LAST YEAR: FESTIVAL 2008
 

Artistic Director’s Report  (as pdf)

 


The opening concert given by Acoustic Triangle with the Sacconi Strings was overwhelmingly voted outstanding by audience and performers alike. Composer/players in the trio, Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock, have between them picked up a brace of awards over the past year or two, as have the Sacconi String Quartet. The assurance and brilliance this gave the event shone through from the first note. In addition, their use of all spaces in the Abbey was both imaginative and highly effective. Their performance, as part of a very successful and critically acclaimed national tour of great Abbeys and Cathedrals “3 Dimensions” was 14th on a 19 date tour.

“The best concert I’ve ever attended at the festival, ever!”

Our audience is steadily learning to trust that whatever event is scheduled, the standard will be of the highest, and the repertoire include the whole range from pathos to comedy.

“Where do you find such wonderful artists?”

The Big Knitting project was led by Ingrid Wagner, and 12 knitting circles across the region were marshalled by Rona and friends from Tinderbox Events to produce this colourful piece of work, which was celebrated with a big tea party. Support for all the outside events came from also newly formed Community Interest Company Core Music. With happy musical serendipity alongside Ingrid Wagner, Carolyn Mendelsohn, our other community artist, was working with her camera filming over 100 Hexham residents to make what many visitors described in the comments book as a “very moving” short film called simply Face.

“Loved the contemporary music at the candle light performance – revelationary!”

In brief, the festival in 2008 consisted of:

  • 2 commissions & 4 first performances:

  • first silent film (René Clair’s An Italian Straw Hat) with live music presentation, and in a new venue, The Forum Cinema

  • 2 large community events, involving more than 200 participants; “The Big Knit” with Ingrid Wagner (giant knitted sculpture for Hexham Abbey Gardens bandstand and tea party); “Face” a film and sound installation created by digital artist Carolyn Mendelsohn, with music by Adina Spire, involving more than 100 Hexham residents

  • 28 festival events with 114 artists, and 150 other participants
    8 schools in the Cuthbert Songs project, with 120 children, teachers and others involved

  • audiences totalled over 3800

  • Young Artist programme featured Irune Armentia (photographer), Martin Batchelar (percussion), Laura-jayne Hunter (singer-songwriter/guitar/loop station); India Patel (violin); Laura Skyers (flute/oboe); Phil Wilcox (baritone/accordion)

  • widest range of music – composers represented included Hildegard of Bingen, Machaut, Caccini, Merulo, Tallis, Sheppard, Byrd, Albinoni, Corelli, Lalande, Vivaldi, Telemann, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, to Schumann, Grieg, Liszt, Vierne, Fauré, Nielsen, Wolf, Dvorak, Britten, Poulenc, Prokofiev & Messiaen and more contemporary work by Arvo Pärt, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, James Macmillan, Henryk Gorecki, Simon Holt, Jonathan Dove, Judith Weir, Giacinto Scelsi, Michael Finnissy, Andrew Toovey and James Weeks, plus mediaeval, traditional folk, jazz, blues, electronica, improvised and more!

GRAHAM COATMAN
Artistic Director, Hexham Abbey Festival
November 2008