily accessible from the M5 and is situated along the A371 Castle Cary - Shepton Mallet road.
Castle Cary BR station (Paddington line), is a mere 5 minutes drive away, whilst Bristol and Bath are approximately 25 miles and 20 miles respectively in the opposite direction.

See our Travel to Orchestival page for more detailed information on car, rail or bus travel.

Facilities

The Bath and West showground provides the highest standard of onsite facilities.

With nine purpose built toilet blocks located across the site, there will also be further ample provision of high quality mobile flush toilets available for Orchestival audiences.
Excellent facilities for the disabled, baby changing and shower blocks are also located in specific purpose built zones around the showground. 
Facilities are maintained to a very high standard at all times.

The No 1 objective for ORCHESTIVAL is to create inspiring musical and educational encounters for our community.

In 2012 we held our pilot festival, Orchestra in a Field, at Glastonbury Abbey. The festival was an outstanding success and fuelled our determination to further develop the vision.

The 2012 opera production was ‘Carmen,’ Bizet’s sultry story of passion, transporting us to the torrid heat of Seville with a 200 strong chorus of children, full symphony orchestra and stunning opera soloists, conducted by Charles Hazlewood.

Singing Carmen on the big stage was great and I was really happy because I was singing with a big orchestra and international opera singers.
Lots of love Eloise

Harpist Ruth Wall and Bruce Woolley, (writer performer, record producer and composer) and Gavin Pretor-Pinney (acclaimed writer), shared a compelling collaboration on the history of the Theremin in the Talk Tent illustrated with film and live performance. We are thrilled to welcome Ruth back and Bruce will return with his Post War Orchestra - comprised of instruments made from weapons - for Orchestival 2014.

The British Paraorchestra, the world’s first ever ensemble for virtuoso musicians with a disability, made their debut performance on the 2012 stage, we eagerly await their return, this year to Orchestival, following their stellar success story.

The Tea Tent was a magnetic arena for festival goers to eat and relax in the café while being entertained by talented young musicians and local performers, whilst children enjoyed a busy programme of music and craft activities, including theatre, a Music Therapy Tent, and a beautiful Vintage Helter Skelter.

I thought that the Flying Seagulls circus were brilliant - they kept the kids amused for hours - as did the helter skelter and boat swings.

The dynamic, high octane exchanges of Professor Green and Labrinth, and the joyful celebration between Sam Lee and Eugene Skeef were two highlights of the spontaneous impro’s with which we are proud to be associated.

My daughters say they hate classical music, however if it is staged in a trendy way they can love it whilst holding onto their dignity.

I loved the whole concept of radical popular culture mashing up with classical repertoire when played by those at the top of their game.

We are inspired by the unconditional support of all who were involved in the 2012 Orchestra in a Field, artists, schools, organisations, and our greatly valued audience.

Charles Hazlewood and the Orchestra in a Field festival are finding new and creative ways of making the arts relevant and engaging. The festival is living proof that it's possible to make classical music funky without compromising on quality.
- Ralph Lister, Executive Director, Take Art