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OVERTURE
THE NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS O F B U X T O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E S T I VA L NEWSLETTER.indd 1
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MESSAGE FROM THE CEO What a whirlwind month we’ve had in the office! The BIF Roadshow has kept everyone busy with organising pianos, cables, drinks, brochures, a revolving rota of musicians and singers. We opened at David Mellor’s Visitor Centre and performed alongside a traffic light (we call them robots in South Africa) to a very jolly audience. Then it was off to Ashbourne Town Hall, where in the room above us we had a fencing class (sounded a bit like Spanish dancers) that delivered a thumping accompaniment to our performance. The gracious Art décor Stockport Plaza provided a glimpse of days gone by as our audience were served tea, coffee and martinis by men in white gloves, and as for Matlock County Hall, well, with its glittering chandeliers and expansive views, the hall was the perfect setting for an evening of Tchaikovsky, Storace, Caldara and Offenbach. We gate-crashed a rowdy quiz evening at Wirksworth after performing at the Town Hall to spread the good news of this year’s festival. The BIF team and Friends volunteers and committee members were all on hand to sing the Can-can in the grand finale, providing just the right sort of toe-tapping end to an evening of Festival fare. Five down and five to go: 378 tickets sold so far, plus 240 engaged at the Quiz Evening, 7 new Friends and 1 Patron recruited. Not bad for the first year, but next year we want to double those figures. Then it was off to London for the three-day workshop of Georgiana. The cast sang and read through the entire opera in the elegant Royal Overseas League concert hall, ironing out the wrinkles, snipping and cutting here and there, trying to work out what exactly the opera is all about. Rest assured you’re in for a treat. Expect gorgeous singing, a fascinating juke box of 18th Century music, ribald humour and a fast-moving tale of a rather naughty Duchess. La Serenissima also tried out some arias and duets from the 300 year-old Lucio Papirio Dittatore and yes, it still works and is as magnificent as the minted original. Emma Lloyd travelled down to Somerset to film the orchestra and singers in rehearsals and came back a
convert. Keep an eye on the website where we will soon be loading the first of a three part teaser of Caldara’s exhilarating music. March also saw the start of The Orphans of Koombu rehearsals at schools throughout the High Peak. The Koombu team have been notebashing, costume-making and cast-blocking with seven sets of young people from Anthony Gell School, Buxton Community, New Mills School, St Philip Howard Academy, St Thomas More School, Hope Valley College and Tinderbox Youth Drama group. Be prepared to be bowled over by the sheet guts and enthusiasm of our young performers singing for the first time in the Buxton Opera House. MICHAEL WILLIAMS
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C R I T I C W H O H A S S E E N E V E RY B U X T O N F E S T I VA L L O O K S BACK ON 40 YEARS OF PIONEERING OPERA Pirates helped steer Buxton on to the world’s opera map, said veteran critic David Denton, who has been to every Festival since it began in 1979. Looking back as the Festival prepares for its 40th anniversary, David – who has travelled the world to watch opera for magazines and a wide range of newspapers – believes Buxton has a very special place in Britain’s musical story. Its first chapter was more about saving the disused Buxton Opera House: “It wasn’t about the Festival - it was all about the renovation of the Opera House,” he said. “All the media around here were interested in seeing how they could save what had become a dilapidated building from doing bingo and films – and it hadn’t even been doing that for ages. “But in the next few years it became evident that it was putting on the map operas that had never been performed in this country before,” said David. “I’ll go anywhere in the world to see an unusual opera, and Buxton Festival is an absolute goldmine for me. Go to Buxton and you will always find new opera being performed, probably for the first time.” That goldmine was raided by pirates after the
BBC broadcast Buxton’s version of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet which was illegally recorded and produced as a CD which became a hit. “Some of the pirates were brave enough to say it was from Buxton. You can still find it on CDs on the internet. That took Buxton around the world to all the aficionados of opera.” He praised Buxton for bringing on generations of artists who started here because of the relatively small size of the Opera House which allows young singers to showcase their talent without straining their evolving voices. They repay the compliment with pride by putting Buxton on their CV even if they were only in the chorus: “It matters to them because it was Buxton Festival.”
