Michael Morpurgo "Best Christmas Present in the World" Performed with Virginia McKenna at Exeter Cathedral Friday 2 December 2016 Details from 'Farms for City Children' Fundraiser Margi Jervoise

Farms for City Children
Exeter Cathedral
Friday 2 December 7.30pm
"THE BEST XMAS PRESENT IN THE WORLD"
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Directed by: Simon Reade

Narrated by: Michael Morpurgo & Virginia McKennaA unique Christmas concert performed by candlelight,
Michael’s story is told together with
specially selected Christmas carols.
"The Best Christmas Present in the World"
revisits the trenches and tells the haunting story
of Christmas 1914 when soldiers on both sides

Virginia McKenna
& Michael Morpurgo

put down their weapons in honour of Christmas Day.
with songs performed by award-winning
a cappella group Voices at the Door
A truly inspiring and atmospheric
celebration of Christmas.
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes (no interval)
For children and adults of all ages
Tickets: Rear Nave £20 (U12 £15)
              Mid Nave £15 (U12 18.75)
VIP Tickets: £50
(Drinks in the Chapter House & Priority Seating)

Nethercott House
A 'Farms for City Children' Farm
at Iddesleigh near Okehampton

Tickets available until Thursday 1 December
Online Booking: EventBrite
Details: farmsforcitychildren.org
For further information please contact
Farms for City Children on 01392 276381email: margi@farmsforcitychildren.org
(FFCC Fundraiser Margi Jervoise)
Event Sponsored by: Everys Solicitors
Kindly Supported by: Devon Life
            Knight Frank, Storm Press
               Simpkins Edwards, Mercure Hotels

Northcott Theatre: Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company present the world première of "PINOCCHIO" Wednesday 19 October - Friday 21 October 2016 Press Release from David Burns

Jasmin Vardimon Company Present the World premiere of "PINOCCHIO"

Co-Commissioned by: The Gulbenkian Canterbury

                                 Sadlers Wells Theatre London

                                 Kent County Council

DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY JASMIN VARDIMON

AUTUMN 2016 TOUR & SADLERS WELLS LONDON PREMIÈRE

This Autumn, award winning choreographer Jasmin Vardimon will create a brand new adaptation of the classic fairy tale, "Pinocchio", written by Carlo Collodi in 1883. The dance production, based on the original "Pinocchio" will bring to life the famous marionette as he embarks on a fantastic journey to become a human boy.

Pinocchio will combine physical theatre, quirky characterisation, innovative technologies, text and dance to examine the idea of what it means to be human. With insightful humour, engaging drama and an acute observation of behaviour, Pinocchio will take audiences on a wonderful journey of discovery through the parameters of this timeless and beloved fable.

Jasmin Vardimon says that going back to Collodi's original novel allow us to critically examine the assumptions of ourselves and others about what it means to be human.

A leading force in British dance theatre for nearly twenty years, Jasmin has built a reputation for challenging, exciting and visually stunning dance and continues to add to the body of critically acclaimed, artistically respected yet accessible work both for the company- which she formed in 1997 - and for some of the leading dance companies across the world.

Last year Jasmin was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Royal Holloway University, and is currently enjoying sell-out performances across the UK and internationally.

Also in 2015 'Jasmin Vardimon Company' collaborated with 'Turner Contemporary' in Margate. Jasmin's choreography, was combined with the designs of architect Ron Arad and artist Guy Bar-Amotz in the multisensory installation "MAZE" in the caves at Margate's Winter Gardens.

Jasmin Vardimon Company

Jasmin Vardimon
"Pinocchio"

Exeter Northcott Theatre

Wednesday 19 October - Friday 21 October 7pm

Wednesday Schools Matinée 1.30pm

"PINOCCHIO" WORLD PREMIÈRE

Director & choreographer: Jasmin Vardimon

Based on the 1883 novel by Carlo Collodi

Tickets: £16 (Family 3+ £14 each Schools 10+ £9 each)

[Free ticket for one teacher with each group of 10]

Box Office: 01392 726363

Online Booking: exeternorthcott.co.uk

Details: Jasmine Vardimon Company Website
Media Release: JVC Online

Trailers: Jasmin Vardimon

Press Release from orchestra+, the South West’s first LGBT+ Symphony Orchestra

Tim Pithers
orchestra+ conductor

orchestra+, the South West’s first LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, plus) Symphony Orchestra, will be holding its launch weekend on 7th-9th October in Exeter. The weekend will feature a series of rehearsals and a free performance in Exeter Community Centre (17 St David’s Hill, Exeter, EX4 3RG) on Sunday 9th October at 3pm with a programme including music from the big screen, from the West End and traditional classics.

