Announcing a thrilling second year for the Cirencester Parish Church Organ Festival
International line up and additional concert dates signal the return of this highly successful Gloucestershire music festival.
The opening festival, celebrating the rebuilt Cirencester Parish Church organ was such a hit that the organisers are delighted to announce a second year for the event. The 2011 festival will run from 18th – 25th June 2011 and will not only feature an international line up of performers but extra concert dates.
The festival will be opened on 18th June 2011, in suitable style, by Dame Gillian Weir; one of the World’s foremost classical musicians. Her unique career as an internationally acclaimed concert organist, performing worldwide at the great festivals and with leading orchestras and conductors, has established her as a distinguished musician. Best known for her epic recording career and popular BBC television series ‘King of Instruments’, Dame Gillian’s performance schedule takes her all over the globe, most recently including a highly acclaimed performance at the Royal Albert Hall.
The weekday lunchtime recitals, so popular during the 2010 opening festival, return with an extra concert date. Running from 13:10, every day during the festival week, the series will be opened on Monday 20th June 2011 by yet another headline performer. Roger Fisher, Organist Emeritus of Chester Cathedral is a highly respected recording and performing artist, having recorded with The BBC, EMI, Decca and RCA. His recent recital tours have included South Africa, Denmark, Germany and Australia.
Following the success of his closing festival performance in 2010, Cirencester’s own Anthony Hammond will play the lunchtime recital on Wednesday 22nd June 2011.
The remaining three lunchtime recitals will maintain the high standard set last year and be played by Daniel Cook (Salisbury Cathedral), Christopher Kent (Chippenham) and Keith Hearnshaw (Worcester).
‘This is the Night’, a celebration of organ and choral music, is back by popular demand on Friday 24th June 2011. Bringing an element of The Proms to Cirencester, for one night only, audiences will hear the choirs of Cirencester Parish Church, Cirencester Male Voice Choir and much more.
It cannot be said that the festival will end on anything but the highest note… bringing a bit of musical pizzazz to Cirencester we are delighted to welcome Nigel Ogden to the Parish Church to play the closing recital on 25th June 2011. As presenter of BBC Radio 2′s longest running specialist music programme, ‘The Organist Entertains’, Nigel continues to bring the highest quality popular and light classical organ music to audiences at home and throughout the world. Nigel’s towering contribution to the world of light music was recognised by the American Theatre Organ Society, which elected him to its Hall Of Fame, one of very few British organists to have been accorded this honour.
Tickets for the festival will go on sale in early January. For more information see www.cirencesterorganfestival.co.uk or follow us on Twitter on @CPCOrgan.
