The Canterbury Festival is Kent's international festival of the arts. It takes place in Canterbury (England) and surrounding towns and villages (including Faversham, Whitstable and Margate) each October and includes performances of a variety of types of music, ranging from Opera and Oratorio to art, comedyand theatre. It has featured perfomances by Sir Willard White, Michael Nyman, Rebecca Stephens and Ned Sherrin and by ensembles such as the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the European Chamber Orchestra, the Skampa Quartet, the Brodsky Quartet, the Ensemble Cordial, Brass 10 and the London Community Gospel Choir. Venues include Canterbury Cathedral, the Gulbenkian Theatre at the University of Kent at Canterbury and the Marlowe Theatre as well as the artists' homes and studios where work is displayed. Canterbury is a cathedral city in the City of Canterbury district of Kent in South East England. ... Location within the British Isles Faversham is a town in Kent, England, in the district of Swale. ... Whitstable is a town in Kent, England with a population of 30,000. ... Location within the British Isles Margate was known as Meregate (in 1254) or Margate (in 1293) is on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, England. ... Willard White (born October 10, 1946) is one of the worlds great basses, known for his enormous rich voice and powerful stage presence. ... Michael Nyman (born March 23, 1944) is a British minimalist composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, perhaps best known for the many scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway. ... Ned Sherrin (born 18 February 1931 in Somerset, England) is a broadcaster, author and stage director. ... The Brodsky Quartet is an internationally acclaimed British string quartet, in existence since 1972. ... A choir and orchestra consisting of musicians and singers from many countries who come together for music-making and performances mainly during the annual Musique-Cordiale festival and events in France and Britain. ... Canterbury Cathedral, N.W., ca. ... The University of Kent (originally titled University of Kent at Canterbury and still often referred to as UKC) is a Glass Plate University in the United Kingdom. ...