the round up

immediately after recent festivals we've tried to get a festival round up out to sponsors. It is early days yet, and we're still sifting through audience, artist and press response, but this is what we've come up with so far...

Our Highlights…

A Grand Opening concert featuring American Marin Alsop’s farewell performance as Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Russian pianist Alexei Volodin playing an American/Russian programme.

Sell-out performance by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in Lichfield Cathedral, including Wuthering Heights, Teenage Dirtbag, and Kiss’ God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You.

The specially formed Lichfield Festival Chorus performing The Traveller, the latest in a series of Lichfield Festival commissions by Alec Roth and Vikram Seth, with Mark Padmore and the Britten Sinfonia.

100 young people from across the West Midlands reading their own poetry on stage at the Garrick Theatre, following workshops with professional poets Polarbear and John Berkavitch as part of the Choices education project.

Full houses for The Hairy Bikers and The Puppini Sisters, dancing in the aisles for Los de Abajo, the first performance by Mark Padmore and Paul Lewis of Schubert’s Winterreise, and British concerto debuts by Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and Alexei Volodin.

Facts & Figures…

• 75 events over 10 days with over 400 artists from the UK, America, Mexico, Finland, Denmark, France, Russia and Germany
• 11,868 attendees at ticketed events
• 8,800 visual arts exhibitions attendees (excluding footfall from concert attendees)
• 498 participants in education projects
• 228 attendees at schools performances
• 40,000 people attended free events including the Medieval Market and Festival Fireworks
• Rosie Kay Dance Company, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and Acoustic Triangle all Pick of the Week for dance, classical and jazz in the Guardian Guide.
• Lichfield Festival was listed as one of the Top 5 Events, Top Five Classical and Top Five Jazz in The Times’ The Knowledge
• Lichfield Festival listed in the Five best talks & festivals in The Independent’s The Information
• 4-star review in The Guardian for the newly formed Lichfield Festival Chorus performing Alec Roth and Vikram Seth’s The Traveller with the Britten Sinfonia.
• 4-star reviews in The Birmingham Post for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Mark Padmore’s Die Winterreise
• National, Regional and local press coverage providing over 11.5million opportunities to see or hear about the Lichfield Festival

What the press said:

“…… the performance was very fine indeed, with Roth conducting the Britten Sinfonia and the Lichfield Festival Chorus, which was founded especially to perform this work and acquitted itself marvellously”
The Guardian 4-star review for The Traveller

“Close on ten million people watched the Dr Who season finale on Saturday. Paul Groves was one of the lucky ones. He was at Lichfield Cathedral watching the wonderful Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain”
The Birmingham Post, LifeStyleBlog

“On Monday night the Lichfield Festival presented a moving, memorable account of this finest work in the genre from two of our finest young artists….The Lady Chapel, with its natural unforced acoustic was packed with rapt listeners”
The Birmingham Post 4-star review of Die Winterreise with Mark Padmore and Paul Lewis

“Festival Director Richard Hawley is to be congratulated for bringing such popular international artists to the Garrick, thus widening the appeal of The Lichfield Festival to audiences who have not previously visited the theatre”
Lichfield Mercury on The Puppini Sisters

“Everyone knows the script; contemporary classical music is complex, intimidating and elitist. It’s scored for impractical forces, deals with obscure philosophical concepts and sounds so unpleasant that the words ‘world premiere’ on a programme guarantee an empty hall…. In which case, the Lichfield Festival is singing from a completely different hymn sheet”
Birmingham Metro on The Traveller

And the participants:

“Best thing I’ve ever sung in and Vikram Seth signed my score”
Julia Beech, Festival Chorus member on performance of The Traveller with the Britten Sinfonia

“I LOVED the workshop. It was a really good idea to get us all to do a little rhyme at first. I liked my poem and I love writing. It’s really inspiring and I loved it.=) I can’t wait to perform…I’m nervous but excited. “
India, Kettlebrook PRU on education project Choices

“The Lichfield Festival is a veritable oasis: charming, majestic, intimate and moving”
Marin Alsop

“It’s always such a pleasure to come to Lichfield. The Festival has the highest artistic standards, wonderfully varied programming and an exceptionally friendly atmosphere – a winning combination”
Alec Roth

And the audience:

“The combination of the film and the music was brilliant, exquisite, fantastic. We were enraptured throughout…”
Susan May on Shiraz

“…I shall certainly no longer switch off whenever Messiaen’s music comes over the air-waves. Thank you, Lichfield Festival…””
Marjorie Callow on Thomas Trotter’s Messiaen organ recital