Collegium Vocale
Crete Senesi

The classical Summer Festival
in the heart of Tuscany

29 - 31 July 2026

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS

Presented by Collegium Vocale Gent

❋

Discover Crete Senesi

Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi is a summer festival rooted in the artistic vision of Collegium Vocale Gent, presenting classical music at its finest - now celebrating its 26th edition.

Join the festival

About Collegium Vocale Gent

People gathered outdoors at a social event or party, standing around tables and conversing with a scenic hilly landscape in the background.

People attending a concert or event inside a church with ornate interior, high ceilings, and religious artwork, facing the altar at the front.

Set in the Tuscan landscape of Crete Senesi, the festival brings together leading international musicians to explore vocal and chamber music repertoire from the Renaissance to the Romantic era, in an atmosphere of intimacy, clarity and artistic depth.

Programme

29 July
20:00

Chiesa di San Francesco, Asciano

€50

Opening Concert: Für Kenner und Liebhaber

Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano)

Kristian Bezuidenhout opens the festival on fortepiano with C.P.E. Bach, two Haydn sonatas in the minor mode, and Mozart's K. 457. Music for connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike, played by one of the artists who has reshaped how this repertoire is heard.

Asciano dinner follows

30 July
11:00

Chiesa di San Francesco, Asciano

€35

Love - Sacred & Profane

Guy Cutting (tenor), George Ireland (piano)

Tenor Guy Cutting and pianist George Ireland trace the twentieth-century English song from Finzi and Vaughan Williams to Britten's Canticle I. A morning recital where love appears in every register: pastoral, restless, devotional, and quietly transcendent.

30 July
20:00

Chiesa di San Francesco, Asciano

€50

String Creatures

Fabrik Quartet (string quartet)

Three works that treat the string quartet as a laboratory: Liza Lim's living sonic organism, Héctor Parra's mythological web, and Xenakis's Tetras, where rhythm and structure collide. Contemporary writing in a Romanesque church, on a summer evening.

31 July
11:00

Chiesa di San Francesco, Asciano

€35

Between Lyricism and Modernity

Charlotte Spruit (violin), Angus Webster (piano)

Charlotte Spruit and Angus Webster make their Crete Senesi debut with Poulenc's wartime sonata, Sibelius's late miniatures, and the youthful Fauré First. Three composers, three voices, all searching for an answer in the small forms.

31 July
20:00

Sant’Anna in Camprena, Pienza

€50

Orlandus Lassus – Lagrime di San Pietro

Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe

Twenty madrigals and a closing motet for seven voices, written in the final year of Lasso's life. Forty years after first recording it, Philippe Herreweghe brings the cycle to Sant'Anna in Camprena with Collegium Vocale Gent, in the room this music seems to have been written for.

Sant’Anna dinner follows

JOIN THE FESTIVAL

EXPLORE PROGRAMME

Ticket Prices & Festival Pass

Morning concert: €35
Evening concert: €50

Full Festival Pass (all 5 concerts, no dinners): €205

Dinner Asciano: 55€
Dinner Sant'Anna in Camprena: 70€

Inside a historic church with ornate walls, a concert is taking place. The audience sits on white chairs, watching musicians perform on stage. The church is dimly lit, with stage lights illuminating the performers.

Feel Crete Senesi

Join the festival

Meet Philippe Herreweghe

Philippe Herreweghe is one of the most influential conductors of our time, celebrated for his clarity of vision, sensitivity to text and deeply human approach to music. Born in Ghent, he founded Collegium Vocale Gent in 1970, an ensemble that soon became a leading reference for vocal music from the Renaissance to the Romantic period.
Over the years, he has expanded his work to the great symphonic repertoire, founding ensembles such as La Chapelle Royale and the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, and collaborating with many of the world’s leading orchestras. With an extensive discography and numerous international distinctions, Philippe Herreweghe remains a central figure in musical life, guided by a lifelong pursuit of musical truth and expressive depth.

“The concerts take place in small but marvellous churches, chosen for their acoustics and their dialogue with the repertoire.”

An elderly man with white hair and glasses wearing a black outfit, standing in a warmly lit room with wooden decor, with a hand on his chest and looking at the camera.

Philippe Herreweghe, 
conductor & artistic director

Location

Crete Senesi · Tuscany

The festival takes place in the heart of Crete Senesi, a landscape shaped by silence, stone and centuries of history.
Concerts are held in and around Asciano, Pienza and Sant’Anna in Camprena,where architecture, acoustics and musicform a unique dialogue.

Rolling hills with dry, golden grass and scattered trees, including a line of tall cypress trees lining a road leading to a farmhouse.

Asciano

Asciano serves as the main gathering place of the festival.
Its historic streets and churches offer an intimate framework in which music unfolds in dialogue with stone, silence and local life. During the festival week, Asciano turns into a point of convergence, where artists and audiences naturally meet.

People dining at outdoor tables under string lights at night, in a garden setting.

People walking up a road toward an old stone church with statues on its roof, surrounded by trees and bushes, in black and white.

A narrow European street with old buildings, flower pots, and a clock tower in the background.

Sant’Anna in Camprena

Surrounded by olive groves and open countryside, the former monastery of Sant’Anna in Camprena offers a space of remarkable calm and acoustic clarity.
Its secluded atmosphere invites attentive listening and reflection, making it a singular place for musical experience, where landscape, architecture and sound converge.

Inside a grand hall with high arched ceilings, filled with an audience seated facing a stage. The stage has microphones and water bottles, with chairs and music stands. The walls are decorated with ornate frames and religious or historical paintings. Light enters from a circular window near the ceiling, illuminating the room.

