In 1996 Simon Whistler and Margaret Faultless decided to celebrate their love of an ancient church in a magical setting with a concert. It brought together musicians of international standing to perform Baroque music on period instruments. The church was All Saints, Alton Priors and Music for Awhile was born.

The annual focus is still the Summer Festival, which continues to inspire audiences and performers alike, in an atmosphere of creativity and collaboration. The ensemble brings together established musicians from Europe’s most acclaimed ensembles with young artists to share diverse experiences and perform a wide range of repertoire.
Festival programmes have included performances of early English opera, (Purcell and Blow), masques, theatre music and has premièred new editions of manuscript material from the British Library by Henry Purcell and others. The ensemble has created new works combining music and poetry from Virgil’s Aeneid and Ted Hughes Tales from Ovid.

Since 2022 the ensemble has been touring new arrangements by Margaret Faultless of Bach’s Orchestral Suites and other larger - scale music, enabling smaller venues to enjoy this repertoire at close quarters. These arrangements have now been published in three versions: as string quartets for experienced payers, as quartets for players keen to learn about baroque style (with additional guidance about baroque performance practice) and for string orchestra, suitable for schools, colleges, amateur players and professionals.

Music for Awhile performs up to ten concerts each year, and thanks to a partnership with The Cecil King Memorial Foundation for chamber concerts of the music of Bach in rural churches, this series raises funds for the fabric of historic buildings.

Music for Awhile has hosted education projects at Tewkesbury Abbey, and at schools around its Summer Festival venue. A collaboration in Hereford featured workshops and side-by-side performances with young players. It has also created innovative projects introducing audiences to new ways of listening to Haydn symphonies.
Live music should be available to all, and to build the next generation of audiences our performances are free of charge to young people. There is also open access to our rehearsals for those wishing to experience live music in a more relaxed setting.