The line-up for this year’s Harrogate Music Festival has been announced today.
The festival, which will take place in June and July, includes a range of live music from classical and chamber to cabaret and jazz.
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will launch the festival with an opening night performance at the Royal Hall on June 8.
It will be the world famous orchestra’s first time in Harrogate for more than a decade.
The programme features Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.1 and Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2. Ludovic Morlot will be the conductor for the night, joined by soloist Oliver Janes.
This year’s line-up also includes the Gildas Quartet as well as the Maxwell Quartet, British jazz singer Jo Harrop, contemporary soul singer Mica Sefia, and Bradford-based dance company Punjabi Roots.
Further acts will be announced.
Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, the arts charity that organises the festival, said:
“We are delighted to have the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra launching this year’s summer season. It has such a rich heritage and is one of the most revered orchestras around.
“Harrogate’s audience will be able to get the Proms experience without needing to trek down to London, so this really is an opportunity for classical music fans in the north to enjoy an internationally renowned orchestra performing in a world class venue.”
Tickets are available here.
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Deer Shed festival begins tomorrow with Phil Wang headlining
Up to 10,000 festival goers are set to enjoy three days of music, comedy and theatre between Ripon and Thirsk this weekend.
Deer Shed, which starts tomorrow (Friday), takes place at Baldersby Park, Topclifffe.
Established in 2010, the annual family-friendly festival features music, comedy, theatre, science and sport.
Many people camp at the festival.
Comedians Phil Wang, Bridget Christie and Mawaan Rizman will be among those taking part while the musicians headlining include The Delgados, Public Service Broadcasting and Comet is Coming.
Those camping will be hoping the improving weather forecast, which predicts no significant rain until Sunday, is accurate,
The festival is aimed at families.
Festival director Megan Evans said:
“We are always so proud of our comedy and shows lineup at Deer Shed, with the Big Top being one of my favourite places to visit during the weekend.
“This year promises to be no different with some huge names like Phil Wang and Bridget Christie joining us for our late-night sets.”
The event has a capacity of 10,000 people and tickets are still available to buy here.
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N-Trance to headline new 90s music festival in Knaresborough
A new summer music festival is to be held at Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough in September.
Summer Fest is billed as a “fun-filled day of 90s vibes” with electronic band N-Trance, who had a hit with Set You Free in 1995, headlining.
It is one of a series of outdoor commercial events being held at Conyngham Hall this year.
Harrogate events company Enchantica’s is organising Summer Fest, which takes place on Saturday, September 2.
It has said a proportion of every ticket sold will go to 30 local schools.
Suzanne Vaughan, director at Enchantica, said it would be a “joyous time at the end of the summer holidays before the kids go back to school”.
She added:
“After the success of our Oatlands fundraising ball where we raised over £6,000 for Oatland Infants new playground, we were inundated with requests from parents and teachers asking us to help raise much needed funds for their schools.”
Besides N-Trance, there will also be 90s Britpop and dance sets from tribute group Rock The 90s and local DJs Rory Hoy and DJ Dent, plus family games.
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New music festival celebrates remarkable composer buried in Hampsthwaite
An ambitious new two-day music festival in a small Harrogate village began last night.
The Amy Woodforde-Finden Music Festival was created to promote a female composer who is buried in Hampsthwaite.
About 70 people attended a recital of her songs at St Thomas a Becket Church, featuring London mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond.
A guided tour of Amy’s Hampsthwaite this morning will be followed by a concluding concert this evening featuring two baritones and talented local musicians at St Thomas a Becket.
It is hoped the festival will become an annual event, promoting the work of Amy and other female composers, as well as engaging local artists and schools.
Amy’s music was much sought-after at the turn of the last century but her reputation fell into obscurity following her death in 1919.
Amy Woodforde-Finden’s tomb
Her tomb in St Thomas a Becket Church attracted little attention for a century until the German composer and pianist Thomas Flessenkaemper was appointed director of music for the benefice of Hampsthwaite, Killinghall and Birstwith.
Mr Flessenkaemper noticed the tomb during his interview for the role and when he took up the position he became curious. He said:
“I set out to track down this extraordinary artistic personality. I quickly realised that I had struck gold and read everything I could find about Amy Woodforde-Finden.”
He became “completely drunk on the colourfulness of her musical language” and set about establishing a festival to promote her work.
