Festival director welcomes sold-out shows as Northern Aldborough returns
by
Last updated Jun 4, 2021
Robert Ogden
Robert Ogden

Northern Aldborough Festival is returning this month and festival director, Rob Ogden, said he is excited to offer audiences live performances once more.

Stellar acts in the classical genre such as Lesley Garrett and The Haffner Ensemble will perform in Aldborough between June 21 and 27 as the festival returns as one of the first large events locally since the pandemic.

Eager festival goers meant the event was sold out after 10 days of tickets on sale.

The festival has a rich history welcoming big names in the classical world since it began in 1994. It has grown to be an established classical music event in the north.

northern aldborough festival

Lesley Garrett and Rev Richard Coles are two of the acts in the festival’s line-up.

Mr Ogden has been involved since 2009, taking on the director role in 2010. This year is like no other with capacity almost halved and social distancing measures in place.

Each night 140 audience members will be sat in St Andrew’s Church, previous years it has reached 270. The final night’s outdoor concert will welcome 550 people down from 1,000.

Mr Ogden said:

“We want it to feel like the same experience as much as we can. we will follow whatever guidance is in place at the time, but apart from all of that we hope people can enjoy the same experience. There’s such excitement being so close to such fantastic artists as it is an intimate event.”


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This show has been in the works since August 2019 with many acts agreeing to return this year after the 2020 festival was cancelled.

Young names, famous names and new names all have the chance to take to the stage to offer the audience a live musical treat.

The Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt has stuck in Mr Ogden’s minds as one of the best performances he’s seen at the festival.

Mr Ogden already has plans for next year including a jazz item and a Handel’s Theodora oratorio (a large scale music composition).

“It’s a bit strange because we haven’t done it for two years so it’s nerve-wracking but I’m confident we have everything in place and we’re excited to have it go ahead. It’s just great to be able to do anything again and feel the vibrations of live music once more.”

As a trained opera singer himself, Mr Ogden knows how eager acts are to perform to audiences again and he hopes the Northern Aldborough Festival can offer the act and the audience something they’ve been missing.


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