Cheltenham Festivals annual review 2008

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cheltenhamfestivals.com

CHELTENHAM FESTIVALS ANNUAL REVIEW 2008

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Board Members / Current Directors

Sir Michael McWilliam ChairmanPeter Bond Member, Finance & General Purposes CommitteeJonathan Carr Chairman, Audit Committee (from May 2008)Christopher Cook Chairman, Music FestivalPeter Elliott Member, Audit CommitteePaul Fry (Resigned July 2008)James Heneage Chairman, Literature FestivalVirginia Isaac Member, Finance & General Purposes CommitteeMartin KnightDr Gill Samuels CBE Chairman, Science FestivalNick Spencer (Resigned January 2008)Ion Trewin (Retired July 2008)George Whitmore Chairman, Jazz Festival Julie Winterman (Resigned February 2008)Dr David Wood Honorary Treasurer

Senior Management Team

Donna Renney Chief ExecutiveClair Greenaway Literature Festival Executive Director Helena Bibby HR and Office ManagerIan George Marketing ManagerKate Danielson Jazz Festival Executive Director (until June 2008)Keith Woodman Finance ManagerMeurig Bowen Music Festival DirectorPhilippa Claridge Education ManagerSarah Rawlings Head of DevelopmentSarah Smyth Literature Festival Artistic Director Sharon Bishop Science Festival Executive ProducerSophie Winstanley Acting Jazz Festival Manager (from July –October 2008)Steve Symons Jazz Festival Executive Producer (from October 2008)

Programme Directors

Professor Kathy Sykes Science Festival DirectorDr Mark Lythgoe Science Festival Director Tony Dudley-Evans Jazz Festival Artistic Director

BOARD MEMBERS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM & PROGRAMME DIRECTORS

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CONTENTS

Chairman’s Statement 4 – 5

Chief Executive’s Report 6 – 9

Finances 10 – 11

Education & Community Programme 12 – 13

Jazz Festival 14 – 15

Science Festival 16 – 17

Music Festival 18 – 19

Literature Festival 20 – 21

Jazz Generation Performers 22

International Famelab Finalists 23

Festival Academy Players 24

Commissions & Premieres 24

Wellcome Trust Events 25

Winner of the Cheltenham Booker Prize 1948 25

Sponsors & Supporters 26 – 27

Patrons 27

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CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

SIR MICHAEL MCWILLIAM, CHAIRMAN

By mounting four contrasting festivals between May and October each year, Cheltenham Festivals engages with a very broadly based audience. It naturally poses a question as to how mutually exclusive are these audiences and, more interestingly, what scope there might be to attract festival goers to extend their interest from one festival to another. Two initiatives last year addressed these issues. First, the Wellcome Trust agreed to make a £200,000 grant over three years to encourage programming links between the Science Festival and other festivals, and this is proving to be a stimulating challenge for the festival directors. Second, Cheltenham Festivals began preparations to launch in 2009 a membership scheme embracing all four festivals, and a new post was established using our infrastructure funding from the Borough Council to lead the project. Already more than 1500 members have signed up to the scheme, including 1000 founding members from the two societies that have been such loyal and generous supporters of the Music and Literature Festivals for so many years. Both initiatives seek to extend the audience reach of the festivals and to give supporters a year long interest in what Cheltenham Festivals can offer to the cultural life of the Cotswolds.

Cheltenham Festivals has received a generous bequest from the estate of a long standing supporter, Mr Clifford Taylor. The funds are being placed in the Clifford Taylor Memorial Fund and, in consultation with Mr Taylor’s brother, there will be special emphasis on supporting young artists.

The Chief Executive’s report reviews the highlights of the 2008 festivals. Continued national media sponsorship at all four festivals attests to the quality of the programming and the imaginative leadership of the festival directors. A strong regional audience is the heart of the festivals, and makes for the great audience participation that is such a distinctive feature in them. In turn this acts as a magnet to visitors from further afield. But audiences cannot be taken for granted in a competitive cultural environment, where audience satisfaction includes the total experience of attending an event – the social space provided, the provision for refreshment, the quality of facilities overall. Cheltenham’s cultural leadership rests on three main venues; the Town Hall, the Pump Room and the Everyman Theatre. They have period charm and good acoustics in the case of the Pump Room, but are sorely deficient against the standards that have been established in many other centres over recent years. There is still much to do to establish an integrated strategy embracing Cheltenham Festivals, the Borough Council and the County to ensure that limited resources are deployed to best effect. More needs to be done to raise public awareness both of the vulnerability of the situation, but also the opportunities to be grasped so that Cheltenham’s standing as a festival town is preserved and enhanced.

May I take this opportunity to thank members of the Board for the time and commitment they give to supporting the festival enterprise, and to record our appreciation to Donna Renney and her committed staff for continuing to deliver such stimulating fare. Finally, George Whitmore is retiring from the Board at the Annual General Meeting and he carries our warm thanks for the interest and support he has given to the Jazz Festival.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT

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FESTIVALS WITH BUZZ, BITE, ENERGY & EDGE

Whilst preparing to write this report, I found among the papers a table of figures from the Director of Finance, Paul Jenkins, which made me reflect on the incredible journey this organisation has been on since 2005.

In 2005 our turnover was £2,330m and in 2008 it was £3,201m showing average annual growth of 11.1%. Income rose by 10% in 2008 over 2007 and strong performances were recorded for all four Festivals. The recurring thought in my mind as I reviewed the figures was the strength of the partnerships that have enabled such growth and I shall return to this later in my report. Much of our time is devoted to developing partnerships both in the private and public sector, with organisations as well as individuals. We have emphasized both in recruitment and training the need for senior staff to be able to build rewarding partnerships.

The pressure to achieve ambitious income targets to meet the withdrawal of Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) subsidy was felt across the whole of the organisation in 2008 and saw several Festival ventures to try and secure new audiences and sponsors for the future. The gradual withdrawal over four years of £150,000 of Council subsidy is now almost complete and Festivals found themselves paying considerably higher fees for the use of the box-office and venue hire putting the relationship with CBC on a much more business-like footing.

Our main focus for 2008 was to press ahead with our long-term vision to realise the potential of Cheltenham Festivals and ensure it is recognised as one of the great festival brands of the world. Our national profile is crucial in widening the audience base of the Festivals and attracting further large-scale sponsorship. Thus we continued to invest in our infrastructure, public relations, marketing and artistic development as well as building national media partners. Our partnerships with BBC Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4 as well as the extensive support given to us by The Times for the Literature Festival have been invaluable. In addition, one of our Board members, Peter Bond, agreed to finance the services of a well respected Bristol-based PR agency, JBP Associates, to help us gain greater recognition for our achievements as an organisation.

The Board approved a new post of Director of Finance and we were pleased to appoint Paul Jenkins towards the end of the year. He joins the Festivals with valuable financial and commercial experience gained with a publicly quoted technology business in the region, and he has already made a valuable contribution. Having made much progress with work on the “nuts and bolts” of the organisation and the empowerment of Festival teams as serious business units, my attention turned to realising the creative potential of the organisation. We are a unique organisation having four different festivals running within one umbrella organisation and we have a unique combination of expertise. It is the cross-fertilisation of programming between festivals that will be our focus over the coming years. This year, considerable time was given to developing a major bid to the Wellcome Trust to facilitate a first step in this direction. We were delighted to be awarded a grant of £200,000 over 3 years. The grant will be implemented from Literature 2009 and will be used to embed bio-science in cross-festival programming and the culture of the organisation. Most importantly it will enable us to develop some of the many connections that are made at Festivals between our speakers and performers into real projects for future festivals with the appointment of a project manager.

Cheltenham Festivals is not a large or wealthy organisation and its success rests on forming powerful and rewarding alliances with key organisations that share our values.

The really successful partnerships are those that allow the organisation to take a dramatic step forward even when the outcome is slightly unclear or risky. In other words, partners that have enough confidence in the potential and ability of the organisation that they are prepared to take a “leap of faith”. Pfizer, in supporting us to set up what is arguably one of the world’s most impressive Science Festivals is a classic example as is the Wellcome Trust’s recent grant which has allowed us to take a huge step in our creative ability.

