Iford Arts Season Round-up

Well, what a season that was - made spectacularly more manageable by the beautiful weather (for the most part) from our point of view.

We kicked off with Verdi's La Traviata, a rich production by Bruno Ravella, the Chroma orchestra conducted by Oliver Gooch.  Critical acclaim in particular for Alinka Kozari's performance as leading lady.

Highlight of a lively weekend of midsummer Jazz was a visit by Claire Martin and Ian Shaw, who engaged the audience with their humourous renditions.

Jeff Clarke's production of Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne brought the comic highlight of the year, as the cast burst onto the cloister scene dressed as steam engines, clouds of white smoke billowing from their funnels.  Review.

Handel's pastoral Acis and Galatea proved itself on the perfect scale for the cloister.  Mary Bevan as Galatea excelled, here pictured with Lukas Jacobski as Polyphemus in Pia Furtado's moving presentation of a well known work.  Christian Curnyn as ever brought the score to life exquisitly.

Reviews: Independent; Telegraph; Guardian

The final fling for the season was a weekend of jazz, including the excellent Minas Project, from Brazil (above).

All in all an excellent season - thank you to the team at Iford Arts who put it all together and we look forward to next year!

Happy Birthday to Judy Eglington

The Artistic Director and co-founder of Iford Arts, Judy Eglington, turned 21 again this evening.  The cast of La Traviata were on hand, along with the audience, to give her a rousing and well-deserved rendition of a traditional birthday tune.

Iford Arts - first night at the Opera

After weeks of anticipation, the moment had come for the first night of Traviata in the cloister at Iford. 

Guests for the evening celebrated 20 years of opera at Iford with a glass of champagne in the sunlight on a beautiful evening.  But the star of the show was the cast and musicians. 

Photos usually follow on the Iford Arts facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Iford-Arts/168502343261?fref=ts

3toTea Concert today

Rehearsals are underway for today's free concert given by Kingswood Senior String Orchestra.

If you are nearby why not drop in between 3 and 4 pm?

Getting stuffed for the Iford Arts 2013 season

The Iford community is so much about the people that support the various activities which go on in the valley.  Early January sees the printing of the annual Iford Arts festival brochure and that means it's time to stuff the envelopes and get it in the post for our Opera, Jazz and concert lovers to book their tickets.  If you aren't on the mailing list, get onto the Iford Arts website and take a look at the 2013 season.

www.ifordarts.co.uk

DVD Release -- Tim Kliphuis: Live at Iford Manor

A couple of weeks ago, we were excited to release our first recording of musical events in the cloister at Iford.  Iford Recordings will bring the finest artists to your home through the medium of DVD.

"Tim Kliphuis and Friends: Live at Iford Manor" was filmed in front of a live audience, on June 30th 2011.  The aim was to produce a DVD which would bring to the television screen the experience of attending an event at Iford, working with a spectacular artist in an inspirational venue.

Tim Kliphuis is a world class violinist, and an exponent of the immediacy of improvised music.  The understanding and response to the inputs from both audience and venue are what makes a great improviser and the eclectic styles at Iford proved great inspiration for Tim's music making.

A sample from the DVD can be found above.  Copies can be purchased at www.ifordrecordings.co.uk and would make a great Christmas present.  Copies should be with you by Christmas if ordered before Sunday 18th December.  This year, give someone the gift of great music at Iford.

3-to-tea returns

With the opera season now over for 2011, and to wide acclaim I might add, Iford returns to being more of a full-time garden, less a mixed-use venue.  But music isn't out altogether; far from it.  It brings us great pleasure to see the return of 3-to-tea, our series of concerts given by amateur and semi-professional musicians on Sunday afternoons in August.

The short recitals are free to garden visitors (just pay the normal garden entry), and provide a fabulous opportunity for anyone from aspiring young artists through to more experienced players to come and enjoy playing in an informal setting to a warm and very receptive audience.

Last Sunday Felicity Courage brought her group, the Courage Choir, to make merry music in the cloister and visitors were treated to a happy hour of song from this talented group of young singers.  We hope that perhaps there are some stars of the future amongst them - remember us when you're famous!

