last post

today is my last day as Director of the Lichfield Festival, and I wanted to put up a brief last post to thank you all for reading this over the last seventeen months, for engaging with it every now and then, and for supporting the Lichfield Festival from where ever you are. From next week I will be pursuing a Clore Fellowship fulltime and from 16 November my successor Fiona Stuart will be in post. Please do keep an eye out on this blog, as it is bound to continue in some way...

travelling picture show ends its journey

Just heard from the good folk at 7inch Cinema, who screened film at last July's Festival, that the animation workshops that started here on our final day and have continued throughout the West Midlands over recent months, have finally been completed and the 'chain-film' The Magic Box will be premiered at a Gala Finale of the Travelling Picture Show will take place on Sunday 25 October at 6pm at The Electric in Birmingham. The evening will also include pianist Paul Shallcross accompanying two comedy classics: Buster Keaton wrestles with a flatpack house in One Week (1920) and Laurel and Hardy are persistent salesmen in Big Business (1929).

literature day after

still picking through the weekend to work out just how successful an event it was, but with a string of happy authors, pretty healthy book sales (the David Aaronovitch book sold out), and (so far) really nice and encouraging words from the visit authors, its just the money that we have yet to measure sucess by. I realise that our audience figures are helped by an event for children that was attended by over 400 people, but even an initial tally suggest that attendances were up by over 730 (which is like 125% increase on last year - nice). While thanks go to all the professional authors who visited this year, I would also like to name and thank all of the local authors and poets who came to speak at our inaugural Open Mic event - Elizabeth Leaper, Janet Jenkins, Sally Hayter, Paul Higgs, Mostyn Harris, Jan Green, Michael Pearson, Anthony Webster, Sue Maxwell, Matthew Powell, Philip Hall, Wendy Wilson, and Gary Longdon.

literature day two

it is with a certain shock that I find myself at the start of day two of this year's lichfield literature without having posted about it for nearly three weeks. Better late than never I suppose. It feels a little like its crept up on us all, and our slightly unexpected full house for our first event with Ian Stewart last night (freshly 'retired' and on the day his book was officially released) excitedly reminded us of what it is we actually do. It is often too easy to get caught up with planning and budgets, that we forget that it is about allowing, in this case, authors (artists) to engage directly with their readers (audiences), and vice versa.
This morning then, with a triple espresso drunk from my favourite Very Hungry Caterpiller mug in recognition of today's four sold out puppet shows marking the book's 40th birthday, and with a long day stretching ahead of the team culminating in (another) sold out event with Kate Adie, I wanted to briefly draw attention to the gentle Lichfield thread. Our second event last night was David Charles Manners speaking about and reading from his latest book. David went to school in Lichfield, and spoke with eloquence and a wonderfully poetic turn of phrase about his years here and about the extraordinary work that he has been doing in the Bengal Himalaya for the last sixteen years. Tomorrow at noon we welcome ten local poets and authors who will be reading their unpublished work at our Open Mic event (this is free - come along). Then Frances Wilson, also from Lichfield, will be finally speaking about her Dorothy Wordsworth book after having to pull out last year due to illness. Tomorrow evening ends with David Nokes discussing Lichfield's Samuel Johnson. Finally, on Sunday, we welcome back Matthew Yeo, another born and bred Lichfeldian, who will be talking about the the history of the bookshop (!). Of course there are other wee connections throughout the weekend, but it is great to have so many authors from here returning to speak here.

new festival director

it has just been announced publicly, but at the start of November Fiona Stuart will become only the fifth Lichfield Festival Director in 28 years. To quote from the press release Fiona is

currently director of the Chorlton Arts Festival and also community outreach manager for the Royal Northern College of Music.

She replaces Richard Hawley, director since 2004, who has accepted a fellowship with the Clore Leadership Programme, and leaves Lichfield at the end of October.

Fiona said: “I am delighted to have been offered the post of Festival Director of The Lichfield Festival. The Festival has helped to place Lichfield on the map as a centre for wide-ranging and innovative arts and has an important place in enriching the life of the local community. I am excited about getting to know this community and also about working within such a strong, established team.

“With a successful 28-year history behind it, the Festival has established itself as a forward-thinking and groundbreaking arts organisation, and I look forward to building on the success of Richard Hawley and his predecessors in bringing together the best in local, national and international arts.”

As director of the Chorlton Arts Festival, Fiona was responsible for planning, promoting and delivering one of the largest festivals in Greater Manchester, and over three years was able to double the size of the festival and treble its audience figures.

At the Royal Northern College of Music she has been part of a team devising and delivering community events, providing participation opportunities for over 2,500 young people. As part of this programme, Fiona produced West Side Story, the largest project ever undertaken by the outreach department and designed to give talented children from deprived areas the opportunity to work alongside professional directors, choreographers, musicians and theatre crew.

Nick Sedgwick, Chairman of the Lichfield Festival’s board of directors, said: “We selected Fiona from a strong field of candidates from around the country for her special combination of qualities and experience. Her work at Chorlton and at the RNCM involves the whole community and she will quickly bring those skills to bear in Lichfield. “

shortlisted

earlier today we found out that the Lichfield Festival and our long-term Principal Partner BMW Plant Hams Hall have been shortlisted in the Sustained Partnership category for this year's Jaguar Land Rover Awards for Arts & Business. All shortlists will be announced in The Birmingham Post next week, and winners will be announced at Birmingham Town Hall on 15 October.

as a sneaky wee peek for those that read this blog, the lichfield literature brochure can be found here although it has yet to go up on the festival website...

and, as at close of play today, I will be out of the office for the next two weeks doing this here.

lichfield literature

This morning the last seven tickets for Katie Adie were grabbed, which means we've sold out within a week, and we've just added another Very Hungry Caterpillar show due to demand, so over 60% of the available seats have already been booked over the four performances.

