Friends Mid Year Newsletter

January 2020

Not just an AGM Friday 14 February in the Pavilion Arts Centre The second half of the AGM will be given over to an introduction to this year’s Festival by Adrian Kelly and Michael Williams. We will again be following the AGM with an enticing piano recital and a “Valentine’s Day Lunch”.

Those who endured last year’s acoustics will be pleased to know that we have moved the venue back to the Pavilion Arts Centre!

The outline programme for the day is: 10.30 Doors open; coffee 11.00 AGM : see the official Notice and further details on page 4 12.00 Recital – tickets at £10 1.15 Lunch – tickets at £18.50

Stand by for this year’s brochure The Festival brochure will be mailed out in midFebruary and will include all this year’s Festival events – opera, music and books.

This year’s opera dates are included in full on page 3 below to help with your early planning.

Priority Booking Dates 2020 Monday 2 March : Directors Circle, Benefactors, Gold Patrons Monday 9 March : Patrons Monday 16 March : Gold Friends Monday 23 March : Friends Wednesday 1 April : Public booking opens

It’s not too late to upgrade and secure your favourite seats.

Full details of the recital and lunch overleaf.

Not yet renewed your membership?

We shall shortly be sending out reminders.

Please do renew in good time for priority booking. Every year we receive touching letters from some Friends who love the Festival but feel that the years have now caught up with them. If Leaving a Legacy with the Festival Foundation may be of interest, please let us know at the addresses below or email: foundation@buxtonfestival.co.uk

Another gong for Georgiana Following its recent success with a National Theatre Award, Georgiana has now been named by The Stage as one of top five of the 50 best opera productions in the UK in 2019 – in the company of Garsington, Grange, Holland Park and the ROH. What new heights await BIF in 2020?

[The Stage has been reporting on the UK entertainment industry since 1880.]

The AGM Recital 12.00 – 1.00 p.m. Pavilion Arts Centre £10 Jamie Bergin studied piano at Chetham’s School of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and the University of Music in Hanover. He started winning international prizes in 2011 and has performed in solo recitals and concertos with leading UK and European orchestras. His performance for us is supported by the Keyboard Trust.

Jamie will play: Beethoven Sonata No 30 in E Major, Op. 109 Chopin Impromptus, Op. 29, 36, 51; and Fantaisie Impromptu Op. 66 Liszt Spanish Rhapsody, S254 The AGM Valentine’s Day Lunch 1.15 p.m. Pavilion Arts Centre £18.50 Pan-fried chicken, roasted chateau potatoes, panache of green vegetables, with a mushroom & tarragon sauce OR Sweet potato, cashew, apricot & chutney tart Heart-shaped chocolate dessert with raspberry coulis Tea / coffee

Forthcoming Friends Events : bookable online or by sending a cheque to our address below Thursday 27 February 6.30 – 8.00 p.m. at Carpenters’ Hall, Throgmorton Avenue, London £35 Meet the BIF creative team over drinks for a BIF 2020 preview, with special guest performances and an opportunity to look around this iconic London landmark building.

Friday 27 March 1.00 – 3.00 p.m. at Moorcroft House, Lismore Rd., just across from the Pavilion Gardens £20 With Gervase Phinn, hilarious raconteur and author, and a light lunch.

Saturday 28 March 11.30 – 2.30 p.m. at Moorcroft House, Lismore Rd., just across the Pavilion Gardens £40 An intimate recital by singers from English Touring Opera, followed by lunch.

Sunday 26 April 2.00 – 4.30 p.m. at Lydgate House, Eccles Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith £45 Drinks reception, followed by a Piano Recital by Roelof Temmingh, RCM Gold Medallist.

Then afternoon tea, followed by some of the 2020 soloists singing a selection from this year’s Festival operas.

We invite you to our first BIF Opera Dinner on Saturday 16 May 7.00 p.m. till late. Black tie. £85 As we brush away the years of dust, boarding and scaffolding, be one of the first to dine under the original chandeliers in the 18th Century Glory of the Assembly Rooms of the Buxton Crescent Hotel.

Champagne reception, music and song; fine dining, diamond, raffle and auction.

[Contact joanne.williams @buxtonfestival.co.uk to reserve tickets for this event.]

A new venture: “A Little Light Music” Friends will be delighted to see closer cooperation than ever between Buxton Opera House and the Festival. You will all have received an email in November about the very first joint Opera House and BIF production for this year’s Festival of this Sondheim classic with its engrossing plot and its memorable score.

Friends received a week’s priority booking before tickets went on sale to the public through the normal Opera House booking system.

