WORLD-CLASS VOCAL AND CHAMBER MUSIC IN THE HEART OF DEVON

Each year at WAF we invite one of the country's most exciting young music creators to be our Composer-in-Residence, as part of a scheme that sees them become deeply immersed in our festival community.

We were delighted to welcome award-winning composer Kerensa Briggs as our 2026 Composer-in-Residence. As well as writing new music for Corvus Consort and our Festival String Quartet, Kerensa is composing a brand new song for our WAF Children’s Choir. All these works will be premiered during the festival in September 2026.

A specialist in choral music, Kerensa's music is performed regularly on international stages, and has been described by The New York Times as “poignant, ambivalent [and] quietly devastating”.

Founded and directed by Freddie Crowley, Corvus Consort is a UK-based vocal ensemble comprising some of the country’s finest young professional singers. Described as “always full of fresh thinking” by BBC Music Magazine, Corvus’s combination of musical excellence, passionate performance and imaginative presentation makes them hugely popular with audiences nationwide.

They have released two albums on Chandos Records, with the most recent 'Welcome Joy' (2024) featured as 'Recording of the Month' in BBC Music Magazine, who gave the album five stars and called it "dazzling".

Corvus Consort will become familiar faces to our audience members over the course of the Festival, appearing in a variety of vocal combinations and showcasing their versatility throughout a range of musical styles.

WAF is thrilled to deliver a Learning & Engagement programme which provides singing opportunities to around 200 children in our surrounding villages.

As part of our objective to offer fun, accessible and inspiring musical opportunities to the children in our community regardless of their prior musical experience or socio-economic background, we provide a series of musical workshops across the year in six local primary schools, culminating in the opportunity to perform at our annual festival. Every year in September, the WAF Children’s Choir takes to the stage alongside our professional artists to perform a set of specially-prepared music, including a brand-new song composed each year by our Composer-in-Residence.

WAF is absolutely committed to providing out L&E programme at no cost to the children involved or their schools, and we are hugely grateful to our Festival Supporters for helping us to achieve this.

Freddie Crowley maintains a busy musical career as an ensemble and solo singer, conductor, arranger, educator and artistic director.

Growing up in the Dartmoor village of Gidleigh, Freddie sang as a chorister in Exeter Cathedral, and was constantly involved in music and theatre around Chagford and the surrounding area. He went on to study Music at Oxford University, graduating in 2018 with a prize-winning First Class degree. Shortly after leaving university he founded vocal ensemble Corvus Consort, and then set up the Whiddon Autumn Festival in 2021.

As an ensemble singer, Freddie has performed with choirs including The Sixteen, London Voices, Philharmonia Voices, Oxford Bach Soloists, The Carice Singers and Echo. As an educator, he frequently delivers singing workshops in schools around the country, often working as part of the Learning & Engagement teams at The Sixteen and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain.