WORLD CLASS MUSIC IN THE HEART OF DEVON
Join us every year in September for the Whiddon Autumn Festival. This year's festival takes place 16-20 September 2026.
Set in and around the picturesque and historic Whiddon Parishes of northern Dartmoor, the annual Whiddon Autumn Festival is one of Devon's freshest and most exciting cultural events. Every year in September, WAF sees a vibrant musical programme including choral performances, chamber music, art song, jazz, participation opportunities and events for children, with a dazzling line-up of young artists, all curated by local-born Artistic Director Freddie Crowley.
"The Whiddon Autumn Festival is a delectable cocktail of youthful vitality, ambitious programming, topnotch musical integrity, and a breezy, easy-going amiability."
The Moorlander
WAF is committed to inclusion and accessibility, subsidising all ticket prices, and providing several free and “donate-what-you-can” events. We offer free entry to ages 25 & under for all the festival’s principal concerts, and £8 tickets to those aged 26-35.
We also offer a 50% discount to those claiming Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Disability Benefit, Housing Benefit & Pension Credit. Enter the discount code UC50 at checkout to claim your discount.
The Festival has four core aims:
to present world-class live music at affordable prices in a part of the country that so infrequently sees professional classical music performances.
to provide a platform for some of the UK's most talented young musicians in the early stages of their professional careers.
to deliver an inspiring Learning & Engagement programme for local children, encouraging enjoyment & participation in music from an early age, and promoting values of teamwork & collectivity through group singing.
to engage closely with our community by holding participatory events which offer local residents the opportunity to join with our professional artists in a collective performance.
Founded in 2021, WAF sees its sixth annual festival in September 2026. Building from our initial three-day Festival in 2021, WAF now features 16 events over 5 days spread across 5 Dartmoor villages, and is fast becoming a cornerstone of Devon’s cultural calendar.
Use the button at the bottom of this page to join our newsletter and be the first to hear updates about the Festival. Please also visit our Festival Archive pages using the following links to find out more about our past festivals...
WAF 2021
WAF 2022
WAF 2023
WAF 2024
WAF 2025
"The great joy of this festival is its youthful exuberance, enthusiasm and vitality. Forget the stuffy, strait-laced image which sadly plagues so much serious music-making, the Whiddon Autumn Festival works hard to pulverize the stigma of classical music as elitist."
The Moorlander
“Relaxed, unhurried and welcoming … It felt as if we were part of something new and different arising from within this beautiful corner of rural Devon.”
The Moorlander
Performers
WAF's Ensemble-in-Residence is vibrant young vocal ensemble the Corvus Consort, which plays a central role in many of our Festival events, under the direction of Freddie Crowley. Our resident Festival String Quartet also appears throughout the Festival, performing in a wide variety of combinations and styles. With these two ensembles providing our core of performers, each year also features a different dazzling line-up of guest artists, carefully selected by our Festival Director.
Click here for a full list of this year's performers.
Learning & Engagement
In addition to our concerts and other public events, we are thrilled to deliver a Learning & Engagement programme which provides singing opportunities to around 200 children in the surrounding villages. Our objective is to offer fun, accessible and inspiring musical opportunities to all children in our community, regardless of their prior musical experience or socio-economic background. As well as a programme of workshops in local primary schools, we also offer an opportunity for children to take part in our WAF Children's Choir, which performs alongside our professional artists in one of our principal concerts.
Click here to learn more about our Learning & Engagement programme.
Composer-in-Residence Scheme
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 community. The Composer-in-Residence writes three brand new musical works which receive their world premiere performances at the Festival — including music for our professional artists and a song for our WAF Children's Choir. Visit our Performers page to find out about this year's Composer-in-Residence.
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Reviews
The Moorlander newspaper, 2023
The altogether glorious Whiddon Autumn Festival ... The 2023 Whiddon Autumn Festival moved up a notch in its integration within the community...
...
Louise Thomson (harp) is a fabulous harpist with a warm, friendly style of presentation. Her solo recital was a tour-de-force as she performed some of the most challenging and virtuosic music in the entire repertoire.
The concert for harp and women’s voices was utterly transcendent. The combination is one of music’s most sublime sound-worlds ... However, the fascinating concert at the Whiddon Autumn Festival pretty much avoided the standard works in favour of a far more unusual programme, consisting almost entirely of works by female composers, four of whom are still living. Director Freddie Crowley gave a short and entertaining pre-concert talk which added greatly to the enjoyment and understanding of the music.
...
It’s wonderful to witness the ongoing development of this unique festival, and to observe artistic director Freddie becoming ever more sure-footed and experienced in his own musical journey. The Whiddon Autumn Festival is a delectable cocktail of youthful vitality, ambitious programming, top-notch musical integrity, and a breezy, easy-going amiability. Look out for the fourth edition in September 2024!
The Moorlander newspaper, 2022
Now in its second year, the Whiddon Autumn Festival impressed audiences once again with its commitment to bringing high quality music directly into the rural heart of North East Dartmoor.
The great joy of this festival is its youthful exuberance, enthusiasm and vitality. Forget the stuffy, strait-laced image which sadly plagues so much serious music-making, the Whiddon Autumn Festival works hard to pulverize the stigma of classical music as elitist. Young Festival Director, local born Freddie Crowley, presents the concerts with warmth and charm. He’s an engaging musician, a former chorister at Exeter Cathedral and an Oxford music graduate.
…
The concert I attended in Drewsteignton Church was unforgettable – atmospheric, haunting, timeless, otherworldly. The acclaimed Ferio Saxophone Quartet joined Freddie Crowley’s vocal ensemble, the Corvus Consort, to perform music from their new joint album, ‘Revoiced’. I loved it! The four saxophones of different sizes gleamed in the autumnal light, reflecting the colours of the stained-glass windows. The youthful voices soared. The rich programme included music from the 1500s to the 21st century performed with a seductive loveliness that pulled the audience in. If you’ve never experienced it, the mesmerizing combination of human voices and saxophone quartet is worth travelling a long way to hear … We drove home in virtual silence, suffused with numinous joy.