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We are also indebted to many long term funding bodies such as the Summerfield Trust and the Oldham Foundation. Both have allowed us to take an enormous leap in the development of our website. Although not quite completed the site has been enhanced technically allowing us to have much more sophisticated web communications with our audiences. Our Web Manager has completely re-engineered the content management system so that we can upload information more quickly and efficiently. Keeping our site as dynamic as possible during Festival times very much improves the experience for our audiences. Prior to funding the website, Summerfield had allowed us to make strategic improvements to our education work and British Energy continued this theme within the Science Festival education programme.

BBC Radio 2 has had a considerable impact on the profile of the Jazz Festival and has brought helpful expertise to our organisation. For me, there is no finer sight at the Jazz Festival than the BBC Concert Orchestra on the Town Hall stage. The BBC Big Band has also brought artistic glamour to the stage of the Everyman with some outstanding guest soloists.

Our partnership with Budweiser Budvar had allowed us to achieve in 2007 one of our long-held ambitions which was to have a free stage in Imperial Gardens offering jazz to the town and a stage offering the opportunity for young artists to perform at an internationally acclaimed Festival. In 2008 we enhanced both the physical structure of the marquee and the programme.

The support of the Jerwood Charitable Foundation has made possible an enduring programme for talented young jazz artists. The Foundation’s support has had a considerable impact on the vibrancy of the UK jazz scene and we are proud that the success of the Jerwood Jazz Generation at Cheltenham has been recognized by leading international jazz performers.

Another organisation providing life-changing support to the Festivals is The Times through its partnership with the Literature Festival. The Times’ support echoes another of my ideals of strong partnerships which is enthusiasm and commitment from an organisation’s staff. It is a hugely rewarding experience for all of us to work with staff at The Times whether journalists, editors or marketing staff. They all approach the partnership with the same enthusiasm and professionalism. The intellectual exchanges are stimulating for us all. In 2008, it was my pleasure to welcome the new Editor, James Harding, to chair the ever-popular Times Debate at the Centaur.

On the eve of the Literature Festival The Citizen and Echo business Awards for Gloucestershire were held at Cheltenham Racecourse. We were delighted to win Tourism Business of the Year in recognition of our contribution to the local area, community events, international and national appeal and bringing in business to the town.

We know we can only succeed by convincing those who support us that we have something really special to offer to society and all the staff at Cheltenham Festivals constantly strive to ensure this continues to be the case.

The point on the anvil of our logo symbolises our determination to push cultural boundaries and as the economic climate gets tougher, we will have to sharpen the point of our anvil to ensure that our overall artistic offering continues to be outstanding.

WE KNOW WE CAN ONLY SUCCEED BY CONVINCING THOSE WHO SUPPORT US THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL TO OFFER TO SOCIETY

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Turning to another group of key supporters, I would like to thank all of those who serve on our Festival Advisory Groups. These are some of the most inspirational people to work with and their pride and concern for their Festival is palpable. They are an enormous support to the Festival Directors and to me and provide a sense of “family” to each Festival.

There are a number of major public sector funding bodies I would like to refer to including the Arts Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts).

From the Arts Council, we received our three-year funding agreement from 2008/9 – 2010/11 which for us contained an uplift in funding in 2009 with an inflation increase in 2008. However, there was considerable pressure on Arts Council Lottery Funding and we did not achieve in 2008 the much needed infrastructure funding we had hoped for which would have helped us to build our marketing team.

The Arts Council’s overarching commitment is to fund excellent artistic quality working with organisations that are able to deliver as diverse an audience as possible so that as many can benefit from the excellence it funds.

Our partnership with the Borough Council is still developing post the separation in 2006/07. The relationship is over 60 years’ old and has always been a complex matter. The Festivals receive considerable funding from the Council in the form of an annual cash grant of £109,200 and in-kind subsidy for reduced box-office commission, use of accounting software and payroll facilities, free use of Imperial

Gardens as well as IT support. The value of the in-kind package for 2008 is calculated by the Council to be £231,537. In return, the Festivals are the most substantial client of the Town Hall contributing £171,000 per annum to CBC’s revenue funds as well as helping to generate catering commission on food and beverage sales. The Festivals are also a key economic driver for the town.

So, CBC is both a substantial Festival funding body and supplier of vital services to the Festivals. The Festivals are entirely reliant on the Town Hall and Pump Room as our principal venues both of which are owned and managed by CBC. Our challenge will be to work with staff from the Town Hall and Pump Room to embrace the aspirations of both organisations for the benefit of the town and to share a joint strategic vision with the councillors and senior officers.

NESTA, whose remit is to fund innovation, has certainly achieved just that with its funding of Cheltenham Festivals. The funding has resulted in an international success story for the project, FameLab. NESTA has funded for 3 years a national competition to uncover talented scientists who could engage a public audience. Although we rested the UK FameLab in 2008, to make improvements to its format, we hosted the first International FameLab final welcoming visitors from the following 9 South East European countries; Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Israel, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Austria. The UK winner from 2007 also took part in the competition.

My final thanks go to all the staff at Cheltenham Festivals who inspire our partners to continue working with us and who produce truly great Festivals.

NESTA FUNDING HAS RESULTED IN AN INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS STORY FOR FAMELAB

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2008 saw continuing growth with income rising 10% on 2007 levels even though the level of Cheltenham Borough Council grant funding for infrastructure reduced. This growth in income has primarily come from increased box office ticket sales of 14,500 over 2007 which equated to 18% increase in box office revenue as well as an increase in sponsorships, donations and miscellaneous grants of 7%.

The increased box office revenue was due to strong performances across all 4 Festivals with both the Jazz and Science Festivals growing significantly by 30% and 35% respectively and Music maintaining its progress made in 2007. The Literature Festival remains the organisation’s largest Festival and continues to flourish through increasing box office revenue by 19% selling 99,000 tickets in the process, 22,000 more than in 2007. It is encouraging to see that on-line ticket sales are continuing to grow year-on-year and represented 17% of ticket sales in 2008 compared to 11% in 2007.

The business has recognised that to sustain the growth it has achieved over the past few years, investment in the infrastructure of the business has been required and significant progress was made in 2008 to secure that structure. The total costs in 2008 have increased by 14% over 2007 as a result of this investment for the future which led to a deficit for the year of £30k.

The current economic climate means that 2009 will be a difficult year for many arts and culture organisations especially in trying to raise sponsorship, donations and grant funding. Cheltenham Festivals feels it is well placed to weather this now that the staff structure is in place to seek out those relationships leading to sponsorship income in the future. On the grant front, the business has secured the contract with the Arts Council for increased funding for 2009/2010 of 26% over 2008. Whilst this is excellent news it should be noted that Arts Council funding only represents 6% of the total income for the year whereas voluntary income (including grants) accounts for 37% of the income. After box office takings of 38%, the remaining 19% comes from other grants, donations, gifts and memberships stressing the importance of this income stream to the business.

The number of salaried staff employed during 2008 was 40 (34 in 2007), with a full-time equivalent (fte) of 30.92 (23.20 fte in 2007).

Tables showing growth in box office and sponsorship as well as income and expenditure analysis are shown.

FINANCESCHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT

JF

£450£400

£350

£300

£250

£200

£150

£100

£50

£0SF* MF LF General a/c

Inco

me

(k)

JF

£400

£500

£600

£700

£800

£300

£200

£100

£0SF MF LF

Festivals

Inco

me

(k)

JF

80,000

100,000

120,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0SF MF LF

Num

ber o

f tic

kets

sold

20082007

Festivals

20082007

Festivals

20082007

Sponsorship income 2007 & 2008

Box o�ce income 2007 & 2008

Number of Tickets Sold 2007 & 2008

JF

£450£400

£350

£300

£250

£200

£150

£100

£50


Inco

me

(k)

JF

£400

£500

£600

£700

£800

£300

£200

£100

£0SF MF LF

Festivals

Inco

me

(k)

JF

80,000

100,000

120,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0SF MF LF

Num

ber o

f tic

kets

sold

20082007

Festivals

20082007

Festivals

20082007




JF

£450£400

£350

£300

£250

£200

£150

£100

£50


Inco

me

(k)

JF

£400

£500

£600

£700

£800

£300

£200

£100

£0SF MF LF

Festivals

Inco

me

(k)

JF

80,000

100,000

120,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0SF MF LF

Num

ber o

f tic

kets

sold

20082007

Festivals

20082007

Festivals

20082007





* Reduction due to UK FameLab not running in 2008.