Other authors speaking include David Aaronovitch on the role of conspiracy theories in modern history; historical novelist Barbara Ewing; Lawrence Goldman, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; crime crime writers Sophie Hannah and Peter Robinson in a Lichfield Library double bill; Tobias Hill discussing his latest novel The Hidden; historian Robert Hutchinson on the Dukes of Norfolk; Andrew Lambert on Captain John Franklin's doomed expedition (perfect, I think, for a city that honours doomed captains); Stephen Lyttelton discusses collating his father's last writings, David Charles Manners speaks about the impact of India on his life, David Nokes speaks his new biography of Samuel Johnson as a nod to the tercentenary, mathematician Ian Stewart, explorer Sara Wheeler on the arctic, Frances Wilson on Dorothy Wordsworth; and Matthew Yeo on the history of the book.
We are also holding an Open Mic event for local authors to come and share their writings.

Tickets will probably go on sale on Tuesday, but keep an eye on the festival website to be certain.

should I be resisting twitter?

many months ago I grabbed @lichfieldfest as a twitter name, knowing full well that sending minute by minute updates from my mobile during the festival, while simultaneously running a blogsite, doing my job and looking after a six month old puppy just wouldn't happen. since then, and while I have yet to issue a single update via twitter, we've amassed 38 followers (I realise 'amassed' may not be the most appropriate word).
I've gradually updated the site every now and then (just worked out how to get my logo up today), but I just can't get beyond thinking that twitter as a vehicle of communication for a festival like Lichfield's just isn't the best way forward. The flipside of that argument, which I readily acknowledge, is that a festival like ours should use every possible way to communicate with as big an audience as possible.

On a quick trawl through similar festivals, it seems to be only significantly bigger ones that utilise twitter to any great effect, although @spitsmusic and @eastneukfest seem to be valiantly proving that statement to be incorrect:

@cheltfestivals
@edintfest
@bbcproms
@mifestival
@brightfest
@harrogatefest

The nearby Birmingham Book Festival (@bhambookfest) also seems to be puttings theirs to good use.

adie on sale

tickets for the Lichfield Literary Dinner with Kate Adie as guest speaker went on sale at 9am this morning, and by noon half of the available seats had already sold. Go Kate! We may need to revisit this to see whether we can fit in a few more people than we were planning...
Having just returned from leave, I am belatedly at the final stages of scheduling the Lichfield Literature programme. While we'll be in a position to announce next week the full line up of speakers, one other event that we are already spreading the word about is a puppet show to mark the 40th anniversary of Eric Carle's masterpiece The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which continues our programming of events for families and young children. There will be three performances on Friday 9 October at Wade Street Church.

AAS0910

The new brochure for the Abbotsholme Arts Society has finally landed. While the website has yet to be updated, and the information has been available since before the Festival (ie, I could have easily listed it all here before now), below are scans of the full brochure detailing this season's events. For those that care about such things, the colour is Pantone 209 and is actually the last of a sequence of colours I chose back in 2005 leading up to this season.
This year's artists include Alina Ibragimova and Cedric Tiberghien performing the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas over three concerts, Stephen Hough with a programme linked to the year, the Schubert Ensemble, the Jerusalem Quartet, the inimitable Spiers & Boden doing an acoustic set, and the 2009 Gordon Clark Scholar Linda Barlund. Tickets for all events are available by calling the number detailed under General Information below.

death of an institution?

there were rumours floating around, and the website has been down for a little while, but having just had the opportunity to walk past, it really does seem that James Redshaw, Lichfield's independent bookshop has finally died. There is a notice in the window stating that due to the economic downturn, James Redshaw Ltd ceased trading on 30 June 2009. A few years ago it was bought out by S&J Music, a wonderful little music shop, and just over a year ago both shops moved from Dam Street to a larger premise in Bird Street. This was not one of those bookshops in which you could spend a blissful afternoon browsing the shelves and having a sneaky read, but they did pride themselves on being able to track down pretty much anything and get it in very quickly. James Redshaw was also a very strong and loyal supporter of local authors, something that will surely be missed now that they are gone.
Lichfield Festival took over the running of the Lichfield Literary Dinner in 2006, after James Redshaw had been running it incredibly successfully for 30 years. This year's Literary Dinner takes place on Friday 9 October as part of Lichfield Literature and will feature Kate Adie speaking.

dreamfighter mark two

later on today up in Scotland, Dreamfighter gets its second outing as part of this year's Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Performed twice (5.30 and 7.30), and with the same team as the premiere here in Lichfield (Scottish Ensemble, composer Tim Sutton conducting and Hannah Conway narrating), the choir this time round will be the NYCoS Girls Choir.

still not a plinthian

I've just checked and I have missed out on a place for One & Other on the Fourth Plinth for the third month in a row, no doubt along with thousands of others. While this in itself is not a problem, missing out does give me the chance to highlight two one-hour slots coming up that have a connection to the Lichfield Festival.
Hannah Spencer, an ex-Festival runner and now Creative Arts graduate will be up sometime in what remains of this week. More about her here.
Stephen Snoddy, Festival Board member and Director of New Art Gallery Walsall will be up 1-2pm Friday 28 August. More about him here.
The chances of getting a place were pretty good when I applied, but since this thing went live at the start of July, the chances of getting a place have been decreasing everyday. We'll see what October holds...

weird

I have been through something like this on several occasions but it is still a weird experience seeing your job advertised. It went up yesterday providing interested people with three weeks to send in their application.

festival photos

zipping between rehearsals and performances has been Drew Thompson taking excellent photographs for the Lichfield Festival archives. They can all be seen here. If there are any more that you may come across or even have yourself, get them online with a link in the comments or a lichfieldfestival2009 tag, or even email them into the Festival Office with how you would like them credited. You never know how they might be used beyond the archive...

the day after

unlike last year when we were using this day to bring everything out, we were already completely out of the cathedral at about 8pm last night. Andy Lovell and Alistair Tucker swung by yesterday evening to take away their unsold works, and the front door bell goes every now and then when people come to collect the pieces they purchased. The whole team is in trying to make sense of our desks (or find it, in my case) and to start to work through exactly how things went as opposed to how we planned for them to go.
Since early this morning scaffolding has been going into the cathedal in readiness for starting to take out the Herkenrode windows for restoration.

