Windsor attracts global talent to international string competition

The 2008 Windsor Festival, sponsored by Honda (UK), continues its growth this year with the introduction of an International String Competition in honour of the great violinist and conductor, Yehudi Menuhin, a founding Artistic Director of the Festival. Extending over fifteen days from Sunday 14 to Sunday 28 September, the programme will include performances by the competition semi-finalists as well as a series of concerts, literary talks, walks and tours, music nights, family events and exhibitions – and the launch of South East England’s Cultural Olympiad.

Open to players of no more than 26 years of age, the standard of applicant from across the globe was quite superb allowing eight brilliant semi-finalists to be selected to give free lunchtime recitals in Windsor Parish Church from 16 – 24 September. Four will progress to the finals on Thursday, 25 September; tickets are £5, but free for those under aged 26 years. His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, Patron of Windsor Festival will attend the finals and will present the prizes.

Delighted with the very high calibre of applicant Martin Denny, Festival Director said, “We have selected eight brilliant young individuals from across the globe to perform at Windsor Festival. We would now like to encourage the audience to be part of the competition and join us at the semi-finals, and the finals, and help select the winner of the audience prize”. The audience prize will be sponsored by Savills.

The new competition helps promote Windsor Festival’s key objectives which are to motivate and develop young musicians and artists, as well as provide high quality and diverse events within the Royal Borough and create opportunities for local performers.

Several of the Festival events are staged within Windsor Castle offering a rare opportunity to attend a prime concert in the beautiful and historic surroundings of the Waterloo Chamber or St George’s Chapel. Other heritage venues include the Royal Chapel in Windsor Great Park, Windsor Parish Church, Windsor’s Guildhall and Eton College.

Concerts and Music Nights
This year’s opening concert will be an Opera Gala Night on Sunday, 14 September at the Theatre Royal, Windsor when a group of world-class opera singers, including baritone Mark Stone, perform well known arias and ensembles accompanied by a string quartet and pianist.

A special evening will be the performance of classical masterpieces from Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven by the English Chamber Orchestra in the beautiful Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, 24 September. Also taking place in the Waterloo Chamber on Friday, 26 September will be a gala evening with The King’s Singers when the Triumphs of Oriana will be extolled in a magical melodious way. Tickets for both these unmissable black tie events are from £28 including a glass of champagne.

Other highlights include an evening celebrating the great British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and St George’s Chapel Choir, and a return visit by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the internationally-renowned American conductor Leonard Slatkin presenting works by Bernstein, Copland and Mahler; both these concerts will take place in St George’s Chapel.

The three-night Music on Fire! outdoor spectacular returns to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst on 18, 19 and 20 September with classical and popular music, thousands of fireworks, a magical Son et Lumiere and night time drops by the Red Devils and the Black Knights, and which includes Windsor & Eton Choral Society in the performance line-up. This year it will celebrate James Bond and the centenary of his creator, former Sandhurst Officer Cadet, Ian Fleming. Guests are invited to picnic on the lawns while proceeds will go to the Army Benevolent Fund for veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Several events will take place at the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead including an evening of staged Baroque and classical solo cantatas by Handel, Haydn and Purcell; a Cabaret Night with songs from popular musicals and a performance by the gifted steel guitarist, singer, songwriter and storyteller Little Toby Walker. His music draws from traditional and contemporary blues, roots, western swing and ragtime.

Literary Programme
The literary series starts with an evening presentation and book signing at Windsor Parish Church on Monday, 15 September by Sir John Mortimer in conversation with journalist Valerie Grove who has just written his biography. On Friday, 19 September three of Britain’s most well-known women, Carol Thatcher, Lucia van der Post and Kate Mosse, will talk about their lives and latest books at a literary lunch in the Harte & Garter Hotel, Windsor. Tickets are £34 including a three-course lunch, glass of wine and coffee.

Among the many other writers, political figures, broadcasters and historians presenting their latest books at this year’s Festival are television and radio presenter Peter Snow, Kate Adie and Esther Rantzen. Writer and television producer Robert Hardman will talk about his experiences in making royal documentaries following his successful series, The Queen’s Castle and more recently Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work, while another highlight will be an evening at Windsor’s Theatre Royal with Lord Attenborough and his co-author Diana Hawkins in conversation with Sir Michael Parkinson on the publication of his long awaited memoirs.

Family Events
This year’s programme will feature several musical events suitable for family entertainment ranging from the free Festival opening parade by the Band of the Sea Cadets in Windsor Castle on Sunday afternoon, 14 September to jazz evenings at Carluccio’s Italian restaurant in Windsor Royal Shopping on 18 and 25 September.

Following last year’s fantastic Princes and Princesses concert, the Philharmonia Orchestra will be returning to the Concert Hall at Eton College on Sunday, 21 September with a children’s Invitation to the Circus themed concert when everyone is invited to come dressed as their favourite circus character!

On Saturday, 27 September Windsor will be opening the Cultural Olympiad for England’s South East region; during the four years preceding the 2012 Olympic Games Britain has the opportunity through the Cultural Olympiad to promote its culture to the world. Everyone is invited to Alexandra Gardens, alongside the river in Windsor to see the region’s participation in the national Light Up project launched by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games to light familiar sights in a new and creative way – expect the unexpected!

Walks, Tours and Exhibitions
South West Trains are supporting a fascinating programme of guided walks around Windsor and Eton including a look at some of the interesting pubs and those who frequented them; a stroll through the original medieval village centre and an early evening ghost walk hearing about spine-chilling episodes from the past.

Back by popular demand will be a Church Crawl on Tuesday, 16 September when Leslie Grout and Quintessential Voices will lead a musical and historical journey around some of the area’s more beautiful churches. There will also be a choice of guided walks through Windsor Great Park and the Royal Landscape.

The Festival will once again be presenting its participatory programme for senior schools within the Royal Borough with entries covering four disciplines, namely music composition, creative writing, two-dimensional art and three-dimensional art. Submitted works will be on public display in the grandstand at Ascot Racecourse during their autumn fixture from 26 – 28 September, which includes the Ascot Arts Festival and Family Day on Sunday 28th.

This year’s exhibitions will include the work of two local photographers, Maureen Mclean and Doug Harding, who were given unprecedented access to the 2007 Windsor Festival; their images on display at Norden Farm capture the events, rehearsals and exhibitions. The Dean’s Cloister at St George’s Chapel will also be hosting a photography exhibition with images by Eleanor Curtis offering an insider’s view of the Chapel from the calm of daily liturgical life to the splendour of royal occasions.

Everyone is invited to attend the Windsor Festival Opening and Closing Evensong at St George’s Chapel with the Dean and Canons of Windsor at 5.15pm on Sunday 14 and 28 September, respectively.

Booking Information
The Windsor Festival Box Office and online booking facility at windsorfestival.com open from 12 noon on Wednesday, 25 June. To request a programme and book tickets before this date write to Windsor Festival Society, 3 Park Street, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1LU. A box office will also be open at the Royal Windsor Information Centre in the Old Booking Hall, Windsor Royal Shopping (opposite Windsor Castle), daily 10am - 4pm from Wednesday, 25 June.

For further details about places to visit in the Royal Borough or to book accommodation online log onto Windsor.gov.uk.