Newsletter - Llanfyllin Festival 2009

Dear Patrons and Friends,

As the newly elected Chairman it is my pleasure and privilege to wish all Friends of the Festival, our Patrons and our subscribers a very happy 2009, and thank you for your continued interest and support. I am delighted to report that we have a very exciting programme for July.

The Allegri String Quartet will be performing in four concerts, three in the usual venue, the beautiful St Myllin's church. Celebrating the bicentenary of Haydn's death, we start on 3rd July with an all-Haydn programme, in which we can expect all the delight, variety, humour and beauty of this wonderful composer. We are hoping that Young Musician of the Year Mark Simpson, clarinetist, will be able to join the Allegri for the Mozart Quintet and either the Brahms or Tchaikovsky Quintet on 5th July. On the 10th, in a new venue, Bwylch y Cibau church, just down the A490 towards Welshpool, we are privileged to have the Welsh premiere of a newly commissioned quartet by Matthew Taylor. We are promised a melodic treat with this work, which will be accompanied by quartets by Haydn and Brahms.

The last concert should be both exciting and unusual, when the Allegri will be joined by internationally acclaimed, locally-based harpist Ieuan Jones playing French repertoire.This includes the rarely played Conte fantastique for harp and quartet, with local celebrity Mavis Nicholson as narrator. Other pieces will be by Mendelssohn and Debussy.

Pen y Bont Fawr choir are performing for us at Bodfach Hall on Wednesday 8th, following last year's successful midweek concert in a marquee. We are hoping for weather suitable for picnicking this time!

A new venture is a children's /family concert with the Allegri at Llanfyllin Workhouse on Saturday 4th at 2.30pm. This will be at the nominal price of £2.00 per person. Do bring your children, grandchildren and their friends for a fun-filled, informative and enjoyable experience of the processes and goires of making music.

Brochures publicising the Festival will be out at the end of March, and will be distributed throughout Powys, Shropshire and further afield. There is a new, enlarged format, and we are asking for advertising support. Should you wish to take advantage of this, please phone me on 01938 556752 for more information.

Tickets will be available by post and phone, and on the door, a booking form will be available from the Festival website, and there will be a good discount for a four-concert purchase. Tickets will also be available from Theatr Hafren, Newtown, The Place, Telford (Oakengates Theatre) and the new Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury.

We very much look forward to seeing you again at these wonderful concerts.

All good wishes