O’Hare Music Centre

Britten Pears Arts’ O’Hare Music Centre is now in full swing as a new hub for music education, participation and artist development based in the newly refurbished Britten Pears Building at Snape Maltings (phase 1 of the Capital Programme).

The Centre brings together the organisation’s work with children, young people, and emerging professional musicians under one roof, offering musical opportunities for artists of all ages: from early years to advanced musicians aged 18, as well as training and creative development opportunities for experienced and internationally established professional musicians as part of the Britten Pears Young Artist & Residencies programmes.

The launch marks a significant step in Britten Pears Arts’ commitment to nurturing future generations of musicians while strengthening access to high-quality musical opportunities across East Suffolk. A new significant partnership with the Norfolk & Suffolk Music Hub will enable its work for and with children and young people significantly across the next few years. This includes termly performance opportunities for pathways programmes within the Hub as well as a term-time, weekly Saturday school for children of all ages, and the establishment of new singing groups on a Friday afternoon. There will be a new focus on developing musical engagement with young people who are unable to access mainstream education and introducing opportunities for home educated young people or those attending Pupil Referral Units, and in due course a focus on developing resources for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) music provision.

The O’Hare Music Centre creates a visible pathway from early years engagement to advanced artistic training, supporting musical progression, aspiration and long-term participation. From June next year, the Centre will operate within the Aldeburgh Festival, including the now-annual Festival Academy, embedding the organisation’s intention for established professional artists to inspire the next generation of musicians.

Britten Pears Arts’ Chief Executive, Andrew Comben said:

“The O’Hare Music Centre is an exciting new chapter for Britten Pears Arts and for musicmaking in Suffolk. Rooted in the vision of our founders, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, it will bring artists, young people and communities together at Snape Maltings to learn, experiment and make music. The O’Hare Music Centre is the creative engine that fuels our wider programme. It will support the next generation of inspirational musicians and strengthen our role in growing the future for classical music through partnerships locally, nationally and internationally. Designed to be accessible for everyone to discover the joy of music making, we want local people to feel at home here, and we can’t wait to welcome you.”

Overview of activities

Early years music sessions: babies and toddlers

Balou Music: Ages 0 – 2: Fridays, 11am – 12pm
Balou Music: Ages 2 – 4: Fridays, 9.30 -10.30am

A rich musical experience for the earliest of years, these sessions introduce children to music through sensory exploration, sound play and movement, supporting early listening, curiosity and communication through engaging, age-appropriate experiences. £6 per session, payable termly.

Early years music sessions: Ages 5 – 7

Dawn (KS1 Musicianship): Saturdays, 9.30 – 10.30am or 11am – 12pm

Discover music through play, creativity and movement. Children aged 5–7 can take part in fun and engaging weekly sessions, learning through singing, movement, games, improvisation and instrumental exploration. They’ll develop musical confidence and listening skills in a relaxed, supportive environment designed for all abilities. No prior musical experience is required and instruments are provided. £10 per session, payable termly.

Friday Afternoons Choirs

Cuckoos: Ages 7 – 11 (KS2): Fridays, 4 – 4.45pm
Curlews: Ages 11 – 14 (KS3): Fridays, 5 – 6pm

Britten Pears Arts Cuckoos and Curlews choirs are designed to support singers through the transition from primary to secondary education, encouraging young people to maintain confidence and engagement with singing. These sessions provide continuity, belonging and progression within a supportive musical community through regular rehearsal and performance. £6 per session, payable termly.

Nightingales: Ages 14 – 18 (KS4 & 5), due to start after October half term.

Nightingales offers advanced vocal training for ambitious young singers in Key Stage Four and Key Stage Five, offering participants the opportunity to work with experienced vocal specialists to develop high-level performance skills. The programme offers unique opportunities to rehearse and perform alongside members of our Advanced Young Musicians programme, developing your collaborative skills in a musically ambitious and inspiring environment and giving participants the chance to learn from and contribute to a community of highly motivated young performers. £10 per session, payable termly.

Sparrows Home educated Choir: Ages 8 – 13, Fridays, 2 – 3.30pm

Weekly daytime vocal sessions designed specifically for home-educated children and young people. Sparrows provides regular opportunities for musical learning, creativity and social connection as part of a vibrant singing community where young people can develop confidence and friendships through shared music-making. £6 per session, payable termly.

Free and subsidised places are available for all of these groups.

