HAR ROG ATE
A very Merry Christmas from all at the Harrogate International Festivals
Welcome...
We hope you’ve had an enjoyable year with Harrogate International Festivals.
IN 2019
49% of all HIF events were free
to access with costs subsidised by the Festival, and our partners.
72,000
81
Over the last twelve months we’ve welcomed a host of musicians, writers, thinkers, artists and entertainers to Harrogate to thrill our audiences.
Over visits to our free to access arts, education and community events.
Our work draws people to the town, to celebrate new ideas, to capture imaginations, to experience the Moon at their fingertips, to meet world famous authors, dance until the early hours or perhaps to immerse themselves in century’s old music that still resonates today as much as it did the first time it was performed.
165 events over 111 days in 34
It has been such a busy year at the Festival that we cannot hope to reflect on and celebrate everything in this newsletter, but instead are looking to provide you with a glimpse of our work, and our passion behind the events that makes our 53-year strong heritage as an arts charity so important today.
What you said about us: “Thoroughly entertaining, the highlight of my year.” “Wry, classy, inventive, once again @HarrogateFest is the place where amazing things happen!” “One of Harrogate’s highlights of highlights.” “It was worth coming from New Zealand for such an amazing experience.” “Thank you so much the students really did enjoy it. For many, they had never heard an orchestra before.” “Musical Mums helped me to gain confidence and build some great friendships.”
We were awarded: ‘Team of the Year Award’ Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism Awards ‘Tourism Award’ Harrogate Advertiser Excellence in Business Awards. Our Chief Executive Sharon Canavar also won the ‘Business Personality of the Year Award’ in recognition of her longstanding work in the town.
Box Office | 01423 562 303
venues.
23
Bookers from countries and continents visited Harrogate to attend one of HIFs events.
5
1668 free or discounted tickets to paid events.
Putting Harrogate in HIF Harrogate International Festivals is truly part of Harrogate. The support we receive from the town’s residents and the palpable excitement shown in welcoming some of the best artists in the world to our town is always a thrill. This year Team HIF took part in The Great Knaresborough Bed Race. The Bed Race is a one of the great traditions of area with a pageant of decorated beds, followed with a gruelling race around a 2.4-mile course culminating in a swim through the ever-icy waters of the River Nidd. Team HIF was made up of staff members and supporters and took to the track on a particularly wet and treacherous day. It was an unforgettable experience and a great way to raise the profile of Harrogate International Festivals, whilst supporting other charities. Alongside our community events, we also celebrated Harrogate Welcomes The World, as part of the UCI, decorating the town overnight in glorious technicolour, hosting a global Carnival and a celebration of the towns spa heritage.
| harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
Our Work
Innovation, artistic excellence, accessibility and creativity are at the heart of Harrogate International Festivals’ events, with a carefully curated programme across the fields of music, literature, theatre, art and science. Music
Beginning the year with the Harrogate International Sunday Series we explored the intricacies of pared back performances and celebrated ‘one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century’ Yevgeny Sudbin. As part of the Harrogate Music Festival we altered the expectations of orchestral music and blurred the lines between cinema and concert with Casino Royale in concert with The Hallé Orchestra. From the Leeds International Piano Competition winner Eric Lu, to the youngest ever joint winner of the Junior 1st Prize at the Menuhin Competition in 2018, Christian Li the Festival showcased the very best of young talent. Our orchestral finale featured the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic with a past Young Musician Julian Bliss performing Mozart’s farewell to instrumental music.
Literature
With Mari Hannah at the helm as Programming Chair for 2019’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, it was one of our biggest and best yet. A firm date in the literary calendar the Festival has achieved international acclaim for the programming, organisation and atmosphere. Featuring 102 authors over 4 days, our Special Guests included crime fiction titans James Patterson, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Harlan Coben, Jo Nesbo, and Denise Mina, alongside Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio and crime fiction superfan Nicola Sturgeon.
Premier Partners
The Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival has become the hot ticket on the national Festival circuit thanks to its stellar line-up of literary names. The Festival celebrates great writing by bringing bestselling authors, influential politicians, journalists and stars of the stage, including former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, beloved BBC Countryfile broadcaster John Craven, presenter-turned-GB triathlete Louise Minchin, Falklands war veteran Simon Weston CBE and business titan Sir Tim Waterstone.
Salon
Berwins Salon North is one of Harrogate’s most sought-after tickets after the Salon was voted as number six in the ‘Top 100 Things to do in the World’ by GQ magazine. In 2019 we welcomed a diverse range of speakers to present the most stimulating ideas in art, science and psychology, including Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan, forensic scientist Angela Gallop, psychotherapist Philippa Perry and author Jamie Bartlett, all welcomed to the stage by HIF presenter extraordinaire Helen Bagnall.
