The 17th annual Wymondham Music Festival www.wymfestival.org.uk, centred on Festival Fortnight, June 23 to July 8 2012, but with events from May to October, will be launched in Wymondham Market Place on Saturday, May 5 at 10am, with an open-air performance from Wymondham Area Schools’ Brass Band.
Tickets for all concerts go on sale on May 7 at the Book Fountain Wymondham, or email [email protected].
The Festival’s programme promotes more than 90 events, many of them free, featuring Americana, classical, folk, world, jazz, swing, disco, funk, soul and early music in a range of venues across the town. There’s O Duo’s percussion extravaganza, the award-winning Demon Barber Roadshow’s high-energy mix of music and dance, jazz pianist Craig Milverton and the Cuban style of Cuarteto Guarachando.
Early Events in May and June
- May 12, 10am to 12noon, Seriously Saxy, Market Place.
- May 26, 10am to 12noon Town Busking Day.
- June 2, 10am to 12noon, Smokehouse Blue Marching Band, celebrating the start of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend.
- June 9, 10am to 12noon, Slow Gin blues band, Market Place.
- June 9, 7.30pm, Norwich Baroque with Crispian Steele- Perkins, concert at Wymondham Abbey.
Festival Fortnight highlights
Wymondham Abbey:
- O Duo, June 23 at 7.30pm – Owen Gunnell and Oliver Cox, with their percussion extravaganza, a mix of popular classics and contemporary music played on marimbas, vibraphone and huge array of percussion.
- Eclipse, An Apple For My Love, June 27 at 7.30pm, music, songs, dance and legends of the British Isles including Irish jigs, English folk songs, Celtic legends, baroque grounds and Purcell songs – Joy Smith (harp), Layil Barr (recorder), Steven Player (dance) and Thomas Hobbs (tenor).
- A Little Bit of Gershwin, June 28 at 7.30pm, Karen Harries (mezzo soprano) and Will Fergusson (piano), music from George and Ira Gershwin and their contemporaries.
- Cuillin Sound, June 30 at 7.30pm, featuring Lynda Coffin (flute). Sarah Watts (clarinet) and Laurence Perkins (bassoon).
- Explorers and Enchanters, July 1 at 8pm, Laura Cannell (recorders) and Carolyn Gibley (piano) includes 20th century music arranged for recorder and piano.
- Jazz Piano Legends, July 5 at 7.30pm, Craig Milverton, UK Jazz Pianist of the Year 2010, pays homage to 16 great jazz pianists of the last 100 years.
- Lunchtime recitals at 1.10pm on June 29, July 2, July 3, July 4 and July 5; featuring Annabella Ellis 2012 Norfolk Young Musician, organ duets, a clarinet trio, a visiting American choir and Lieder recital.
Wymondham Central Hall
- Claire Barker Band, June 29 at 8pm – Norwich based disco, funk and soul.
- Skyliner Band, July 4 at 8pm – 1940s dance with this nine piece band specialising in the big band music of the 1940s.
- Cuarteto Guarachando, July 6 at 8pm, son, salsa and Afro Cuban music, Adriana Lord (vocals), Luke Rattenbury (guitar), Eddie Myer (bass and Juan Carlos Paez (drums).
- The Demon Barber Roadshow, July 7 at 8pm, winner of the Best Live Act, BBC Folk Awards 2009, a high-energy mix of song, dance and musical surprise.
Open-air Events
- Wymondham High Jazz Bands, June 23, 10am to 12noon, Market Place
- Midsummer Jazz Picnic at Becketswell, June 25, 6pm to 9pm, featuring Dixie Mix Jazz Band More…
- Brother Pitt, acoustic American music, June 30, 10am to 12noon, Market Place
- Teddy Bears’ Picnic, July 1, 11am to 1pm, at King’s Head Meadow with live music and storytelling.
- Ben Grizzly and the Loose Leaf Drifters’ country style, July 7, 10am to 12noon, Market Place.
Festival Fortnight Finale Wymondham Baptist Church
- Music for a Golden Queen, July 8 at 3pm, Hexachordia brings Festival Fortnight to a close with a feast of music popular at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.
Full Festival programme details are at www.wymfestival.org.uk, tel. 01953 601939.
Wymondham Music Festival is supported by Wymondham Town Council, South Norfolk Council and Norfolk County Council. For more information about Wymondham contact the Tourist Information Centre tel. 01953 604721.
John Wood, Chair, Wymondham Music Festival said: “We have an exceptional programme this year, which will have the Wymondham area buzzing from May to October. Festival Fortnight is going to be real treat for music fans, with its superb mix of classical, folk, jazz and world music. Come and celebrate this year of celebration in our historic market town. “
Wymondham Music Festival (reg. charity no. 1081375) is run by a committee of volunteers who give their time to organise and administer the programme, and is supported by grants, advertising, sponsorship and the generosity of its patrons. The Festival began in 1996 as a small series of concerts and was called Wymondham Music Week. It has expanded to become the musically diverse festival that it is today, promoting the performance and appreciation of music, as well as offering music education for local people. The Festival committee links up with many other local music organisations to promote events throughout the summer months.
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