Advanced Young Musicians (AYM)

AYM is the organisation’s musical progression programme for talented young musicians from Suffolk and East Anglia, based at Snape Maltings.
From September 2026, AYM enters an exciting new chapter, with expanded opportunities, a refreshed structure, and a new home in the redeveloped Britten Pears building at Snape Maltings. Purpose-built studio spaces will provide an inspiring environment for creativity, collaboration and exceptional music-making.
The programme brings together up to 40 young musicians for weekly Saturday sessions centred on sustained development and creative growth.
Students will be closely connected to the wider Britten Pears Arts programme, with opportunities to take part in the Aldeburgh Festival, attend masterclasses, observe rehearsals, and engage with an international community of artists.
The programme combines regular Saturday activity with an immersive seven-day residential in August. Regular sessions and time away from home supports the development of independence, shaping participants not only as musicians but as young people. It builds confidence and nurtures lasting relationships, creating a supportive peer network that extends well beyond the programme.
AYM is open to young musicians in Year 10 and above, based in Suffolk and East Anglia, who are passionate about music and keen to develop their skills.
There is no requirement to have taken graded exams, although applicants are typically working at around Grade 7 standard or higher. Entry is by audition, where we look for musical potential, curiosity and commitment alongside technical ability.

Britten Pears Young Artist Programme

Britten Pears Arts most established programme, founded in 1972 by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, offering early career professional musicians high-level performance training from some of the world’s finest performers, teachers and creatives, coming together in residential weeks at Britten Pears Arts’ inspirational creative campus at Snape Maltings.

Britten Pears Festival Academy | Britten Pears Arts

The Britten Pears Festival Academy, embedded in the Aldeburgh Festival, offers high-level coaching, performance and masterclass opportunities, designed and led by Artistic Director James Baillieu and a team of internationally renown colleagues. Young artists are immersed in the atmosphere and professional connections that come with the Aldeburgh Festival.

Summer Academy

Directed by Ryan Wigglesworth, the Summer Academy is designed to nurture and support outstanding early-career instrumentalists, who are ready to take the next step in their development, focussing on core chamber music repertoire to chamber orchestra, explored under the guidance of and playing alongside their expert tutors.

Composition and Performance | Britten Pears Arts

Composition and Performance brings together early career composers, singers, instrumentalists, pianists and an assistant conductor, fostering collaboration and connections between composers and performers. Established in 1992 by Oliver Knussen and Colin Matthews, the course is now led by Colin Matthews, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Helen Grime and Claire Booth.

Residencies Programme

Britten Pears Arts residency programme offers an incredible range of development opportunities for composers and music creators at Snape Maltings and The Red House – designed to ignite creativity and exploration, providing the flexibility to suit an artists’ unique needs.

Further activities

Expansion of Britten Pears Arts’ work with adults living with long-term health conditions including SkyLarks – Britten Pears Arts’ singing group for people living with Parkinson’s and their companions and Participate – relaxed and fun music workshops for adults in Suffolk.
Over the next decade, Britten Pears Arts will continue to increase and embed their programmes centred on Creative Health across the wider music programme, bringing together a diverse community of musicians, practitioners, researchers, clinicians and communities to develop and deliver a nationally impactful programme. This includes Think Tanks; Cross Sector Training, Creative Retreat & Leadership Programmes.
The Britten Pears building offers more space to local community groups to ensure it becomes a living, breathing building for the community to feel at home in.

Funding

The Britten Pears Arts Capital Programme is supported with public funding from Arts Council England, and trusts & foundations, including Paul Hamlyn Foundation; 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust; East Suffolk Council Rural Business Investment Fund; East Suffolk Council Rural Business & Community Hub Fund; The Foyle Foundation; Garfield Weston Foundation; the Wolfson Foundation; the Clore Duffield Foundation; the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership; the John and Penelope Lebus Trust; the Vanneck Charitable Trust.

Individual donors include Wendy Bostock, Charles & Pascale Clark; Angela & John Crowther; In memory of Stefan T Edlis; Matthew Greenburgh & Helen Payne; Keith & Frances Griffiths; Margaret Hyde, Peter & Veronica Lofthouse; Angela & Lawrence Mallinson; Lindy & Mark O’Hare; David Robbie & Fred Goetzen; Garth and Lucy Pollard, Simon & Victoria Robey; Clive & Eileen Schlee; Alan Swerdlow & Jeremy Greenwood; Sarah Zins; Paul & Sybella Zisman and other anonymous donors.

Upgrades to the building

The modernisation of the Britten Pears Building – originally converted in 1979 – was led by architects De Matos Ryan and built by Hutton Construction. A new lift has been installed to ensure that everyone can use the revamped studios and performance spaces, creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all. Five larger music studios have been created, and all the technical facilities modernised. The upper floor has been transformed into a state-of-the-art Clore Learning Space thanks to generous support from the Clore Duffield Foundation. The building is now thermally and acoustically insulated, part of Britten Pears Arts’ ongoing drive for more sustainable buildings