A festival bringing world class music to historic local venues returns for a seventh time.

Some 24 events will take place during Music@Malling, featuring music of leading contemporary composers, alongside classical, jazz and folk music, as well as work with 1,400 primary schoolchildren from around the West Malling area, bsed on Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes. The festival is organised by professional musician Thomas Kemp, who grew up in West Malling and now lives back in the area.

Concerts will include Vaughan William’s The Lark Ascending, a premiere of a new work by Tomi Raisanen and Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Richard Harwood, who made his critically acclaimed concerto debut at the age of 10. He has played at venues around the world, including the Royal Albert Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York.

Here, Richard Harwood, talks about his festival experience.

Are you friends with festival organiser Thomas Kemp?

Yes, Tom is one of my closest friends, we’ve known each other well for more than 10 years, have worked together before as chamber musicians, as part of his chamber ensemble Chamber Domaine, and in the studio recording chamber works from Turnage to Mozart as well as screen music for film and TV. So being involved with Music@Malling didn’t take any persuading! It’s really become an annual fixture in my diary.

What do you like about Music@Malling?

I like how Tom, who grew up in West Malling and started learning the violin in the kitchen of his primary school, saw a need for more music and arts and, in particular, more music education in the area and set to work on bringing something valuable, necessary and positive to the area. There are so many benefits to music education in schools stretching far beyond just learning about music. There is a lot of community involvement and I think more and more people from West Malling and Kings Hill are becoming ever more aware of this annual festival and are engaging with it. That may simply be through attending a classical or jazz event but also, very often, through children telling parents about the education projects they’ve experienced at schools throughout Kent or the Go Compose! and schools events reaching more than a 1,000 children. Children are then bringing their parents to events.

Is it nice to perform in small venues like this?

Yes, it’s always nice to perform in West Malling and the surrounding villages. It’s a lovely place to have the good fortune to visit regularly. It is particularly special to play at Malling Abbey which is often closed to the public and so it is a privilege to have been able to perform there the last three years.

What are you playing?

I shall be playing the three, solo suites by Max Reger at lunchtime on Friday, September 22. Reger died in 1916 but the suites are rather baroque in nature and it will be a treat to play them in the fantastic resonance of Malling Abbey. On Saturday, September 23, I shall be performing probably the ultimate cello piece for any British cellist – Elgar’s Cello Concerto, probably the most widely known piece of cello music among all types of audiences in the UK.

Where will you stay while you’re here?

I almost always stay with Alan and Mary in the heart of West Malling. Alan is the chairman of Music@Malling and they are so kind to let me stay with them. They are very near the Abbey so it’s especially convenient for me! I also have a number of relations living in and around Folkestone and have many memories of being in Kent through my teenage years. My brother also went to the University of Kent, Canterbury.

There’s quite a line-up for this year’s festival – are there any performances you would like to see?

I’m sadly unlikely to get much chance to hear anything else at the festival but there are so many great concerts and performers at this year’s festival. I’ve worked with the guitarist Craig Ogden before, most recently a few months ago and he’s a popular feature on Classic FM. Steven Devine and I performed together last year and he’ll be performing with other people in the Abbey this year. There’s so much more. Lizzie Ball does her Classical Kicks bringing classical music to an informal setting at The Farmhouse and there’s great jazz from James Pearson of Ronnie Scott’s and amazing musician and jazz trombonist Callum Au.

DETAILS

Music@Malling runs from Thursday, September 21 to Saturday, September 30. For details and to book tickets go to musicatmalling.com

Richard Harwood’s Reger – Forgotten Master is at Malling Abbey in Swan Street, West Malling on Friday, September 22. Tickets are £10.