Sponsorship and Box Office Income

Box Office income 2007 & 2008


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Sources of Income

Income 2008 - £3,200,734Income 2007 - £2,910,896

35% Box O�ce

40% Sponsorship, donations and misc. grants

5% CBC In kind

6% Arts Council grant

9% CBC Infastructure LABGI grant

4% CBC cash grant

2% Other misc. income

38% Box O�ce


7% CBC In kind



3% CBC cash grant


2008 £3,200,734

38% Box Office

38% Sponsorship,donations and misc grants

7% CBC In Kind

6% Arts Council


3% CBC CBC cash grant


£96,176£109,200£150,000

£178,361

£231,537

£1,208,044

£1,227,416

Expenditure

Expenditure 2008 - £3,230,400Expenditure 2007 - £2,818,496

45% Programme

26% Fees & Salaries

12% Marketing & Sponsorship

9% Administration

5% LABGI spend

3% CBC box o�ce and venue hire charged

43% Programme

25% Fees & Salaries


9% Administration

5% LABGI spend


2008 £3,230,400

43% Programme

25% Fees & Salaries

13% Marketing & Sponsors

9% Administration

5% LABGI spend

5% CBC Box Office and venue hire charged

£170,465£172,335

£266,562

£422,675

£817,821

£1,380,542

Income 2008 - £3,200,734Income 2007 - £2,910,896

35% Box O�ce


5% CBC In kind



4% CBC cash grant


38% Box O�ce


7% CBC In kind



3% CBC cash grant


2007 £2,910,896

35% Box Office

40% Sponsorship,donations and misc grants

5% CBC In Kind

6% Arts Council


4% CBC CBC cash grant


£68,812£109,200

£250,000

£173,672

£140,224

£1,130,497

£1,038,491

Expenditure 2008 - £3,230,400Expenditure 2007 - £2,818,496

45% Programme

26% Fees & Salaries


9% Administration

5% LABGI spend


43% Programme

25% Fees & Salaries


9% Administration

5% LABGI spend


2007 £2,818,496

45% Programme

26% Fees & Salaries

12% Marketing & Sponsors

9% Administration

5% LABGI spend

3% CBC Box Office and venue hire charged

£85,000£147,744

£241,123

£333,578

£743,095

£1,267,956

2008 SAW CONTINUING GROWTH WITH INCOME RISING 10% ON 2007 LEVELS

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During 2008, we focused on consolidating our partnerships with schools and delivering a number of quality schools and community organisations delivering a limited number of quality projects. We now find that demand often outstrips our ability to supply. We aim to produce projects of substance and depth that balance learning with the opportunity for participants to experiment, explore new horizons and develop their imagination. The programme reached over 11,000 participants within and outside the county.

Jazz It Up! May 3 - 4This celebration of Gloucestershire schools’ lively jazz scene saw eleven bands take to the stage for two afternoons of energetic performances. Our compere for the performances was the well-known actor, Colin Salmon, who regaled the teenagers with tales of how he had started playing the cornet in the Salvation Army. The Jazz Festival marquee was bursting at the seams as a capacity crowd enjoyed every jazz style from big band and boogie woogie to soul, blues, and funk. Each band performed a James Bond theme, specially arranged for them by jazz pianist and composer Dave Stapleton, to mark author Ian Fleming’s centenary.

Participating schools We were particularly pleased that the project attracted two schools which had not previously participated.* Balcarras, Cheltenham Bournside, Cheltenham College, Cleeve, *Farmor’s, Marling, Pate’s (junior and senior bands), Pittville, *Rednock, St Peter’s.

Science Festival Schools’ Programme June 4 - 6“In an era of dumbed-down education, this was an oasis of scientific stimulation!” Stan Labovitch, Heathlands School, HounslowMore than 6000 pupils and their teachers attended the Science Festival during our three-day programme of special events for schools, sponsored by British Energy; from large-scale science happenings on the stage in the 550-seat arena to more intimate, hands-on workshops in the Experitent. This year’s events featured everything from nitrogen ice-cream, chemical clocks and live snakes to gigantic telescopes and the world’s loudest bursting balloon. Most of our visiting schools also took advantage of a fascinating free hour in our dynamic Discover Zone, which this year featured 25 different exhibitors, all keen to inspire children about science through a wealth of interactive activities.

Creative Minds Project-Sleeping and DreamingMay - June & September - OctoberThis fascinating cross-festivals project took place in the weeks preceding the Science Festival, and again before the Literature Festival in September. In May, artist and scientist Dr Lizzie Burns visited community groups in the Cheltenham and Gloucester area, talking to them about the science of sleep and encouraging them to share their own experiences of sleeping and dreaming. Participants decorated a mask to represent their own dreams, and these were exhibited at the Science Festival. In September, poet Brenda Read-Brown revisited some of these groups and some new participants, including a night nurse at Cheltenham General Hospital and new mums at a local

Bumps and Babes group. In these sessions participants talked about their experiences of sleeping and dreaming, and Brenda helped them to write original poetry inspired by their discussions. These poems and the decorated masks were exhibited at the Literature Festival. This project was made possible through the generous support of the Wellcome Trust.

Participants Battledown Ward (Cheltenham General Hospital), Cheltenham NCT Bumps and Babes, Cheltenham Health and Social Care Centre, Gloucestershire Mandarin School, Hester’s Way Children’s Centre, Kidzone After-school Club, Night-shift Nurse, Parents at Whaddon Children’s Centre, Prestbury Memorial Trust, Sandford School, St Andrew’s Church Coffee Morning, The Black Elders’ Day Centre and Luncheon Club, Tredworth Primary School.

Time to Sing June - JulyI was overwhelmed with the fantastic sound that the children produced - wonderful! Parent, Rowanfield School2008 saw our most ambitious singing project so far, culminating in a wonderful evening concert which brought 263 excited pupils to the main stage at the Town Hall. Supported by Sing Up, the government sponsored initiative to encourage singing in primary schools, Time to Sing brought 240 children from eight different Gloucestershire primary schools together to celebrate our rich heritage of traditional folk-based songs.

Rarely-heard gems such as the Portland Quarry Song, the haunting notes of the Skye Boat Song, and the rollicking comedy of Whose Pigs are These? were just a few of the highlights of a memorable evening. Months of intensive singing workshops and rehearsals, led by singing teachers Liz Terry and Rachel Gay meant a demanding schedule for all the teachers and pupils involved, as they learnt harmonies, rounds and part-singing and grappled with tongue-twisting lyrics and hard-to-reach high notes. All this hard work paid off handsomely, however, and both the quality of the singing and the exuberance of the performance were truly remarkable.

Participating primary schoolsChrist Church C of E Chalford, Coalway Juniors Coleford, Fairford C of E, Rowanfield Juniors Cheltenham, Sheepscombe, Siddington C of E, Stratton C of E, Woodmancote

Festival Academy and The National Star College 15-16 July“Our ongoing partnership with Cheltenham Music Festival and the Festival Academy, through these wonderful creative workshops, inspires and motivates our students. “Paul Tarling, Performing Arts Co-ordinator, National Star CollegeLed by charismatic young conductor and educator Will Carslake, young musicians from the Festival Academy spent two days working with students at the National Star College, a specialist centre for young adults with acquired brain injuries and associated learning difficulties. This project culminated in a spirited performance of The Boy Who Cried Wolf in which music, drama and powerful narrative were woven together. This was the fourth year of our collaboration with the Star College, which has proved immensely rewarding for all those involved.


EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROGRAMME

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Tunde and Finn JuneA highly gifted and versatile young musician, Tunde Jegede is a composer and performer whose work spans the musical spectrum from classical to hip hop, soul to opera. HKB Finn is a spoken word artist, producer and jazz musician.

