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).