Snape Maltings possible site. Negotiations began with George Gooderham and after little more than a year Snape Maltings Concert Hall was ready to be opened by the Queen at the start of the 1967 Aldeburgh Festival. The composer Benjamin Britten was inspired by the vast skies and moody seas of the Suffolk coast, and in 1948, along with singer Peter Pears and writer Eric Crozier, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival. Britten and Pears made a point of educating and supporting young artists. They brought together international stars and emerging talent, including world-renowned figures such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Yehudi Menuhin, Sviatoslav Richter and
Aldeburgh Music community as creators and performers as well as audiences. The department now runs 3 year-round programmes and in 2011/12 delivered 432 sessions, with over 15,000 participants, over 17,000 audience members and 147 artists. In 2012 the annual Celebration of Schools’ Music, presented in association with Suffolk County Council, celebrated its 25th year at Snape Maltings Concert Hall. Aldeburgh Residencies was launched in 2003 to offer bespoke development opportunities to established artists. The Residencies enable individuals and ensembles to come to Snape to create new work, develop new partnerships and explore new possibilities. Aldeburgh Young Musicians is a Centre for Advanced