after months of cold and grey, today feels like the first taste of the warmer months ahead. The sun is out, I have not had to turn the heater on in my office, and, to top it off, it is cake thursday.
while I was away toward the end of last year, my team, in their infinite wisdom, decreed that every thursday would be cake thursday - the one day of the week we don't need to worry about our blood sugar levels.
Thursday 19 February 2009
Wednesday 18 February 2009
meh@bbt
just found out that Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, the brilliant young German cellist who gave her UK concerto debut with the Dvořák Cello Concerto in Lichfield last year (being rehearsed in the above photo with Alexander Shelley), has just been awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Not only is this a significant cash injection to help her develop her potential, but, with the support of BBT, she'll get advice, help and direction, and her profile internationally will significantly increase. Well deserved and an inspired choice on behalf of the BBT formidable Artistic Committee.Incidently, a previous BBT award winner, Shai Wosner, will be performing Schumann and Debussy at the Abbotsholme Arts Society on Saturday 28 February.
Thursday 5 February 2009
joe and co return to lichfield
Really great to see that the Birmingham Conservatoire Folk Ensemble is making a return to Lichfield this Saturday. 
This really is wonderful stuff. I know that they performed at the 2007 Fuse Festival, but one of their first non-Birmingham outings was back in 2005, when I booked them to replace an artist that had pulled out of a lunchtime slot when I was only a month into the job.
Joe Broughton, the director of the Ensemble, and I had been discussing trying to give his group a gig anyway, and things fell into place.
Special guests Gordon Giltrap and Kevin Dempsey joined the enormous group of
young musicians for one of the most uplifting, generous and good time events we've really ever had here in Lichfield.
This was also the first time we did a lunchtime gig in the cathedral during our Saturday market, and there was a free performance outdoors before the gig proper.
Some of the ensemble even hung around afterwards to play in amongst the market.
Many from this ensemble have gone on to form other groups, including, among many others, The Old Dance School and The Destroyers.
Photos are by Tom Allwood, the 2005 Festival's archive photographer.
This really is wonderful stuff. I know that they performed at the 2007 Fuse Festival, but one of their first non-Birmingham outings was back in 2005, when I booked them to replace an artist that had pulled out of a lunchtime slot when I was only a month into the job.Joe Broughton, the director of the Ensemble, and I had been discussing trying to give his group a gig anyway, and things fell into place.
Special guests Gordon Giltrap and Kevin Dempsey joined the enormous group of
young musicians for one of the most uplifting, generous and good time events we've really ever had here in Lichfield.This was also the first time we did a lunchtime gig in the cathedral during our Saturday market, and there was a free performance outdoors before the gig proper.
Some of the ensemble even hung around afterwards to play in amongst the market.Many from this ensemble have gone on to form other groups, including, among many others, The Old Dance School and The Destroyers.
Photos are by Tom Allwood, the 2005 Festival's archive photographer.
correction to Walstein lineup
Last night's concert was a real privilege to hear, even though I was listening from the page turner's chair. Extraordinary Fauré performance. Guy Ben-Ziony replaced Isabel Chiarisius on viola, and this was only the second ever Waldstein Ensemble performance. The gig is repeated tonight in Nottingham. Don't think. Just ignore the snow and go.
Wednesday 4 February 2009
waldstein or zephaniah
In July 2008 one of the worlds great string quartets, the Alban Berg Quartet, disbanded after a 37 year career. Tonight, as part of the Abbotsholme Arts Society, one of the ensembles that has risen phoenix-like from their ashes performs on the Staffordshire-Derbyshire border. The Waldstein Ensemble, comprising the Albans' Gerhard Schulz and Isabel Chiarisius with Lilia Schulz-Bayrova and Noam Greenberg come to Abbotsholme to perform Reger, Fauré, and Dvorák.If it wasn't for that event, I would most definitely be going to see Benjamin Zephaniah at the Lichfield Garrick. I've long wanted to bring Zephaniah to Lichfield (i had images of him doing his thing in the Council Chamber) and I'm thrilled that he had finally come. Power to the Garrick's elbow for bringing him. I truly hope the event is a huge success, and that more and more programming along these lines takes place in the future. I am gutted to be missing it.
I offer the below as commiseration to myself.
Tuesday 3 February 2009
cathedral in 2010
It seems that after planning since October 2007 toward a 2010 festival that did not feature the wonderful Lichfield Cathedral as a venue, the recent impact of funding means that we might just have the use of the cathedral afterall. We still won't have the Lady Chapel due to works scheduled there, and while we have yet to be offered a definitive 'yes', this news means that we need to immediately start reassessing our plans. Many of the decisions taken for 2009 were based on not having the cathedral...
What we have yet to find out is which year we won't have the cathedral. My money is to not have it for the 30th festival in 2011.
What we have yet to find out is which year we won't have the cathedral. My money is to not have it for the 30th festival in 2011.
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