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It is fifty years since Alan Fluck, the then Music Master at Farnham Grammar
School, organised the first Festival in 1961. Sir Arthur Bliss wrote in his
message to that year’s Festival "The Organisers have shown great
imagination, providing a splendid opportunity for many hundreds of children
to enjoy music in the only really satisfying way - by taking part
themselves!"
Since Alan’s inspiration in 1961, when just two new compositions were
performed, in excess of 130 New Works have received their first performance
in Farnham Festival. 2011 will see six new works receive their World
Premier. There will also be performances of several works written for
earlier Festivals, including the second ever performance of a Festival
Fanfare by Malcolm Arnold, previously thought to have been lost, but found
after some detective work by the Festival’s current President, Julia Wilson.
Both Roxanna Panufnik and her late father have written for Farnham Festival.
Roxanna has arranged a woodwind version of the second Andrzej’s, Two Lyric
Pieces for Orchestra, commissioned for the 1963 Festival. They are to be
performed by the Surrey County Wind Orchestra, who will also play Roxanna’s
‘Suite Memories’ commissioned for the Festivals special Millennium Concerts,
37 years after her fathers piece, in 2000.
The early Festivals, held, as now, biennially, were staged in the Farnham
Parish Church of St Andrew; groups of musicians gave lunch time recitals
around the town, and the Festival Finale was held on the playing fields of
the Boys’ Grammar School, with Handel’s Fireworks Music, and a firework
display. The BBC recorded most concerts for later broadcast, and some of the
National papers gave coverage; such was the interest in the unique
combination of live composers writing for school-age musicians. ‘It seemed
quite a quixotic idea, doomed to failure: even in a sophisticated London it
could spell empty halls and lack of patronage’ wrote Sir Robert Mayer in his
Festival message in 1969, ‘they can now point with justified pride to their
invaluable achievements gained through trial and error.’
The Festival continues and again an exciting week is planned, ranging
from Art, Jazz Cafe, Dance, Steel Pans to large combined choirs of Infants
and Juniors, Secondary School and Sixth Form College Ensembles, the renowned
Farnham Youth Choir, the County Youth Wind Orchestra, The Just So Singers -
a choir of over 100 Special Needs Students, to mention but a few.
To celebrate the first 50 years of Farnham Festival, past Festival
performers are invited to join in a performance of Zadok the Priest, as part
of the Thanksgiving Concert to be held on Sunday 20 March, in St Andrew’s
Parish Church. Interested participants are asked to register their interest
with Bob West -
west@longhope.eclipse.co.uk .
This year’s funding from sponsors sees major new commissioned Works for
both The Combined Infant and Junior Schools’ Choirs, Alton College Big Band,
and Farnham Youth Choir. A new setting of Psalm 150 will be performed by
Farnborough Sixth Form College.
To accommodate the ever increasing audiences supporting the Combined
Infants and Junior Choir Performances, this year again sees a repeat of both
the Wednesday and Friday evening concerts, separately on Saturday morning. A
specially priced ticket is available for parents wishing to attend both of
the Saturday morning concerts. The Jazz Café, first staged in 2005, will
take place in the Great Hall in order to stage the commissioned work for
Alton College Big Band. A supper ticket will also be available as will a
licensed bar.
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