The Two Moors festival

Day seven of 2MF 2011

2011-10-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

Since the last post, the Festival team spent a day in Widecombe-in the-Moor, but has been mostly based on Exmoor, running concerts in Dulverton and Dunster. On Monday, HRH The Countess of Wessex attended a sell-out concert with accordionist, Ksenija Sidorova and the Solstice Quartet – quite incredible. Then yesterday afternoon, the Two Moors Festival Wind and Piano Quintet performed their concert repertoire from their August 2MF Residency (read previous posts for further information on Residencies). The audience were spoilt even further with superb wind playing from Principal Oboe of the Berlin Philharmonic, Jonathan Kelly, joined by viola player, Matthew Hunter (also of the Berlin Phil) and Alison Procter. How often do we in the South West have the opportunity to hear such stunning and inspiring musicians in such intimate surroundings?

There are still three days left so head to the Festival’s website to find events happening in your area.

Day four of the Two Moors Festival

2011-10-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

The 2011 festival is in full swing. We are on day four (Sunday) and have just said goodbye to Ashley Wass, Stephan Loges, Natalia Lomeiko, Marko Ylönen and Christoph Berner. Such a whirlwind of exciting and memorable concerts. We started on Thursday with Ashley Wass and Christoph Berner performing Brahms’s arrangement for piano duet of his D minor piano concerto. The following night took the Festival team to Okehampton, where Stephan Loges, Natalia Lomeiko, Marko Ylönen and Christoph Berner performed various works, ending in Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio no. 1. Then in Dulverton last night we heard a moving concert of Schubert and Schumann songs with Liszt transcriptions performed by Stephan Loges and Christoph Berner. The audience was spellbound and quite bowled over by this exceptionally intimate concert. (If you were unfortunate to have missed the recital, BBC Radio 3 will broadcast it at a later date.)

We head back to Dulverton today for a variety of events. At 12.30pm the Rose Consort of Viols performs a selection of Elizabethan works which will fit around a scrummy lunch in the Town Hall. There is Songs of Praise in the church at 4.30pm and then we have the sell-out concert with Yevgeny Sudbin this evening at 7.30pm, also in the church.

Ring the Festival Box Office on 01643 831006 for further information about events in your area.

Two Moors Ensemble September Residency

2011-09-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Two Moors Ensemble’s performance last week was a good judge of what to expect from the 2MF residential musicians in this year’s October Festival. They played an extraordinary concert of wind and string nonets by Clementi, Spohr and Martinu and the musicians (listed below) exhibited tremendous energy and passion. As a result of this successful performance, we can anticipate that their concert on 21^st October will be sensational! After three residencies over the past six months, where the musicians have worked and played tirelessly, their efforts will undoubtedly result in a climax of stunning proportions with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony.

Two Moors Ensemble (plus Alsation)
L-R top - Emily Callaghan, Alan Uren, Adrian Uren, Elizabeth Mace, Mea Wade
L-R bottom - Joanna Stark, Ben Birtle, Yusuke Kinoshita, David Stark

The wind and strings collaboration last week involved everything from busy rehearsals, to wet walks, combined with numerous games of Scrabble, Racing Demon (a very vicious card game) and Articulate. Feeding nine people three meals a day was a challenge, but all good practice for October when a total of sixteen will need to eat over the course of six days during the final Residency.

Playing the dangerous game of Racing Demon

If you missed the Residency concerts the musicians are reappearing in the 2011 October Festival:

Two Moors Festival String Quartet

1pm, 17^th October – St Pancras’s Church, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Haydn String Quartet in D minor Op. 103, No. 68
Beethoven String Quartet in G major Op. 18, No. 2
Smetana String Quartet in E minor No.1

Two Moors Festival Piano and Wind Quintet
2pm, 18^th October – St George’s Church, Dunster
Mozart Quintet in E flat K452
Poulenc Sextet Op. 100
Françaix L’Heure du Berger

Two Moors Ensemble

7.30pm, 21^st October – St Andrew’s Church, Ashburton
Spohr Nonet in F major Op. 31
Mahler (arr. Simon) Symphony in G major, No. 4

Two Moors Ensemble in concert

Wind and Piano Residency

2011-08-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

The Two Moors Festival hosted its second Residency last week. Predictably the weather was dismal, but that didn’t deter the Two Moors Festival Piano and Wind Quintet from making the most of the stunning countryside around Exmoor whilst working studiously and energetically towards their concert last Friday. The programme included Mozart’s Quintet in E Flat for piano and wind, Poulenc's Sextet Op. 100 and Françaix’s L’Heure du Berger, and the six musicians had a wonderful time exploring these favourites of the wind chamber repertoire. The concert was a great success with one member of the audience commenting: “Such an interesting programme and as always so good to see young musicians really enjoying themselves” and another: “We both enjoyed every minute - passionate musicians who lift the heart”.