Tim Kliphuis DVD in the can

On Thursday 30th June a lucky audience of 75 was treated to a spectacular concert given by Tim Kliphuis, the world-renowned violin improviser, in the cloister at Iford.  Tim brought his quartet of David Newton (Piano), Roy Percy on Double Bass, and Nigel Clark on Guitar.  Here they are in the garden at Iford:

Audience-members came from all over Europe to lend their support to the project, and support from the Iford Arts stewards was kindly provided to help run the Pimm's bar and to ensure that the evening ran as smoothly as it did.

The event (from picnics to the final chord) was recorded for DVD by a team of two cameramen and a sound man (who had come from Scotland the day before - only the best...); even the weather did its best to help, as the clouds of the afternoon we moved on by the evening sun.

The DVDs are already selling well by subscription, and you can pre-order your copies at heavily reduced prices on the Iford Recordings website:

==>>  Order now -- www.IfordRecordings.co.uk  <<==

Many thanks are due to Robert Coles for the photography; to Mickelburgh Pianos of Bath for the loan of a spectacularly good Kawai piano; to Sound Network UK for sponsoring the DPA microphones; to Iford Arts and their stewards for their assistance in running the event; to the audience for joining in so warmly; and to all others for their help.

Goodbye Hansel...

We said goodbye to Hansel and Gretel this week, the first of this year's operas from Iford Arts.  The production was a roaring success, I'm pleased to say, and received excellent reviews.  The Iford Arts Flickr album is here.

During the "get out" there was an amusing moment when I spotted Alistair, one of the team of technicians, performing a PAT (electrical safety test) on the "baby Belling" which appeared not only physically as part of the set in the performance (within which the nasty witch of the wood was turned into a cup-cake), but also verbally in the libretto itself!

Today is butterfly day

Iford today hosts a wonderful community event called "Butterfly Day", which is a celebration and exploration of the wildlife that we enjoy in the valley here at Iford.  Click here for details.

In association with Butterfly Conservation, moth traps were set up last night, and a fantastic haul of around 60 different species of large moths are now on display.  These will be released again at the end of the afternoon, of course!

This year we are particularly pleased to welcome the RSPB back with their fascinating displays of birdlife in the valley.  In conjunction with the butterfly and moth brigade, they will be orchestrating wildlife walks during the afternoon around the meadows and hillsides.

And there's a little bonus for those with an interest in chiropterophilia too.  The Vincent Wildlife Trust, with the help of Natural England which administers the Special Site of Scientific Interest in the valley, has set up an infrared camera to allow us to watch the baby Greater Horseshoe Bats in the barn.  This protected species is very rare indeed, and so it is a great privilege to be able to see inside such a healthy roost.

It all kicks off at 11:30am, so we hope to see you later!  And the best thing about Butterfly Day...?  It's free to enter!

The tearoom will be open from 12 until 5, and the garden open as usual from 2pm.

Photos from the Jazz

Rob Coles, photographer extraordinaire, has sent through these images from last weekend's jazz events.  We particularly liked the image of the umbrellas, above.

Above: Anna, front of house manager, radio in one hand, phone in the other.

Below: Jim Hart mesmerises with his vibraphone

 Above: not to be deterred by the rain, the plucky English take to an old oak tree for shelter

Below: Tina May wows the audience 

 

 Above: Digby Fairweather

Below: Digby Fairweather's Half Dozen

Below: yours truly preparing oil lamps with JH to light to route to the carpark.

All images copyright Robert Coles

Slightly surreal goings on...

June is a very busy month.  Not only is it one of the most popular for garden group visits, requiring tea and cakes/biscuits/scones etc. to be made, tours to be conducted, and a lot of 'being on parade' (all of which we really rather enjoy, actually), but it is also the month when we welcome back the hoards of artists, opera singers, stage designers, directors, orchestras, stewards and other connected persons... it can only be the Iford Arts Season!

One of the benefits of this whirlwind of excitement are the slightly surreal sights and sounds which accompany the 'get-in' of an opera production - opera singers wearing 'half-costume' and 'representative make-up' trotting through the garden amongst the visiting public; final rehearsals as the musicians fit the production they had each envisaged in their own minds into the bizarre 'cloistered' reality with which they now have to contend; and this evening the wonder of walking into the kitchen to make a cup of tea only to find the Chroma chamber ensemble rehearsing in the courtyard just outside the window.

Marvellous.  Simply marvellous.