Theatre
Oddsocks Theatre Productions returned to the Festival with another high-energy, feel-good, family theatre show, bringing the Shakespearean favourite ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to life in the grounds of RHS Harlow Carr.
Contemporary Music
The iconic Royal Hall was transformed into Harrogate’s very own version of the Spiegeltent. The glittering venue saw audiences reliving the iconic days of Hacienda with the legend that is Graeme Park, strutting their stuff with the Gypsy Queens and to letting their fabulous side run wild as the House of Burlesque dancers returned to party all night long.
Children’s Festival
Designed with kids in mind and curated with imagination, over one weekend the Children’s Festival stretched everything from their brain to their toes with ballet, music making, storytelling and science shows.
Installations & Outdoor
Some of the Towns most iconic spaces were transformed with the arts. From 1940’s Day where the clock was wound back with a variety of wartime costumes, vehicles and music from the decade to The Long Table Dinner which transformed the Valley Gardens into Harrogate’s chicest restaurant for one night only. A unique arts installation was programmed into our summer with Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon engaging over 6600 people in the local community over eight days. As part of our work with Harrogate Welcomes The World and Harrogate Borough Council we delivered the Harrogate Carnival, welcoming the world to Harrogate for the UCI Championships through dance, music, food and street theatre and the #Harrogate1571 lighting installation which created a 3-dimensional map of the mineral wells in the sky celebrating Harrogate’s spa town heritage.
Education
One of the biggest impacts we can have on children’s lives is education. The Big Write is a free to access education programme encouraging literary skills and enjoyment of writing amongst children aged 8-10. It is the biggest creative literary session of its kind in the North of England and welcomed 722 children from 22 schools in 2019. Musical Mums works with parents under 25 and their children, providing free weekly music-making sessions in which young mothers can both bond with their child, gain new skills and make new friends, as well as focusing on the cognitive, personal and social development of their children. We were thrilled to recently be able to award several Arts Award Discover qualifications to the Mums in recognition of their Leadership Training within this group. With the support of Arts Council England, we continued to cultivate our relationship with libraries across the UK through the Big Read. Hundreds of readers joined our Reader-in-Residence, Mari Hannah, to read Michael Connelly’s The Black Echo as we continue to work towards a legacy of keen readers who are engaged with their local libraries. We also established the inaugural National Library Conference, bringing together librarians and publishing professionals from across the UK to create a network that will aid libraries in producing their own local events and encouraging people to utilise their local libraries.
Major Supporter
Community Partners
Regular Funder
A look back at the decade that was… 2010
Artist in Residence; Alex Wilson, Arcadi Volodos & Alan Bennett, Toby Faber, Sir Willard White, A Masterclass with Dame Fanny Waterman DBE, Norman Lebrecht, Australian Youth Orchestra with Sir Mark Elder. Christopher Brookmyre, Karin Slaughter, Jeffery Deaver, Jeff Lindsay, Crime Programming Chair: Stuart MacBride. HIF commissioned work: Richard Jacques, Alex Wilson.
201 1
Paloma Faith, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson’s first appearance, Abdullah Ibrahim, Lord Robert Winston, Soweto Kinch, András Schiff, Alastair Campbell, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Sir Michael Parkinson, Guest Curators: Clare Teal and Soweto Kinch. Lee Child, Martina Cole, Dennis Lehane, Howard Marks, Crime Programming Chair: Dreda Say Mitchell. Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival and the Harrogate Children’s Festival established. HIF Commissioned work: Soweto Kinch.
2015
The Big Write is established working with schools across the region to improve literacy levels. Matt Haig, Michael Morpurgo, Gregory Porter, Polyphony Foundation, Alfred Brendel, Alan Johnson, Julian Lloyd Webber, Jenny Éclair, Bill Oddie, Noddy Holder, Armonico Consort and Mahan Esfahani. Eddie Izzard, M.C Beaton, Sara Paretsky, Lisa Gardner, Arnaldur Indridason, Crime Programming Chair: Ann Cleeves. Future 50 Appeal Launched. This seeks to safeguard the Future of the Festivals.
2016
Harrogate International Festivals removed from the Arts Council National Portfolio, resulting in no long-term funding.
We lit the town on fire with Cie Carabosse, welcoming 25,000 visitors in just twelve hours! TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended a celebratory event to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Festival. Van Morrison, Gypsy Queens, James Naughtie, Peter James, Stephen Isserlis, Black Dyke Band, John Wilson Orchestra, Guest Curator: Sir Willard White, Jay Phelps. Linwood Barclay, Martina Cole, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Gerald Seymour, Crime Programming Chair; Peter James. HIF Commissioned work: Howard Skempton, Jay Phelps.
