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 17 days, events are presented not only in the various venues at Snape Maltings, but in all the traditional Festival venues such as Aldeburgh Parish Church, Orford Church, Blythburgh Church and the Festival’s original home, Aldeburgh’s Jubilee Hall. Site-specific events have taken place elsewhere, such as Sizewell Beach (Everlasting Night, 2011), Leiston Long Shop Museum (Before Life and After, 2012), RAF Bentwaters Airbase (Faster than Sound), and community events on the beach. In 2012 there were 74 events in the main festival, with a further 24 events at The Pumphouse. The Pumphouse, situated off the marshes on the outskirts of