(From L-R) Emily Callaghan, Mea Wade, Lynn Carter, Adrian Uren,
Joanna Stark, Elizabeth Mace

We can now look forward to their return in September where they are joined by the string players from April’s Residency. They will play nonets by Spohr and Martinu on 9^th September. For more information click here.

However, if you did miss the concert last week, the Two Moors Piano and Wind Quintet will be performing again on 18th October in St George's Church, Dunster as part of the Two Moors Festival.

Events 2011

2011-07-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

The brochure for the Two Moors Festival is now available and Friends priority booking opened on 18^th July – what excitement is in store for 2011?

Among the usual spread of fabulous and diverse concerts here are a few suggestions to get you going:

Pianist Christoph Berner

The opening recital with pianists Christoph Berner and Ashley Wass on 13^th October in Ashburton is not to be missed. For lovers of the Romantic era their programme of Schumann and Brahms will, without doubt, satisfy musical taste buds. The focus for this year’s Festival is transcriptions which threads its way through the programme. On 15^th October in Dulverton, Christoph Berner and Stephan Loges will thoroughly celebrate this theme of arrangements, in particular exploring Liszt’s fascination with transcribing. Also, in keeping with this idea, is the concert on 21^st October in Ashburton – the Klaus Simon arrangement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony performed by the Two Moors Festival Ensemble. With a Festival that is a predominantly chamber music based, it is a real treat to have this beautiful version of a well-loved orchestral work. Mahler is associated with vast orchestras and enormous choirs, but this reduced score to 16 players will fit perfectly in Ashuburton Church.

Principal Oboe, Berlin Phil,
Jonathan Kelly

This year the Festival also welcomes players, Principal Oboe Jonathan Kelly and viola player Matthew Hunter, from the Berlin Philharmonic. Even with their hectic schedule, we have persuaded them to come from Germany to perform in England’s smallest church, and give a recital in Dunster (18^th October). With so few opportunities in the South West to hear such extraordinary and magical oboe playing in such intimate surroundings this concert is a real treat!

The final concert to draw your attention to is a visit from well-known cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber. Alongside the Orchestra of the Swan, and local budding young musicians, he will perform Elgar’s Cello Concerto in Exeter Cathedral on 20^th October.

Julian Lloyd Webber

2MF Young Musicians Platform Competition - Second Round

2011-05-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

The Two Moors Festival can now announce the winners for this year's Young Musicians Platform Competition. After much deliberation, as the standard was exceptionally high, the four young musicians playing in the 2011 Festival will be Polly Bartlett (recorder), Molly Lopresti-Richards (marimba), Oliver Kelham (tenor) and Ruth Harrison (flute).

2MF mascot - Schubert the Sheep

The Young Musicians Platform Winners lunchtime concert will be on 21st October in Ashburton.

Please remember that tickets are not on sale until July/August.

To request a brochure click here.

Two Moors Quartet Residency

2011-04-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Two Moors Festival Residencies were set up in order to give busy professional musicians the opportunity to rehearse undisturbed in peace and quiet. The Residencies offer the perfect environment in which to work towards an important concert, a recording or on the formation of a new chamber group. Musicians can make use of the lovely acoustics in the gallery at Barkham and enjoy the idyllic surrounding countryside as inspiration. They are also given food, wine and accommodation in return for a concert at the end of the rehearsal period. This year’s series is a collaboration between wind and strings, which over the course of the next six months will evolve into a performance of the chamber version of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony during the October Two Moors Festival.

Two Moors Quartet rehearsing

The 2011 Residencies went off with a bang with the Two Moors Quartet (led by Alan Uren) who arrived in Devon last week for an intensive five days of rehearsals. The four musicians were utterly spoilt with the incredible weather and spent their time alternating between rehearsing in the Gallery and walking in the countryside around Exmoor. On Friday evening, the quartet gave the most moving and intimate performance of music by Haydn, Beethoven and Smetana, which left the audience spellbound.

(From Left-Right) Yusuke Kinoshita, Ben Birtle, Kay Stephen and Alan Uren

The second residency takes place in the beginning of August with the concert on 12th August at Barkham. The Two Moors Piano and Wind Quintet will delight audiences with Mozart, Poulenc and Françaix. For tickets, email: adie.exmoor@btinternet.com

2MF Young Musicians Platform Competition - First Round

2011-03-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the the Two Moors Festival hosted the first round of its annual Young Musicians Platform competition. There were four judges on the panel, 2MF Artistic Director Penny Adie, ex-BBC 3 presenter Stephanie Hughes, pianist Suling King and oboist Caroline Adie. On top of these four was a jovial bunch of loyal Festival supporters who listened attentively over the two days of auditions.