day ten.three

CBSO are finally in and I can hear La Mer being rehearsed as I type. We've discovered that we will have some tickets for sale on the door afterall now that last night's sound desk is gone, which is great. Less great is that the Lady Chapel stage was also taken away immediately after the lunchtime concert by the 2008 Gordon Clark Scholars.
The Gordon Clark Memorial Scholarship Trust supports young musicians, the kick back being that they perform either in Lichfield Festival or at Abbotsholme Arts Society. Charlotte Scott and Christian Elliot were to have been joined by James Baillieu, but due to an old RSI injury being triggered by moving house, Simon Lane stepped in at short notice.
CBSO's Music Director and tonight's conductor Andris Nelsons and I were going to have our pre-concert chat on the Lady Chapel stage. We'll probably make it much more intimate than we otherwise could have with both of us on the flat, and the audience really close.

day ten.two

CBSO truck still not arrived, but the Close has been shut to traffic since about 10am because of the Festival Dash, the annual sporting event culminating in a race around the cathedral to the 12noon chimes. Pip from 7 Inch Cinema and I welcomed a lovely little audience for Komaneko earlier on.

day ten.one

the team is in waiting for the CBSO truck in readiness for tonight's final concert in the cathedral. Tonight's soloist is Stephen Hough, who performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3 at last night's Opening Night of the Proms. Tonight he performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.2.

day nine.two

what a stunning evening we've had here. Joe Stilgoe had everyone in the palm of his hand with a roaring crowd down at the Garrick, and up at the cathedral the evening ended with a standing ovation, not a common occurance at all here in Lichfield. Jon Lord and co were absolutely brilliant, and the audience came from far and wide (I met one person who had driven five hours from Kent and another who had flown in from Copengahen). Many photos were taken at the rehearsal, and many more were taken at the gig, both officially and unofficially, so no doubt footage and image will gradually become available. Would be great if people popped links below. If things went according to plan, the entire evening was also recorded. Not sure what we'll do with it...

Full playlist was
As I Walked Out One Evening
De Profundis
Miles Away
Sarabande
Pictured Within
From The Windmill
The Telemann Experiment
//
Evening Song
Bouree
Air on the Blue String
Unsquare Dance
Soldier of Fortune
Gigue
//encores
Wait a While
The Sun Will Shine Again
Child in Time

day nine.one

briefly back in the office after a lovely chat with Jon Lord in advance of his performance in Lichfield cathedral tonight. In no way am I an expert in Deep Purple ephemera, so most of the discussion was about approaches to composition and the putting together of tonight's programme. It was also a relatively rare opportunity for punters to ask a few questions directly of the man, and while there were the rather expected questions of whether DP Mark III will ever happen, there were also some nice questions about the potential of a Lord film score and what classical composers he admires. I learned that Jon deeply admires James MacMillan, which is a happy synchronicity as MacMillan was performed last night, and will be imminently at today's lunchtime concert.

day eight.two

managed to catch the first half of Happiness Patrol's Tales of Terror tonight, which was surprisingly & spine-tinglingly wonderful. Great acting, and riviting performances. Managed to clock Jeremy Hardy, but the box that I use to slip in and out of the theatre was locked when I tried, so all I could do was listen through the door - everyone sounded like they were having a good time. A trudge back to the cathedral through heavy rain to catch some glorious James MacMillan sung by The Sixteen and then back to the office to tidy up som eloose ends for tomorrow... Today is James MacMillan's 50th birthday.

day eight.one

a beautiful morning here in Lichfield, and as I write Michael Symmons Roberts is giving a wonderfully intimate poetry reading (the first festival poetry reading since 2004), I can hear Robert Quinney practicing for this lunchtime's organ recital, the CBSO are rehearsing Debussy and Ravel in Birmingham in readiness for Saturday night's sold out concert, and a car has just left to meet up with Jon Lord and co for their rehearsal, also happening in Birmingham. And I've just bumped into half the Badke Quartet arriving for what will be a long and busy day, with a rehearsal then performance at St Chad's, and then a late rehearsal joining Jon Lord in readiness for tomorrow night.
For those that are after up to the minute updates as Jon Lord gets tomorrow night ready, you can sign up to his twitter feed here.

day seven.two

just back from announcing the UOGB for the final Ukulelescope, and ensuring that the Happiness Patrol's Tales of Terror got off to a good start. I am seeing the full show tomorrow evening, but I did manage to pop my head into the conclusion of the rehearsal. It will be very, very good. Like all good storytellers, Happiness Patrol are telling ghost stories with almost no set and props. However, one of those props, used for the final story, is a large coffin, which they apparently dropped off at the box office earlier today, happily coinciding with a bunch of children arriving for more Dreamfighter education performances.

day seven.one

a huge and mighty congratulations to the Lichfield Festival Chorus for a spectacular second year. They have been working once a fortnight for the last two months learning a full programme of traditional and contemporary Gospel music via the aural tradition led mainly by Celia and Shereece of Black Voices and Colin Anderson, and last night they sang their hearts out. Dressed in the colours of the Festival's sunshine barcode, and aged between 7 and 80, they excelled yet again. Is this really the only intergenerational choir in the UK?
Really great to have all of Black Voices here again after their sell out show in 2006. Thanks too to Peter Daley and Sarah Colman for their valuable roles last night (Sarah of course was here last year with The Passion).
It appears we may have created a moster as well - the word is the legacy will be a Lichfield Gospel Choir that will continue meeting and performing after this year's festival.

day six.two

Just worked out that I first met Jurg Dahler when I was volunteering at the now defunct Barossa Music Festival back in 1995 (we think).
The wonderful Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have arrived, and are sound checking as we speak. We were worried a bit about finding the right stand lights, but after wasting several days, one of our awesome volunteers sorted it all out in about 10 minutes. This, by the way, is a link to the excellent music stand lights.

