Three Counties popular apple and pear derived alcoholic beverages, many of which are made in this area. The Three Choirs Festival is a festival of sacred choral music which has been held since 1724. It rotates between the three county towns (Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester). It often features music by local composer Edward Elgar. Three Counties The Three Counties of England are traditionally the three agrarian counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Including towns and cities such as Worcester, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Leominster, Stourbridge, Evesham, Malvern and Kidderminster, they extend from the southern boundaries of Birmingham in the north to Bristol in
John Sanders (musician) position at Gloucester brings the high-profile role of directing the Three Choirs Festival. The now annual Festival is hosted by each cathedral in turn, the local Organist directing the festival each year. Sanders time at Gloucester saw him direct nine Festivals, including that in 1977 which was marked the 250th Festival (the history of the Festival can however be traced to 1715), as well as the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. From 1975, the direction of the Festival was helped by the fact that for almost 20 years the directors remained the same, with Sanders establishing a close working relationship