St Magnus Festival - June 2004
Performers at the 2004 festival
Orkney Conducting Course
The 2005 festival
The St Magnus Festival is Orkney’s annual midsummer celebration of the arts andwas founded in 1977 by Orkney’s distinguished resident composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. A feast of events, music and other arts take place throughout the festival in various locations including:
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Kirkwall
Stromness
Other locations on the Orkney mainland
Some areas on Orkney's lovely outer islands |
The blend of world-class performance and community participation, all set against the spectacular background of Orkney at midsummer, draws audiences from throughout Britain and further afield.
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BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov
Jean- Philippe Collard - a solo pianist
Ilya Gringolts - a violin soloist
Lawrence Power - a chamber musician and solo violinist
Nash Ensemble
Mr McFall’s Chamber
Russian Patriarchate Choir of Moscow |
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Other events included:
The performance of a community opera - Peer Gynt - which was commissioned from composer Kenneth Dempster
Readings and performances by festival poet Liz Lochhead
Walk the Plank ship-based theatre brought their production of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea to Stromness harbour
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Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s 70th birthday was celebrated with a performance of his children’s opera The Two Fiddlers; a new work, Seven Skies of Winter was premiered by the Nash Ensemble and a Birthday Concert in which the BBC SSO was joined by the young players of the Sanday Fiddle Club |
The lively Festival Club featured Michael Marra, Grand Union Scottish Orchestra and The Pearlfishers.
The second Orkney Conducting Course, directed by Martyn Brabbins, gave eight emerging professional conductors the opportunity to share in an intensive period of study in a stimulating environment and to gain hands-on experience with outstanding orchestras and ensembles.
Performers for the 2005 St Magnus Festival have been confirmed to include:
the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, who will be in residence with conductor Garry Walker
the St Magnus Festival Chorus
an international line-up of soloists, including pianist Steven Osborne, trumpeter John Wallace and accordionist Merima Ključo (from Bosnia).
Featured composers will be Sally Beamish, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sofia Gubaidulina and Nigel Osborne, who will be heard alongside works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Grieg, Haydn and many more.
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The third Orkney Conducting Course will be open to the public throughout the Festival.
There will be also drama, poetry, visual arts and community productions |
For more information have a look at the St Magnus Festival website. The festival can also be contacted by email, or by phoning 01865 871445. |