day six.one

have just met and introduced James Taylor, who is speaking about Charles Darwin's voyage on the Beagle (in the city of Darwin's grandfather), and we are on the cusp of a sellout Mendelssohn's Octet for a lunchtime concert. I think the original idea was to recreate on stage The Ashes, but with Swiss Jurg Dahler replacing the ASQ's Sally Boud (who is on maternity leave) and with an Australian and a Canadian in the British Barbirolli Quartet, it is a nice idea that has not really worked out. Can't wait for the concert though...

day five.one

golly, where did day four go. the last 36 hours have been quite intense, and there is so much to write about, but it will have to wait. Today is comparatively still with only three public events, two education events, one schools' performance and a talk, so sometime today, not sure when, i'll get the chance to catch up.

day three.two

wonderful to have Susie Dent in Lichfield. She and I have been talking about her visit for over two years, and, finally, we've just kicked off Lichfield Festival's contribution to Speakers' Corner Lichfield (SCL) with 'Has the Golden Age of Englished passed' - a 30 min romp through 1500 years of new English words, followed by opening things out to the opinions of the audience at this free event. The next SCL event - 'Sound Off' - is on tomorrow as part of FUSE at 1pm in Beacon Park. It is a great shame that niether of these two events is listed on the actual SCL site.

day three.one

drizzle since before 6am is how our Georgian Market is starting. The Close is once again bustling with people setting up their stalls, and from my window I can see some gallows with someone hanging from it.

day two.six

Hugely positive reception to our first night in Lichfield Cathedral. So great to see everyone buzzing after such a special evening - and little wonder with Alfie flinging his bowtie into the audience. While I didn't manage to catch Alfie post performance, Elin, David and Martin all independently mentioned what a great night they'd had. The WNO platform guys are just putting the last of the timpani on as I type.
Worth mentioning here as well that just before Sandi went onstage, she mentioned her latest project, Theatre Live!, which has brought back live TV to TV for the first time in 30 years. Hosted by Sandi, and screening weekly on Sky TV (but also eventually available online here), Theatre Live! is best summed up as

Six bestselling authors; five established directors, twenty astonishing actors, and six brand new plays – broadcast live in high definition…

They currently have four works in production, and Sandi came directly from that today for tonight's show.
Just off for a quick beer with Ilia Mihaylov before hitting the sack in readiness for tomorrow's Georgian Market - another early start..

day two.five

Sandi Toksvig has arrived and is currently sound checking for her sold out event later on, and I've just completed the first of this year's In Conversation series, with a (very) informal discussion with Martin Yates and David Kempster.
I also completely forgot that the Australian String Quartet and the Barbirolli Quartet were on In Tune this evening performing an excerpt from Mendelssohn's Octet being performed here next Tuesday, then subsequently in Buxton and Cheltenham.
Not only have the Great Voices of Bulgaria now arrived in Lichfield, but today is the birthday of their conductor Ilia Mihaylov. The In Conversation series continues tomorrow when he and I have a chat before their cathedral performance.
Also, the Worth Brothers Wine tent is now open for business. In the spirit of Henman Hill and Murray Mound, they have christened it Lush's Lawn. Lovely...

day two.four

The Great Voices of Bulgaria have been picked up from Heathrow after flying directly from Sofia and are currently being driven to Lichfield. Heathrow still often provides the most econonical flights, but it is such a schlep up from Heathrow when you compare what it is like arriving into Birmingham International Airport or East Midlands Airport. Lichfield is in the middle of both of these, and the transfer time is about 30 mins compared to 2+ hours from Heathrow. Of course, flying from Sofia sometimes limits where you can arrive...

day two.three

Quite a crowd has gathered at the back of the cathedral to watch the rehearsal for this evening's Opera Gala with Elin Manahan Thomas, Alifie Boe and David Kempster. Elin was last here with The Sixteen in 2006. Nice to have the WNO Orchestra back too after their last visit for the final night of 2007.

day two.three

fellow aussie Glenn McGrath has just been spotted visiting our Visual Arts exhibition with his family. He didn't buy anything...

day two.two

we've had a really nice Private View (the second lot of lights didn't turn up on time) where another three pieces sold, and I'm just back from meeting and subsequently introducing Angela McFarlane from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She is currently half way through a 250th anniversary talk about how Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew engages with audiences in the digital age. Those in the audience will actually get a free pass Kew pass, which easily gives them back their ticket price and then some...

day two.one

a bright sunny morning in Lichfield, the WNO truck has arrived for tonight's Opera Gala, as has the first of two deliveries of last minute lights for the visual arts exhibition in the cathedral, and, after sending through some late label changes last night, Andy Lovell is downstairs sorting through unframed prints. The Private View opens at 10.30am.

day one.seven

i've just witnessed one of the most extraordinary feats of storytelling that I have ever seen. Opening night finished with the first performance of SharpWire's Johnny's Midnight Goggles in the West Midlands, delivered with stirling assurance by Matthew Sharp to a tiny, tiny audience...
We were enthralled, and it is really not often I get shivers up my spine, let alone from a one-man operatic thriller about a mysterious black camel. Please, if you are reading this, go and see it when it is repeated tomorrow night. Don't think, just go. The sequel is on Saturday and Sunday night.

day one.six

just quickly back in the office from kicking off Ray Gelato's gig, and it sounded really fantastic.

day one.five

I have yet to see him yet, but I know that Ray Gelato and his band are here, happy and sound checking. We are opening the Festival in the Lichfield Garrick for the first time, which was a decision made when we didn't think we had the cathedral for 2010 but we now have. We have yet to see whether this idea has been as successful as we all hoped, but it should be a great night tonight.

day one.four

we've just sold out first piece of art, a framed work entitled Dungeness by Andy Lovell. We still have yet to put up all the lights, and the private view isn't until tomorrow morning at 10.30am. We have 82 works hung in total with tonnes more unframed either in the festival office or in the Chapter House. We'd have more hung, but I know that Alistair Tucker sold two framed prints as he was picking them up from getting framed.

