2008 Festival "A Feast of Music"

As September draws closer final arrangements for the 2008 North Wales International Music Festival are well in hand and expectations are high for a really successful Festival.
With a wonderful programme to include world class performers and works by many of the best loved composers, the week seems set to provide a feast of music to satisfy the most hearty of appetites.
"Altogether we can look forward to another exciting week of vibrant concerts and workshops spiced with a dash of folk music and seasoned with a soupcon of jazz!" said Artistic Director, Ann Atkinson. The Cathedral provided the stage for the launch event of the thirty- sixth Festival and saw an announcement that the Festival will this year be part of the launch for the London 2010 Culture Programme as well as working closely with the Liverpool City of Culture 08 with an opening concert on Saturday, September 20th by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Vasily Petrenko. Their programme will include Beethoven’s Overture, Coriolan and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5. Soloist Paul Lewis will be featured in the performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 2.
As an extra delight the 2008 Festival will feature two orchestral concerts with the extremely popular BBC National Orchestra of Wales bringing the Festival to a rousing climax with works by Vaughan Williams and Mozart.
The orchestra will be conducted by Grant Llewelyn and Lesley Hatfield will perform the violin solos.
On Sunday, September 21st, Fine Arts Brass and the Flintshire Youth Choir will by ‘Side By Side’ for a concert which promises a variety of styles from Renaissance to avant garde and from the sacred and secular repertoire of the Youth Choir to jazz and swing.
Monday of Festival week sees the return of the Festival’s resident musicians, Ensemble Cymru, who need no introduction to Festival regulars, and whose programme will include works by Daniel Jones, Janacek, Poulenc and Mozart.
Tuesday’s evening concert promises to be a sell-out with Julian Lloyd Webber, John Lill and Emma Johnson taking to the stage to perform works by Beethoven, Carl Maria von Weber, Johannes Brahms, William Lloyd Webber and James Macmillan.
On Wednesday Festival welcomes back Dame Gillian Weir with an organ recital programme to help celebrate the wonderful music of both Olivier Messiaen on the centenary of his birth and of the Festival’s founder, William Mathias.
Wednesday evening features a double bill with a concert by the Folk Ensemble of Clera, the Welsh Traditional Instrument Society following the organ recital. This exciting ensemble will come fresh from their performance at the Gala opening of the famous Celtic Festival in Lorient, Brittany.
On Thursday evening the Festival welcomes back the highly popular Llyr Williams following his triumphant performance at last year’s Festival. Llyr will be performing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op78 in F# major, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op 111 No 32 in C minor and the Chopin Four Scherzi.
On Friday evening, following Choral Evensong, The Tallis Scholars will take the stage. Renowned for the excellence of their tuning, the seamless blend of their voices and the purity and clarity of their sound which allows every detail of the musical line to be heard, the Tallis Scholars will be directed by Peter Philips. Saturday evening with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under their conductor Grant Llewelyn and with soloist Lesley Hatfield, has become the traditional climax of the Festival and this year will no doubt be no exception. This year their programme will include Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams, Violin Concerto No 2 in D by Mozart, Rondo in C by Mozart and Symphony No 5 by Vaughan Williams. This year’s sponsors of the Festival include:- Arts Council of Wales; Daily Post; Welsh Assembly Government; Theatr Elwy; St. Asaph Cathedral; North Wales Tourism; Abergele & St. Asaph Visitor; npower renewables; Cadwyn Clwyd; European Community; St. Asaph City of Music; City of St. Asaph Town Council; View Creative; Pianos Cymru; John Owens, Solicitors; Gardner Salisbury; Thomas Howells Education Fund; Mr. & Mrs. Aldham Robarts; Denbighshire County Council; Welsh Opto-Electronic Forum.
The booking office will be open from August 4th for telephone bookings between 10am - 4pm Monday - Thursday \contact details are as follows:- Address:- North Wales International Music Festival, Festival Office, Irish Square, Upper Denbigh Road, St. Asaph. LL17 0RL.
Box Office Tel. 01745 584508:
e.mail: admin@northwalesmusicfestival.co.uk
website: www.northwalesmusicfestival.co.uk