Festival and Friends 3 The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AZ
Telephone: 01298 70395
friends@buxtonfestival.co.uk
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk
2014 Festival dates: Friday, 11 – Sunday, 27 July Visit the Festival website and join our monthly e-newsletter list for regular updates
Message from the Chairman subscription and I hope that for 2014 you will be able to support us that little bit more to help us reach our fundraising target by upgrading your support or attending one of our fundraising events.
Firstly may I wish you all a prosperous New Year and say a huge thank you to you all for your support over the past year. I consider it to be a great privilege to be Chairman of the Friends knowing we have such loyal members who wish to see the Festival succeed. The Festival, like so many arts organisations, has struggled financially during these difficult economic times. I believe in investing in our Festival and together as Friends that is just what we are doing. I trust that you will appreciate the support you have given when you receive the brochure in early March. Also, thank you to all our Friends who upgraded their membership last November. This raised an extra £10,000 for the Festival. There is still time to upgrade for those who wish to do so. Next November we will be raising the subscriptions for the first time in five years. Very rarely do we ask members to pay any more than their annual
We have enjoyed some excellent Friends events since our last newsletter was published: in the Autumn last year we enjoyed a wonderful recital at the Studio of Stephen Barlow and in early November we held our annual Opera Break in Buxton with English Touring Opera, ending the year with a delightful soirée at the home of Guy Milner with members of the Musical Society singing carols. Thank you to everyone involved in these events. We have planned two events which are sure to be delightful occasions: first I am looking forward to our visit to Thornbridge Hall in April, kindly sponsored by Investec, to listen to the talented young pianist Yuanfan Yang who will also be playing at the Festival. This will be your opportunity to hear Yuanfan in this more intimate setting. The second event will be at Upper House, above the village of Hayfield. The house is set in a jaw-dropping landscape with an amazing history. We hope you will wish to join us for this event which will include music and a delicious lunch. More details are page 6 of this newsletter. Once again, I have been organising the Literary Series and I have really enjoyed working with the team in the Festival office planning the talks. A preview of what is coming up is elsewhere in this newsletter. Each year the Friends sponsor a major
new production and this year we are supporting Orfeo ed Eurydice by Gluck. We, of course, as Friends, support the wider programme of recitals and literature too and those members living close by help in a variety of ways, be it answering the phone in the Festival office or stewarding at Festival events. If you have spare time and would like to become a Festival volunteer, please get in touch with the office. The support we are able to give the Festival is due to the generosity of our individual members—you! Your support of our fundraising events, donations and subscriptions raises an amount that makes a real difference to what the Festival can achieve. Thank you as always for your help and enthusiasm for the Festival. Elsewhere in this newsletter Randall Shannon writes about a new way you can support the Festival. This will be known as the Directors Circle, separate from the Friends and aimed at those supporters who wish to contribute at a higher level of £2,000 or more. It was with great sadness to hear that Festival Board member, Averil Glatman passed away just before Christmas—a wonderful, kind and generous lady and a huge supporter of the Festival and Friends. I will miss the colour, laughter and fun that she brought to the Festival and her very valuable friendship. Thank you all for your continued support and enthusiasm. Best wishes Louise Potter Chairman Friends of Buxton Festival
www.buxtonfestival.co.uk ❘ FEBRUARY 2014
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