Anna Pool is the new co-Artistic Director and Festival Manager at King’s Lynn Festival. Here, the rising star in the world of classical music explains how she plans to inject fresh ideas and new artists into the festival mix
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Anna Pool – I’m a composer, performer and theatre maker working across lots of different styles – from folk to opera to musical theatre. Most recently, I’ve been appointed co-Artistic Director and Festival Manager of Kings Lynn Festival which means I get to work across the whole spectrum of festival life: from programming artists to running events, and everything in between!
We featured you when Wise Women toured East Anglia – how has your new role with King’s Lynn Festival come about?
Yes, it’s so nice to be chatting to you again with a different hat on. I jumped at the opportunity to apply for the role when it came up because it felt like it was combining so many different aspects of what I love to do – creating arts events from loads of different genres of music and creative activities, working with lots of different people to celebrate the place they come from and connecting music and art makers across the region. I now get to balance being a working composer myself with enabling people to connect with music which is an amazing honour.
How does it feel to be the first co-Artistic Director in the festival’s 70+ years of history?
A bit daunting, I won’t lie, but very exciting. This role has the great privilege of sitting astride the planning and the practical: this means I actually get to meet all the different communities here in Kings Lynn and find out the best ways we can programme world-class creative projects and performances that get people excited about their town and trying new experiences.
For those not in the know, how would you describe the Festival?
We’re a music and arts festival taking place in July every year in Kings Lynn and the surrounding area. We take over multiple venues from concert halls to barns and present loads of different genres and styles of music, art and performance. From up-and-coming folk musicians to classical stars, to historical exhibitions and walks. No two moments are the same – in the same week, you’ll find world class orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra bringing us a programme of Prom classics, Mercury-nominated folk singer Sam Lee touring his recent album and the Solem Quartet, exploring the Kate Bush songbook…but this time it’s for string quartet!
What can audiences expect at this year’s festival? What are you particularly looking forward to?
This year, audiences can find our broadest programme yet, so loads of opportunities to connect with musicians you might not have heard before. As well as the events mentioned above, I’m also really looking forward to Jonathan Hope’s silent film night – by day, he’s the incredible Associate Organist of Gloucester Cathedral, but by night at the Kings Lynn Festival, he’s going to be improvising to the 1925 gothic masterpiece, The Phantom of the Opera, on the famous pipes of King’s Lynn Minster’s organ. I’m also really looking forward to our new collaboration with theatre company Eastern Angles. Streets Aloud will be a new audio tour of Kings Lynn using stories and audio from town residents of all ages and allow us to see the place in a whole new way.
What can you bring to the festival programming mix, being a working composer and performer?
My work often looks at how different genres and styles can collide – for example, I’ve made work that creates an aural history exhibition out of songs and interviews with East London residents or run songwriting workshops for children with my folk group Wise Woman that mix folk and musical theatre together. This kind of working background means that I’m really open when it comes to styles, and don’t like thinking of an artist or piece as only staying in one particular genre, which can be so helpful for a festival. It also gives you a real understanding of working life as a composer and musician which is always helpful when trying to plan the practicalities and logistics, because you understand what the musicians need to perform to the best of their abilities. A musician’s life is hard work – festivals can make them feel as appreciated as possible.
What are your connections to King’s Lynn and what do you love about it?
I’m not directly connected to Kings Lynn, so it’s been great to be welcomed here so fast. However, I grew up in Colchester which is often thought of as the gateway to East Anglia and I feel deeply rooted in the East of England, its landscapes, its past and present. I’ve basically spent the last 5 years making shows here with lots of different companies from Great Yarmouth to Ipswich and back in Colchester. I love Kings Lynn because it epitomizes this past and present; yes, it has this rich history which you can see all around us in the incredible buildings and mystical landscapes of the Ouse and The Wash, but it also has a vibrant and creative population now who are hungry to show off everything the town has to offer.
Any Spring events you would like to shout about before the festival itself?
Oo yes please! If you’d like to listen to some brilliant chamber music, come and see violinist Benjamin Baker and pianist Daniel Lebhardt at our March 28 Coffee Concert – 11am, Kings Lynn Town Hall. Schubert, Brahms and free cake, what’s not to love?! If folk and choral music is more of your thing, the amazing Ben & Dom are bringing us their intricate harmonies in concert on April 26. If you fancy having a sing, they’re also running an all-abilities song workshop on the same day so I hope people will join us for that!
How important is it that you have been appointed, as a woman in a male-dominated industry?
This is actually a tricky question to answer because I’d like to be able to say it doesn’t matter at all and it shouldn’t be a talking point, but then you experience something (often the way someone speaks to you or assumes about you) because of your gender and you realise that representation is still vitally important, even in 2025. To have a thriving industry, we need diverse voices and experiences at the table to push us forward so if I can bring a small part of something different to that table, and people like me can see that there is a place for them at that table, then my appointment can only be a good thing.
How can people find out more about the festival?
You can find out more on our website, and on Facebook, Instagram and X.
King’s Lynn Festival takes place from July 13-26. Festival organisers will be releasing tickets for five events before the full programme announcement in April. Patrons can enjoy priority booking from March 10; Friends from March 17 and Public Booking opens on March 24. Ahead of that, Lithuanian virtuoso pianist Rokas Valuntonis is one of the stars of King’s Lynn Festival’s Spring Coffee Concert series. A prize winner of 20 international competitions, on Friday March 7 at 11am he will perform Beethoven’s Pathétique (Piano Sonata No.8. Op. 13), Chopin’s four Mazurkas Op.33, and Schumann’s Carnaval Op.9 at The Assembly Room at King’s Lynn’s Town Hall. Tickets for the Spring Coffee Concert Series are £16 (50% off for under 25’s), now available from King’s Lynn Corn Exchange Box Office, by telephone on 01553 764864 or online at kingslynnfestival.org.uk.
Featured image of Anna Pool by Bjorn Frins
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