A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s Festival. It was truly wonderful to enjoy some magical performances, made all the sweeter following 15 months of restrictions. Both the audience and performers expressed their delight at being able to share the experience, albeit a shortened version of the Festival, set over seven days rather than the customary ten.
There were many highlights to savour – the stellar musicianship of the Haffner ensemble and pianist Danny Driver, the thrill of our Fazioli concert grand piano being pushed to its limits in the Perkins/Abbate four hand duo and William Bracken’s recital, the infectious enthusiasm of our Young Artists, The Reverend Richard Coles’ wise and witty words, and the appearance of the legendary Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova with her multi-talented son Misha. And who could possibly forget the sheer excitement and emotion of the irrepressible Lesley Garrett’s concert? Or the feeling that the Last Night was even more of a special, celebratory experience after the trials of the last 15 months?
If anything, the 2021 Festival reminded us of why music and community are inseparable, and so vital to our communal wellbeing.
Thanks go to the Festival Team and volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure everything ran without a hiccup. 2020 was not an easy year for us and thanks as always go to our loyal Friends who stuck with us through these difficult times and to our sponsors who helped us to stage this year’s event, even with reduced capacity. Also Sir Andrew and Lady Lawson-Tancred whose generosity and hospitality makes the Festival possible. To all of you we are immensely grateful.
We do hope that 2022 will be completely free of restrictions and we can return to life as normal once again so please make a note in your diaries, next year’s Festival will take place between 16th – 25th June 2022.
We look forward to seeing you all then!