18 - 24 July 2020
Celebrating our local community and rich cultural heritage
St Marylebone Parish Church, London NW1 5LT [email protected] 020 7935 7315 www.stmarylebonefestival.com Famous people connected with St Marylebone have shaped the world through music, art, architecture, literature, invention and innovation, medicine and healthcare, and many of their stories of national and international importance are not celebrated. Alongside making this beautiful Parish Church, a Grade I listed building, weather-tight, safe, secure, accessible and equipped with better facilities for a wider range of community and income-generating activities, our Changing Lives project tells the fascinating stories of these important cultural figures. Our 5th annual St Marylebone Festival brings the people featured - and their lives – to life!
In our fifth annual festival, we continue to tell the stories of our local community in creative and vivid ways. Join us for a week of music, dance and drama, as well as fascinating talks from local experts. There is something of a South-American flavour to this year’s programme. St Marylebone has deep-rooted connections with the Spanish community, and many of the South American ‘Liberators’ of the early nineteenth century, such as Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, lived in the parish. With this in mind, come and learn how to tango with experts from the neighbouring Arthur Murray Tango Studios, or join Joanna MacGregor and her amazing band of musicians for our ‘Libertango: South American Soirée’. ‘Come and Sing’ with the nation’s favourite choral composer, and our festival patron, John Rutter, who was born above the neighbouring Globe Pub; or relax at a jazz evening in tribute to the great duo John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. We look to the world at large with a welcome return of the musicians of the One Creation project, who bring us a performance of music and poetry from different faith-backgrounds.
Then, if that wasn’t enough, explore yet more surprising local connections with famous figures such as Gerald Finzi, Clara Novello (mother of Ivor), Lord Byron, and Italian composer Paolo Tosti, as well as our many connections with the neighbouring Royal Academy of Music. We are also delighted to welcome the world-renowned Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, in a concert that charts the well-known St Marylebone connection with the Wesley family.
There is truly something for everyone, so we hope you will come and help us tell our story!
Gavin Roberts, Director of Music and Artistic Director SATURDAY 18 JULY | 7.30pm A TRIBUTE TO JOHN DANKWORTH AND CLEO LAINE
Madeleine Holmes (vocals) London Dance Orchestra
John Dankworth with his wife Cleo Laine are best known as two of the world’s leading jazz icons. At age 17, John entered the neighbouring Royal Academy of Music to study clarinet, but also became known as a saxophonist, composer, conductor and educator. We welcome back to the festival, Madeleine Holmes and the London Dance Orchestra, to lead this tribute in some of their most memorable music.
SUNDAY 19 JULY | 11am FESTIVAL CHORAL EUCHARIST Free event A celebration of St Marylebone’s connection with South America’s
early 19th Century liberators Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín and Francisco de
Miranda. The service features the 10-voice professional choir of St Marylebone Parish Church,
which sings every Sunday at the 11 am Choral Eucharist, accompanied by our magnificent Rieger organ. All the music will have a South American flavour!
2-5.30pm COME AND SING WITH JOHN RUTTER CBE
John Rutter (conductor) Melanie Marshall (mezzo-soprano) Gavin Roberts (piano)
Join the nation’s favourite composer and Festival Patron, John Rutter, for a Come and Sing workshop on his own Feel the Spirit cycle, with guest soloist Melanie Marshall. The day will culminate in a short performance, to which you can invite your family and friends.
Light refreshments will be provided during the afternoon - and the bar will be open after the performance! Scores will be provided. John Rutter, CBE
was born just a few hundred metres from St Marylebone Parish Church.
MONDAY 20 JULY | 1pm CONTEMPORARY COMPOSER CONVERSATIONS
Andrew Watts (countertenor) Gavin Roberts (piano)
Conversation and music by composers associated with the neighbouring Royal Academy of Music. A unique opportunity to hear directly from the composers themselves and to chat with them in person after listening to their music. International counter-tenor Andrew Watts has long associations with many living composers. The performance will include new commissions from current RAM students, as well as music by established alumni.
7.30pm THE WESLEY CONNECTION 6.45pm: Pre-concert talk: ‘Charles Wesley, Junior’
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Steven Grahl (conductor)
Charles Wesley (1707 – 1788) and many members of his family lie buried in the Old Church gardens on Marylebone High Street. Indeed, Charles Wesley lived in Marylebone with his two sons, Charles Jr. and Samuel from the late 1770s. The world-famous choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford leads us in this rich musical exploration.
At a glance…
SATURDAY 18 JULY
7.30pm: A Tribute to John Dankworth and Cleo Laine
SUNDAY 19 JULY
11 am: Festival Choral Eucharist 2-5.30pm: Come and Sing with John Rutter
MONDAY 20 JULY
1pm: Contemporary Composer Conversations 7.30pm: The Wesley Connection
TUESDAY 21 JULY
1pm: Fiesta Latina 7.30 pm: Novello and Son
WEDNESDAY 22 JULY
10.30am-12.30 pm: Tango Workshop 1pm: Authentic Tango! 3pm: Film Screening: Evita 7.30pm: Byron: Angel & Outcast
THURSDAY 23 JULY
1pm: A portrait of Paolo Francesco Tosti 7.30pm: A Finzi Fiesta
FRIDAY 24 JULY
1pm: One Creation (World Music Event) 8pm: Libertango: A South American Soirée (6.30 pm Pre-concert cocktail finger buffet - if booked) TUESDAY 21 JULY |1pm FIESTA LATINA
Gavin Roberts (piano) Jamie Rogers (organ)
This concert continues our journey from Spain to South America (via Marylebone) with music that charts this chequered history, from the Spanish Baroque to modern Argentina.