BIG WEEKEND Save the date for the Big BIF Weekend (October 18-20) when for the first time the autumn event will include music as well as books. DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON. Friends member Mark Sutherland (left) with David Denton.
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B R O A D W AY C O M E S T O A SITTING ROOM NEAR YOU Pensioners were treated to a concert of Broadway show-stoppers in their own sitting room thanks to a partnership between Buxton International Festival and a local charity. Royal Northern College of Music student Ellie Hull sang opera classics, hits from the musicals and wartime favourites including Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover at High Peak Council’s sheltered accommodation at Hartington Gardens, Buxton. The concert was part of the Festival’s campaign to bring music out of theatres and into the community. It is being supported by the Hall Bank Trust, a Buxton charity which works to improve the lives of older people in the town. “I’m sure we’re going to hear a lot more about this young lady – Covent Garden watch out!” said the Trust’s Chairman Roy Pickles after Ellie’s rendition of songs from Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, Puccini’s La Boheme and ballads including Danny Boy. She also delighted her audience with her perfect comic timing in Kurt Weil’s The Saga of Jenny and Vanilla Ice Cream from the show She Loves
Me, on which the Tom Hanks film You’ve Got Mail was based. “She was outstanding,” said Hartington Gardens resident Moira Jones. “It was an absolute treat.” The partnership between the two charities has also taken the show to the Hawthorns care home and Queens Court Day Centre in Buxton. “This project is a perfect example of our Festival carrying out its mission to connect artists and audiences in ways that lift the spirit and offer unexpected opportunities for joy, celebration and exploration,” said Chief Executive Michael Williams.
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JOIN US BEHIND THE SCENES A N D TA K E A L E A D I N G R O L E I N OUR OPERAS We are grateful to everyone who has joined our Opera Syndicates this year and there is still time to support our brand new pasticcio opera Georgiana, with opportunities to attend rehearsals, meet the cast and creative team and join us for a Georgian dinner at the Old Hall Hotel. As part of our syndicates you receive: ·
Acknowledgement in the Festival programme
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Regular updates and behind the scenes tours
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Opportunities to meet the creative team
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Credit on the supporters page of our website
You play an important role in supporting a production from start to finish, with unique insights into the planning and rehearsal process and supporting BIF’s specially commissioned operas. Watch this space for details of our 2020 operas, coming soon….. PLEASE CONTACT joanne.williams@buxtonfestival.co.uk or call 01298 70395.
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BEHIND THE SCENES WITH ONEGIN DESIGNER Award-winning stage designer Justin Nardella says Buxton’s Frank Matcham Opera House is full of magic even before a performance begins… The young Australian, who has worked with companies all over the world including the Brisbane Festival, The Old Vic and even the Comedie Francaise in Paris, is busy drawing up plans to recreate Imperial Russia in Buxton for the 2019 production of Eugene Onegin. Justin was only 16 when he won the BMW Young Artist Award, winning money for his school and landing him the role of designer for its production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Since then he has set the scene for performances by Glenda Jackson, Tracey Emin and Julian Clary, and was already a Matcham aficionado after working with English National Opera in London’s Coliseum Theatre - which he proudly points out was paid for by fellow Australian Sir Oswald Stoll. Reconnoitring at Buxton recently,
he was treated to seeing the curtain rise from the performers’ perspective: “We were led from backstage and suddenly we saw it all lit up,” said Justin. “It was a magical, theatrical moment, from being in a black box to being in this beautiful, opulent theatre. “That’s why people come to the theatre – it’s for that sense of escapism, being part of other characters’ lives.” And the theatre is also perfect as a part of the backdrop for the Onegin tragedy, thanks to the gilded surroundings which mirror upper class Russian society of the day. Now he is working on the darker side of the story… but don’t expect any clues in advance: the magic starts in earnest only when the curtain rises.
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BOOK NOW FOR THE FUTURE
UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA IS ONE OF THE THEMES WHICH THE BOOKS SERIES WILL USE TO EXPLORE IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR DIVIDED NATION.