Jazz2 - weather looking more promising

We had a beautiful afternoon with a fair few visiting the garden and enjoying a cream tea in the tearoom. So it's therefore such a shame that it has clouded over. Nevertheless, out of the office window I can see streams of picnic-laden visitors brandishing their tickets, and the clouds seem to be lifting somewhat.

The Met Office's forecast makes for a great improvement on last night's drizzle-dampened promenade, so with sufficient fingers crossed... it might brighten up later - maybe even (dare we to dream?) some sunshine?

Tonight it's Digby Fairweather's Half Dozen (internationally celebrated and feted blues band) and Jim Hart (an extraordinary manipulator of the vibraphone) - should be quite a night!

Hearty jazz combats drizzle

More than a little British resolve was required to sit out the showery drizzle which disturbed the natural order of things in the Iford valley last night in the run up to, and during the first hour of, the first Jazz Promenade of the season.  Tents were erected wherever possible, umbrellas unfurled and the tearoom was turned into something of an impromptu picnic party as jazz aficionados made for shelter in some form or another.

Mind you, it could have been worse.  They had snow in Wales... http://bit.ly/kpC665 

But as the rain moved off around 8pm, damp revelers needn't have worried about the chill in the air.  The warmth of Tina May's voice transported a packed cloister to the cafes of Paris, with beautiful Piaf-esque renditions of songs old and new.  

At the Casita, swing was the order of the day, with The Numbers Racket offering no-excuse to the dance-shy - much energetic toe-tapping was enjoyed by all as the darkening grey of the sky yielded to the more optimistic yellows of electric light reflected off the floodlit trees and the golden cotswold stone.

Judging by the happy smiles on the faces of visitors as they returned to their cars, as usual on changeable evenings such as this, the plucky British concert-goers has indeed resolved to enjoy themselves: and enjoy themselves they did!

Without my tripod, my camera wasn't terribly happy last night, but here are a few images from the event which just about made the cut!  Hopefully Iford Arts will post some more images when these are available.

Preparations for Jazz1

Tonight sees the first night of the 2011 Iford Arts season.  Preparations are in full swing, and I hope to post photographs of the event later tonight - it is currently a bit drizzly, but the forecast suggests it might well brighten up a bit, which would make the event all the more special.

Fingers crossed...

Tim Kliphuis DVD update

Pre-sales of the Tim Kliphuis DVD are now underway, and it's proving popular.  If you haven't ordered your copies at the promotional rates, (just £25 for 2 - usually £20 each!), then perhaps you ought pop along to Iford Recordings and snap up a few.  They'll be delivered in late October (the recording is in late June), ready to be put to good use as prezzies at Christmas.

We are also very pleased to announce that the recording is kindly supported by Mickleburgh Pianos of Bath.  Mickleburgh Bath has an extensive range of new and reconditioned upright and grand pianos over two floors, plus a good selection of digital pianos to choose from, and are always there to help anyone from the beginner to the advanced pianist.

Iford Recordings: a new venture

I am delighted to announce plans for the very first DVD recorded in association with Iford Arts, in the wonderfully romantic Cloisters at Iford.  This is a project born out of a long-standing desire to bring the atmosphere and intimacy of this extraordinary space to a wider audience, and to do so by working with artists who truly understand the acoustic, ambience and ethos of Iford, both as a community and as an idyllic valley.

Last year, Iford Arts invited Tim Kliphuis and his trio to perform a concert as part of Iford's ongoing series of Jazz promenade evenings.  It became very clear from the start that we had in our midst a rather special creator of inspirational music.

After the concert of gypsy-inspired, improvisatory genius, I approached Tim and asked him speculatively what he thought of the venue for recordings.  We fell to chatting as he loaded the car.  Four months later, he sent me an email, and the project was born.  Tim, it seems, had caught the Iford bug...

Visiting us as a quartet, this time, Tim will be bringing the world-renowned jazz pianist David Newton, who has himself recorded with some of the world's great jazz singers and players.  We'll be able to release more information on the line-up as time goes on (well, you wouldn't want to know it all at once, now, would you?).

The important information, however, is that you can pre-order the DVD at a special price, for delivery in November 2011.  Now, the special offer is 2 for £25 (normally £20 each!) - one for you, and one for a friend at Christmas.

The recording will take place in June, and we are planning a DVD packed full not only of the live concert in the cloisters, but including those little vignettes which make DVDs so intriguing - the bits you don't see when you go to the lovely polished concert.