day one.three

just clocked Matthew Sharp and Fiona O'Mahoney from SharpWire and had a lovely chat with them during the walk from their performance venue to their accommodation. They'll be here for the next four days doing two performances each of Johnny's Midnight Goggles and Finkelstein's Castle. They join my quiet confidence that audiences for these events will pick up as word of mouth starts to spread...

day one.two

staging is coming in after successful get in to the cathedral last night, and the wine tents are going up on the South West lawn. For the first time, Worth Brothers, wine merchants who run their business from amazing and ancient cellars just outside the Cathedral Close, will be running the Wine Tents after nearly three decades of dedicated, behind-the-scenes work from the Lichfield Festival Association Wine Committee. Even if people are not going to come to a concert, I would strongly recommend swinging by any evening from 6.30pm for some excellent wine (and food provided by nearby Doveston's). If you happened to swing by between 7.30 and 9.30 on Wednesday 15 July, they'll be doing summer wine tastings for £5 a head.

day one.one

a beautiful day to start the Festival. Bright sunshine and blue skies. Just as predicted. However, if we are to believe the predictions, we are facing several patches of cold and wet over the next ten days... I love a British summer...

art gets in

all three of this year's visual artists are here, and loading their pieces into the cathedral, and it is great to see all of the work properly rather than as jpeg files. While Angie Lewin and Andy Lovell nad met briefly once before, this is the first time that Alistair Tucker has met either, and certainly the first time that all three have exhibited together. All up there is 152 feet of hanging space (is that a lot? it feels a lot) and with it roughly split into three, we can expect well over 100 pieces to be hung, although until they're up we're not sure which ones and how many. It also occured to me this morning that this is the first time since I started here in 2005 that we've had 2D work up in both the North Choir Aisle and the Chapter House, which is of course what happened pretty much every year before I arrived.

three days to go

three days to go and the visual arts boards are going into the cathedral, and the pace in the office has picked up a bit. Most of our lighting rig is actually in already, thanks to the Lichfield Mysteries over the weekend, which will make bringing in all our production kit on Wednesday evening quicker than it has ever been. We are using JTV Production for the first time, but they know the cathedral intimately having produced events in there for over a decade.
In another first, a lucky selection of our volunteers are about to troop on down for some Front-of-House training at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre.

yellow pages

the Yellow Pages for Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth & Lichfield landed in the office last week. On page three you'll find a photograph of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain at last year's Festival taken by Michael Barr. The Ukes of course are coming back for two silent film shows, both of which sold out ages ago, but if you are a hard core Uke fan, I would recommend clocking their Proms performance, and the online lessons so that you can join in what will no doubt be a new world record for the largest gathering of Ukulele players.

clore fellowship

as it was printed in today's Lichfield Post, and as Monday's press release is readily available, I can finally mention here that I have been awarded a Clore Fellowship and will be leaving the Festival to pursue it fulltime at the end of October after this year's Lichfeld Literature.
Like the team here though, I am currently focused completely on delivering this year's festival, so I won't post more about Clore at this stage. There will be ample opportunity between the end of July and when I leave.

hairys in lichfield again

whether you've heard via twitter, the lichfield blog or Visit Lichfield, be sure to be part of the crowd when the Hairy Bikers return to Lichfield tomorrow to film part of the new series. It will be a day shy of a year since they were last here opening last year's Lichfield Festival to a sell out crowd, and I'm delighted that someone has finally managed to make happen what I could not despite years of trying. Full marks to Visit Lichfield and Taste of Staffordshire for supporting this. The Hairys are trying to film in every county for their next series. I suppose they could have chosen anywhere in Staffordshire, especially as they will be cooking Staffordshire oatcakes, so I am delighted that they have chosen to return to Lichfield.

festival programmes have arrived

we've just had a delivery of thousands of Festival Programmes, a record eight days before the Festival actually starts. Since 2004, when the programmes arrived the day after the festival started, getting them back early has been a key June priority. We normally manage to get them in the office two, maybe three days in advance, but we've never had them more than a week in advance before.
Through in-kind sponsorship from both our new printers PCP and our long term in-kind paper sponsors A1 Paper, we actually have been able to reduce the price from the £5 it has been for over a decade to a recession busting £2.50. It was a bargain before. It is an incredible bargain now. This programme is packed with information for each event, and is available from the Festival Office from this Friday. We'll also be around in town this weekend in our new volunteer shirts (more of which later).

glimpse of visual arts

Earlier this afternoon I received a e-ping from Angie Lewin about her imminent exhibition in Lichfield, and it reminded me that she had sent through the work she has done specifically for the this year's Festival. She and I spoke ages ago about doing something as a reaction to being invited to exhibit here in Lichfield, and she not only very graciously agreed, but has also offered to give the total sales of the first 20 (of an edition of 60) completely to the Lichfield Festival for the direct benefit of future visual arts exhibitions. To the right is a sneak peak of the print - entitled Pale day, which is a delicate little wood engraving on Japanese paper. For those with a bit of time on their hands I would heartily recommend her blog. Alternatively, go to here for some excellent press articles about her work and her studio.
Subsequently, as both Alistair Tucker and Andy Lovell came on board for the exhibition, they also agreed to do specific works for this exhibition. I have yet to clock Andy's, but below is a little hint of one of the three that Alistair has done for Lichfield.

festival for sale

the other week, to many people's surprise, Festival For Sale boards went up outside houses dotted throughout Lichfield and a smattering more have appeared on roundabouts and roadsides. Of course these instantly created a rush of approaches from local Real Estate Agents believing that all these houses were up for sale rather than reading what they actually said. To my knowledge, I'm not aware of a Festival advertising itself in this way before. Thanks go to John Arnold at REAlity, not only for coming up with the idea, but for sponsoring their creation.

another review for confluences

yet another four-star review for the Confluences performance in Chelsea, this time from the Guardian.

one year old

it completely passed me by, but after starting on 13 June last year, this blog turned one a week ago. HBTY; HBTY; HBTDB; HBTY.