Two Moors Festival judges

The 2MF Young Musicians Platform Competition is rather unusual. Bearing in mind that most musicians of any age and standard dread competitions, the Festival has considered what might be most constructive for keen instrumentalists and singers aged 18 and under. In normal circumstances, we force ourselves to slog our guts out in front of an unsmiling panel of terrifying judges, and having poured our hearts into Beethoven or Rachmaninoff, we receive polite silence for our endeavours. Therefore it must have come as a pleasant surprise to the youngsters travelling from across the South West to take part in the 2MF Platform Competition, that they received a hearty applause at the end of each piece. This is not to mention the slab of chocolate also rewarded to everyone for braving the competition platform so eagerly.

The standard for the first round of auditions was high and we look forward to hearing those who made it through to the second round perform in May.

For more information or to apply for next year's competition click here.

Snapshots of 2MF 2010

2010-11-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

2MF concertgoers

Without a shadow of a doubt, this year's Two Moors Festival was a resounding success! A sensational gathering of incredible musicians with a few Festival firsts rolled in as well. Artistic Director, Penny Adie, included poetry reading before each concert to highlight links between art and nature. We also had our first ever musical discussion in Woods Restaurant, Dulverton, headed by Festival Trustee Des Belam, titled: "Why is modern music so tuneless?" It is not often that members of the public can come together with complete strangers and discuss such a controversial, yet relevent, topic. It was such a hit that one couple are now considering setting up a regular get-together in their area in order to explore other important musical subjects.

Greig Canning

Other memorable events included the walk up Dunkery Beacon accompanied by bagpipe player Greig Canning, accordionist Ksenija Sidorova stunned the audience with her virtuoso playing, not to mention the incredible performance of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf which involved two schools (Chagford and North Molton) acting out the parts of ducks, cats, wolves and hunters. Of course, even with these wonderful concerts, we cannot forget the beautiful surroundings a lovely churches where events take place - the Festival would not be the same without them.

I can't wait to see what's in store for 2011!

St Pancras' Church, Widecombe-in-the-Moor

A rather moorish Festival

2010-09-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

It is hard to imagine that the 2010 Two Moors Festival is about to get under way. The year has flown by with remarkable rapidity, with the excitement building since the brochure came out four months ago. We have an absolute feast to look forward to beginning with our opening Choral Concert in Exeter Cathedral this Thursday (30th September). For Beethoven fans (I count myself one) this concert is going to satisfy your taste buds as the programme is his Choral Fantasy and Ninth Symphony. What a way to kick start the Festival's tenth year anniversary celebrations!

Other Festival highlights include: the New London Chamber ensemble in Dulverton on 3rd October, the sensational Aronowitz Ensemble performing Brahms and Dvorak in Ashburton on the 5th October, an interesting introduction into the world of the Alphorn (6th October/Widecombe-in-the-Moor), not to mention Agata Szymczewska - an incredible up and coming violinist - who is coming to Milverton on the 9th October to knock our socks off with Wieniawski and Brahms.

There are 29 events over the ten days and I really don't know how I'm going to resist any of them!

Here's to a successful 2010 Two Moors Festival!

Exhausted Festival Car

2010-09-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

It is always on a day when one is driving to catch a train that the bottom of a car will decide to fall off. Last week Heather Uren and I dashed off to direct a school workshop in Chagford for the Peter and the Wolf Family Concert in Wellington on 1st October. It was on our return to drop me off at Tiverton Parkway for the 16.16 train to London Paddington, that the exhaust fell off Heather's car. Inevitably it did so in the middle of a country lane (somewhere outside Killerton) with no one nearby to help two stranded damsels in distress. Not through any stereotypical lack of knowledge of cars, Heather and I were unable to reattach the exhaust and had to phone for help! (It is a rare feat indeed that we had signal - this part of the country is notoriously remote.) We were happily towed to Cullompton, where a spare part was fortunately found and two hours later we were free to drive away - unfortuately missing the train by a large margin.

The car appears safe and sound which is certainly a relief considering the vast area that it will be forced to drive with the Festival looming.

Two Moors Festival August Residency

2010-09-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last week the Two Moors Quartet descended upon Barkham, Devon for a Two Moors Festival Residency. The group, comprising musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and busy free lancers, made the journey into the heart of Exmoor for five days of rehearsals culminating in a magnificent concert.