Tunde and Finn led workshops over three days in late June at Beaufort Community School in Gloucester, which has an impressive Performing Arts department and associated facilities. They also joined the Advanced Strings group at the Gloucester Academy of Music for an evening workshop of creative musicianship. As well as hosting the workshops, Beaufort School provided their theatre and access to their large collection of percussion instruments, enabling 150 pupils to enjoy some very creative ways into making music.

Particpants Gloucester Academy of Music, Beaufort Community School, Grange primary, Harewood primary.

Cheltenham Festivals GamelanMany schools and community groups took advantage of our year-round programme of gamelan workshops which are held at the Pittville Pump Room. In 2008 over 1000 children and adults took part in these workshops, which are led by Jonathan Roberts, a professional gamelan teacher who trained in Java, Indonesia. The gamelan even went on tour! In April it was moved to Farmor’s School in Fairford for a week’s residency.

In partnership with Good Vibrations, the gamelan also visited HMP Eastwood Park for a programme of intensive workshops with prisoners during the Music Festival. The week culminated in a small concert in the prison when the prisoners and Cheltenham Community Gamelan Players performed together.

Book It! for Schools 10 - 17 OctoberThis is our favourite trip of the year. If we lived closer we would come every day! Jo Ferris, Holy Trinity School, KidderminsterBook It! featured a packed programme of top authors this year including a brace of ex-Children’s Laureates (Anne Fine and Michael Morpurgo) and some of our best-loved children’s illustrators (Nick Butterworth and Tony Ross). Julia Donaldson brought her hilarious Gruffalo show to town, and Caroline Lawrence let us in on the mysteries of writing crime fiction set in Ancient Rome. Over 5000 school children and their teachers attended over six days of events.

Young Writers’ Day 17 OctoberThis has had a very beneficial effect on my teaching. Since attending the gifted and talented writers’ day, I have used Vivian’s techniques in my own classroom. The children thought the day was wonderful and inspiring.Glyn Jones, Greatfield Park Primary School, CheltenhamOur first ever event for gifted and talented children was hosted by Cheltenham College Junior School and attended by year 5 and 6 pupils from seven different Cheltenham schools. This small group of 30 children and their teachers spent the day with author Vivian French, immersing themselves in the creative writing process.

Participating schools Cheltenham College Junior School, a private prep school (5 pupils), Greatfield Park a state primary school in Cheltenham with a mixed social intake (4 pupils), Prestbury St Mary’s Junior School a state primary school just outside the centre of Cheltenham, with a mixed social intake (5 pupils), Christ Church C of E Primary School a Cheltenham state primary school with a mixed social intake (5 pupils), St Marks C of E Primary School a state primary school in an area of social deprivation in Cheltenham (5 pupils), The Catholic School of St Gregory the Great a state primary school in the centre of Cheltenham with a mixed intake including many Polish children (2 pupils), Berkhampstead School a private prep school in Pittville, Cheltenham (4 pupils).

The Play’s the Thing - a Shakespeare Project for Schools September-October 2008This year saw our third school Shakespeare project tackle Hamlet, with its dark themes of love and loss, madness and revenge. Hosted by Pittville School, this project brought Pittville’s cluster primary schools together for a series of workshops for year 6 children, led by actor and director Fiona Ross. Each school prepared a ten minute piece of drama based on a theme or character in the play, for a performance at Pittville School on 15 October. As always, the children surprised the audience with the variety and power of their interpretations. From Lynworth primary school’s hilarious analysis of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship in The Jeremy Vyle Show, to the haunting portrayal of Hamlet’s inner demons by Gardners Lane primary, here was an inspiring reminder of the power of Shakespeare’s language to reach down through the centuries to today’s young audiences.

Participating schools Dunalley primary, Gardners Lane primary, Lynworth primary, Pittville School, Whaddon primary.

Bookstand – Prison Project in GloucesterSeptember-OctoberThis year saw the second of our Bookstand projects in association with HMP Gloucester. Poet and wordsmith Marcus Moore led seven creative writing workshops with prisoners, including vulnerable prisoners. This is a chance for prisoners to explore their creative side, to reflect on their thoughts and experiences, and to put pen to paper if they wish. Marcus looked at haikus, acrostics, six-word poems and fifty-word stories, and many of the prisoners wrote their own versions. These were printed in leaflet form and distributed at the Literature Festival.

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JAZZ FESTIVAL

“Cheltenham Jazz Festival is a judicious mix of populist appeal for a weekday audience and a hard-centred jazz weekend for the travelling fan, which gives it the feel of a national jazz convention rather than a purely local event. With such an astute programme, it stood out for a day of state of the art gigs by bands that simply won’t be seen in the UK for quite some time” Financial Times, 2008

Cheltenham Jazz Festival continues to raise the profile of jazz in the UK with its partnership with BBC Radio 2 and other key partnerships within the jazz industry. We were delighted that more journalists than ever before attended the 2008 Festival particularly as a number of them were not just specialist jazz reviewers but covering broader aspects of the Festival. The key tasks for the Jazz Festival team in 2008 were to continue to find ways to remove the barriers that deter audiences from engaging with Jazz and to promote talented young British Jazz musicians through the Jerwood Jazz Generation Scheme.

We set out to change Cheltenham into a Jazz town for a few days, put the word “Jazz” on as many people’s lips as possible and infect people with the creativity of Jazz. When the Festival actually happens it can with the right programming produce an incredible energy in the town. The rich programme put together by Tony Dudley-Evans and Kate Danielson in partnership with BBC Radio 2 for the 2008 Festival achieved just the sense of artistic adventure, entertainment and fun we wanted. We have been much helped in drawing people’s attention to Jazz by the Budvar Marquee in Imperial Gardens where morning till night you can find young musicians performing to a high standard and some appearing on stage for the first time.

In our bid to reach new audiences and sponsors we programmed two large-scale events with well-known names: Van Morrison at the Centaur and Eartha Kitt in the Pump Room. It turned out to be Eartha Kitt’s last public performance and what an honour it was for Cheltenham to have hosted it. We also programmed more singers this year. Both Ruby Turner, a star of the British soul scene and regular soloist with Jools Holland, and Imelda May who stole the hearts of the Cheltenham audience when appearing as the support to Madeleine Peyroux in 2007, thrilled audiences.

The Friday Night is Music Night slot at the Town Hall was this year dedicated to the life of Billie Holiday. Narrated by Michael Brandon and directed by Guy Barker and Mike Dixon, it captured the imagination of our audience. In fact, people were still telling me how much they had enjoyed it when we launched our 2009 programme. Equally popular was the mesmerizing performance of the BBC Big Band with guest Italian DJ Nicola Conte. The event explored common ground between Bossa Nova, big band and acid jazz with some Italian film scores thrown in for good measure.

The Bill Frisell event at the Everyman Programme proved to be an audience highlight. It was an exclusive event for Cheltenham and saw the launch of his new quintet. Another Everyman crowd-pleaser was the amazingly talented pianist, Roberto Fonseca, well known for his appearances with the Buena Vista Social Club. The powerful latin rhythms attracted a young audience for this late-night event. The musical party took to the streets at the Everyman where Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra spilled out onto the pavements after their gig for an impromptu jam session, to the delight of the crowds.

Such is the popularity of our club events with 18 – 24 year olds that we programmed two nights this year. On the first evening the Heritage Orchestra and DJ Bonobo packed the Town Hall followed by the ever-popular Mr Scruff the next evening. Funk came to the Spa with Sax colossus Maceo Parker with a great audience mix of jazz aficionados and those that just like to dance.

We constantly seek to break down barriers between the performers and audiences and our series of masterclasses are very successful in this respect. This year we invited two people at opposite ends of their career paths to lead the classes. The talented young pianist, Zoe Rahman led one class whilst the other was taken by Jazz legend, Jack DeJohnette.

This was the second year of our Jerwood Jazz Generation scheme. The programme allows artists who were formerly Jerwood Rising Stars to return to Cheltenham to work in different collaborations and present new work. This year there were 6 concerts of truly innovative work, exciting collaborations and outstanding quality. Details of the Jerwood Jazz Generation performers are listed in the back of the report.

