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| Dulverton Parish Church Venue for a long weekend of Festival events in 2014 (John Rowlands-Pritchards's Gregorian Chant Workshop 18 October Opus Angelicanum's afternoon concert of English Chant 19 October David Goode's 'Sacred Classics' organ recital 19 October Sarah Ewins & Harvey Davies' Mozart Marathon 20 October) |
How
Foot & Mouth gave rise to international concert series -
The
story of the Two Moors Festival – 15 Years on!
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| Schubert the Sheep Festival Mascot |
The Two Moors Festival celebrates its 15th
Birthday this year. Who would have known that one of the few good things to
result from 2001’s Foot & Mouth’s tragic outbreak would be a classical
music event of such class as to compare with others of global standing.
The supposedly one-off series of
concerts set up to bring cheer to Dartmoor and Exmoor following the epidemic was
so successful that the organisers, John and Penny Adie, were easily persuaded
to continue and with unsurpassed passion. On achieving its first milestone, the
festival injects over £300,000 to the local economy during ten days every
October. Tourism benefits too due to the influx of avid concert-goers from
outside the area. Since 2011, over 5000 tickets have been sold annually; and so
far, three BBC Radio 3 live broadcasts have taken place. The musical standard
easily matches that of the top international festivals and with Kate Royal,
Viktoria Mullova and Angela Hewitt among the glittering array of esteemed
artists attracted to perform, it’s easy to see why.
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| Detail of the mighty Bösendorfer grand piano used by Sarah & Harvey in the Mozart Marathon (see 2014 programme for details) |
Offshoots have emerged too in the form
of workshops taking place in primary schools. In addition, young aspiring
instrumentalists have been given the chance to play alongside a professional
orchestra and in 2003, a Young Musicians Platform competition was established.
The most unusual events to take place are the concerts in the acoustically
brilliant Ticket Office at Tiverton Parkway Station.
Her Royal Highness the Countess of
Wessex became Patron in 2007 giving generously of her time. One aspect that was
never anticipated was the growth of cultural awareness in the Southwest
(previously non-existent).
Always unique and whacky in its
approach, the 2mf celebrated its 10th Anniversary (2010) with a Gold
Medal-winning and Best Courtyard Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. The garden fulfilled
its aim in providing a PR exercise like no other. Of course the story of the dropped
Boesendorfer piano also caught the attention of the world media.
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| Penny Adie |
Funding, as with so many arts
organisations, is always a problem. So far, the event has remained on an even
keel with the aid of many trusts, Friends of the Festival and with ever-growing
ticket sales. And as far as publicity is concerned, the generous media
partnership with Classic FM (originally attracted by the inspired Sheep on a
Bicycle logo) is never forgotten.
The Adies have no plans as yet to
retire. With some farmers in the area still struggling to make ends meet, and relying to a degree on local food banks, the festival continues to retain its
raison d’être.
Penny Adie
Artistic Director
Two
Moors Festival
Barkham, Sandyway, South
Molton, Devon EX36 3LU
Tel:01643 831370
Reg. Charity no 1095723 Vat registration no
791 1650 25
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