Travelling Picture Show

this e-flyer has just come through from 7 inch for the two film screenings for families we are doing on the festival's final day. The Travelling Picture Show is a remarkable thing, going all over the West Midlands addressing the gap in film programming for children. While The Red Balloon is well known, Komaneko is less well known and I think undeservedly. In fact it is so less well known that it is the only event in the Festival's lineup yet to sell a single ticket. To the very few people who read this blog, I offer you a taste of Komaneko. If you have any friends over the age of 4, please let them know that this is happening and point them to here.

mantra article

talking to Angus Smith from the Orlando Consort yesterday in advance of his article appearing in today's Guardian, and we were both lamenting the fact that despite his best efforts to have the Lichfield Mantra performance mentioned at the article's conclusion, it was likely to be only Cheltenham Festival's event detailed due to some arcane policy about only mentioning the most imminent linked performance. For me it was another opportunity to vent my ongoing frustrations at getting Lichfield events listed in any national press, and, on a more regional level, to reiterate my concerns that events in the West Midlands repeatedly get overlooked.
Seems I must eat my words, for at the end of Angus' really nice article is a mention of both Cheltenham and Lichfield.

royal visit

great excitement in the Close. As I write, I am watching Prince Charles walk toward Lichfield's Cathedral from my office window. There is the obligatory run of chain gang, media and children, as well as throngs of public. Everyone is dressed to the nines, while I'm at my desk wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
[it's now 4.05 and he's just left]

hardy onsale now

if you want to be among the first to buy tickets for Jeremy Hardy's return to Lichfield, go directly to here.

review for confluences

"Roth’s grateful, mellifluous settings of Seth’s resonant texts were exquisitely delivered by James Gilchrist, with Rustem Hayroudinoff an eloquent accompanist."

this four-star review for the final year of Confluences has just landed. Seven Elements is due to be performed in Lichfield on 15 July.

hardy now in this festival's lineup

just confirmed jeremy hardy for Thursday 16 July as the replacement for our mystery gig. We're just waiting on the link to enable online sales, and we'll announce formally via press releases, e-newsletters and on the Festival website... Probably go one sale later on today. It's his first visit to Lichfield for nearly six years - should be really, really good.

keeping up with the badkes

toward the end of last week, jon lord sent through the majority of scores and part of the Badke Quartet, who will be performing with him in Lichfield Cathedral. In passing them on to the quartet, I became aware that they are currently in France studying with the Eberhard Feltz. And then, just now, their new newsletter dropped into my inbox, so you can see what they are up to for yourself.

travelling in the face of the globe

Oi Va Voi's latest album landed last week to really good reviews so far. Reviews currently found online and in english can be found here and here, and here is an article about them. They perform in Lichfield on Saturday 11 July.

in tune

I think I new this was happening in advance, but if, like me, you missed Confluences being discussed by Stewart Collins and Vikram Seth last night on Radio 3's In Tune and wanted to hear it again, go to here for the next seven days. There is also a sneak preview of Fire by Alec Roth performed by Philippe Honore and Rustem Rayroudinoff. It all starts about 1 hour 10 mins in...
[actually, having just listened to it, Vikram recites both his Earth and Fire poems from Seven Elements - wonderful stuff]

birmingham post supplement

this happened weeks ago and I keep forgetting to blog about it. Our media partners Trinity Mirror very kindly printed a 24-page Lichfield Festival supplement in the Birmingham Post on 12 May. You can still see the whole thing online, or if you are really keen, drop by the Festival Office and pick one up. Another supplement in planned for the end of this month. I reproduce below the piece I wrote for it, but the entire festival team contributed, and excellent articles on sponsorship (Vicki Stanley), volunteering (Richard Bateman), and education (Jennifer Smith) can be found, with lots else on arts in Lichfield, the Festival's history and this year's events (all written by Peter Bacon) dotted throughout.

These are challenging times. Like everyone else I have felt the ever increasing financial doom break over our lives, dampen spirits and squash expectations. I too have listened endlessly to reports of banks putting livelihoods in jeopardy and witnessed with a sinking heart the knock-on effect throughout the West Midlands, as savings and jobs alike have disappeared.

I have spent a lot of time wondering what place festivals have during times like this, not least because someone said to me last November “we are all waiting for the Lichfield Festival to make us feel better”.

These are challenging, difficult times indeed, and during difficult times, people need beautiful things. Ideally people need beautiful things in beautiful places and, even more ideally, people need concentrated bursts of beautiful things full of fun and discovery. Festivals, with their excitement, intensity and variety, with their balance of accessibility and value for money, are therefore needed more at times like this than at almost any other.

Festivals offer us the chance to share with family and friends the vibrancy of the arts and the thrill of live performance. They are rare opportunities to have expectations and perceptions challenged, whether that is the familiar in unfamiliar places, or the usual in unusual ways. Festivals are about the extraordinary, about experiencing the unexpected, about being amongst the lucky few who were “there”, and to entertain, surprise and delight, often leaving memories that last for years.

I may no longer have any idea how much my house is worth, but I will never forget the time I saw three completely different performances in one evening at a festival in Australia. I am regularly transfixed by my memory of suddenly remembering where I was, having been totally captivated by the magic of theatre. I treasure every day a piece of art hanging in my living room that I bought from the first Lichfield Festival I visited not longer after moving to the West Midlands eight years ago. While the temptation for many during difficult times will be to stay at home and save their pennies, this is the cultural equivalent of surrounding yourself in cotton wool. Getting out from in front of the TV to see live performance and to share that live performance with other people is one of the best investments you can ever make, especially during times of hardship.

This is because you are investing in who you are and in your future memories, and that is something that the banks can never touch.

I regularly witness the transformational impact of arts. I’ve seen audiences spellbound, balanced on that knife edge of incredulity mixed with rapture. I have seen audiences not able to speak after being touched by music in ways defying their expectations, and I regularly get letters from people who just cannot get memorable Lichfield Festival events out of their minds. These are the experiences and the memories that we should seek, and the opportunities we should grasp.