St Thomas a Becket Church last night
Mr Flessenkaemper accompanied Ms Hammond at last night’s recital, the highlight of which was Amy’s four-song Indian Love Lyrics.
The programme notes included a supportive quote from international pianist Stephen Hough, who said he “immediately fell in love with the alluring melodies, the exotic harmonies and the ultra-sentimental words” of Amy’s music.
A video set to Amy’s music featuring Hampsthwaite is available here.
Tickets for this evening’s concert are available here and at the church door tonight.
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New music festival to mark composer’s link to Nidderdale village
A new music festival will be held in a Nidderdale village to celebrate the work of a famed Victorian composer.
St Thomas à Becket Parish Church in Hampsthwaite will host the two-day event after discovering Amy Woodforde-Finden was buried in its churchyard, with a marble monument created by sculptor George Wade.
Amy, who was born in Chile, died in 1919.
As well as two concerts featuring her music on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8, the event will include a guided tour of ‘Amy’s Hampsthwaite’.
A spokesperson for the event said:
“Amy Woodforde-Finden’s success was particularly remarkable in the context of a male-dominated society, where women had no right to vote.
“Amy is best known for her set of Indian Love Lyrics. Her Kashmiri Song proved an instant and lasting hit and became one of the highest selling pieces of sheet music ever published at the time!
“Amy’s music perfectly captured the mood and morals of the time, and in recent years, her works have enjoyed a new appreciation, due to a revival and interest in neglected female composers.”
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The opening night will feature renowned soloist Patricia Hammond, who will travel from London to perform a song recital of Amy’s music.
Amy Woodforde-Finden
Patricia, who specialises in women composers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, will be accompanied by the church’s director of music and mastermind of the inaugural festival, Thomas Flessenkaemper.
On the Saturday evening, members of the church will be joined by those from across the benefice of Felliscliffe, Killinghall and Birstwith, as well as local schoolchildren and musicians from the wider area.
They will perform a selection of pieces including Amy’s Pagoda of Flowers, which organisers believe is being recorded for the first time.
Tickets are available from the festival website at £12 for each concert or £20 for both. Concessions are £10 and children under 18 go free.
Northern Aldborough Festivals opens priority ticket bookingNorthern Aldborough Festival has opened its priority ticket booking as it prepares to run from June 16.
The two-week festivals hosts some of the best-known names in jazz, classical opera and pop music. But this year it says it is taking on its biggest undertaking in 29 years by performing a semi-staged in-house production of Handel’s Theodora.
Friends of the Festival can get their tickets from today will tickets for the wider public on sale from May 3.
The 40-strong production will be performed in Alborough, near Boroughbridge, in the 14th century St Andrew’s Church. It will include a line-up of soloists, chorus and orchestra under the baton of Baroque specialist, Julian Perkins.
Theodora, played by soprano Fflur Wyn, will be directed by Joe Austin, whose recent credits include Katya Kabanova at the Royal Opera House.
The festival will also include an appearance by the British bass, Sir John Tomlinson, who will star in a new opera by John Casken based on Shakespeare’s King Lear.
There will also be performances from Blur’s Britpop rebel rock star turned cheesemaker, Alex James, and classical guitar player Sean Shibe.
Robert Ogden
The festival is run by a charity with a core mission to bring exceptional music to new audience, in rural locations it wouldn’t normally be heard. Robert Ogden, artistic director, said:
“There really is something for everyone. The festival is a chance to experience something really very special on our doorstep. It’s going to be incredible and a lot of much-needed fun, so we can’t wait to welcome audiences to be entertained, inspired and hopefully discover music they’ll fall in love with this summer.”
Other acts include an evening of jazz by Claire Martin, clarinettists Julian Bliss performing with leading pianist James Baillieu. Clare Hammond, a leading light on the UK piano scene, will play Schubert, Stravinsky and Schumann.
As well as established names, the festival supports young talent. It hosts a Young Artists Showcase, as well as the upcoming harp and saxophone duo, The Polaris Duo.
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On the final evening, the grounds of Aldborough Manor will be opened for the festival finale, an outdoor concert with fireworks that often attracts around 1,000 people.
The last night concert features Harrogate-born vocalist Alex Denny of The Big Cheese, with high-voltage pop and rock covers, supported by So 80s, who set a light show to 80s tracks.