THIRTY-FIVE performances across more than a dozen venues will ensure East Lothian is filled with music when the Lammermuir Festival returns.

The classical music festival, which was founded in 2010, runs from September 8 to 19, with lives performances at 16 venues.

Performances range from Scottish Opera and Jeremy Denk to Quatuor Mosaïques and Laura van der Heijden and Tom Poster.

Venues include Haddington’s St Mary’s Parish Church and the nearby Holy Trinity Church, as well as The Brunton and Sancta Maria Abbey.

Hugh Macdonald and James Waters, artistic directors, were looking forward to the event.

They said: “This year’s festival is our most ambitious to date and we couldn’t be more excited to share our plans.

“The wonderful American pianist Jeremy Denk returns with another astonishing collection of performances.

“Our friends Quatuor Mosaïques bring their incomparable Viennese insight to the music of Schubert and Haydn.

“Scottish Opera performs a late masterpiece by Massenet, and the exquisite French songs of Henri Duparc form the backbone of our coffee concerts.

“Baroque music in different contexts and styles has a special place in the festival, as does the thrillingly original music of Ligeti.

“The RSNO makes its festival debut and the Dunedin Consort performs Mozart’s great C minor Mass.

“The beautiful sacred music of William Byrd takes us to the secluded monastery of Sancta Maria at Nunraw for the first time, and the ancient Collegiate Church of Dunglass will resonate to 15th-century music sung by the Orlando Consort – and that’s only to scratch the surface!”

This year’s festival features the return of the Coffee Concerts at Holy Trinity Church in Haddington.

Split into two sections, the first will feature internationally acclaimed accompanist Malcolm Martineau.

The second half of the concert series features festival debuts for pianist Till Fellner, performing Beethoven and Schubert, violinist Viviane Hagner playing Bach, and French oboist Armand Djikoloum playing Tchaikovsky, Britten and Poulenc, in addition to returning Lammermuir Festival favourite Danny Driver.

In Scottish Opera’s 60th anniversary season, it will perform a semi-staged performance of operatic rarity Massenet’s Thérèse (1907), in what is likely its Scottish premiere on September 8 at St Mary’s Parish Church.

Festival artist-in-residence 2021 American pianist Jeremy Denk returns for five performances, beginning with a programme featuring Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit and Missy Mazzoli’s Heartbreaker at Dunbar Parish Church on September 8.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra makes its festival debut on September 10, conducted by Rory Macdonald in Sibelius’s 4th symphony and Brahms’ second piano concerto with Jeremy Denk as soloist.

Closing the festival on September 19, Jeremy Denk performs Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto alongside the Royal Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Dinis Sousa, in a celebratory concert opening with Ives’s Unanswered Question and ending with Mendelssohn.

Provost John McMillan described the festival as “a real highlight of East Lothian’s cultural calendar”.

He said: “I’m very impressed by the variety of live performances and range of venues which have been lined up for the event, and am sure that those attending concerts will thoroughly enjoy their experience.

“I’m also pleased the event has secured Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund (LA-CER) funding.”

For more information, go to lammermuirfestival.co.uk