Another first for the Jazz Festival was a collaborative project with the Science Festival. Martin Coath, a former NESTA Famelabber and university researcher ran a live experiment to understand more about how people hear music exploring the brain’s interpretation of “relative pitch”. Our audiences were pleased to lend their ears to the project and results were fed back at the Science Festival.

2008 brought an increase in box office income of £91,000 though the actual number of tickets sold was just about the same as in 2007.

Kate Danielson, the Festival Executive Director, who lead the Jazz team since October 2005 announced her intention to step down after the 2008 Festival. The Festivals are grateful for her many achievements particularly having made great strides with the BBC Radio 2 partnership and developing the sense of a Festival buzz in Cheltenham.

WE SET OUT TO PUT THE WORD JAZZ ON AS MANY PEOPLE’S LIPS AS POSSIBLE


SCIENCE FESTIVAL

“INSPIRATIONAL… A TOTAL TRIUMPH” DAVID GLOVER, SCIENCE EDITOR, CHANNEL 4, JUNE 2008

“Cheltenham Science Festival is truly influential. It is an icon in Britain and highly regarded by the senior echelons of science. There is nothing else like it in the world and it is now central to the cultural life of Britain… It is, I promise you, of genuine national significance. Unquestionably the leading science festival in the country…”Professor Lord Winston, June 2008

A strong festival theme excites audiences, sponsors and programmers alike. It is a great conversation opener. For the 2008 Science Festival, we chose, “taboo” and sought to address in the programme those subjects which are difficult to talk about.

One aspect of the Festival which was brought home to me by one of our visitors from Japan was the confidence we now demonstrate over our reputation among the Science Community. The visual representation of our theme “taboo” on the brochures was the idea of looking through the keyhole to see things one may not want to acknowledge. There were three different covers, one of which was a laced corset suggestive of both sexual pleasure but also abuse. My overseas visitor said they would never dare use such an image for fear of being regarded as frivolous by serious scientists. Our absolute attention to quality science in all aspects of our programme from the very beginning has ensured that we have earned the reputation of providing serious science, hence our confidence in deploying some light-heartedness in our communications with no fear of the accusation that we might be “dumbing-down”.

Among the many issues we explored, Jonathon Porritt questioned whether there were too many people on our planet; Jim Al-Khalili chaired a debate exploring whether science is the new religion; and David King set out his vision for tackling climate change.

The breadth of topics was deliberately wider than it has ever been, with new partnerships with EPSRC and the Royal Academy of Engineering enabling us to offer more engineering, technology and chemistry events than ever before. From Andrea Sella’s chemistry demos for adults to the ethical implications of a robotic world, this diversification of topics is a key success of this year’s programme.

We also successfully reached new audiences, who perhaps wouldn’t otherwise engage with ‘science’, with well-known popular speakers, including Richard Hammond, Tony Robinson, comedian Mark Watson and Channel 4’s beauty guru Nicky Hambleton-Jones, exploring everything from green issues to beauty to internal combustion engines.

Our novel formats and wide range of events help to break down the stereotype of what a science festival can, and should, offer.

With grant funding from the Wellcome Trust we developed the States of Mind project, exploring human consciousness and the latest brain research. The four events sold nearly 900 tickets and also gave rise to another new initiative this year, the Talking Points. These free, informal discussions enabled audience members in particularly contentious discussions to carry on the debate after the formal event.

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We worked in partnership with Foresight, the government’s horizon-scanning body, to programme a series of events exploring Mental Capital & Well-Being combining scientific, medical and anecdotal evidence. Attracting over 600 ticket buyers to three sell-out events, the feedback and comments from audience members will feed into the government’s latest policy-making ideas.

Our NESTA FameLab competition alumni featured in a number of main programme events, notably: Martin Coath, who led the perception of music experiments and event; Jonathan Wood, who took part in a panel debate about nanotechnology, with Mark Green and Mark Miodownik from King’s College, London; and Sarah Forbes-Robertson, who ran the first live experiment ever to take place at a Cheltenham event, measuring the audience’s DNA body clock during the event, generating front-page national news and obtaining data for her current research.

The festival featured more international speakers than ever before, demonstrating its international reputation and world-wide draw. They included Steven Pinker from Harvard University, Albert de Roeck from CERN and Kevin Conrad, the Papua New Guinea spokesman who famously told the USA to ‘lead on climate change or get out of the way’ at the UN Climate Change conference. In addition, three international delegations came from China, Japan and St Louis to explore the festival and consult with the festival team.

We ran in 2007 a successful inaugural event for the professional development of teachers and are proud to have been able to build on this format for 2008. The event comprised a debate, discussion and networking evening specifically for teachers, exploring the teaching of ethics in the ‘hard’ sciences (physics and chemistry.) Over forty secondary school teachers engaged with the panellists on such subjects as mobile phone masts, radiation, climate change and nanotechnology.

Leading up the Festival, we ran a competition, sponsored by GE Aviation, which invited young people to invent a futuristic robot to help them or the world around them. We had over 300 entries for the competition, more than twice as many as last year, with winners judged on the design skill, imagination and functionality of their robots.

With grant funding from the EPSRC, we were able to strengthen the Fun Days with some major outdoor interactive exhibits. Materials scientist, Mark Miodownik, led a team to create an ‘Early Man’ encampment which demonstrated aluminium smelting and making fire; and chemist Andrea Sella did a spectacular chemistry display which attracted a huge average audience of over 180 for two hours.

The Discover Zone, sponsored by Messier Dowty, is the heart of the Cheltenham Science Festival and one of its most inspiring elements. On week-days it is bursting with excited school groups – we estimate that 2,500 pupils and teachers visited in 2008 – with hundreds of families visiting at the weekend. Adult visitors and festival speakers also enjoyed this free interactive exhibition

We also collaborated with the St Louis Science Centre to create a Cheltenham-style public science festival in the USA. A selection of UK speakers took part. We were delighted to welcome five new sponsors in 2008 - Environment Agency, L’Oreal, Amec, GE Aviation and Foresight – as well as building our existing relationships with previous sponsors.

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MUSIC FESTIVAL

Meurig Bowen was appointed in July 2007 as the first full-time Executive Director of the Music Festival. This new post was created as part of the overall development of the senior management team and reflected the organisation’s challenge of growing income through increased ticket sales and sponsorship.

With less than a year’s run-in, Meurig achieved a remarkable programme. He built on the artistic legacy of the previous directors but managed to add a whole range of his own innovations. These included making the Festival much more family friendly by adding a Family Breakfast entitled “Cereal Samba” and a seat-free, lie-down zone at the rear of the nave in Tewkesbury Abbey. This attracted strong numbers of younger people and parents with their children. Also our singing project with 250 primary school children was given centre stage as an evening performance in the Town Hall.

There were more than 70 events which included no less than 11 world and UK premieres and perhaps in recognition of Meurig’s own background as a Choral Scholar at Cambridge, choirs and vocal recitals featured strongly.

The central theme of the Festival was the influence of European folk material on classical music. This provided audiences with a wonderful gateway to explore a wide range of music: Anything from the Norwegian folk songs in our very popular early music concert with Trio Medieval on the opening Saturday to Michael Berkeley’s Iberian Notebook performed by young artist Thomas Carroll in the beautiful church of St Swithin’s at Quenington.

There were a number of other strands running through the programme including a focus on Schubert and a celebration of the work of Ralph Vaughan William’s who died 50 years ago. The Lark Ascending both opened and closed the Festival; played by violinist Priya Mitchell with the BBC Philharmonic on the opening evening and by Alexandra Wood, one of our Festival Academy Players, in the closing night concert at the Pump Room.

The strand entitled “Chamber-Made Schubert” included the three song cycles and whilst I am sure audience members had a favourite, we received performances from tenor, Allan Clayton in Die Schöne Müllerin, young Austrian bass-baritone, Florian Boesch in Schwanengesang and tenor Mark Padmore in Winterreise that literally left audiences stunned with wonderment. Pianist Paul Lewis perfectly accompanied both Allan Clayton and Mark Padmore whilst Cheltonian Roger Vignoles partnered Florian Boesch.