Co-Founder and Musical Director Tim Pithers said, “It’s really exciting to be launching this new musical venture which aims to reach out to the LGBT+ community across the South West. We want to bring together those who have a passion for music-making whilst providing a supportive and safe place for members of the LGBT+ community and our friends. We hope to positively impact on both LGBT+ life and the world of amateur music-making in the South West”.

There are currently two other gay symphony orchestras in existence in the UK - the London Gay Symphony Orchestra, of BBC’s All Together Now fame, and the Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra. orchestra+ is the pioneering ensemble in the South West drawing members from across Devon, Somerset, Dorset and further afield.

“Our intention is to grow into a full-scale symphony orchestra in due course,” explains co-founder Anna Davis, “but we are absolutely overwhelmed by the initial interest that musicians have shown. It demonstrates a real need for all-inclusive community ventures and a desire for outlets for high-quality amateur musicians to make music together”.

The orchestra plans to rehearse during a series of weekends over the coming year staging performances on Sunday afternoons across the region. The orchestra would be delighted to hear from more players who would like to join for the first rehearsal weekend. There are no auditions and, as a guide, we suggest grade 6 standard upwards.

For all enquiries, please contact

Tim Pithers, Anna Davis or Ellen Stratton

email: swlgbtso@gmail.com 

Sidholme Music Room Concerts October 2016

Free Concerts in aid of Restoration Fund
Sidholme Music Room
Elysian Fields, Sidmouth, EX10 9PH
Retiring Collections

Roger Hendy

Sunday 9 October 3.30-4.30pm

THE ISCA STRING QUARTET

Leader: Roger Hendy

Flute: Catherine Clements

Piano: Alex Wilson

W A Mozart: String Quartet in C Major "Dissonance"

Josef Haydn: Trio in D Major for flute, cello and piano

Astor Piazzolla: "Oblivion"

Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major

Wednesday 12 October 10.30-12am

Head of Music: Clive Salmon

ST JOHN'S SCHOOL

YOUNG MUSICIANS

COFFEE CONCERT

Plus an opportunity to hear

the recently renovated Bechstein

Model B Grand Piano being played

whilst enjoying your coffee

Also in aid of Sidmouth Town Band 

Queen's College Young Musicians

Thursday 20 October 7.30-8.45pm

QUEENS COLLEGE (TAUNTON)

YOUNG MUSICIANS

Individual and ensemble works

under the direction of Head of Music

- Edward Jenkins

Peter Lee-Cox

Sunday 30 October 3.30-4.30pm

'BACHIANA'

Organ Peter Lea-Cox

'Cello Anne-Marie Meyer

An opportunity to hear

the restored 1855

Gray & Davison of London Organ

- A 'Friends' Project completed in 2015

Glenorchy Wednesday Lunchtime Concerts Exmouth 5 October 2016 - 4 January 2017

Lunchtime Concerts at Glenorchy Church

Wednesdays 12 for 12.30pm

Admission FREE with retiring collection

Samantha Muir

5 October

GUITAR RECITAL

Guitar: Samantha Muir

– and other instruments

Andrew Millington

12 October

ORGAN RECITAL

Organ: Andrew Millington

(recently retired Director of Music

                        at Exeter Cathedral)

Wood Farm Wind Quintet

19 October

WOOD FARM WIND QUINTET

Flute: Robert Stevenson
Oboe: Andrew Marlies
Clarinet: Chris Gradwell
French Horn: Trevor Ives
Bassoon: Alan Boxer

Joyce Clarke

26 October

PIANO RECITAL

Piano: Joyce Clarke

Elizabeth Holman

2 November

VIOLIN & PIANO DUETS

Violin: Elizabeth Holman

Piano: Andrew Wilson

Stella Maris Trio

9 November

STELLA MARIS TRIO

Piano: Sam Baker

Soprano: Victoria Armillota

Mezzo Soprano: Iryna Ilnytska

Beacon Piano Trio

16 November

THE BEACON PIANO TRIO

Piano: Joyce Clarke

Violin: Anna Cockroft

'Cello: Ruth Lass

Michèle Banting

& Iain McDonald

23 November

SONGS & POETRY

Piano: Michèle Banting

Baritone: Iain Macdonald

Poetry: Jilly Cooper

Josephine Pickering
& David Lee

30 November

PIANO DUETS

Piano: Josephine Pickering

Piano: David Lee

Annabel Rooney

7 December

THE AMAZI TRIO

Piano: Marcia Rayner

Violin: Cecilia Griffiths Lamon

'Cello: Annabel Rooney

Ruth Smit

4 January

PIANO RECITAL

Piano: Ruth Smit

Ashburton Recorder Consort & Mediaeval Ensemble Wednesday & Thursday Mornings once a Month with Rachel Miller