Order your copies now, at this special price:  www.IfordRecordings.co.uk/kliphuis.html

Iford Arts looks forward to the season ahead

Judy, the Artistic Director at Iford Arts sent this report (a fortnight ago; I'm just slow!):

"At Iford Arts we fancy ourselves as 'West Coast' Wilts, with a laid back atmosphere and informal approach. Gearing up for this summer’s season we’re already busy with mailshots, auditions, and random propositions and requests from places like Shanghai – I kid you not – and Corfu. The new season’ s brochure is just launched and a mailshot of nearly 4000 stuffed and franked by a team of 11 volunteers who then enjoyed a celebratory lunch in the Green Room upstairs. It was a very jolly occasion much enjoyed by all and oiled by a few bottles of wine left over from last season.

Casting for our two shows, Hansel and Gretel and Rodelinda is going well with some exciting newcomers in significant roles. Ciara Hendrick and Aiofe O’ Sullivan are a dinky and disarming pair as Hansel and Gretel, both very spontaneous and unmannered, lovely at Iford! Our witch, whose eyes are unnervingly sparkly is one third of the Three Welsh Tenors, Alun Rhys-Jenkins. We can’t wait! Rodelinda has the beginnings of a starry line-up with James Laing and Owen Willetts, Doreen Curran, but as yet no Rodelinda…. I know that The Don in Don Giovanni will be the dishy James Cleverton and we’re waiting eagerly to see who else will be conducted in that Opera della Luna production by our latest young maestro – winner of the Leeds conducting competition - Geoffrey Paterson.

Judging by the phone response to the brochure (when we can hear the callers-I am sure our phone line runs through a puddle and is hideously fuzzy right now) we may have caused confusion by getting the renowned jazz diva, Tina May here to sing what is really non-jazz repertoire, ie Edith Piaf, on June 10th. She is a superb vocalist and chanteuse and I believe these poignant songs will be absolutely fabulous in the cloister, even if not strictly jazz repertoire.

But our biggest challenge is to bring off the extension to our programming as we expand our outreach work with Chroma to include a schools’ matinee show of Hansel and Gretel – we are trying for the Pavilion in Bath - but have to raise the cash! A huge challenge but worthwhile. The covers scheme is growing too with a narrated concert style Hansel and Gretel to be sung by the cover singers with the orchestra in the cloister, but we are still seeking a host for one of the cover concerts – the Handel one.

It's all cooking well!"

>> You can follow Iford Arts on Facebook, here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iford-Arts/168502343261

A highly successful end to the main music season

Last Saturday saw the final Jazz Promenade of the season, and thankfully the weather turned out to be [relatively] kind, although it was threatening.  The morning and afternoon brought consistent showers, which sent worried shivers through the set-up team, contemplating with horror a return to last year's quagmire-car parks, sodden lawns and slippery steps.

The sodden sweet peas may have looked pretty, but picnic brollies were an essential upon arrival:

As usual, though, we confirmed the weather in its better behaviour by putting up more and more tents!

By about 7.30pm, just in time for the music, you wouldn't have known it was the same day from the photographs.

The 'macintosh'-clad audience was treated first to some wonderfully intimate Flamenco in the cloister where Eclipse held a capacity audience entranced by their beguiling Spanish dance.  By the end of their set, there wasn't a cloud in the sky over the Casita, which provided a complete contrast with revved up Cuban rhythms from the masterful Mojito, encouraging much revelry.  A fuller report will no doubt follow with photographs from the team at Iford Arts.

From our perspective, as the venue itself, we were particularly pleased that each of the bands expressed themselves very happy with the space in which they performed; this really is as important as anything to us - happy musicians = happy audiences!

Well done to Iford Arts and their volunteers on organising another great night and a fantastic season of events.

(Performance photos to follow.)

Festival season update

The 2010 Iford Festival has been a great success. Handel's Xerxes went off with a bang (pyrotechnics, and the blowing up of a bridge!), and we are now in the last two weeks of the season, with Iford Festival Productions' Rigoletto ending the season with a flourish.

I thought you'd like to see some photos of the two Iford Festival Productions - Xerxes and Rigoletto. For more photos, have a look at Iford Arts on facebook. If you've been to any of the shows or jazz proms this year, it would be wonderful if you could post up some reviews or comments, either here, or on facebook. Thanks!