The Messier-Dowty sponsored event at the Pump Room is always a special evening. The “Dowty” half is a firm with long-established roots in Gloucestershire and its founder George Dowty played an important role in sustaining the Music Festival over the years supporting it right from the start. The Messier-Dowty sponsored event this year was performed by The Schubert Ensemble and included the much loved evocation of country-life in Vaughan Williams’ glorious setting of A.E. Housman’s, “A Shropshire Lad”. James Gilchrist provided a powerful interpretation of this work.

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Around the major performances in the programme, Meurig created all sorts of other interesting events, films, talks and cabarets linking to the main programme.

It is going to be vital for us to attract new audiences currently not engaged in our classical music programme and for many new audiences the image of the Music Festival is still rather austere. Therefore, they may not even consider looking in the brochure. However, when they did they were surprised by the range of events on offer. This is a challenge our marketing department will continue to address.

There is always one event in any Festival that is a truly unexpected experience of pure magic. For many people this year, the experience came in the non-classical strand and was the outstanding performance by the Venezuelan octet, Trabucco. From the moment the group stepped on stage the virtuoso playing and teamwork touched the audience in a special way. The evening was relaxed and informal with a feeling of fiesta created by a cheerful group of Venezuelan supporters who had come from Bristol to the concert.

One concert that I would like to pay particular tribute to is the Richard Hickox event in Tewkesbury Abbey. We hosted this event with the fundraising committee for the Abbey and Richard, as always, was quick to offer his support. Sadly, Richard Hickox died suddenly just before Christmas and will be sadly missed by all at Cheltenham but the memorable performances he gave at Cheltenham will live on.

I mentioned earlier that choral work played a major part in the 2008 Festival and we were particularly happy to welcome the Estonian Philharmonic Choir with composer Velijo Tormis as well as the Estonian Television Girls’ Choir. We continued the theme of local participation by putting on a rousing performance of Carmina Burana performed with pianos and percussion accompaniment. The soloists were Ailish Tynan and Alan Opie. The conductor responsible for leading this was Gareth Hancock.

Gareth also organised a completely new style of event at the Pump Room entitled “Tea and Opera”. One of our new sponsors was Mackwoods Teas from Sri Lanka. Audiences were treated to an afternoon of tea tasting with opera arias and duets especially chosen to fit with the characteristics of the tea being tasted. We are grateful to Dr Chris Nonis, Chairman of Mackwoods for enabling this special international partnership.

At the end of the year, I was fortunate enough to be invited on to the Iain Burnside Christmas Special Show on Radio 3. One of the things we were asked to do was to choose a piece of music we had discovered during the year. I was proud to have so many Cheltenham options but for me the choice was quite straightforward: Weissenberg, Sonate en Etat de Jazz performed by pianist Marc-André Hamelin.

THERE WERE MORE THAN 70 EVENTS WHICH INCLUDED NO LESS THAN 11 WORLD AND UK PREMIERES

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LITERATURE FESTIVAL

August is the only month when the office could be said to be quiet as people catch up with holidays and recover from the gruelling schedule of three festivals in three months. However, there is one exception and it is the Literature Festival corner where there is much action in preparation for tickets going on sale for the October Festival.

August 2008 was exceptional and we sold over 22,000 tickets in the first week alone. 2008 saw ticket sales overall at the Festival rise by more than 12,000 over 2007 sales. Much of this growth has been achieved as a result of strengthening our external partnerships. This increased commitment from existing partners and new relationships has, in turn, come about because of our investment in the senior staffing of the Festival team and the creation of the role of Executive Director with responsibility for external relations. This has created freedom for the Artistic Director to spend more time on programming development.

Again a strong theme of the “family” helped to shape the programme. Exploring the family and how it shapes who we are and how we live, read and write led to some particularly interesting strands including how some families have become dynasties shaping entire nations. We also looked at how writers have drawn on their family experiences and those of others.

Our two guest Directors this year were Kate Adie and Ian Rankin. Both could have have been under the Science Festival banner of “taboo” as Kate Adie boldy confronted whether political correctness is a barrier to expression and Ian Rankin, one of our best loved crime writers, looked back at the year 1968 considering the notions of censorship, sex, and the taboo as well as looking at the future of the “creative industries”.

Cheltenham had a surprise visitor on the opening day as Prime Minister Gordon Brown dropped in to the Festival which was due to be a talk on his latest book but inevitably turned into question time on the economy. The Radio 4 presence this year at the Festival was impressive with many of their most popular programmes being broadcast from the Festival including The News Quiz, Start the Week, Poetry Please and Open Book. In addition, BBC World Service broadcast The Forum from Cheltenham guests including Simon Schama, Lionel Shriver and Clive James.

During the earlier part of the year we were invited by The Wellcome Trust to be a member of their Book Prize Steering Group in helping them to develop a completely new prize to celebrate quality writing of fiction or non-fiction centred around medicine. The prize was launched at the Festival this year and next year we will be hosting an event featuring short-listed authors before the final prize-giving in London before the end of the year. It has been enormously rewarding for us all to use our knowledge from both the Science and Literature Festivals in helping to shape this prize and be part of such an innovative project.

We celebrated the Man Booker 40th Anniversary by commissioning past winners to write a new piece for the Festival. Our authors included Penelope Lively, Ben Okri, Graham Swift, DBC Pierre, John Banville and the readings were broadcast by Radio 4..

We were very pleased to be able to continue our cross-Festival programming initiatives with a further Wellcome Grant. Writing Medicine comprised two series of events. The series entitled “Bodies” focussed on the exploration of the human body in literature whilst “Writers and Remedies” presented a history of medicine considering the interaction between writers and the medicine of their day. The event on Florence Nightingale presented to most people a different understanding of her impact on the development of nursing standards in this country.

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Unfortunately we were unable to coincide Nobel-prize winning author, Toni Morrison’s visit with the Festival but she came to Cheltenham for an exclusive post Festival event in late October. This was held at The Centaur, the largest venue for literature in the UK.

Events, as always, ranged from the very popular at the Centaur to the small, intimate and quirky in the Drawing Room or Café. Probably one of our most in demand Centaur events this year was the John Barrowman event attracting an enormously diverse audience. Poetry Cafés continued strongly and Patience Agbabi gave a fiery performance of her poems presenting an usual snapshot of 21st century Britain. There were more applicants than ever for the Poetry Slam! Qualifier, and an outstanding quality of performance at the Poetry Slam itself on the opening Saturday of the Festival. Furthermore, our storytelling goes from strength to strength, and we involved a range of contemporary storytellers, including Clare Murphy, Ben Haggarty, Pamela Marre and Hugh Lupton.

This year we linked to our sister Festivals with a number of events including an event exploring the life and work of the very colourful cellist Amaryllis Fleming, and a session exploring the impact and writing of Lord Berners. Alexander Waugh presented an event on Paul Wittgenstein who became the world’s greatest left-handed pianist having lost an arm in the Great War. This led to follow-on programming ideas for the 2009 Music Festival.

The visual arts programme was again strong and linking to Cheltenham’s other famous festival was the Horses in Art talk. It considered the representation of the horse and its relationship with humans from the Parthenon Frieze to Stubbs, Degas and Damien Hirst. The Jack Vettriano event linked us to The British Museum and we again worked with Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum on The Big Draw project over the Family Fun Day.

In the run-up to the Festival, we launched a new community project joining forces with Penguin Modern Classics. The Big Read project entailed setting up a number of Readers’ Groups in branches of Waterstone’s and local libraries including sessions in Gloucester and Tewkesbury. The book chosen was Brideshead Revisited. There were a number of linked events at the Festival itself following the meeting of the book groups and the groups joined forces for an event at the Festival. The outcome was pleasing with attendance by a number of people who had never ventured into a book group before or to the Festival.

As well as delivering this Festival which contained more than 400 events, the team were already thinking ahead to the important 60th Anniversary of the Festival in 2009. It was decided to invite a guest director for each day of the Festival in 2009 and so approaches were being made to authors and dates pencilled into diaries. In addition, the team invited many new partners to the Festival to experience it first-hand in preparation for their involvement in the 2009 celebrations.

