A vital and creatively rich component of Leeds Lieder’s work, the Composer and Poets Forum is a day-long culmination of work initiated in November when student composers from the national conservatoires and selected northern universities met poets local to Leeds in a creative venture to encourage the composition of new art songs. Today they return to perform and discuss these new works. We welcome other aspiring composers and poets to take part in the discussions from the floor.

Our Composers and Poets programme has been a cornerstone of the Leeds Lieder Festival from the very beginning, and has featured luminaries such as South-Yorkshire born poet Ian McMillan.

Robert Schumann, one of our featured composers this year, wrote “Sometimes it seems as though I am embarking on completely new paths in music” and this showcase promises to be an unpredictable and fascinating concert, which may well point out new directions for art song.