Festival dinners

A woman in a black top with red patterned pants converses with a waitress holding a tray at an outdoor event, with a stone building and other people in the background.

People socializing outdoors at a gathering with tables holding drinks, bright sunlight, and trees in the background.

People seated at a long outdoor dinner table at night, with trees and warm lighting in the background, some waitstaff serving drinks.

Before selected concerts, guests are welcomed with an open-air aperitif, offered by local gastronomic partners. Featuring regional specialties, these moments invite guests to ease into the atmosphere of the festival, creating a gentle transition into the musical journey ahead.

After some evening concerts, a fine dinner is offered in carefully chosen locations near the concert venues. Together, these moments extend the festival beyond the concert hall, fostering conversation, conviviality and exchange, and allowing artists, guests and audience to share time in a festive yet intimate atmosphere.

Dinners seats can be reserved in the second step of the process of buying your tickets for the festival.

An outdoor evening banquet with numerous guests seated at round tables, decorated with tableware and wine glasses, under string lights in front of a historic stone building.

Reserve tickets

Reserve dinners

Opening dinner
in Asciano

29 July | 22:00 | Asciano

Experience the heart of Italian hospitality on our opening night with a post-concert dinner in Asciano, where local flavors come to life through the culinary talents of our village's own cooks and volunteers.

€50

Closing dinner
in Sant’Anna

31 July | 22:00 | Sant’Anna in Camprena

Celebrate the grand finale of our festival at Sant'Anna in Camprena with an exquisite closing dinner, featuring a curated menu by a renowned local caterer.

€70

How to book my tickets

Choose the option that best fits your festival experience. You can manage all your reservations in a few simple steps.

1. Select Your Ticket Type

Single Performances: Choose 'Concert Ticket' if you want to attend one or more specific concerts.
Full Festival Access: Choose 'Festival Pass' to book your seat for every concert in the series.
Dinner Only: If you wish to attend the meal without a concert, simply select 'Dinner Ticket'.

2. Add Dinner to your Concerts

If you are buying a Concert Ticket or a Festival Pass, you will be prompted to add your dinner reservations in the second step of the checkout process.

Note on Aperitifs: All concert ticket and pass holders are welcome to join us for complimentary aperitifs before the evening performances. No separate reservation is required for the aperitif.

© Collegium Vocale Gent, Photography by Pablo Menjibar

FAQs

The 2026 edition of Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi will take place in between 29 and 31 July.
More information about the concerts, events and tickets will be available soon.
You can subscribe to our newsletter to receive first-hand information.
Concerts and dinners take place in the Crete Senesi region of Tuscany, primarily in and around Asciano, as well as at Sant’Anna in Camprena and other historic venues selected for their acoustic and architectural qualities.
The festival focuses on vocal and orchestral repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the Romantic period. Programmes are performed by ensembles and musicians closely connected to the artistic world of Collegium Vocale Gent.
Tickets are available now.
You can either buy individual concert tickets here, or purchase our Festival Pass subscription, that will allow you to access all 5 concerts of the festival at a reduced rate. Get your Festival Pass here.
Enjoy the complete Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi experience with our Full Festival Pass. By choosing the pass instead of individual tickets, you get to enjoy the entire festival and benefit from a discount on your whole purchase and (dinners purchased separately).
Accommodation is available in Asciano and the surrounding area.
Please note that the festival does not organise or manage accommodation bookings. Practical information and general guidance will be provided closer to the festival dates.
The Crete Senesi region is accessible by car from Florence, Siena and Pisa.
More detailed transport information will be shared once the 2026 programme and venues are confirmed.
Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi exists thanks to the support of patrons, partners and institutions.
You can get more information about how to support us here.
Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi is an initiative of Collegium Vocale Gent, an internationally renowned ensemble founded in 1970 by Philippe Herreweghe.

Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi

The classical Summer Festival in the heart of Tuscany

29 - 31 July 2026

Presented by Collegium Vocale Gent

❋

Discover Crete Senesi

Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi is a summer festival rooted in the artistic vision of Collegium Vocale Gent, presenting classical music at its finest - now celebrating its 26th edition.

Set in the Tuscan landscape of Crete Senesi, the festival brings together leading international musicians to explore vocal and chamber music repertoire from the Renaissance to the Romantic era, in an atmosphere of intimacy, clarity and artistic depth.

Programme

€50

Opening Concert: Für Kenner und Liebhaber

€35

Love - Sacred & Profane

€50

String Creatures

€35

Between Lyricism and Modernity

€50

Orlandus Lassus – Lagrime di San Pietro

Ticket Prices & Festival Pass

Feel Crete Senesi

Meet Philippe Herreweghe

“The concerts take place in small but marvellous churches, chosen for their acoustics and their dialogue with the repertoire.”

Location

Crete Senesi · Tuscany

Festival dinners

Opening dinner in Asciano

€50

Closing dinner in Sant’Anna

€70

How to book my tickets

1. Select Your Ticket Type

2. Add Dinner to your Concerts

FAQs

When will the 2026 festival take place?

Where does the festival take place?

What kind of music is performed?

How can I purchase tickets?

Why choose the Festival Pass?

Is accommodation organised by the festival?

How can I travel to the festival locations?

How can I support the festival?

Who organises Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi?

Collegium Vocale
Crete Senesi

The classical Summer Festival
in the heart of Tuscany

Opening dinner
in Asciano

Closing dinner
in Sant’Anna