Only two days to go!
The first concert of this year’s festival is on Thursday evening, when you can hear an exhilarating performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on two accordions and strings, as well as Samantha Lewis singing Erbarme dich, mein Gott. Several folk have attended the rehearsals of the Goldberg today and were blown away. It really is something special.
Tickets for the other concerts are selling well (there are only a few left for Friday evening), so don’t leave it until the last minute if you want to be sure of a seat.
Whittington Church
Remember to bring a cushion, and also wrap up warm as the church boiler has broken and the forecast if for cold weather.
Family Concert
I’m aware that many supporters and festival pass holders don’t usually attend the Family concert, but this one really is different. We are incredibly fortunate to be welcoming Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, who will be narrating and also reading poetry by everyone’s favourite author, Sir Michael Morpurgo. Kadiatu’s most recent book, ‘To be Young, Gifted and Black’ will be on sale after the concert, and I know she is more than happy to chat. Please come and support this rather special event.
As an extra treat, two of our local younger players will be joined by some of the festival musicians for a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.
Cello Successes
Three of our talented festival cellists have been developing their careers in recent weeks. Finn Mannion, cellist with Trio Archai, has been selected as a finalist for the 2026 BBC Radio Scotland Young Classical Musician of the Year. He makes his solo debut playing the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at Glasgow’s City Halls on 30th May, and the concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland’s Classical Now programme. Congratulations, Finn – we’ll be rooting for you!
Another popular festival cellist (2024 and 2025), Shakira Segalla-Humbert, reached the semi-finals of the same competition and is clearly also destined for great things.
Finally, young cellist Oliver Pearce, a regular performer in the Family concert, has just accepted a place as a boarder at Chetham’s School of Music, the largest of the UK’s five specialist music schools focusing on intensive instrumental and academic training. We are delighted that Whittington has played host to this trio of talented cellists, and wish them well in their future careers.