The Birmingham Music Festival is a registered charity.  We aim to provide a wonderful environment for you to play music which you enjoy in front of an enthusiastic audience.

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The Birmingham Music Festival developed from the Harborne Music Festival first held in 1937. It continued as an annual event until 1982 having widened its scope to include Dance and Drama. After a brief lapse it was revived in 1984 by a new committee, in a more modest form and confined solely to Music. 

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In 2008, the Festival became a specialist piano only competition. It has been based in a variety of locations over the years. In 2017 we relocated to a fantastic new venue in The Performing Arts Centre at King Edward’s Schools in Edgbaston, Birmingham where our open classes will be held in Ruddock Hall, one of the finest concert halls in the UK, which is equipped with a Steinway Model D grand piano.

The standard of music making is very high, reflecting the BMF’s status as one of the UK’s premier amateur piano competitions. We are always oversubscribed so entries should be made as early as possible to avoid disappointment as we will almost certainly have to cut off entries earlier than the official cut-off date when we become full.

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Our aim continues to be to promote music-making by amateurs of all ages providing a platform for public performance in an atmosphere of friendly competition and with the advice and guidance of expert adjudicators.

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