Books Festival Organiser Victoria Dawson has brought together 56 of our leading authors and thinkers to tackle the big issues of bio-diversity, truth and lies, the future of music and threats to our economy. There will also be an insight into the forthcoming review of Britain’s National Parks, and almost
every period of British history from the Dark Ages through to Modernism and politics over the 40 years of the Festival’s existence. And there will be an excursion through the Peak District landscape with three writers who all have murder on their minds…
SPECIAL OFFER: BUY YOUR BOOKS AT THEIR POP-UP STORE DURING THE FESTIVAL AND WATERSTONES WILL GIVE THE FESTIVAL 15 PER CENT OF THE COVER PRICE
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2019 sees the return of the popular walks programme, with the town’s Victorian, theatrical and wartime history featuring in three events developed for the Festival by the highly successful Discover Buxton tour company – please see the brochure for full details. Two other walks have been created by the Festival team to tie in with the book series. Picking up something to eat doesn’t involve shopping for John Wright, who has made a career from foraging by writing books and making TV programmes about the art of living off our hedgerows, woodlands and seashores. John, who often works with Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall of TV’s River Cottage fame, will lead two walks on urban foraging. MEET ST JOHNS CHURCH JULY 16 (3.30PM) AND JULY 17 (10AM, FOLLOWED BY A COOKERY DEMONSTRATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DERBY’S BUXTON CAMPUS AT 2PM). WE KNOW WHAT THE ROMANS DID FOR BUXTON, BUT WHAT DID BUXTON EVER DO FOR US? Romans, Georgians and Victorians shaped Buxton, but in the 20th Century, the town itself played a major role in architecture worldwide. This walk features homes designed by Richard Parker and Raymond Unwin who began their careers here before championing garden cities, town planning and helping President Franklin D Roosevelt with his “New Deal”. It will be led by art historian Alan Powers (pictured), with help from John Bishop, an architect who teaches young people how to understand their environment.
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CANADIANS WHO WEREN’T BOWLED OVER BY CRICKET Canadian soldiers braved the worst the trenches could throw at them — but found one thing about World War One hard to take: cricket! By 1918, three large hotels and a hospital in Buxton were turned over to the rehabilitation of Canadian forces injured in the fighting, and sport played a great part in getting them back to fitness, research by Friends member Cynthia Jennings has revealed. They showed their mettle at cricket against Buxton CC, holding the more experienced side to a draw. But Lieutenant R Matthews, writing in The Canadian Hospital News August 1918 edition, wished the Brits would get a move on and bring their national game up to date. “Saturday’s game was typical of that slowness which to our minds spoils the game,” he wrote. “Cricket really must get a hustle on if it wants to
stand up against baseball as a Summer game. To put it mildly, more pep is required.” Cynthia spotted the Hospital News during her work as a volunteer at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery. The Museum building itself was one of the hotels — then called the Peak Hydro — requisitioned to house the Canadian soldiers, and the town was referred to as No 1 Canadian Discharge Depot in military circles. Not all of the soldiers survived, as the town’s Commonwealth War Graves bear testimony. Buxton Cemetery contains 54 scattered burials from the First World War, 29 of them Canadian.
You can find out more about Buxton’s role in WW1 by signing up for one of the Festival walks on the subject. For more details on walks and other events in the Festival programme, go to www.buxtonfestival.co.uk 9 NEWSLETTER.indd 9
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SUPPORTING THE F E S T I VA L I S A P I E C E O F C A K E IN OUR TEA GARDEN Specially created for our 40th anniversary, the Festival Tea Garden will be the hub of the Festival as supporters and performers mix to share what they have seen so far and explore what’s on next in the wonderfully English setting of the St John’s Church Peace Garden, opposite the Opera House. You’ll find a peaceful oasis of calm, the chance to mix with the artists and an ever-changing menu of surprise events.
The Tea Garden will be open during the day, come rain or shine, thanks to an all-weather canopy, and there will be treats ranging from BIF buskers to impromptu performances. All the money made goes directly to the Festival, so every cuppa and piece of cake bought in the Festival Tea Garden supports our artists and activities. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ST JOHN’S CHURCH AND THE UNIVERSITY OF DERBY.