Once people experience a Cheltenham Festival we usually find they fall under the spell. The nature of our Festivals and the image of the town outside Festival times are so different that it is hard for people grasp the effect we have on the town until they actually experience the buzz.

AUGUST 2008 WAS EXCEPTIONAL AND WE SOLD OVER 22,000 TICKETS IN THE FIRST WEEK ALONE

Iain Ballamy was chosen for this year’s Jerwood commission with his new Anglo-Swedish band, Alias. Iain featured in the very first Jerwood Rising Stars series in 2002 and has gone on to become one of the most dazzling saxophonists and composers of the younger generation of jazz musicians. The band also appeared live on Radio 3’s flagship jazz programme, Jazz on 3, which celebrated its 10th Anniversary at the Festival.

Iain Ballamy Tenor SaxophoneStaffan Svensson TrumpetJohn Parricelli GuitarPalle Danielsson BassPeter Danemo Drums

Phil Robson appeared in the 2003 Jerwood Rising Stars series as co-leader of the band Partisans and returned this year to present a second performance of his Six Strings & The Beat project, commissioned by Derby Jazz, with a wonderful line up of fantastic musicians.

Phil Robson GuitarPeter Herbert Double BassGene Calderazzo DrumsEmma Smith ViolinJenny May Logan ViolinNaomi Fairhurst ViolaKate Short Cello

Soweto Kinch has been a pioneer in the UK in bringing together elements of jazz with the more improvisational aspects of hip hop. He is an excellent MC (rapper) as well as saxophonist. He gave a lively performance of his new second part of his jazz and hip hop album, A Life in the Day of B19 Part 2: Basement Fables which featured wonderful scat singing by Jerwood artist, Eska Mtungwazi.

Soweto Kinch Alto/tenor sax, vocalsFemi Temowo GuitarNeil Charles Double bassGraham Godfrey DrumsEska Mtungwazi VocalsNat Jones Visuals

Dave Smith’s Outhouse Ruhabi was undoubtedly one of the highlights not only of the JJG series but also the Festival as a whole. Building on the experiences and collaborations developed over time spent in the Gambia, drummer Dave Smith and his band, Outhouse, formed a new ensemble with five traditional African drummers. Their performance in the Everyman Theatre was a stunning combination of a large percussion section – the Wolof drummers and Dave Smith – with the improvisations of a regular jazz quartet, giving them the opportunity to showcase this innovative project in front of a large audience and to put together a national tour.

Robin Fincker Saxophone & ClarinetMark Hanslip Tenor Saxophone & FluteJohnny Brierley Double BassDave Smith DrumsBaboucar Camara, Biran Saine, Mambiran Saine, Kaw Secka, Laity Fye Sabar Drums & Vocals

Pete Wareham, a real Festival favourite, returned with a brand new group, The Final Terror! with drummer Leo Taylor. Pete has developed a strong following for his punk-jazz style and has been a leading contributor to the growth of an increasingly popular scene. His band gave a thrilling and absorbing performance in the Pillar Room pleasing audiences and critics alike.

Pete Wareham Saxophones, Keys & VocalsLeo Taylor DrumsRuth Goller Electric Bass

Drawing on a formidable grasp of jazz, classical and world styles the Dave Stapleton Quintet performed a sophisticated and approachable Pillar Room set featuring tunes from their album The House Always Wins.

Dave Stapleton PianoBen Waghorn SaxophonesJonny Bruce Trumpet / FluglehornPaula Gardiner Double BassElliot Bennett Drums

A graduate from Birmingham Conservatoire’s renowned Jazz course, pianist Alcyona Mick performed with her new trio Blink featuring the excellent reeds player Robin Fincker. An inventive trio they performed a set of interesting new compositions combining jazz, classical and world music.

Alcyona Mick PianoRobin Fincker Saxophones & ClarinetPaul Clarvis Drums

JAZZ GENERATION PERFORMERS

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1st Marko Kosicek Croatia2nd Tijana Prodanovic Serbia3rd Nick Harrigan United Kingdom

Finalists:

Bernard Weingartner AustriaAziz Shahhuseynov AzerbaijanVenelin Kozhuharov BulgariaOlympia Agalioti GreeceAdi Yaniv IsraelVictor Popescu RomaniaDeniz Cemiryurek Turkey

FAMELAB INTERNATIONAL WINNERS & FINALISTS

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Artists Catriona Scott ClarinetAlex Wood Violin Robin Michael Cello Huw Watkins Piano Richard Benjafield Percussion Anna Dennis Mezzo-soprano Robert Tuohy Conductor Students

Julia Crowell Flute Robin Crinson Oboe Kate McDermott Clarinet Andrew Watson BassoonChristine Ransom Horn Brian McGinley TrumpetDouglas Coleman Trombone Adam Penketh Trombone Amelia Jones ViolinAnna Ovsyanikova ViolinRuth Gibson ViolaCarina Drury CelloGareth Shepperd Double BassScott Wilson Percussion

Peter Maxwell DaviesSonata for violin and pianoPerformed by Ilya Grinolts, violin, and Aleksandar Madžar, pianoPittville Pump Room English Première

Christopher LitherlandSoft Morning CityPerformed by Wells Cathedral School Chamber ChoirAll Saints Church, PittvilleWorld Première

Evangelia RigakiString QuartetPerformed by Barbirolli String QuartetSt Peter’s Church, Winchcombe World Première

Mark-Anthony TurnageAir with VariationsPerformed by Craig OgdenPittville Pump Room World Première

Peter Maxwell DaviesPiano QuartetPerformed by Primrose Piano QuartetPittville Pump Room World Première

Tunde JegedeFate: song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano trioPerformed by Samadhi EnsemblePittville Pump Room World Première

Joe DuddellThe Redwood TreePerformed by Royal Marines BandTown Hall World Première

Cheryl Frances-HoadMy Day in Hell for string quartetPerformed by Dante QuartetPittville Pump Room World Première

Michael Zev GordonRoseland for cello and pianoPerformed by Festival Academy 2Pittville Pump Room World Première

Max Charles DaviesWild with Blue for alto saxophone and pianoPerformed by Amy DicksonSt Mary’s Church, Painswick World Première

John Manduell3M Skirmish for stringsPerformed by Festival Academy 4Pittville Pump Room World Première

Michael BerkeleyWhen I hear your voice… for mezzo-soprano and ensemblePerformed by Festival Academy 4Pittville Pump Room World Première

FESTIVAL ACADEMY PLAYERS

COMMISSIONS& PREMIERES

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Science Festival States of Mind

Sleeping and DreamingWe sleep for about one third of our lives, and this most enigmatic of mental states has inspired science and arts for centuries. But what does the latest research reveal about our brains during sleeping and dreaming? Join Director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre Chris Idzikowski and social anthropologist Iain Edgar to discover the secrets of our slumbering minds, and how different cultures have understood their visual creations.

UnconsciousnessDo people have some hidden understanding of speech when they are unconscious? Recent brain imaging research has detected signs of awareness in patients who cannot respond or communicate, raising questions about how doctors and families should deal with patients in a vegetative state. Neuroscientists Matt Davies and Parashkev talk to Robert Winston about one of the most ethically challenging conditions in modern medicine.

Creative Minds: A Project for Schools and Community Groups 133 adults and children took part in Creative Minds. Artist and scientist Lizzie Burns visited nine schools and community centres, giving a fascinating insight into sleeping, dreaming and the workings of the brain. Participants were then encouraged to create a piece of artwork – on a blank mask – inspired by the topic, which were then displayed at the Festival. This project was fundamental in helping Cheltenham Festivals strengthen its links to community groups and harder-to-reach audiences in Gloucestershire, including Hester’s Way Children’s Centre, Cheltenham General Hospital and the Black Elders Day Centre.

Other Wellcome events were Hypnosis and Consciousness.

Literature Festival Bodies

The Body in the LibraryHow important is it for leading crime writers such as Ian Rankin and Minette Walters to keep up with the latest developments in forensic pathology – and how do they portray the realities of the science in their work? They join pathologists Stephen Leadbeatter and Anthony Busuttil to discuss the relationship between forensic science and its portrayal in fiction.