Stella Maris Trio with Leonie Jones Flute & Tony Pinnigar Guitar St Lawrence's Church Exeter Saturday 10 September 2016

Stella Maris Trio

Stella Maris Trio

Stella Maris Trio
St. Lawrence's Church Exeter
Lower Hill Barton Road EX1 3EH
Saturday 10 September 7.30pm
DUETS FOR INSTRUMENTS & VOICES
Soprano: Victoria Armillotta
Mezzo Soprano: Iryna Ilnytska
Piano: Sam Baker
Flute: Leonie Stevenson-Jones
Guitar: Tony Pinnigar
Gabriel Fauré: "Fantasie for Flute & Piano" 1898
François Borne: "Fantaisie Brillante sur Carmen" 1900

Leonie
Stevenson-Jones

Ástor Piazzola: "Histoire du Tango" 1986
Felix Mendelssohn: "Scherzo" 1842
(Intermezzo Act I/II "A Midsummer Night's Dream")
Jacques Offenbach: Barcarolle "Belle Nuit, Ô Nuit d'Amour"
(Giulietta & Nicklausse "Les Contes d'Hoffmann") 1881
Sergei Rachmaninov: "Lilacs" 1902
("12 Romances Op 21" V "Сирень" [Siryen])
Léo Delibes: "Sous le Dôme Épais" 1883
(Flower Duet with Mallika "Lakmé")
Tickets: £8 (concession £5) at the door

Mariko Asakawa-North & Candice Hamel Piano & Flute Recital St Disen's Church Bradninch Thursday 29 September 2016

Candice Hamel

Mariko Asakawa-North

Back in Bradninch after the her hugely popular concert last year, flutist Candice Hamel will be joined by the renowned pianist Mariko Asakawa-North for an evening of beautiful music. Those lucky enough to have heard Candice’s concert with the harpist Ruby Aspinall will look forward to the joyful inventiveness that she brings to music from the baroque to the modern, from J C Bach to Lili Boulanger.

Scottish-Japanese pianist Mariko Asakawa-North received her first piano at the age of 7 as a surprise gift from her beloved Japanese grandfather. From 13 she was a violin and piano scholar at North East of Scotland Music School and in 2001 won first prize in the Moray International Piano Competition, and began her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, then at the Royal College of Music and at the Dartington International Summer School. Her recent concerts include performances at LSO St Luke’s, Bluthners Piano Centre, The Edinburgh Festival (with Opera Bohemia) and Barbican Hall (as part of the BBC Total Immersion Series, recorded for BBC Radio 3).

She is now based in Exeter where she has a busy chamber music performance schedule and is a Visiting Music Teacher at Blundell's School. Mariko has a keen interest in contemporary music, and studied with world-renowned contemporary pianist and composer, Rolf Hind, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has played in masterclasses with such distinguished artists as Dominique Merlet, Stephen Kovacevic, Martino Tirimo, Boris Berman, Malcolm Martineau, and Peter Hill.

Candice studied flute at Trinity College of Music and The Royal Conservatoire, Holland and has played with the Philharmonia, London Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonia, RTE Concert Orchestra and RTE Symphony Orchestra. She has toured to Moscow, America and Japan. And of course, Bradninch!

As well as regular playing commitments, Candice maintains an active teaching programme for students of all ages and abilities from beginner to Diploma and beyond, and offers personal courses as well as masterclasses.

Candice and Mariko will present an exciting programme, to show us how expressive, how lyrical and how powerful these instruments are. As usual we will be offering a glass of wine or soft drink in the interval, and look forward to many friends joining us to welcome them.

Tickets are £10.00 (no concessions but under 15’s free)

- at the door, from SPAR in Bradninch, or by phoning 01392 881 525.