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STEPPING DOWN Stepping down from the Board this year are directors Dame Sandra Burslem OBE and Professor Rod Dubrow-Marshall. Sandra, a former Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, was a Friends Vice-Chairman and Interim Chairman. She also led the nominations committee and was a keen supporter of Friends events. Rod is a former Deputy ViceChancellor at the University of Derby who played a major role in the books series, in which he presented events and interviewed authors.
STEPPING UP Former BIF Artistic Director Aidan Lang (1999-2006) has been appointed General Director of Welsh National Opera. Aidan’s previous post was as general director of Seattle Opera, where he has overseen co-productions with Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera and New Zealand Opera.
TOURISM OFFICE MOVES
Buxton’s Tourist Information Centre has moved from the Pavilion Gardens to the Pump Room opposite The Crescent. The newly-restored building will also be a venue for some events linked to the Festival this year.
VICTORIAN CONCERT HALL BACK IN ACTION AFTER £3 MILLION RESTORATION Buxton’s newly restored Octagon in the Pavilion Gardens is up for an award after a £3 million restoration to its Victorian splendour and colour scheme. This year several events, including a concert by the BBC Philharmonic, are being held in the building, which was originally designed as a concert hall by the Buxton architect, Robert Rippon Duke, and opened in 1875. Now a Grade ll listed building, the Octagon is one of the largest eightsided rooms in Europe. Photo courtesy of the Buxton Advertiser.
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MARK GOES FROM TREADING THE BOARDS TO JOINING THE BOARD Opera director Mark Burns has spent more than half his life in opera – and he’s still only 30… Mark, whose passion for the art form began when he took part in a Buxton youth production at the age of 12, has been appointed an associate member of the Festival Board of directors. “I care deeply about the Buxton Festival, being a local,” said Mark, who won praise last year for his witty and inventive direction of the British premiere of Brescianello’s Tisbe at Buxton. “Having an opportunity to learn about how high level arts management works from the inside is really useful. It’s an opportunity I couldn’t really turn down. “I feel very safe at Buxton Festival because they have always been a champion of my career and I wanted to give back.” He added: “A lot of the board members bring skills from different industries, and I did notice that there aren’t a huge number of artists, so as art is the very nature of what we produce at the Festival it’s good to have a mix.” Mark is back at Buxton this year, directing the youth production The Orphans of Koombu which will see seven Derbyshire secondary schools not only taking to the Opera House stage but also performing in their own communities.
MICHELIN STAR ON THE MENU Cookery demonstrations are back on the Festival menu this year, with food to feed body and soul. Max Fischer is a Michelin-starred chef who has cooked for Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher and President Nixon. His career took him to some of the most prestigious kitchens in Europe before he settled in Derbyshire where he and his wife Susan created a country house restaurant with rooms at their home, Baslow Hall. They earned their first Michelin Star there in 1994 ,and have retained it ever since. WED 10 JULY 2PM – 3PM DEVONSHIRE DOME £12 12 NEWSLETTER.indd 12
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BUXTON: SO MUCH MORE T H A N T H E S U M O F I T S PA R T S The last Buxton Festival which Friends member Colin Gregory missed was the very first…. Colin heard about Buxton via the Friends of Covent Garden, and came to see Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet and Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict in 1980, returning every year since. Now as the Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary, he looked back on what made, and continues to make, Buxton special. “I didn’t know Derbyshire, but I knew it was supposed to be a very attractive area,” said Colin, who lives in London and Lincolnshire. “We loved it. The setting is wonderful because of the hills, and the Frank Matcham Opera House is such a treasure. I’ve brought lots of friends over the years and everybody is always enchanted by it.” And there are always musical treasures to be discovered: “I think the variety of what was done always interested. There were operas that
I hadn’t seen before, rarities of all kinds, and the quality was musically excellent.” A frequent visitor to Glyndebourne and other summer festivals, Colin says Buxton is different: “Those are something I’d go to as a one-off experience whereas the totality of what happens at Buxton is much more integrated, so the operas, the literary festival and the locations are all contributors to a unique experience. “Buxton is so much more than the sum of its parts.”
