Summer of cultural gems is launched thanks to Harrogate International Festivals

Musicians Challenge Classical Opinion

It has been said in some quarters over the years that classical music is old-fashioned and boring.

Such lazy assumptions are still thrown around today even though they couldn’t be further from the truth.

For one long weekend a very special residency is coming to town with the Harrogate International Festivals.

This summer Robin Green is bringing 12 great musicians to town to collaborate, rehearse and perform in venues across Harrogate with a programme of classical, crossover-pop and world music.

The idea is to try something new.

Dip into one or two concerts or sign up for them all and if you’re not sure that classical music might be for you at all, pop along to our free Taproom Sessions at Lilypad on Kings Road as our musicians in residence play some of their favourite pieces.

Great music in a pub – what’s not to like?

Other concerts across the weekend feature Romanian-born violinist and composer Vlad Maistorovici who has reimagined the music of Queen creating incredible arrangements for the violin, clarinet, piano and strings, while still keeping the spirit of those songs we know and love.

Christian Elliott has taken experimentation one step further bringing together numerous music genres, from the works of Piazzolla and Berlioz to songs by Radiohead and Billy Joel, and creating a multi-layered sound – all on the cello.

Both Elliott and Maistorovici will grace the Festival stage this summer where they will be joined by a raft of brilliant and exciting classically trained musicians at the top of their game.

Classical music is many things, and some big challenges lie ahead, but boring and old-fashioned it certainly isn’t.

For the full programme of Residency Concerts please visit www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Is Modern Politics Broken?

This month’s Berwins Salon North sets out to explore this question as the TED-style talk returns this week with an engaging and thought provoking look at what makes modern Britain.

The event takes place on Thursday, July 6 at Harrogate’s Crown Hotel under the heading Rethinking Modern Britain, three expert guest speakers will offer their unique perspectives, taking audiences from behind the scenes at Westminster, through an exploration of the lived experience of being torn between two cultures, to an unpicking of the education system.

Journalist and editor of Politics.co.uk Ian Dunt will use his first-hand experience reporting from the heart of Westminster to lift the lid on British politics, from the heights of Downing Street to the depths of the nation’s newsrooms.

British politics, according to Dunt, is broken – but he also offers a vision of how to fix it.

Born in Britain to Indian parents, Gurdeep Loyal has felt torn between clashing expectations of his two cultures, and as an award-winning British Indian food writer, columnist and consultant, has embraced his identity and its culinary contradictions through his passion for food.

Final speaker Jeffrey Boakye is an author, broadcaster, educator and journalist and will recount how it feels to be on the margins of the British education system.

Boakye will explore a series of his own eye-opening encounters and ask how we can dismantle racism in the classroom and do better by all our students.

The trio of speakers will be bound together by guest host Gaynor Barnes.

One not to miss if you’re looking for an unusual and thought-provoking night out.

Putting the Brass Pack Into Swing!

It may be a couple of weeks away, but the Finale Concert of the Harrogate Music Festival features a Harrogate Festival veteran who returns this summer with his own band to make musical history.

Debuting at the Festival, Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack is an all-new band created for 21st century audiences with a nod back to 1958 celebrating Billy May; the trumpeter from Glenn Miller’s band who went onto become one of the top arrangers for Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.

The band are handpicked, international performers in their own right.

With 25 of them on stage the big band sound is guaranteed, not least due to the four French horns replacing the saxophone section.

Mike said “I’ve been a professional musician for almost 40 years and I’ve done some fantastic things but I know this will probably top the lot when I stand up there in Harrogate with my own group.”

The Brass Pack are joined on stage by the top, big band vocalist in the country; Matt Ford.

Having performed with the John Wilson Orchestra at the BBC Proms and in Harrogate, he is no stranger to audiences across the UK.

Ultimately Mike’s goal is to create an amazing experience. “It’s uplifting music. It makes people smile and tap their feet.

"It can evoke a happy memory.

"Even though these are new arrangements people will definitely get a flavour of the past.

"It’s upbeat and that’s the appeal of Brass Pack.”

Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack, Harrogate Theatre, Friday July 14, 8pm.

Weekend highlights to look forward to

Friday, July 7, 8pm

Vlad Maistorovici takes classic Queen songs and gives them a classical twist at The Crown Hotel.

Saturday, July 8, 1pm

Christian Elliott gives a solo cello performance made up of loops and live covering songs from Radiohead and Iron Maiden to Billy Joel and Berlioz at The Crown Hotel.

Sunday, July 9, 3pm

Harrogate Music Festival’s Residency Finale takes place at The Crown Hotel with performances from guest curator Robin Green.