Mariko Asakawa-North

Candice Hamel

Music at St Disen's
St Disen's Church Bradninch
Thursday 29 September 7pm
FLUTE & PIANO
Piano: Mariko Asakawa-North
Flute: Candice Hamel
Bohuslav Martinů: "Sonata"
(for Rudolf Serkin 1954)
J S Bach: "Sonata in E major"
(for Michael Gredersdorf 1741)
Jules Mouquet: "La Flûte de Pan"
(for Léopold Lafleurance 1904)
Georges Enescu:
"Cantabile & Presto"
(for Paul Taffanel 1904)
Lili Boulanger: "2 Pieces"
- I "Nocturne" 1918
Tickets: £10 (U15 FREE)
from the Bradninch branch of Spar
or at the door on the night
Box Office: 01392 881525

Mariko Asakawa-North

Lunchtime Recital
Bristol Cathedral
Friday 4 October 1.15-2pm
(postponed from 9 August)
SOLO PIANO
Piano: Mariko Asakawa-North
Oliver Knussen: "Prayer Bell Sketch" 1997

(To the memory of Toru Takemitsu) 
Maurice Ravel: "Miroirs"

- V "La Vallée des Cloches" 1904
Dai Fujikura: "Frozen Heat"
Sergei Prokofiev: "4 Pieces for Piano"

- IV "Suggestion Diabolique" 1908
Mariko Brown: "Piano Sonata" 2004
(commissioned for Helen Reid)
Claude Debussy: "Images" 2ème Série

- III "Poissons d'Or" 1907

Admission: FREE

Details: Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex website.
.
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Nourish Festival Bovey Tracey - Food & Music Thursday-Saturday 1-3 September 2016

Ian Wellens
"The Cheese Shed" Bovey Tracey
Nourish Festival Director
- will discuss the Festival on Phonic FM  
"Classical Journey" Friday 12 August 2.30pm

Devon Guild of Craftsmen
Bovey Tracey

Aeolian Trio

Harp: Sally Jenkins
Flute: Ruth Molins

Devon Guild of Craftsmen
Thursday 1 September 7.30pm
JAPAN: HERE & THERE
Flute: Ruth Molins
Harp: Sally Jenkins
Viola: Emma Welton
Toru Takemitsu:

"And Then I Knew 'Twas Wind"

(Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp) 1992

Claude Debussy:

"Sonate pour Flûte, Alto, et Harpe" 1915

(inspiration for Takemitsu's trio)

Clive Bell: Shakuhachi Flute

John Roberts: "Puppetcraft"

(Japanese 'Banraku' Puppets)

Tickets: £10

Online Booking: Nourish Website

Ground Floor - Same Evening -

"Made in Japan" Launch Party:

Riverside Gallery 6pm

Brodsky Quartet

Brodsky Quartet

Church of St Peter, St Paul

& St Thomas of Canterbury

Friday 2 September 7.30pm

CONTRAPUNCTUS

Violins: Daniel Rowland, Ian Belton

Viola: Paul Cassidy

'Cello: Jacqueline Thomas

J S Bach: "The Art of Fugue" 1740

                 - Contrapunctus I & VI

Felix Mendelssohn: Opus 81 No 4

"Four Pieces" - "Fugue in E♭" 1847

Alexander von Zemlinsky:

            "String Quartet No 4" 1936

Franz Schubert: Quartet No 14 in Dm

Gustav Bensel Hot Club

            "Death & the Maiden" 1824

Tickets: £22 (U18 £5)

Online Booking: Nourish Website

Live on Fore Street
Fore Street Bovey Tracey
Saturday 3 September 10am-2.30pm
10-12am:
GUSTAV BENSEL HOT CLUB
Gypsy Jazz & Klezmer

Annika Skoogh

Saxophone & Voice: Andy Williamson
(great-great-grandson of Gustav Bensel)
Violin: Tom Deam
Guitar: Steve Dow
Double Bass: Tim Heming
12.30-2pm:
ANNIKA SKOOGH & MATT CARTER
Jazz Vocals: Annika Skoogh
("Ellingtonia"/"Solar")
Piano: Matt Carter

Hibiki Ichikawa

Kagemusha Taiko
Bovey Tracey Baptist Church
Saturday 3 September 1pm
KUMI-DAIKO & SHAMISEN
Drums: Kagemusha Taiko
Shamisen: Hibiki Ichikawa
Tickets: £10 (U18 £5)

