Generously supported by Buxton Natural Mineral Water

Recycled Orchestra

This exciting new project, led by renowned musician Duncan Chapman, encouraged students from Buxton Community School to design and build their own instruments from recycled materials. 

The students then composed and rehearsed a fanfare on their new creations which they performed on the Opera House forecourt during the Festival to announce the start of the opera.

Young Reviewers

Students from St Thomas More School in Buxton attended the dress rehearsal of the Festival opera Lucrezia Borgia. 

They then took part in workshop sessions with High Peak Radio to create reviews, both written and spoken, of the opera which appeared in the local paper and on the radio during the Festival. 

This project proved an excellent way to introduce young people to their first opera and to encourage them to think constructively about their first impressions of the genre.

World Music Workshops

Supported by Derbyshire Community Foundation

As part of the Festival’s world music series, community youth groups were invited to attend workshops to learn more about the music of different cultures. 

Workshops included African drumming and dance, Indian classical music and the unique and ancient tradition of the Javanese gamelan.  The young people who attended these workshops were also invited to attend the corresponding concert for free.

Wandering Minstrels – concerts for the elderly
Supported by the Hall Bank Trust

One of the aims of the community programme is to reach those who are unable to take part in the Festival.  Our ever-popular Wandering Minstrels concerts fit this bill perfectly - taking members of the Festival company to entertain elderly people in daycare and residential centres across Derbyshire. 

Thanks to a last minute grant from the Hall Bank Trust we were able to offer four centres in Buxton an opportunity to host a concert.  A wide range of songs, from the old classics to well-known arias, entertained and enthralled these special audiences.   Here are two comments from one of the centres involved:

‘The musicians gave a superb performance which was much appreciated by us all.  As the members left to go home yesterday it was lovely to see the pleasure on their faces.’

‘It was such a lovely change for our Clients and by the look on their faces they thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment as did the staff.’

Live Music Now! – concerts for children with special needs

Children with special needs from across the region were treated to a day of musical fun in the Octagon during this year’s Festival. 

Scherzo Brass, a quartet of young musicians, delighted audiences with a diverse programme of interactive and engaging music.  The musicians of Scherzo Brass are specially trained by Live Music Now! to entertain this special audience by creating highly visual and participatory concerts which are enjoyed by all. 

TO TOP

COMMUNITY
PROJECTS 2009

The Festival board and staff are especially proud of our community and education programme and believe it is extremely important to develop this aspect of the Festival in future years. 

All our projects are offered free to participants – a feat which cannot be achieved without the support of many partners. 

We would like to thank the following supporters who have contributed towards the 2009 community and education programme:

Many individual donors to the Buxton Festival Education Fund.

We would also like to thank the following organisations:

The Buxton Advertiser
Buxton Community School
Dark Peak Youth Orchestra
Going Digital
The Hall Bank Trust
The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust
Live Music Now
The Rotary Club of Buxton
Simon Watkinson Photography
sinfonia ViVA
University of Derby

TO TOP

If you would like to find out more about getting involved in the Festival's community work please call Claire Rhodes on 01298 70395.

You can also download our community newsletter Engage! here.

Every year Buxton Festival involves around 1,600 local people in creative arts activity as part of our community and education programme. 

We offer a range of projects which are all designed to suit the needs of the people taking part.  The Festival undertakes considerable fundraising to ensure that all community and education projects are offered free of charge.

The aims of the programme:

* to involve around 2,000 local people in creative activity, led by suitable professional artists
* to expand the artistic horizons of local people, introducing them to new experiences
* to build a reputation for positive contribution to the quality of life in the local community to build an enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience for opera, the theatre and the arts.

Our projects cover different aspects of the arts, all linking Festival artists with local people.  People with specific needs are integral to most projects.  A full evaluation is carried out each year and includes the views of all participants and audiences. 


TO TOP

Buxton's poetry competition 2010, run in partnership with the University of Derby, is now open!  This year's  theme is A Breath of Fresh Air - entrants are encouraged to interpret this as creatively as possible. 

Poems could be inspired by a person,  place,  event, a life changing moment, struggling for breath - the possibilities are endless! The closing date is April 1.

This competition is open to poets of all ages and levels of experience so download an entry pack here to get started!  For more information contact Claire Rhodes on 01298 70395.

And you can find out more at the University of Derby's website.

For 2010 we are delighted to welcome a new panel of judges, husband and wife team Peter and Ann Sansom.  They are based just over the hills in Sheffield and between them have experience of almost every aspect of the poetry world - writing, teaching, publishing and live poetry events. 

Shortlisted entrants will see their works displayed in a unique exhibition in the stunning Devonshire Dome where poems will be displayed between pillars alongside winning images from this year's Peak Photography competition.

TO TOP

The aim of Buxton Festival’s photography competition is to inspire creative thinking about our day-to-day surroundings. The competition attracts superb work and over the years entries have included images of the local area as well as work by photographers from all over the world.

In 2010 the competition will be the biggest yet thanks to a new partnership with Visit Peak District & Derbyshire.  Under its new title – Peak Photography Competition – the contest will have professional judges and three excellent top prizes. 

This new collaboration also means more media coverage for entrants, including a presence on Visit Peak District’s popular website.

Full competition details will be revealed at the official launch in the New Year. But we can announce the theme for 2010: ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’.  Interpret this theme as creatively as you choose! Photographers of all skill levels are encouraged to enter.

The competition will culminate in a stunning exhibition at the Devonshire Dome in Buxton during the Festival in July 2010.  Short-listed photographs will appear alongside poems from the Buxton Poetry Competition. The exhibition will be open to the public and Festival audiences.

Full competition details will be announced here in the New Year. Alternatively call Claire on 01298 70395 to receive an entry pack by email.

TO TOP

© Buxton Festival