HOW TO COOK AN ANT John Wright is Britain’s best-loved forager and a regular on River Cottage. From dandelions in spring to sloe berries in autumn, via wild garlic, samphire, chanterelles and even grasshoppers, our countryside is full of edible delights in any season. John discusses where, how to identify them, and how to store, use and cook them. You’ll learn the stories behind the Latin names, the best way to tap a birch tree, and how to fry an ant, make rosehip syrup and cook a hop omelette. WED 17 JULY 2PM – 3PM DEVONSHIRE DOME £12 13 NEWSLETTER.indd 13
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F R I E N D S AT T H E C E N T R E S U P P O R T I N G T H E F E S T I VA L FOR 40 YEARS
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN There’s a palpable buzz in the air! The brochure for this year’s Festival, with its eye-catching cover, is now in all your homes and I’m sure you’ll have been impressed by the vitality and breadth of this summer’s events. There’s evident excitement coming through the priority bookings; and there’s been a bounce in new Friends membership registrations! Our AGM in February was one of our best ever, with nearly 90 members in attendance. Perhaps it was the opportunity to hear our new Artistic Director Adrian Kelly and Michael setting out this year’s Festival offer with all its “firsts”. Certainly, many members stayed on for a memorable recital by delightful Tillett Trust scholars, Sirius Chau and Kumi Matsuo, followed by a genial lunch with fellow members. In any event, the main business of the AGM proved uncontroversial, evidenced by general satisfaction with the affairs and activities of the charity and unanimous support for the trustees’ proposal to convert our charity into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This latter process will take some weeks, if not months, but is already well in hand. We have bidden farewell to retiring trustees, Jane Wallwork, Morwenna Brooke, Barbara
Stringer, Pat Holland, and Philip Cartledge; we thank them all for their commitment and hard work over many years. Nine of us continue as before but we still have 3 trustee vacancies. Please get in touch if you may be interested - we represent a friendly but vital arm of the Festival! Meanwhile, sincere thanks to all of you for your unwavering and generous support which resulted last year in our raising an amazing £205,000 for the Festival. This year, amongst much else, we will be fully funding the performances of Lucio Papirio Dittatore and securing, as always, the festival chorus and young artists programme. Forty this year - that’s the Festival. Forty next year – that’s the Friends. Almost too much to celebrate – so don’t miss out on a wonderful July in Buxton. I’ll see you here.
DAVID BRINDLEY, CHAIRMAN FRIENDSCHAIRMAN@BUXTONFESTIVAL.CO.UK
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FORTHCOMING FRIENDS EVENTS GEORGIANA RETURNS TO CHATSWORTH SATURDAY, 6 APRIL AT 5.30PM CHATSWORTH HOUSE, NEAR BAKWELL
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Following a buffet style tea in the Cavendish Restaurant, Michael Williams will introduce, in the Georgian theatre, this year’s world premiere of Georgiana, along with singers from the cast performing pieces from our specially commissioned work.
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PLACES COST £80 EACH INCLUDING CHAMPAGNE DRINKS RECEPTION AFTERNOON TEA BUFFET.
SPRING DIVERTIMENTO SUNDAY, 19 MAY AT 12 NOON LOMBERDALE HALL, MIDDLETON-BYYOULGREAVE Enjoy a Spring Divertimento in the Derbyshire Dales as the Festival's former Chief Executive Glyn Foley and friends explore some delightful music for the reedy trio of oboe, clarinet and bassoon. Expect Mozart in playful mood mixed with Gallic wit and charm aplenty, all delivered with panache. We are delighted to have been invited to the home of Fiona and Oliver Stephenson for this event. PLACES COST £40 EACH INCLUDING RECITAL AND LUNCH.
