My friend Richard Phillips, who has died aged 85, was a classical music impresario with a career that included directing more than 100 arts festivals.

After founding the York early music festival and Huddersfield contemporary music festival in the late 1970s, Richard moved back to his family home of Northgate, in Warwick, in 1980. From his desk he could see St Mary’s church, where the choir was the focus of Warwick Arts Week. On that foundation he built Warwick festival, which continued annually until 2005.

The town’s smaller venues were particularly well suited to chamber music, for which Warwick became renowned, and concerts were also held in Warwickshire’s rural churches. Alongside that annual cycle, Richard directed the long-established Norfolk & Norwich festival (1986–91), turning it from a triennial to an annual event, festivals at Solihull (1990–92), King’s Lynn (1992–97) and Stratford-upon-Avon (2000–07), concerts in National Trust properties, and a literary festival, Warwick Words, from 2001.

Richard was born at Northgate, a 17th-century house acquired by his maternal grandfather, the architect Edwin F Reynolds. His parents were Isobel and Arthur Phillips, but he did not remember his father, who was killed on active service in Italy shortly before Richard’s fourth birthday.

Educated at Oundle school in Northamptonshire, where he was a keen rugby player, Richard went on to study modern history at Brasenose College, Oxford, graduating in 1963. He then taught in Italy and at Warwick school, before taking on administrative roles with Sadler’s Wells Opera from 1966. In 1970 he joined the Yorkshire Arts Association.

After his mother’s death, in 1980 Richard moved back to Warwick, married his long-term partner, Veronica Mountford, started a wine business and sought to replicate his Yorkshire experiences by promoting music in the Midlands.

In 2005, Richard parted company with Warwick Arts Society. From that point he and Veronica promoted concerts independently, and then founded a new organisation, Leamington Music, which continues to thrive.

Passionately pro-European, Richard routinely drove long distances across the continent. His first visit to Prague was in June 1968 and led to a tradition of bringing Czech musicians to perform in Britain. His achievements were acknowledged by an honorary fellowship at Birmingham Conservatoire (2001), an MBE appointment (2016) and a medal in honour of his contribution to Anglo-Czech relations (2018). His last festival was in 2024.

He is survived by Veronica, their two daughters, Katie and Lucy, and nine grandchildren.