BIRDSONG has been an inspiration to composers and musicians for centuries, from the trills of Vivaldi’s Goldfinch Concerto to Beyonce’s cover of the Beatles’ Blackbird. Now, the Lark Music-Making Competition, launched this week in association with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, encourages today’s amateur instrumentalists to take flight with their own interpretations. Open to anyone over…
THE picturesque West Somerset village of Dunster, on the edge of Exmoor, is famous for several things, including its castle, its Yarn Market, the medieval Gallox (“Lovers”) packhorse bridge, the tithe barn and the beautiful late medieval Priory of St George. This church is the main venue for another important Dunster attraction, the music festival…
WHEN Opera della Luna stages one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas, you know you are in for a great evening. So welcome back to Jeff Clarke’s company at Bath Theatre Royal, from Tuesday 13th to Saturday 17th May, with The Mikado, probably the best loved of all the Savoy Operas. This hilarious tale of…
ONE of the world’s greatest cabaret singers and a brilliant song arranger, Barb Jungr comes to Taunton Brewhouse on Thursday 8th May, and Bridport’s Electric Palace on Saturday 10th, with Hallelujah on Desolation Row, a celebration of the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. This show features her best and award-winning interpretations of songs…
A TRIO of harp, viola and flute players, who met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama nearly 20 years ago, come to Dorset and Somerset on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th May, for a series with Concerts in the West, at Bridport, Ilminster and Crewkerne. Trio Anima are Rosalind Ventris, viola, Anneke Hodnett,…
DEVON Opera’s young singers will tackle one of the most popular – and vocally demanding – operas for their spring production – Puccini’s La Boheme, which will be staged at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter, on 15th and 16th May. It is so well-known that it is easy to overlook just how vocally and emotionally demanding…
SINGERS from several Dorset choirs have been working with Anglo-Chilean band Quimantú on a project that ends on 15th, 20th and 22nd June with concerts at Sturminster Newton and at London’s “Actors Church”. The collaboration, organised by rural touring charity, Artsreach, has brought Misa de los Mineros (The Miners’ Mass) to audiences across the county….
DORSET Opera Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary at Bryanston School’s Coade Hall this year, following its move to Blandford from its original home at Sherborne School. This year’s festival will run from 22nd to 26th July, and will include two formal dinners in Bryanston House. The opera programme is thrilling, with Verdi’s cruel but musically…
REWILDING is quite a buzz word these days, but what does it actually mean? And did you know there is a thriving rewinding project in Dorset? Learn more about it at a Gillingham Action for Nature meeting, on Thursday 1st May, at 7pm at Gillingham Vicarage schoolrooms. Many people will have heard of, or even…
THE unusual pairing of saxophone – Canadian saxophonist David Zucchi – and accordion – Spanish accordionist Inigo Mikeleiz-Berrada – is featured in the April series of Concerts in the West, at Bridport, Ilminster and Crewkerne on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th. The London-based Mikeleiz-Zucchi Duo have won a number of awards including the Royal Overseas…