LOOKING FOR NEW RECRUITS We would like to recruit some new Festival Friends and need your help doing so. If you are able to help us recruit a new member as a thank you we will give you a £10 gift voucher to spend at the Festival. If you have a friend who would like to join just send us their details and we will post them an application form and if they join we will send you a voucher. 15 NEWSLETTER.indd 15
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OPERA STUDY DAY TUESDAY, 21 MAY AT 10.30AM LEE WOOD HOTEL, BUXTON Following a gap of one year the Study Day returns. Enhance your enjoyment of the Festival operas with our informal and enjoyable Study Day. We have a line-up of speakers who will give a personal insight into each of our productions. SPEAKERS Adrian Kelly, Artistic Director of BIF, speaking on Eugene Onegin Jeff Clark, Artistic Director of Opera della Luna, speaking on Orpheus in the Underworld Adrian Chandler, Artistic Director of La Serenissima, speaking on Lucio Papirio Dittatore Michael Williams, CEO of BIF and lyricist of Georgiana on A Secret History STUDY DAY LUNCH
Classic Smoked Salmon, Lemon Capers and Brown Bread Roast Topside of Derbyshire Beef, Roast potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding and Red Wine Gravy Steamed Syrup Sponge with Orange Crème Anglaise Tea, Coffee and Minted Chocolates
PLACES COST £45 EACH INCLUDING TALKS AND LUNCH COFFEE MORNING TALK ‘THE LIFE OF GEORGE CADBURY’ WEDNESDAY, 29 MAY AT 10.30AM NO 6 THE SQUARE, BUXTON Heike Huschauer gives a lecture on George Cadbury (1839-1922), his vision, views on citizenship and his religious conviction. George Cadbury was the famous chocolatier, philanthropist, social reformer, political activist and Quaker. Be surprised by the life story of a truly great man of his time. Heike has served as Membership Secretary and Trustee for the Festival Friends. She is a committed Quaker and interested in the influence of Quakers in the history of Britain. PLACES COST £10 EACH INCLUDING COFFEE AND BISCUITS. COFFEE MORNING TALK ‘WYN DAVIES AND PAUL KERRYSON IN CONVERSATION’ WEDNESDAY, 23 OCTOBER AT 10.30AM NO 6 THE SQUARE, BUXTON Wyn Davies, Patron of the Festival Friends, will be in conversation with Paul Kerryson Chief Executive of Buxton Opera House. Paul has many years of executive leadership experience and has received numerous accolades for his services to the theatre Industry. In 2015 Paul was awarded an MBE at the New Year’s Honours; he has an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University and was named one of the industry’s ‘100 most influential people of 2015’ by The Stage newspaper. Paul also received the UK Theatre Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre in 2014. PLACES COST £10 EACH INCLUDING COFFEE AND BISCUITS.
FRIENDS DAYS
FRIENDS DINNER
WEDNESDAY, 10 JULY WEDNESDAY, 17 JULY The Friends of Buxton Festival will be on hand at all the events on these days, so why not come along and say hello! We will have a Friends table at the Tea Garden with some branded merchandise for sale to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Festival.
SUNDAY, 14 JULY AT 5PM OLD HALL HOTEL, BUXTON Meet up with fellow Friends of Buxton Festival for a slap-up meal at the Old Hall Hotel – the perfect chance to renew old acquaintances and discuss this year’s Festival. PLACES COST £35 EACH
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F R I E N D S H O L I D AY S
Over the years, a number of the Friends have enjoyed opera holidays with “John Whibley Holidays with Music”. The holidays are not only fun social events offering a chance to get to know fellow Buxton Friends, but also they contribute towards our fund-raising target. This year, at the end of April a number of Friends are off to Llandudno for a 3 night break to see WNO on tour, whilst in the summer from the 10th to 14th July JWH is organising an exclusive Buxton/ WNO Friends holiday to the Buxton International Festival. This will be ideal for Friends who live further away, and would enjoy someone else sorting out all the logistics for a relaxing 4 day break. In 2020, more Friends Holidays are planned. If you’d like more information please call the Whibley team on 01663 746578 or email john@whibley.co.uk
NEW SHERIFF
Festival board member and former Friends Chairman Louise Potter has been appointed as Derbyshire’s High Sheriff for 2021-22. Louise, former owner of the Old Hall Hotel which she turned from a dilapidated building into an award-winning business, will use the role to continue to raise Buxton’s profile.