Festivals like the Lichfield Festival offer plenty of opportunities like these. We have been bringing the very best of national and international arts to Lichfield and the region for nearly 30 years. Lichfield in the summer is a beautiful place, and the 2009 Lichfield Festival once again offers an enormous variety of beautiful things.

It is not every day you get the opportunity to hear Tchaikovsky’s second piano concerto performed live, let alone with one of the UK’s leading orchestras in a beautiful medieval cathedral. The rare privilege of hearing an ex-member of Deep Purple perform in an intimate setting does not come around often, let alone the chance to hear him speak about his inspirations for an hour. And how many times have you been given the chance to watch black and white silent films while listening to eight people play the ukulele?

Festivals are also about trying something new, and giving something a go that perhaps you would not consider on another occasion. These types of events, often the hidden gems found in the corners of festival programmes, help to create that infectious mix of buzz and anticipation that only festivals have. How about trying a mind-bending explosion of storytelling, singing, virtuoso cello playing and sonic wizardry; or a re-imagining of what music might have been like in 16th-century Goa; or hearing the front man of a Mercury Prize-nominated pop band improvising at the piano; or even a lecture about intelligent wallpaper that changes colour if you become angry?

For families that are seeking an opportunity to spend memorable time together, seek out Dreamfighter, a major new commission based on children’s stories by British author Ted Hughes; or children’s film including Japanese animation and a rare screening of The Red Balloon from France; or terrifying ghost stories from England and Japan. Alternatively, join the 8,000 people who spend an afternoon relaxing in Lichfield’s glorious Beacon Park before the annual Festival Fireworks.

There are many ways to get more from your festival experience. There are free talks with visiting artists so you can find out what goes on behind the scenes. You can even get behind the scenes yourself by being part of the team of volunteers. Or if you feel your rightful place is on the stage, the Lichfield Festival Chorus, an intergenerational community choir in only its second outing, will be performing with gospel choir Black Voices. This year, for the first time, will also see a string of free events dotted throughout the festival, so keep your eyes peeled for when they get announced.

The 2009 Lichfield Festival is a chance to celebrate the creative endeavours of artists and entertainers from around the world, to experience the vibrancy of arts with family and friends, to laugh and cry, to cheer and applaud and to invest in tomorrow’s memories.

With over 70 events in 11 venues welcoming 400 artists from ten countries, memories from the Lichfield Festival are ripe for the picking this summer.

So come on, jump into Lichfield Festival with both feet and we’ll see you here in July.

confluences review

here is a review of the final Confluences installment from last week. For the first time in four years, the Times didn't make it to the first performance, although I understand that they are trying to get to the Chelsea performance next week, as is the Guardian who visited Lichfield last year. I received the review ticket requests from the Birmingham Post yesterday, and it seems that they intend reviewing the Lichfield performance.

Also, both Vikram Seth and Philippe Honore will be joining Alec Roth and me for a pre-concert conversation about the four year journey at 6.30pm on Wednesday 15 July, just before the project concludes.

Dreamfighter first reading session

Just heard from Tim Sutton, the composer jointly commissioned by the Lichfield Festival and Scottish Ensemble to write a major new work for families. As I write he is heading back to London from Glasgow where he has had a fantastic first reading session with Scottish Ensemble in readiness for the world premiere in Lichfield on July 12 and repeat performances on 6 August as part of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. The school's performance in Lichfield on July 13 has already sold out.
Entitled Dreamfighter, and based on Ted Hughes' collection of short stories Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales, Sutton's new work will be for, obviously, the Scottish Ensemble, but also a narrator and youth choir. In both Lichfield and Aberdeen, the narrator will be the wonderful Hannah Conway, while the choir will be Taplow Girls' Choir in Lichfield and the NYCoS National Girls Choir in Scotland.
Dreamfighter has been made possible with funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Scottish Arts Council and the PRS Foundation.
... and thanks again to yellow for such fab flyer design.

british composer awards new category

applications forms for the 2009 British Composer Awards landed today, and I'm delighted to see that they have introduced a new category - Contemporary Jazz Composition. As someone who has commissioned, supported and promoted jazz composers to create new work or develop new collaborations over recent years, albeit in my own small way, it is great news for the more substantial fruits of their work to gain appropriate recognition rather than be a square peg in the round hole of other categories. That said, Gwilym Simcock's 2006 Lichfield Suite stood up strongly on its own when it was shortlisted in the Wind Band or Brass Band category in 2007.

more mantra videos

here are the other four videos

seven elements on radio 3

just found out that BBC Radio 3 plan to record the fourth and final part of the Confluences Project on 15 July. If 'hat trick' is three in a row, what is the word for four in a row?
I'll be down in Salisbury on Monday for the world premiere at the Salisbury Festival.

mantra videos

Seems they have been hidden away in our office for months, but we've rediscovered them so that we can finally share some of the thinking behind this year's extraordinary Mantra project, with the Orlando Consort, Kuljit Bhamra, Jonathan Mayer and Shahid Khan.



more to come...

natasha's a hit, baby

check out the excellent reviews from emerging theatre group The Happiness Patrol's latest show - four-star from the Birmingham Post and another one here. THP visit Lichfield with a brand new show in July.

lakeman revealed

I am delighted to announce that Seth Lakeman, the wonderful West Country fiddler and folk singer, will be performing as part of this year's Festival on Thursday 16 July. Our mysterious Mystery Gig is finally revealed!

I first heard Seth's music when his album Kitty Jay arrived in my office just after I started here in 2005. I was hoping to bring him to last year's festival, but that sadly didn't work out, so I'm thrilled that he is finally coming for his first visit to Lichfield.

Over recent years the festival has welcomed quite a few rising stars from the UK folk scene, including Jim Moray, Lisa Knapp, Andy May and Ian Stephenson, as well as groups that have tapped into that rich vein of British folk music while mixing it with folk traditions of other countries, like Salsa Celtica, Baltic Crossing and this year's Moishe's Bagel. But all of this has very much been complimenting the thriving folk scene in Lichfield that has been going on for years with the regular events promoted by Lichfield Arts as well as the Lichfield Folk Festival.

