The Hagley Music Festival 2009

Wednesday 29 April to Sunday 3 May

“Enchanting evening in an intimate setting”

“David le Page and Catherine Leech brought bustling wizardry to their solo parts”

“a wonderful concert to a packed audience”

 “a lovely venue, with a warm, comfortable acoustic”

Christopher Morley, The Birmingham Post, April 2005 and May 2007

This will be the fifth Hagley Music Festival and follows in the tradition of four highly successful Festivals in offering an exciting variety of concerts designed to appeal to a broad range of musical tastes.   With each festival, the scope and prestige of the event has grown, with many concerts fully booked and an ever-increasing press interest and coverage. 

Richard Newton, Rector of St John's and St Saviour's

Festival Steering Committee

Programme for 2009

Vocal Tutor Ensemble

from Ex Cathedra

Workshops and Concert

Ex Cathedra Education

Ex Cathedra has an international reputation as a leading UK choir and early music ensemble, renowned for its vibrant performances and a passion for seeking out

not only the best but the unfamiliar and unexpected in the choral repertoire.  Its innovative education activities are based on the premise that singing is for all. 

As part of the 2007 Hagley Music Festival, children at Hagley Primary School learned from top quality professionals in workshops which were active and fun, exploring harmony and the world of the playground.  This culminated in an impressive concert later that evening at St John’s Church.

Local Children sing in the Nutcracker

As a follow up to the workshop, several children at the school were successful in auditioning for the

Ex Cathedra Junior Academy and sang in a performance of The Nutcracker at the Hippodrome,

at Birmingham Arts Fest and at Symphony Hall.  The enthusiasm of both parents and their children and

the wonderful music at the evening concert have ensured that Ex Cathedra will be back at the 2009 Festival. 

Tickets £7.50

Concert by "Serenade"

Craig Ogden (guitar)

Madeleine Mitchell (violin)

Michael Bennett (tenor)

Three outstanding musicians will perform an entertaining mix of duos and trios for tenor, guitar and violin.  Australian born guitarist, Craig Ogden, described

by BBC Music Magazine as “a worthy successor to Julian Bream”, performs with Madeleine Mitchell, one of the UK’s most celebrated violinists and

Michael Bennett who began his career as a chorister at Westminster Abbey and has an international career in opera and music theatre.

Tickets £12 and £10

A Morning of Music during "Shoppers Coffee"

Hagley Free Church

Every Friday morning, between 10 o’clock and 12 o’clock, a steady stream of shoppers find their way to Hagley Free Church. 

Haybridge Community Orchestra

Fourth Annual Concert

Haybridge Community Orchestra was created in September 2004, with the aim of providing a rehearsing and performing opportunity for the

numerous musicians in the Hagley area.  The Orchestra has been a great success, with a loyal group of players meeting weekly to rehearse a range of

demanding orchestral music.  Members range from 12 to over 80 years of age.  Haybridge Community Orchestra has already appeared at the last two

Hagley Music Festivals.  Their repertoire includes symphonies and overtures by Dvorak, Beethoven and Schubert, plus modern works by Andrew Downes.

Whilst the 2009 programme is still being finalised, some of the following music will be featured:

William Tell Overture—Rossini              

 Double Violin Concerto—Bach

Music from The Titanic; Lord of the Rings;  

Music by local composer Andrew Downes

Tickets £5

Lunchtime Concert and Art Exhibition

The Saturday lunchtime concert is an informal and relaxed event - an opportunity for the audience to enjoy music and mix with the musicians.  

For this reason it has proved an extremely popular way of spending a Saturday lunchtime and this year should prove no exception. 

 Art Exhibition

Work by local artists will be displayed in St Saviour’s Church Hall throughout Saturday. 

 The Phil Phillips Jazz Quintet

At this Festival, for the first time, we welcome a jazz quintet comprising professional

musicians performing in the midlands area.  Led by Phil Phillips on saxophone and clarinet,

the group enjoy playing music in the mainstream swing and jazz styles.

Tickets £5

Celebrity Concert

Orchestra of the Swan with Tasmin Little

Tasmin Little, with the Orchestra of the Swan, return to the Hagley Music Festival......

Having delighted our audience in 2005, Tasmin Little will be performing again, this time with the Orchestra of the Swan, who were very popular at our last festival in 2007.  In addition to a flourishing career as a violin soloist, which has taken her to every continent in the world, Tasmin Little has further established her reputation as Artistic Director of two festivals, whilst the Orchestra of the Swan, an up-and-coming Stratford based chamber ensemble, bills itself as "the chamber orchestra for the heart of England".

Programme to include:

Vivaldi - Four Seasons

Britten - Simple Symphony

Panufnik - Japanese Spring

Tickets £17.50 and £15

Little Big Time Band

Members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

come together as the Little Big Time Band for an evening of music and anecdotes.  This stunning combination of brilliant musicianship,

each musician performs a "party piece", and hilarious anecdotes which

had the audience in stitches in 2007, is not to be missed.  The whole

evening was great fun, giving the audience a chance to see musicians

from different sections of the CBSO.

Tickets £12 and £10

Ticket Information

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