MBE FOR ROS
Derbyshire County Council’s Museums Manager Ros Westwood has been recognised for her achievements in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. Ros, who runs the county council’s Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, has received the MBE for her services to culture in the East Midlands.
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L I T E R A RY S A L O N W I L L SUPERCHARGE THE ENJOYMENT O F Y O U R F E S T I VA L D AY You’ve had a busy day at the Festival, absorbing new ideas, hearing wonderful music and watching spectacular performances – so what now? Come to our literary salons, designed to mirror the golden age of gathering places for artists and writers in the relaxed, informal setting of one of Buxton’s beautiful Edwardian homes, Moorcoft House. Not only will you meet fellow Festival-goers similarly enthused by the 2019 programme, but also some of the authors, thinkers and musicians who will supercharge the conversation on the issues of your day in Buxton. Sponsored by Kuro gin.
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH L U C I O PA P I R I O D I T TAT O R E
A gap of three centuries between performances of Caldara’s Lucio Papirio dittatore takes some explaining, but luckily Marketing Manager Emma Lloyd has captured all the answers in a video interview with musical director Adrian Kelly. 18 NEWSLETTER.indd 18
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FIFTY CONCERTS WITH LOTS OF FIRSTS
More than 50 concerts include a lot of ‘firsts for Buxton’ as the 40th Festival presents everything from Baroque to classical, folk to jazz and new world to pop. This year we are introducing Spotlight events showcasing young students from Chetham’s School of Music, RNCM and the University of Derby, providing opportunities for performers of all ages. The opening event of the Festival is the New Voices Foundation Concert where we are very privileged to be joined by six Young Artists from Cape Town Opera who will be performing with members of the Festival Chorus and the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Impressionist Alistair McGowan will be playing the piano, along with a few “guests” from his repertoire of familiar voices, and we have the very talented clarinettist Julian Bliss who will be performing with his Jazz Septet. The late night Café in the Pavilion Gardens café returns with Festival favourite Chris Ingham, newcomer Dominic Aldis and his trio, Jason Singh who was very popular last year and award-winning folk artist Bella Hardy In another first, we have an Artist in Residence – the world renowned pianist Peter Donohoe, who will be performing recitals spread over the full two weeks. FOR THE FULL PROGRAMME GO TO OUR WEBSITE.
DO YOU KNOW A BUSINESS WHICH WOULD S U P P O R T O U R F E S T I VA L T H R O U G H O U R ‘ F E S T I VA L C I R C L E M E M B E R S H I P ’ F O R 2 0 1 9 ? The Circle is growing with tremendous support from local businesses but we need your help to promote it and the benefits of joining. IF YOU CAN HELP, CONTACT LUCY MARSDEN AT THE FESTIVAL OFFICE.
DON’T FORGET TO ORDER YOUR PROGRAMME BOOK!
BIF’s 40th anniversary will certainly be unforgettable, but to help you remember every detail of those treasured experiences, our programme book is a vital purchase. It will also provide a guide to who’s who, what’s what and the whys and wherefores of an events series which is packed with excitement. CALL THE BOX OFFICE TO ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY ON 01298 72190. 19 NEWSLETTER.indd 19
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T I VA L
LOGO & BRAND IDENTITY GUIDELI
JOIN OUR FESTIVAL CIRCLE FESTIVAL CIRCLE
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Join our Festival Circle, a circle of Business patrons that share your enthusiasm for Buxton International Festival, and play a major role in building the Festival’s future. As a member of our Festival Circle, you’ll receive a number of unique benefits as a thank you for your support: •
•
mages to show pposed to full buildings.
ull colour.
• • • •
Year round website advert featuring on our ‘Where to Stay’, ‘Where to Visit’ ‘Where to Eat/ Drink’ pages (restricted exclusively to members) Quarter page advert in the Programme Book with the opportunity to upgrate at discounted rates Two tickets to a Festival event of your choice Access to Priority Booking for Festival events Complimentary Festival Programme Invitation to launches and events
For further details on becoming a Festival Circle member, contact lucy.marsden@buxtonfestival.co.uk
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