More information about Seth Lakeman's gig can be found here and tickets can be purchased here.

bugs, butterflies, bark

over the last month, I have tended to cut through the gardens of Erasmus Darwin House rather than walk on the street for the final bit of my car-office commute . Most people access the gardens via the archway below my office, but few realise that you can come in from Beacon Street directly. Erasmus is, of course, Charles Darwin's grandfather, coming up with a coherent theory of evolution nearly 70 years before his grandson did.
Hidden in amongst this wonderful Herb Garden are some of the most striking flowers and plants I've seen in ages, and it has been a regular refresher before spending the day slaving of a hot computer. EDH is due to close for refurbishments during June, but the the gardens will remain accessible and free and fabulous during this time.

The Festival's Education team was planning to hold nature-themed arts activities at EDH for under 5s on the day the festival opens (9 July). Called Bugs, Butterflies and Bark, this wee event has proven so popular that we've had to schedule an extra day on the day before the Festival (8 July), and that too is on the cusp of reaching capacity.
The winning enquiry so far is from a woman who call the Festival Office wanting to speak to the person organising this participatory event, wondering if she was able to get advice about the bees nesting in her roof. Would any apiologists please step forward...

and the winner is...

Valery Gergiev, Lichfield Festival's Patron, has just won the Conductor category of this year's Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. As the jury writes,

The award goes to a conductor of unique talent and personality. A mercurial figure on the international musical stage, he chooses to devote a significant amount of time to music making in the UK, particularly with the London Symphony Orchestra. Intensity and passion - and a high level of risk taking - are the hallmarks of his conducting, and he pursues a single-minded advocacy of composers in whom he believes. He is a conductor who makes things happen - an inspiration to players and audiences alike: Valery Gergiev.

on the cusp of Finkelstein's Castle

tomorrow night at the Brighton Festival, Finkelstein's Castle, the sequel to SharpWire's Johnny's Midnight Goggles that blew audiences away last year, receives its world premiere. Over a week ago there were only 10 tickets left, and by now I'm pretty certain that both performances have sold out. Both FC and JMG get first time West Midlands performances over the first four days of the Lichfield Festival. An extract from Johnny's Midnight Goggles can be found here. You can get a blow by blow account as SharpWire travel the country from here.

lichfield blog shortlisted for major award

the 2009 Parliamentary Jazz Awards shortlist was announced today and among the nominations is the fabulous jazzbreakfast run by Lichfield resident Peter Bacon, shortlisted in the Jazz Publication category alongside Jazzwise magazine and jazzreloaded.com.

As Peter states, this is:

proof at last that the new media are as valued as the old, and that when it comes to what is, let us face it, a niche interest, the web or blog site is the perfect vehicle for sharing information about and enthusiasm for this treasured art form.

Through jazzbreakfast, Peter provides one of the most entertaining, erudite, uptodate and prophetic accounts of jazz in Britain that I am aware of. He also rigorously supports rising talent throughout the West Midlands, and there are many artists who have received a leg up from a jazzbreakfast review or comment.
Hidden away in the jazzbreakfast delights are also details of what the world's greatest jazz players really do have for breakfast. Peter has been the jazz reviewer for the Birmingham Post for fifteen years, and Administrator for the Lichfield Festival since 2004.

Speard the word, spread the love, and let's all wish him well deserved good luck for when winners are announced on 20 May.

hit the baby, natasha

The Happiness Patrol, the young theatre company from Birmingham who will be performing their newly commissioned show Tales of Terror at the Lichfield Festival between 15-18 July, have an even newer show to do before then. Hit the Baby, Natasha! is Philip Holyman's reworking of Chekov's Three Sisters, and runs from 21 -23 May at Birmingham's Old Joint Stock Theatre. Tickets available via here.

Philip Holyman, Artistic Director of The Happiness Patrol, has previously been involved with the Festival when he rewrote Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows into Mr Toad's Prison Break, an outdoor theatre show for families, as part of last autumn's Lichfield Literature weekend.

For those that might be interested, a review of their previously sold out show Masque of the Red Death from can be found here.

prophetic flip-flops

with the news just in that Britain is in for a BBQ summer, I am hoping that we haven't quietly put the kybosh on the prediction by printing our sunshine barcode flip-flops on the cover of our booking brochure. It certainly can't be a worse summer than the last two years, but it would be great to repeat the weather we had for the 2005 Festival.

Thanks belatedly to Gwilym Simcock for bestowed the name sunshine barcode on the Festival's logo when he was here last year.

ukulelescope

found out about an hour ago that the performance by the UOGB on 15 July has sold out, beating itself to become the new record holder for fastest selling show in Lichfield Festival history. Returns only from now on. Only a very few tickets have been held off sale, which we will be releasing much closer to the time. Last few tickets remain for their other performance on 14 July.

bafa at lfa

tonight is the annual dinner of the Lichfield Festival Association, and the guest speaker will be Stewart Collins, current Chairman of the British Arts Festivals Association, and Artistic Director of Henley Festival, artsfestival:chelsea and Holder's Season in Barbados.
Stewart visits Lichfield to talk about the vital importance, the extraordinary diversity, and current health of British festivals. As BAFA Chairman he's best placed to know, but he's also right in the middle of BAFA's spring road shows and has been visiting Presteigne, Bath, Leeds, Edinburgh over the last fortnight with Cambridge and Canterbury next week. BAFA is also visiting Birmingham at the end of the month for a Tourism Management Institute day conference.

Those sharp eyed among you will have also realised that Stewart (wearing his Chelsea hat) and I have been working together for the last three years on the Confluences project that culminates at both our festivals this year (as well as at Salisbury's).

I have also just remembered that I heard about the sad death of Humphrey Lyttelton just as the 2008 LFA Dinner finished. Touch wood...