Tickets are already selling well so please book now “to avoid disappointment”!

John Whibley Holidays with Music for the Friends of BIF Friends will have recently received two dedicated mailings from John. We are seeing a renewed take-up . of Holidays with Music – perhaps thanks to the lifting of at least some political clouds, or perhaps just thanks to the enticing holidays on offer. Don’t miss out!

The Friends warmly welcome Marie-Axelle McMahon, newly appointed Finance Manager, who takes over from Brian Shawcross.

We wish the whole team, under Michael’s leadership, a brilliant 2020.

BIF 2020 July Opera Dates La donna del Lago, Gioachino Rossini A Buxton International Festival production.

Director: Jacopo Spirei Conductor: Adrian Kelly Dates: Sun 5 (matinee), Wed 8, Sat 11, Wed 15, Sun 19 (matinee)

Ciboulette, Reynaldo Hahn A Buxton International Festival production.

Director: Jeff Clarke Conductor: Wyn Davies Dates: Fri 3, Thur 9, Sun 12 (matinee), Fri 17 July

Acis and Galetea, George Frideric Handel A Buxton International Festival co-production with Early Opera Company.

Director: Martin Constantine Conductor: Christian Curnyn Dates: Tue 7, Tue 14, Thur 16 (matinee) July

Violet A Music Theatre Wales production co-commissioned and co-produced with Aldeburgh Festival and Theatre Magdeburg in association with London Sinfonietta.

Writer: Alice Birch Composer: Tom Coult Date: Mon 13 July

Our Future: In Your Hands, Kate Whitley An Opera Oratorio A BIF newly commissioned production in collaboration with the Royal Overseas League.

Dates: Fri 10, Fri 17 July – in St John’s Church

A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim A Buxton International Festival co-production with Buxton Opera House.

Director: Paul Kerryson Conductor: Iwan Davies Dates: Sat 4 (2pm & 7.15 pm), Fri 10 (2pm & 7.15 pm), Sat 18 (2pm & 7.15 pm)

Raise funds for the Friends without spending a penny more! if you shop online, Give as you Live is a wonderful, and simple, way of raising money for your favourite charity.

With over 4000 stores and companies in the scheme, including many household names such as John Lewis, Interflora, M&S and Expedia, you are almost sure to find your usual places for shopping.

Instead of going direct to the website of the store, go to www.giveasyoulive.com (or simply type “give as you live” into your browser and follow the link from there). You will need to set up an account with your email and a password and specify your charity (if you type “buxton” into the search the Friends will come up as a choice), and then you can shop. Select your store and you will be directed to its website, and from there on shopping will be as normal. You can nominate favourite stores so you don’t need to search for them every time you log on. If you add Give as you Live to your bookmarks or to the bookmarks bar on your browser, you can go directly to it every time you want to shop. Soon after you have shopped you will receive an email from Give as you Live telling you how much you have raised. Usually this is between 1% and 4% of the amount you spend.

Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Buxton Festival to be held at 11.00 – 11.50 a.m. on Friday 14 February 2020 at the Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton All Friends of Buxton International Festival are invited to attend the annual AGM. (You are a Friend if you have subscribed, at any level of membership, for the current year.)

Thursday 9 January Thursday 30 January noon

Friday 31 January Friday 14 February asap

Timescale for the AGM Notice of the AGM emailed to all members and posted on the website.

Deadline for receipt of resolutions by the Friends Administrator.

Resolutions must have a proposer and seconder who are both current Friends.

Agenda, including any resolutions, posted on the website.

AGM Draft minutes of AGM, approved Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts placed on website.

The Friends Administrator, Lee Barnes, may be contacted at: friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk or on 01298 70395 or at 3 The Square, Buxton SK17 6AZ

Explanatory notes:    

As Friends will be aware, we adopted a new form of Constitution during 2019, approved at the last AGM. We are now the Friends of Buxton International Festival, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (No. 1184840), fully registered with the Charity Commission and up and running.

This AGM is effectively the last AGM of the ‘old’ charity, the Friends of Buxton Festival (No. 513970), held as we are required to conclude the normal business of that charity.

As a result, we are not soliciting nominations for new trustees. Current trustees, unless they stand down, will remain in place until final absorption of the old charity into the CIO. The new CIO will be able to co-opt trustees to fill any vacancies for the coming year.

This AGM is not the AGM of the new CIO. The first AGM of the CIO will be held in February 2021 in accordance with its Constitution.

Friends of Buxton International Festival, 3 The Square, Buxton SK17 6AX E: friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk T: 01298 70395 Registered Charity No: 1184840