Welcome to the website of the 2010 Southport
Trinity Arts Festival
This year's Festival opens on Friday, 14th May with a dinner in the Holy Trinity Southport Parish Centre at which local celebrity Lord Ronnie Fearn will talk about his life. Famous as a local and national politician, Lord Fearn is also known locally as an actor in pantomime and a raconteur. Can't promise you any startling revelations, but it promises to be an entertaining evening.
On the following evening in church we welcome Close Harmony to sing for us. They are a group of nine singers made up from present and former Liverpool Cathedral musicians who sing in the style of the King's Singers. The group includes Trinity's own Director of Music, Ian Wells and Professor Ian Tracey, Organist Titulaire of the Cathedral - notable organists demonstrating their vocal prowess! We are delighted to welcome Close Harmony who will entertain us with a very high calibre musical performance.
This weekend has a trio of events with the Festival Festal Evensong at 6pm on Sunday. The evensong service is at the heart of Anglican worship and is a beautiful experience. It is heard daily in the nation's cathedrals and weekly here at Trinity. On special occasions, such as this there will be additional music performed by both Church & Chapel Choirs. We are promised a set of evensong canticles not heard before here at Trinity. There is the added bonus that refreshments after the service take the form of Strawberries & Cream!
A couple of years ago we revived the practice of mounting short lunchtime recitals during the Festival and they have become a major part of our programme. This year's offering has still to be finalised but will include a recital by Fiona & David Williams (well known in Southport as the former Director of Music at Trinity and conductor of the Southport Bach Choir). Dr Sue Garner Jones will once again entertain us with her fascinating insights into a selection of poetry. We are hoping to welcome a local school choir and on Friday John Forster, Organ Scholar here at Trinity will present an organ recital. Later this year John will leave us take up his new role as Organ Scholar at Braesnose College, Oxford University where he will study music.
At the heart of the Trinity Festival for a number years now has been the Art Exhibition. This year the event runs on Saturday and Sunday, 22nd & 23rd May. In each of the recent years we have displayed some 300 pictures by nearly 100 local artists. If you're interested in displaying your work, please contact Christine Garner on Southport (01704) 538560. This year we will also have a demonstration of Japanese Wood Block Printing by Mark Mason. Light refreshments will be available throughout the period of the Exhibition.
One of the great joys of Trinity church is its acoustic in which not only do choirs gain but also brass instruments. This year we are thrilled to be able to present the world famous Wingates Band. One of the country's finest brass bands, Wingates are based in Westhoughton and have a long and distinguished history in band competitions. Do have a look at their website wingatesband.com but more importantly, do come and listen to the fabulous sound of this band in Trinity.
On Tuesday, 25th May in the Parish Centre, we present a new departure for Trinity Festival - this is about Magic. The Southport Magic Circle will talk to us about the history of magic and will then entertain us with table magic as we enjoy a light buffet.
The major concert on Saturday, 29th May will be the Love & Joy Gospel Choir. As far as we are aware, this will be the first time that this genre of music has been performed in Trinity and we are keenly looking forward to the event.
LJGC was formed in 1987 under the directorship of Dr Tani Omideyi, this vibrant, multi-racial choir, based at the Temple of Praise, has for many years been at the forefront of building relationships with communities locally and around the United Kingdom.
The choir has ministered at venues the length and breadth of the country, been invited overseas, appeared on television BBC's Songs of Praise, Granada, Sky, and sung on local and national radio as well as the BBC's World Service.
The range of venues includes cathedrals, churches, castles, football stadia; universities, St Michaels Cave in Gibraltar and the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The events have been as varied as gospel meetings, weddings, launches, funeral services, the memorial service for Princess Diana at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Hillsborough Memorial Services at Liverpool Football Club, Summer Pops Festival at Liverpool's Albert Dock and Greenbelt Festival.
The choir was heavily involved in Liverpool's Capital of Culture bid, wrote the music for its theme song "We've got the go", and performed it at the House of Commons. An extended single version of the song "You'll never walk alone" was released by the choir for Christmas 2002 in collaboration with the world-famous Liverpool Football Club (the song is the club's anthem). The choir is currently embarking on recording another album.
Ticket prices to be confirmed soon. Watch this space!
The final day of the Festival is marked on Trinity Sunday, 30th May with a Festival Family Eucharist. In this service the Church & Chapel Choirs will perform a short classical Mass setting liturgically through the service. The mass to be performed this year will be Salieri's Mass No 1 in D - a first time performance in Trinity - we've just started rehearsal and it sounds a super piece of music that we think many people will enjoy.
We are delighted with the programme for this year's Festival and confident that you will find something to enjoy during the two weeks -perhaps you might be tempted to something you've not tried before. If you can run to three events, we'll offer you a discount of 10% on the ticket price. Make a date in your diary now - tickets will be on sale from 18th April.
| Event | Date | Time | Location | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner & An Evening with Lord Fearn | Fri 14 May | 7.30pm | Parish Centre | £8 |
| Close Harmony | Sat 15 May | 7.30pm | Church | £11 & £10 |
| Festal Evensong | Sun 16 May | 6pm | Church | n/a |
| Lunchtime Recital: Chethams Soloist | Mon 17 May | 1pm to 1.45pm | Church | Retiring Collection |
| Lunchtime Recital: | Tue 18 May | 1pm to 1.45pm | Church | Retiring Collection |
| Lunchtime Recital: Dr Sue Garner-Jones | Wed 19 May | 1pm to 1.45pm | Church | Retiring Collection |
| Lunchtime Recital: Stanfield School Choir | Thu 20 May | 1pm to 1.45pm | Church | Retiring Collection |
| Lunchtime Recital: John Forster | Fri 21 May | 1pm to 1.45pm | Church | Retiring Collection |
| Art Exhibition | Sat 22 May & Sun 23 May | Sat 10am-6pm Sun 12noon-5pm | Parish Centre | £1 to include Catalogue |
| Wingates Band | Sat 22 May | 7.30pm | Church | £13 & £11 |
| Southport Magic Circle | Tue 25 May | 7.30pm | Parish Centre | £5 & £3 |
| Love & Joy Gospel Choir | Sat 29 May | 7.30pm | Church | £10 & £8 |
| Festival Family Eucharist | Sun 30 May | 10.15am | Church |
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Access For The Disabled - All events are wheelchair accessible