Well, what a festival! Yet again, we are so grateful for everyone who was involved in this year’s festival – there are so many volunteers and people behind the scenes that it would just not be possible to carry on without.
Of course, the standard of music this year was as exemplary as ever with so many wonderful comments from audience members.
We must rest for a few days before planning 2018 – keep an eye out for news announcing next year’s programme!
Thank you!
Build up!
I can’t be the only Artistic Director to be so consumed by the build-up to an arts event that no matter how hard you try, sleep seems to be a bit thin on the ground. Not that it matters because you can make up for it afterwards – and I certainly do in spade-loads. A bath armed with a good book is a luxury, as is sitting in front of the fire glued to Bake Off (with supper perched on knees), not to mention walking the dog and seeing one’s friends. These are all lacking currently but would one have it differently? No of course not; this is all part and parcel of what running a festival is about and particularly the Two Moors that is unlike any other in Britain.
There is a wonderful passion attached to this event. This has been present from the outset when my late husband, John and I set it up as an antidote following the devastation caused by Foot and Mouth disease. Since then it has blossomed into a national festival of which – and I am not afraid to say – he and I were (and I am) justifiably proud. It is our dedication and commitment that have manifested themselves and has spread to our audience members who come year on year showing their devotion to the type of concert that is offered to them. The Trustees have also shown their love of the organization and but for them and their sheer hard work, the festival would not be where it is today. It’s worth bearing in mind that all members of the Board are busy people who give up inordinate amounts of time to keep it afloat; who put forward ideas to make sure it continues to develop, offer opinions on whether it steers along the right course and to use their influence on broadening our horizons.
With only two weeks to go before kick-off, keeping an eye on ticket sales is very important (they are currently most encouraging) and it’s always interesting to see the surprises along the way. Some concerts that you least expect to, sell overnight while others you think are going to have a capacity audience, don’t fare well at all. Strange how the public mind works! Inevitably there are one or two who whinge at the prices. They don’t realise that their seat would cost in the region of £85 were there no sponsorship. They never stop to think that the cost of going to a football match would work out to be far more expensive!
Almost the last thing on the ‘must do’ list before opening night is to galvanise the press into action. The amount of work this entails is vast. Social media comes into its own these days and if you don’t do it, you’re really sunk. One Tweet can, when spread, reach thousands of people. Even if no one purchases a ticket, the profile enhancement is worth ££££££s. Both the national and regional press have to be bombarded with articles in hopes they will be printed near the front of the paper rather than alongside, say, the motoring section. BBC Radio 3, and our super media partner, Classic FM, are great at mentioning the festival on air and of course, we spread flyers to any shop of pub that will have them.
So it’s a case of wait and see and hope that this year’s music-making will give a thrill to those listening as it has previously. It will be wonderful if does then I can have my longed-for bath!!
Penny Adie
September 2017
To get to know some of our wonderful artists a little better ahead of this year’s Two Moors Festival, we have invited some of them to share the answers to a few short questions so we can learn
more!
First up we have Oliver and Owen from O Duo Percussion….
Have you ever visited the Two Moors area before?
Oliver: Yes, to play for the festival (twice)
Owen: Yes! We’ve played at the festival on a few occasions now…..I’ve also been on the edge of Exmoor to an excellent pub for recreational purposes!
What did you want to be when growing up?
Oliver: When I was quite young, a doctor! Then later, a musician….
Owen: From the age of 14, a percussionist! I didn’t really think about it before then or at least I can’t remember!
Who’s your inspiration?
Oliver: Probably my Grandad, who came from a really poor, working-class family in Dundee and became Principal Cellist of the LPO!
Owen: In music, no-one really…. But I try and put into perspective being a musician, by thinking of those of have trickier/life threatening jobs, like my brother in the army.
Ambition or talent: which matters more to success for you?
Oliver: Both
Owen: Has to be both! Whilst I’m a believer in anyone can do it, I think you need that something extra to go up a level, that doesn’t mean to make a career. But, I think the best musicians have both
What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?
Oliver: Musically, I guess playing most of the UK’s biggest concert halls with O Duo, after forming the duo at College.
Owen: Deep! Making a career (ie. Paying the mortgage, buying a house, and being able to pay for the family to live!) out of being a musician.
What are you looking forward to most when performing at this year’s Two Moors Festival?
Oliver: Being in a beautiful part of the country….
Owen: Being in one of the finest parts of the country, with great audiences.
O Duo Percussion
Owen Gunnell marimba
Oliver Cox marimba
Performance: 11:00 am Tue, 17 Oct 2017
Venue: St Pancras Church, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, TQ13 7TA
The time has come that all tickets are now on general sale for this year’s Two Moors Festival! You can buy tickets both online, over the phone and in person.
We already have some performances nearly sold out so please do book soon in order to not miss out.