7.30pm NOVELLO AND SON
Rosamund Shelley (actor) Gavin Roberts (piano)
A play by Arnold Evans, charting the life of Clara Novello Davies, mother of Ivor Novello, who lived in her small flat in Marylebone. In 1938, Madame Clara Novello Davies – singer, pianist, conductor, one of Cardiff’s most famous daughters – looks back at her life and her relationship with her son Ivor whose unexpected fame has eclipsed hers. In a funny very poignant final performance, she sings his songs and allows us a glimpse of her conflicting emotions… envy, guilt, regret… and a new feeling of invisibility.
WEDNESDAY 22 JULY | 10.30am-12.30pm TANGO WORKSHOP Booking essential as places are limited.
Help us on our South-American journey by learning some basic steps of ‘authentic Argentine Tango’ with instructors from the world-renowned (and local) Arthur Murray Dance Studios.
There will be an opportunity to take part in the 1pm lunchtime concert.
1pm: AUTHENTIC TANGO
Experience some ‘authentic Argentine Tango’ with live musicians from the world- renowned (and local) Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Participants from the morning workshop will take part in the performance.
3.30pm: FILM SCREENING: EVITA 3.00pm: Introduction by Professor Paul Loosley Free event but booking essential as places are limited.
Join us for a screening of the iconic 1996 musical film depicting the life of Eva Peron. Starring Madonna as Eva, Jonathan Pryce as Eva's husband, Juan Peron and Antonio Banderas as Ché. Don’t cry for me Argentina!
7.30pm: BYRON, ANGEL AND OUTCAST
Dina Duisen (piano) Richard Speir (director) Actor TBC Lord Byron was baptised at St
Marylebone in 1788. This dramatised concert brings
Byron’s story to life with performed poems, journals and letters sensitively
interwoven with piano works by Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Schumann.
THURSDAY 23 JULY | 1pm A PORTRAIT OF PAOLO FRANCESCO TOSTI
Ivan Hewett (speaker) Barbara Gentili (soprano) Maurizio Carnelli (piano)
Sir Paolo Tosti lived at Mandeville Place, at the Oxford Street end of Marylebone High Street. This Italian composer made connections with the highest levels of English society, and his music was fashionable in drawing rooms and salons across the capital. This concert presents a portrait of this fascinating composer. Tosti’s songs appear alongside a linking commentary telling Tosti's colourful life story.
7.30pm A FINZI FIESTA
The Choir of St Marylebone Parish Church Gavin Roberts (piano, conductor) Clare Hoskins (oboe) Cameron Grimes (cello) Jamie Rogers (organ)
Gerald Finzi was born on Hamilton Terrace in St John’s Wood in 1901, and taught at the neighbouring Royal Academy of Music in the 1930s. This concert, in association with The Finzi Friends, showcases the extraordinarily poignant musical voice of this unique composer. This concert combines choral and instrumental music alongside some of Finzi’s well-known and lesser-known songs. FRIDAY 24 JULY | 1pm ONE CREATION (WORLD MUSIC EVENT)
This programme looks at the rich cultural and religious diversity of Marylebone in 2020, part of this great world city of London. One Creation is a multimedia performance that demonstrates the fact that we are all part of one creation, and have nothing to fear from each other. This secular artists’ project challenges the current fear of terrorism and extremism, as well as our need to unite to look after our precious Mother Earth This performance includes Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist musicians and a video of the related paintings, which will be projected behind the performers.
LIBERTANGO: A SOUTH AMERICAN SOIRÉE 6.30 pm: Pre-concert Cocktail Finger Buffet (if booked – separate ticket) 8 pm: The Soirée
Joanna MacGregor (piano) Adrian Brendel (cello) Adriano Adewale (percussion) Join us for a riotous finale to our festival, as we arrive in modern Argentina for ‘Libertango’ led by the one of the world’s most innovative musicians, Joanna MacGregor. A programme of classic tango and its myriad musical tributaries. Expect all the sultry tension and colourful exchanges of a night in Buenos Aires…
CHANGING LIVES
The Changing Lives project is one of the largest and most important community projects currently taking place in Central London. It is generating funds for St Marylebone Parish Church, which has been a hub for community service for hundreds of years.
A key feature of the Changing Lives project is to preserve and share access to the fascinating cultural heritage of Marylebone while simultaneously providing employment and skills-training to individuals who might not otherwise have access to such opportunities. This project will also support our vital work as home to a low-cost psychotherapy centre, a 10,000 patient primary health care practice and support people living with dementia, loneliness and visual impairment. There will also be capital works to repair the failing roof and much needed refurbishment of vital community spaces.
There has been a surge of support for Changing Lives, with the National Lottery Heritage Fund granting £3m in funding underlining the significance of this project. Please give generously via our donation boxes at this crucial time, or contact [email protected] for more information on how to get involved.
BOOK YOUR TICKETS online at www.stmarylebonefestival.com & in person: Marylebone High Estate Agents, 67 Marylebone High St, London W1U 5JG
Festival Pass £95 Concession £85 Lunchtime Concert Pass £40 Concession £32 Evening Concert Pass £75 Concession £60
Single Tickets Come & Sing (19 July) £20 Students £15 Lunchtime Concerts £10 Concession £8 Evening Concerts £15 Concession £12 Tango Workshop £5 No Concession Libertango Soirée (24 July) £15 Concession £12 Libertango Pre-Concert Cocktail Finger Buffet (24 July) £20 (no concessions)
Some events are free but tickets are required for entry, available from the Festival website above (excluding Sunday Eucharist which is un-ticketed and to which everyone is welcome).
Complimentary tea and coffee at lunchtime, licensed bar available every evening and at every event you will also be offered a free tasty treat generously donated by members of the Marylebone business community.
Registered Charity Number: 1129435