Alex Clarke, Iain Hutchinson, James Partridge & Simon WestonSimon Weston, who suffered burn injuries in the Falklands, and James Partridge, having sustained facial burns in a car accident, have both written movingly about their experience. They join surgeon Iain Hutchinson and psychologist Alex Clarke to discuss the physical and emotional effects of reconstructive facial surgery and living with and writing about facial disfigurement.

Other Wellcome events were Extremes, Under The Knife, Gray’s Anatomy and Size Matters

Literature Festival Writers & Remedies

Jane Austen & Fanny Burney: Taking the WatersWell-heeled society flocked to 18th and 19th-century spas such as Cheltenham and Bath not only for their health but also for the heady mix of romance, scandal and intrigue portrayed in the novels of Jane Austen and Fanny Burney. Join Jane Austen expert Janet Todd, Burney biographer Claire Harman and spa history specialist Jane Adams to discuss the spa’s medical, social and literary history.

Freud InvestigatesSigmund Freud was an admirer of detective fiction, and his models for analysing human behaviour deeply influenced the development of the study of psychology as well as crime fiction. Crime novelist and leading psychologist Frank Tallis and one of the country’s leading criminal psychologists David Canter are joined by Sonu Shamdasani to discuss Freud’s legacy and the influence of his ideas on both psychology and crime writing.

Other Wellcome events were Florence Nightingale, Behind Closed Doors, Magic Mountains and Mark Jackson, D J Taylor & Alison Finch on Proust.

Man Booker 40 Readings

Celebrated winners of the Man Booker Prize presented exclusive new work. The Festival is renowned for commissioning new writing and this year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Man Booker Prize. John Banville, Penelope Lively, Ben Okri, D B C Pierre and Graham Swift premiered exciting new work which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

Each year on the final Saturday of the Literature Festival, Cheltenham hosts a Booker Prize discussion about books that were written before the introduction of the Man Booker Prize. In 2008, the year was 1948 and the books on the Cheltenham short-list were Graham Greene’s The Heart of the Matter, Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead, Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country and The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh. The panel of judges were AC Grayling, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Sue Perkins and Erica Wagner and the event was chaired by Ion Trewin. Each panellist made representations for one of the books and after a hard-fought debate the winner was Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country.

WELLCOME TRUST EVENTS

Major Sponsors

CHK CharitiesDean Close SchoolEPSRCEnvironment AgencyFriends of the Cheltenham Literature FestivalLexus CheltenhamL’OrealMackwoods Fine TeaThe Oldham FoundationThe Steel Charitable TrustUCASUniversity of Gloucestershire

Media Partners

BBC Radio 4Channel 4The Daily TelegraphGloucestershire Media Jazzwise Magazine

Festival Partners

AmecAvivaBBC Music MagazineBBC Radio 3Birmingham JazzBritish CouncilChelsea Building SocietyForesightGE AviationGullivers Sports TravelHorwath Clark WhitehillInstitute of Physics PublishingAlias Hotel KandinskyThe Man Booker PrizeMoss ConstructionRensburg SheppardsResearch Councils UKPeace PennelsScience and Technology Facilities CouncilSing UpTechnology Strategy BoardUCLWillans LLP

Associate Sponsors

Arts and BusinessBang and OlufsenBerkhampstead SchoolBPEBritish Computer SocietyCharles Russell SolicitorsThe Cheltenham Ladies CollegeCheltenham RacecourseCheltenham Stage ServicesChina NowCity of London SchoolCommission for Rural CommunitiesCountry LifeCowley ManorE&MSEstonian Embassy in LondonThe Fiery Beacon GalleryThe Folio SocietyFourth EstateHotel du Vin & BistroThe King’s School GloucesterLanes HealthMajor Lift Hydraulic EquipmentMobenn MarqueesNatural Environment Research CouncilThe Natural Grocery StoreNelson ThornesNorwegian EmbassyPYA Architects QAAThe Royal Academy of EngineeringThe Royal SocietyRSASatnam EuropeSign CraftSpirax SarcoStuart Holmes Hair and Beauty SalonTaylor BrothersTijuanaUCBWiggin Osborne Fullerlove Solicitors

SPONSORS& SUPPORTERS

Title Sponsors

Regular Funders

Prinicipal Sponsors

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Individual Event Sponsors

A & C BlackBiosciences FederationBrewin DolphinBritish Pharmacological SocietyBritish Psychological SocietyCath KidstonChorionComfort Control DesignDaphne Jackson TrustGQ MagazineThe Keats-Shelley Memorial AssociationMorgan Motor CompanyMRG SystemsRoche Diagnostics LtdRoyal Horticultural SocietySciencewiseScience made simpleThe Science MuseumWhatman plcWriters’ and Artists’ Yearbook

In-kind Sponsors

Aesthetical MagazineBollingerCotswold LifeCurry CornerThe DaffodilGlide Media MarketingGrantaThe Greenway HotelLower Slaughter ManorLypiatt House HotelThe Queen’s HotelRed PepperSpa PRSteinway & SonsThe Times Literary Supplement Writers’ NewsWriters’ ForumWriting MagazineYoung Writer

Individual Supporters

Mr and Mrs Stephen AsquithLady BerkeleyJack and Dora BlackEleanor BudgeBeryl Calver-JonesMichael and Angela CronkClive Coates and Ann MurrayEdward and Alyson GillespieElizabeth JacobsRoger LaneGraham and Eileen LockwoodPeter and Veronica Lofthouse Sir Peter and Lady MarychurchSir Michael and Lady McWilliamMary Mackenzie, Richard Walton and FriendsGerry MattockPaul MironPatricia Routledge CBEPeter and Esther SmedvigDiana Woolley

Trusts and Foundations

Alan Cadbury TrustBerners TrustCountess of Muster Musical TrustD’Oyly CarteEarly Music NetworkFoyle FoundationGrace Fry FoundationGeorge Budge TrustHolst FoundationHelena Oldacre TrustQuenington Sculpture TrustRatcliffe FoundationRVW TrustSammermar Trustspnm Susanna Peake Charitable Trust

President

Dame Judi Dench

Vice-Presidents

Eleanor Budge Charles Fisher Sir John Manduell CBE Sir Peter Marychurch KCMG

Life Patron

Charles FisherGraham & Eileen Lockwood

Corporate Patron

HSBCWillans

Platinum Patron

Peter & Anne BondJennifer Bryant-PearsonMichael & Angela CronkHoward & Jay Milton

Gold Patron

David & Clare Astor Erica AustinJack & Dora BlackEleanor BudgeClive Coates & Ann MurrayMichael & Felicia CrystalWallace & Morag DobbinMr & Mrs P J Elliott Lord & Lady HoffmannElizabeth JacobsPenelope LomaxSir Peter & Lady MarychurchSir Michael & Lady McWilliamMary & Timothy Mitchell The Helena Oldacre TrustEsther & Peter SmedvigMeredithe Stuart-SmithFiona & David Symondson Janet WedgeSteve & Eugenia WinwoodPeter & Alison Yiangou

Festival Patron

Mark & Maria BentleyStephen & Victoria BondJonathan & Daphne CarrRobert Cawthorne & Catherine WhiteSimon Collings Christopher DreyfusViscount EsherJames FlemingKate FlemingReade & Elizabeth Griffith Huw & Nicki Gwynn-JonesMarianne Hinton Stephen HodgeAnthony Hoffman & Dr Christine Facer HoffmanRichard & Peta HoyleSimon & Emma KeswickMartin Knight Mark McKergow & Jenny ClarkeProfessor Angela NewingAndrew & Sheila NorthRobert PadgettSir David & Lady Pepper Leslie Perrin Jonathon PorrittSarah E Priday Patricia Routledge CBELavinia SidgwickJonathan & Gail TaylorBen & Fiona WhiteProfessor Lord WinstonAnne WoodMichael & Jacqueline Woof

PATRONS

Cheltenham Festivals 109 Bath Road Cheltenham GL53 7LST +44 (0)1242 774400 F +44 (0)1242 256457 [email protected]

Cheltenham Festivals Ltd Charity No. 251765

VAT Reg. No. 274184644

Cheltenham Festivals annual review 2008

Documents

Transcript of Cheltenham Festivals annual review 2008