The Two Moors Festival Residencies offer an unique opportunity of working undisturbed for those musicians who find organising time and rehearsal space difficult. Residents are given room and board, use of the stunning acoustics in the Gallery at Barkham, freedom to work with a magnificent Bosendorfer piano and strikingly inspirational scenery to explore. In exchange, the musicians who attend a residency are only expected to offer a concert in return.

Two Moors Quartet rehearsing

(Further to their residency, the Two Moors Quartet is also performing in this year's Festival. On the 7th October, they are taking part in a Church Crawl, playing in North Molton and Luccombe Churches with a programme of Delius, Schumann, Bridge and Britten.)

General booking opens - all hell breaks loose

2010-08-23T04:27:00.000-07:00

As I sit here sipping a cup of tea in the warm cosy kitchen in Barkham (the administrative hub of the Two Moors Festival) I spare a thought for Heather Uren who is busily answering the Box Office telephone. Public booking opened today and I don't think she's had a moment to herself all morning. What with the endless booking forms to trawl through and the relentless ringing of the phone, Heather must be slowly going doolally. At least she can never say she was bored!

To see which tickets you would like to book visit http://www.thetwomoorsfestival.com/. I must warn you, concerts are going quickly!

'Music on the Moors' finds a new home

2010-08-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

Lord Lieutenant of Devon
opening the garden

You have perhaps been wondering what has happened to the Two Moors Festival's Chelsea Flower Show Garden 'Music on the Moors'. Not to panic. The beautiful garden designed by Christina Williams (which not only won 'Best Courtyard Garden' and a Gold Medal) has happily settled into its new location at the Calvert Trust, near Exmoor. If you happen to be nostalgic for a Chelsea garden then 'Music on the Moors' is situated on a public right of way. Phew. One can't help but feel sorry for the team who had to assemble the garden back in May for the Chelsea Flower Show only to reassemble it two months later! Lucky for them it's here to stay.

'Music on the Moors' at the Calvert Trust, Exmoor

Two Moors Festival welcomes Heather Uren

2010-08-10T04:08:00.000-07:00

Heather Uren

As our 2010 Festival Friends only booking opens we gladly welcome Heather Uren into the administrative fray. Not only an incredible cellist and singer, Heather has just received a First from Christ Church, Oxford where she read music, and she now joins the Two Moors Festival in the build up to its October concert series. Definitely jumping straight into the deep-end, Heather is not only our new Box Officer (where she battles with the countless demands and requests for tickets on a daily basis), she is also tackling the beast that is Marketing. Clearly a glutton for punishment, Heather is now in charge of a vast number of Festival brochures which must be distributed throughout the Two Moors area. Lucky Heather!

Request your own brochure to save Heather a trip.

Two Moors Festival Garden Party

2010-07-14T03:42:00.000-07:00

Every year in the middle of nowhere in rural Exmoor, the Two Moors Festival plays host to a fundraiser weekend of ad hoc chamber music. Musicians come from far and wide in order to sightread through challenging and beautiful music in sublime surroundings. 2010 saw the first ever sunny Garden Party, which resulted in music performed not only in the gallery at Barkham (the stronghold of the Festival), but also singing in the orchard and small
chamber groups playing on the croquet lawn.

Not always conventional chamber music, amongst the eclectic mix this year was a scratch performance of Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, madrigals sung outside in the sun, Zellenka trios for 2 oboes and bassoon and perhaps a highlight of the entire weekend - Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals with the extraordinary replacement of xylophone with the bass oboe.

The musicians are put through their paces as there is no time or patience for rehearsal. In fact even the idea of a run through is scoffed at by the players! The ethos behind the Garden Party is about playing for the sheer hell of it and not about audience satisfaction. Yes people can come and listen (it would not be a fundraiser without punters), but the performers have freedom to make as many mistakes as they like, play only one movement, drink a jug of Pimms whilst bashing through Brahms piano trios, or play a game of scrabble in the sun.

Relaxing after a hard day's work

Tickets still available for 10th Anniversary concert at Cadogan Hall!

2010-04-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

There are still tickets available for this exciting concert featuring international Classical Artistes such as Julian Lloyd Webber and the Aronowitz Ensemble. The concert includes musical favourites such as Schubert's Trout Quintet and is the first of many events celebrating the festival's 10th Anniversary. You can buy tickets either by contacting the Two Moors Festival box office or via the Cadogan Hall box office.

New beginnings

2010-04-30T03:34:00.000-07:00

Despite an internet connection that rivals that of the dark ages, the Two Moors Festival has finally entered the world of blogging! We hope that you will enjoy reading our future posts about the festival and the work that it does. Our next big project is a show garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in May 2010 which will also feature the first of our 10th anniversary celebrations with a concert on 26 May at Cadogan Hall, London!