Generously supported by Buxton Natural Mineral Water

All the king's men - by Richard Rodney Bennett

Starring young people from:

Glossopdale Community College
Lady Manners School
Dark Peak Youth Orchestra

The opera has three public performances at the Festival as well as one free performance for invited schools. 

Click here to read full details!

Floratorio - by James Redwood and
High Peak schoolchildren

A new work based on the life of Florence Nightingale. 

Starring primary school children from:

Hague Bar
Thornsett
Burbage
Whaley Bridge

Children will attend workshops during their summer term to write and practice songs with the help of composer James Redwood.

There will be one performance of Floratorio during the Festival and one free performance for invited schools.

Click here to read full details!

Both these projects aim to inspire and develop the musical skills of children and teachers from a range of schools in our region.

As well as creative expression the professional musicians leading the workshops will focus on team-work, self-confidence and interpersonal skills. 

More Engage! projects for 2010:

Buxton’s Water Music – students from Buxton Community School will work alongside a professional musician to use traditional and electronic techniques to compose a short piece of music inspired by the sounds of water. 

Poetry and Photography Competitions – national competitions to encourage people to think creatively about their surroundings through the inspiring mediums of poetry and photography.

Festival ambassadors – local teenagers will have the opportunity to go backstage at Festival events, interview performers, meet cast and crew and report their findings on our blog throughout the Festival.

World music workshop – local youth groups will be invited to attend a workshop with members of Korean drumming group Dulsori before their concert at the Festival on 21st July.

Wandering Minstrels – Festival musicians will once again visit day care centres and residential homes for the elderly in Buxton to entertain at these very rewarding concerts.

Live Music Now – Specially trained musicians will perform to over 300 children with special needs from the area in a lively and informal concert.

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COMMUNITY
PROJECTS 2010

Each year over 2,000 local people are involved in interactive arts events thanks to the Festival's community and education programme, Engage!

To find out how you could be involved download the
Engage! newsletter here, or call Claire Rhodes on 01298 70395.

Engage! aims to...

● involve over 2,000 local people in creative activity

● offer free events led by professional artists
● reach a broad sector of the local community, especially those with special needs
● introduce people to new creative experiences
● contribute positively to local quality of life
● build an enthusiastic audience for opera, music and literature

The Festival undertakes considerable fundraising to ensure that all Engage! projects are free for participants.

To find out how you can support Engage! click here.

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The support of many partners is key to the quality and success of all Engage! events.

As well as the many contributors to our Education Fund, we would like to thank the following core supporters for making our 2010 programme possible:

We would also like to thank the following organisations:

The Bingham Trust
Burbage Primary School
The Buxton Advertiser
Buxton Community School
Dark Peak Youth Orchestra
Derbyshire Community Foundation
Ernest Cook Trust
Glossopdale Community College
Going Digital
Hague Bar Primary School
The Hall Bank Trust
High Peak Radio
The Idlewild Trust
The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust
Lady Manners School
Live Music Now
The Martyn Donaldson Music Trust
The Peter Moores Foundation
PRS for Music Foundation
RVW Trust
The Rotary Club of Buxton
Simon Watkinson Photography
sinfonia ViVA
Thornsett Primary School
University of Derby
Whaley Bridge Primary School

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Buxton Poetry Competition 2010 is now closed.

Theme
A breath of fresh air

Closing date
April 1

Categories & Prizes
Open - aged 19+
1st - £300
2nd - £200
3rd - £100
Young People - aged 12 - 18
Waterstones book tokens
Children - under 12s
Waterstones book tokens

Judges
Sheffield-based poets Peter and Ann Sansom. A husband and wife team with experience in writing, teaching, publishing and live poetry events.

Shortlisted entrants will have their work mounted and displayed in the beautiful Devonshire Dome alongside winning images from the photography competition [see below].

The exhibition will be launched on July 7, the opening night of the Festival, and will be open to the public until the end of July.

This competition is run by Buxton Festival and the University of Derby.

For more information contact Claire Rhodes on 01298 70395 or go to the University of Derby's website.

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Peak Photography Competition 2010 is now open!

Theme
A breath of fresh air

Closing date
June 1

This competition is open to photographers of all skill levels.

Prizes
1st - £135 voucher towards a course at Simon Watkinson Photo Training plus 4 nights at Rivendale Holiday Park

2nd - A pair of Hanwag Cheyenne GTX walking boots and a Going Digital Photography Workshop voucher
3rd - A pair of vouchers for a free entry to any National Trust property

All three winners, plus two runners up, will be entitled to membership at Derby City Camera Club until December 2010.

Judges
Ashley Franklin, ARPS, ABPPA, APAGB - a professional photographer based in Derby who works creatively and commercially
Simon Watkinson, ABIPP - a professional photographer who specialises in portraiture, fashion and travel

Download an entry pack here.

15 shortlisted entrants will have their work mounted and displayed in the beautiful Devonshire Dome alongside winning images from the poetry competition [see above].

The exhibition will be launched on July 7, the opening night of the Festival, and will be open to the public until the end of July.

This competition is run by Buxton Festival and Visit Peak District.

For more information contact Johanna Dollerson on 01298 70395 or go to www.visitpeakdistrict.com/walkingfestivals.

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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. 

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COMMUNITY
PROJECTS 2009

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