Music News

Pedal Power Needed!

Aldeburgh Festival 2022 is a 24-day celebration of music and the arts, running from June 3rd-26th. The programme features several significant works about sustainability and the climate crisis. One is composer Laura Bowler’s ground-breaking music-theatre piece, Houses Slide, performed on June 4th by soprano Jessica Aszodi with the London Sinfonietta and acclaimed theatre director Katie Mitchell. For Houses Slide, all the power needed for the performance – the lighting and the sound – will be generated solely by the pedal power of 16 cyclists. Britten Pears Arts, which runs the Aldeburgh Festival, is inviting keen Suffolk cyclists who would like to take part in rehearsals throughout the week and the performance to get in touch to volunteer and make their Aldeburgh Festival debut in June. If you’re interested in taking part, find out more by emailing hscyclists@brittenpearsarts.org. www.brittenpearsarts.org Country Music Comes to Suffolk at Easter Fest CMF

The much-loved Stonham Barns Park Country Music Festival (CMF) is back with a bang! Easter Fest CMF 2022 will feature country music bands and artists over a three-day period from April 15th-17th. The Easter Fest CMF event will feature Mark James, Brian Mann, Countryholic, Kevin Barry, Tim Staff and Johnny Rondo, Jonny&Lynette and Pete Brazil. Tickets can be purchased for individual sessions (from £7.50 per person) or for the whole weekend (at £50 per person). Booking can be in advance, or visitors can pay at the door. There is a large camping area for caravans, motorhomes or tents with no pitch fees when you buy a weekend ticket. There are also 4,6 or 8 berth static holiday homes to hire. The Country Music Festival is part of the new Stonham Sounds calendar of events introduced by the owners of Stonham Barns Park to showcase more musical talent in mid-Suffolk. It will bring a diverse range of live music and entertainment to the leisure, retail and holiday venue during 2022. www.stonhambarns.co.uk

Awake My Soul

Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society are delighted to be working with Broadland Youth Choir to perform John Rutter’s Mass of the Children, a piece written especially to be performed by a joint adult and children’s choir. The concert will take place in Cromer Parish Church on April 30th. Also on the programme is the first performance of Seasons, commissioned from Thomas Hewitt Jones and dedicated to the Choral Society and to the memory of Barbara Proctor. Barbara, a long-standing member of the choir, gifted funds in her will to the Society. The concert is given in her memory. John Rutter’s Mass of the Children was first performed on 13 February 2003 in Carnegie Hall, New York, conducted by the composer. As well as including traditional Latin texts, the Mass also includes verse by Thomas Ken (1637- 1711), William Blake (1757 – 1827) and others. Seasons by Thomas Hewitt Jones is a cycle of movements about the seasons of the year using the words of four poets: D H Lawrence, William Shakespeare, Emily Brontë and Paul Williamson. The performance will be conducted by musical director David Ballard with soloists Zaira Palumbo (soprano) and Isaac Cooper (baritone). For tickets go to www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com. www.sheringhamandcromerchoral.org.uk

Open Mic Tue 5 Apr/ 3 May/ 7 Jun - 7pm Enjoy a drink in our bar while local and visiting musicians play for free. Fancy a free drink? Sign up to perform on the night! FREE

Met Opera Live Sat 21 May - 5.55pm LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR Tickets £20.00

Theatre – I Spy Thu 2 Jun - 2pm, Family Theatre Tickets £7.00 Adult, £4.00 child, Family Ticket (4 people) £18.00 Live Music – Soul Alliance Fri 29 Apr - 7.30pm Tickets £16.50

NT Live – Straight Line Crazy Thu 26 May - 7pm Tickets £16.50

Met Opera Live – Hamlet Sat 4 Jun - 5.55pm Tickets £20.00

Further information, times and prices: www.wellsmaltings.org.uk Box office 01328 710885 Wells Maltings, Staithe Street, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, NR23 1AN

Theatre – Time Machine Wed 4 May- 7.30pm Live Theatre Tickets £12.50

Free Live Music – Annie Duggan Sun 29 May - 12pm - 2pm FREE

Theatre – King Lear Fri 24 Jun - 7.30pm Oddbodies Theatre Tickets £14.00