2012
2017
Noriko Ogawa, Curtis Stigers, Bellowhead, Melvyn Tan, Nile Rodgers, John Wilson Orchestra, Penguin Café, Sophie Raworth, Craig Charles, Eliza Carthy. Guest Curator: Dennis Rollins. John Connolly, Kate Mosse, Ian Rankin, Peter James, Harlan Coben, Jo Nesbo, Crime Programming Chair; Mark Billingham. The Festival Big Screen with Movies on Montpellier is launched and the Spiegeltent is introduced to Harrogate. HIF Commissioned work: Dennis Rollins.
2013
We celebrated a decade of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival with Programming Chair: Val McDermid, Ruth Rendell, Jeanette Winterson OBE, Peter James, Ian Rankin OBE, Lee Child and Sarah Millican. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Craig Charles, Mikhail Rudy, Lesley Garrett CBE, Michael Palin CBE, Richard & Judy, Sir Tim Rice, Joanne Harris MBE, Stuart Maconie, Brenda Blethyn, Lesley Garrett, Jacqui Dankworth, Lianne La Havas, Guest Curator: Zoe Rahman. Harrogate History Festival established & Salon North introduced to Harrogate audiences. HIF Commissioned work: Zoe Rahman.
2014
JK Rowling holds her only worldwide event to launch The Silkworm under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Artist in Residence: James Rhodes, Guest Curator: Gabby Young. Harrogate Festival Orchestra reborn. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Kate Adie OBE and Frank Gardner OBE. Val McDermid, Lynda La Plante CBE, John Harvey, Mark Billingham, Olivia Colman and Jodie Whittaker, Crime Programming Chair; Steve Mosby. HIF Commissioned work: John Tavener, Gabby Young.
Cemented Harrogate as one of the country’s leading literary destinations with Paula Hawkins and Dan Brown holding UK exclusive launches of their new books here in Harrogate. Agatha Christie exhibition. Kamus Quartet, Sir Bryn Terfel, John Wilson, Oz and Armonico Drink to Music, Sir Chris Bonnington, Peter Snow. Ian McMcillan, Gould Piano Trio, Alex Mendham, Victoria Hislop, Sophie Kinsella. Arne Darl, Joseph Finder, Dennis Lehane, Peter May, Kathy Reich, Crime Programming Chair: Elly Griffiths. HIF Commissioned work: Gareth Williams.
2018
Luminarium Architects of Air took Harrogate by storm. We stepped in to take over the running of the community event 1940’s day to ensure it’s future within the town. Laura Mvula, The Hallé Orchestra with Sir Mark Elder, Fairey Band, Emma Johnson MBE, VOCES8, Graeme Park, Guest Curator: Ayanna Witter-Johnson. Jo Swinson, Gill Simms, Dr Jane Hawking, David Starkey, Nick Hewer. John Grisham, Don Winslow, Lindwood Barclay, Denise Mina, Nicci French and Crime Programming Chair Lee Child. HIF Commissioned work: Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
2019
We celebrated the foundations of Harrogate with #Harrogate 1571, brought the moon within reach with Museum of the Moon, and brought colour to our town by being UCI Fairies. Carnival, Casino Royale in Concert with The Hallé Orchestra, Eric Lu, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Graeme Park, House of Burlesque, Venki Ramakrishnan, Philippa Perry, David Cameron, Jamie Barlett. Ian Rankin, Harlan Coban, James Patterson, Val McDermid, Nicola Sturgeon, M.C Beaton, Jed Mercurio, Crime Programming chair Mari Hannah. HIF Commissioned work: James Bawn and Eddie Roberts lighting installation, James Bawn Harrogate 1571.
Looking forward to 2020 Moving into 2020 our season of coffee concerts returns with an international line-up of world-class chamber musicians. Including German-born Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger and winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason alongside his sister pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. The Ashwell Trio share their passion for music spanning the Classical, Romantic and 21st Century eras, praised for their warm sound and powerful stage presence the Esmé Quartet and double winner of the International Classical Music Award, pianist Joseph Moog will also take to the stage. If you want to know if AI is stealing your job and if animals ever get lost, or perhaps you’d like to delve deeper into why it’s important to relax, how the Himalayas are linked to the earth’s orbit, and why your brain wants magic to be real… then welcome to Berwins Salon North. Berwins Salon North returns in January and March 2020 with the best ideas in arts, science and psychology. Ian Rankin takes the helm as the 2020 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Chair. He will be putting together another stellar programme of the very best of crime fiction for you to enjoy from 23rd – 26th July 2020. Fundraising for our Future 50 Appeal to safeguard the future of Harrogate International Festivals continues. There are many ways in which you can support our work including sponsorship, donations, volunteering or becoming a Friend of the Festivals.