About Us
Hexham marketplace and abbey: Photo – Hexham Community Partnership
Who we are
Hexham and District Music Society is a registered charity set up to foster the public knowledge and appreciation of music through the promotion of high-class public concerts.
It is run by an annually elected committee of volunteer members and stages an annual concert season in the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre and, occasionally, Hexham Abbey.
Our venues
Queen's Hall Arts Centre
The Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, our main concert home in the centre of Hexham, is a comfortable and fully accessible arts venue known for its friendly atmosphere — a great place to experience live chamber music up close. Our concerts are usually held in the main theatre.
Read the centre’s access statement on their website: https://queenshall.co.uk/visit-us/access
Hexham Abbey
We also hold some concerts in the beautiful and historic setting of Hexham Abbey, just across the road from the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre. They take place either in the nave or in the Great Hall, which was originally a Regency ballroom used for parties in the 1820s.
The abbey provides disabled access to all public areas of the buildings with ramps, automatic doors, disabled toilet facilities and lifts.
History of the Society
It all began in 1950, when three friends met for lunch and agreed that Hexham needed top-quality live music. With support from the newly established Arts Council office in Newcastle, John Butt, Herbert Dove and Kenneth Mitchell called a public meeting — and the Hexham and District Music Society was born.
The first concert took place on 5th March 1952 in the assembly hall of Hexham’s old grammar school (now Hexham Middle School), featuring two of that era’s leading players, the pianist and cellist duo, Hester and Joan Dickson.
Those early seasons included small-scale opera productions by the Arts Council-sponsored Grand Opera group – innovative programming at a time long before full-scale live productions started coming to Newcastle. The first international ensemble, the Cuarteto Clásico de Madrid, came in the Society’s sixth season and the then very young Northern Sinfonia made its Hexham debut at a Society concert in 1964.
Most concerts now take place at Queen’s Hall, where the Society hosts several performances each season — a mix of internationally renowned artists and exciting new talent. Past guests have included pianists Benjamin Grosvenor, Pascal Rogé and Stephen Osborne, ensembles such as the Gould Piano Trio and the Endellion Quartet, singers including James Gilchrist and Kitty Whately, and the violinist, Alina Ibragimova.
Explore our content archive
Interested in finding a past programme, artist, or performance?
Take a look at our archive of concerts and artist appearances over the last five seasons. The archive is a great place to dive deeper into what makes the Society special.