Isle of Ely Arts Festival

Message from the Festival Chairman 2019

Welcome to our 2019 Programme: our Festival Theme this year is ‘Landscapes of Life’.

Our highlight this year is ‘A Night at the Movies’ in Ely Cathedral on 12th July. We are delighted to be presenting a community concert involving many children from local schools, an assembled community choir, and a specially formed Festival Orchestra. Enjoy The Greatest Showman and Disney medleys, along with other favourite film music from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Jurassic Park. The concert will be conducted by Chris Parsons, highly regarded conductor of Eboracum Baroque, which will also be performing on 27th June.

The Festival launches on 14th June when acclaimed Ely poet, Wendy Cope OBE, will be in conversation with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire presenter, Jeremy Sallis in St Peter’s Church, Ely. More poetry can also be heard on 26th June at Caffè Nero with Beth Hartley, and budding writers can get creative with the Short Story Competition and Ely Writers’ Day.

The first weekend of the Festival will feature a pop-up studio in Ely’s Old Courthouse with artist-in-residence Ted Coney. And later on in June, work from local artists will be exhibited in a Pop-Up Gallery at Wicken Fen. Making a popular return are the Festival Players on 21st & 22nd June presenting Sue Townsend’s warm comedy ‘Groping for Words’.

The ever popular Sing! Choirs picnic concert will be in the Bishop’s Garden on 7th July, and our final event will be a concert by Ely Choral Society performing well loved arias and choruses in ‘A Night at the Opera’ on 13th July at the Hayward Theatre, King’s Ely.

Throughout the Festival there will be other art exhibitions, and many more musical and drama events across the District. Look out for Haddenham Thursdays and Babylon Fridays, featuring music, prose and poetry from anywhere and everywhere.

Please tell your friends about the Festival – there’s more to read on our website – and follow the events on our facebook page: facebook.com/isleofelyartsfestival

As always I would like to thank our excellent committee and our generous advertisers and sponsors without whom our Festival would not exist.

Sheila Friend-Smith
Festival Chairman