Online Booking: Nourish Website

Calefax Reed Quintet

Calefax Reed Quintet

Church of St Peter, St Paul

& St Thomas of Canterbury

Saturday 3 September 7.30pm
NUTCRACKER
Oboe: Oliver Boekhoorn
Clarinet: Ivar Berix
Saxophone: Raaf Hekkema
Bass Clarinet: Jelte Althuis
Bassoon: Alban Wesly
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
"The Nutcracker Suite" 1892

Duke Ellington
& Billy Stayhorn

J S Bach/Ferruccui Busoni:
"Partita No 2 Pt V Chaconne" 1720
Edvard Grieg:
"Peer Gynt Suite No 1" 1888
Giel Vleggaar:
"Wake up Sleeping Beauty"
Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington
& William Thomas (Billy) Stayhorn:
"The Nutcracker Suite" 1960
Tickets: £18 (U18 £5)
Online Booking: Nourish Website

Church of St Peter, St Paul
& St Thomas of Canterbury
Bovey Tracey

Bernardus Mediaeval Vielle & Voice "St George & the Dragon" Exeter Cathedral Thursday 4 August Buckfast Abbey Saturday 6 August 2016

"Bernardus"
Vielle: Craig Resta
Countertenor (& Bell): Jay White
Buckfast Abbey
Saturday 6 August

It is now more than one year since David Acres visited from South Carolina to conduct the Counterpoint Choir at Buckfast Abbey, with special guest, operatic countertenor James Bowman (Saturday 20 June 2015).

In Charleston SC David has founded and directs a new choir, "The King's Counterpoint". Prior to founding the choir, during his first year in the United States, David lived in Cleveland Ohio. Musically active as ever, he founded "Contrapunctus" with members of the existing "Quire Cleveland" and "Trinity Chamber Choir" - including his wife Judith Acres.

This week the cultural exchange between Devon and the American Mid-West continued with the arrival of two very talented musicians from Kent State University in Ohio. Jay White is a countertenor in David Acres' "Contrapunctus" and Matthew Oltman's "Chanticleer". He is also a Professor of Voice at Kent State. Craig Resta is Professor of Instrumental Music Education, also at Kent State.

Vielle: Craig Resta

Together Jay and Craig form the duo "Bernardus". The name derives from the twelfth century French troubadour Bernart de Ventadorn. Craig plays the mediaeval five-stringed predecessor of the violin, the fidel or viuola, known in French as the 'vielle'. With this evocative accompaniment, Jay recites mediaeval histories and sings beautiful mediaeval hymns.

The combined sound, in Exeter Cathedral Nave and especially in Buckfast Abbey Quire, provides an overwhelming immersive experience of mediaeval culture and music. The intense sadness of Craig's D minor pedal on the Vielle, and Jay's bewitching countertenor voice, strip away the centuries to revisit the beliefs and fears of a bygone age.

Vielle: Craig Resta  Countertenor: Jay White

The selection for this visit was taken from Brother Jacobus de Voragine's "Golden Legend", a book published around 1260AD. This ambitious hagiography describes the lives of over one hundred and eighty of the Christian Saints.

For their English audience, the story of St George and the Dragon was chosen. Brother Jacobus was writing about events one thousand years earlier, during the reign of Diocletian and Maximium. George's confrontation with a mythical beast, and rescue of a royal princess, may be read as an allegory for his elective martyrdom at the hands of the Prefect Dacianus at Gerona in northern Iberia, as a model for early Christians.

However, Jacobus relates both stories, encouraging the listener to take the dragon story literally. Jay's reading is very compelling, creating a tangible sense of dread and foreboding - but George, as we know, is triumphant in the end. By contrast, the story of his martyrdom is much more distressing. Despite George's military status, he willingly submits to the will of Dacian and endures torture and death to demonstrate his commitment to Christianity.

Countertenor: Jay White

There is constant confusion as George, who is able to render poison and molten lead harmless using the magical sign of the cross, nevertheless endures other tortures without recourse to magic. Likewise the Christian God, who is ultimately able to overcome and kill both the non-christian priests of Dacian's religion, and Dacian himself, does not do so until it is too late to save George - who is executed by decapitation.

It is fascinating to consider how these stories would have been understood by readers and audiences during the thirteenth century, and subsequent centuries. The hauntingly sweet sound of the vielle and Jay's engaging recitation and singing (of three beautiful Latin hymns) - punctuated by the altar bell - allowed us to get some insight into the thinking, and emotional response, of the contemporary population.

After a brief visit to Wales, Jay and Craig will perform "St George and the Dragon" for an Irish audience at the Anglican Church of St Audoens in Dublin this Saturday 13 August at 3pm.