Two Moors Festival team
The time has arrived to announce our 2017 festival programme – and we are so excited about it! With a total of 28 outstanding concerts for everyone to enjoy, this year’s festival takes place from Friday 13th October to Sunday 21st October 2017 across a total of 13 beautiful venues in Dartmoor and Exmoor.
The festival grows in calibre every year and now truly ranks in the top class of classical music events in the UK. And this year is no exception! Have a read here of some of the highlights of 2017:
Ticket release dates are as follows:
Benefactors from 3 July 2017
Associates from 10 July 2017
Friends from 17 July 2017
General Booking opens 26 July 2017
All information for the 2017 festival can be found on our website: http://tickets.thetwomoorsfestival.co.uk/sales/2017festival/2017-concerts-and-talks
We can’t wait to see you again for another wonderful festival!
We are so pleased to announce our four winners for this year’s Two Moors Festival Young Musicians’ Platform:
Matilda Wale, aged 16, Voice, from New College, Swindon
Ellen O’Brien, aged 17, French Horn, from The Castle School, Thornbury
Poppy Freya McGhee, aged 12, Violin, Hugh Sexey Middle School, Wedmore
Joseph Pritchard, aged 17, Cello, from Yehudi Menuhin School, Surrey
The standard this year was exceptionally high so huge congratulations to everyone who took part. We look forward to seeing these wonderful performers at this year’s festival and for all the upcoming young artists, keep an eye out for the opening of the 2018 competition later this year!
We are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Two Moors Festival Young Musicians Competition winners, each of whom will receive a cash prize and the opportunity to perform alongside some renowned professional musicians at the festival’s main two-week event in October.
The winners this year are violinist Hannah Brook-Hughes – our youngest-ever winner at the age of 10 – cellist Willard Carter (aged 12), cornet player Andrew Wingham (aged 15) and cellist Rebecca McNaught (aged 18).
The Two Moors Festival Young Musicians Platform competition takes place each year and is open to talented instrumentalists and singers aged 18 or under who live or go to school in the south-west of the UK.
To find out more about the competition and how to enter next year’s event, visit our website.
Each week, Two Moors Festival artistic director Penny Adie will be here on the blog, letting you all know just what’s been going on down at Festival HQ in Devon.
As I type, the sun is shining here on Exmoor and our moorland valley is awash with primroses. We are fortunate in that living at 1,200 feet, we have the benefit of enjoying two periods of spring flowers – the rest of the world living in civilization can see their daffodils in bloom from early March and we, three weeks later.
The current sunny spell is certainly inspiring the Attaca Trio who are working hard during their residency here. For those who don’t know about this group of supremely talented professional players, they comprise Eleanor Turner, harpist, Ruth Gibson, viola player, and Ana de la Vega, flautist. Each has played with the major London orchestras, appeared at the Wigmore Hall and won major competitions in their own right. Their quartet may sound like an unlikely combination of instruments, but surprisingly, there is repertoire written specifically.
As many people now know, the Two Moors Festival residencies were set up in order to give professional musicians of the highest calibre the opportunity to rehearse undisturbed in peace and quiet. They offer the perfect environment in which to work towards an important concert, a recording or on the formation of a new chamber group. Musicians can make use of the splendid acoustics in the gallery and enjoy the idyllic surrounding countryside as inspiration. There is also the added attraction of tasty home cooked food and the boisterous company of the festival’s dog, Flora.
The Attaca Trio’s reason for enjoying a residency (and the primroses!) is to rehearse in preparation for concerts in America taking place later this year.
Our time on the UK classical music festivals calendar is creeping ever closer – there’s now just six months to go before October 16th and the start of the two-week Two Moors Festival, which takes place in churches across Exmoor and Dartmoor.
This year’s programme is shaping up well with some 30 concerts in the offing, so you’re sure to find at least one performance that takes your fancy… and we do challenge you to find just one! We’re keeping the programme under wraps for now, but rumour has it that wonderful pianist Angela Hewitt will be giving a recital and we’ll be closing this year’s Two Moors Festival with the UK premiere of a marionette version of Don Giovanni, put on by the amazing National Marionette Theatre from Prague.
Dates for the festival this year are 16th – 25th October. For further information contact (01643) 831 370 or email adie.exmoor @ btinternet.com
We’ve just come back from a lovely trip to the beautiful city of Prague and thought you might like to see what we got up to while away. We had a brilliant time – we got up at the crack of dawn to beat the tourists to the Charles Bridge, ate all sorts of delicious food (including deep-fried cheese!), climbed all the way up to the castle and back down again, saw lots of people touring the city on Segways, went to see The Magic Flute at the Estates Theatre, played with a Don Giovanni puppet at the National Marionettes Theatre and saw lots of incredible buildings and gorgeous cherry blossom.
Highly recommended as a place to visit! We hope you like our pictures.
Have you been to Prague? What did you see?
Official Two Moors Festival Blog 