Bollington Festival
Encyclopedia
The Bollington Festival is a festival which takes place every four or five years in the small town of Bollington
in the Pennine foothills near Macclesfield
, Cheshire
in England. Launched in 1964, organizers claim there is no other event in Britain like it in terms of its scale and scope, being run entirely by volunteers with the support of many local people and organisations.
Coope believed that a community should be alive and kicking and, above all, an active place where people join together to achieve more than they can as lone operators. His legacy is in the organisations he launched, revived and often led: the brass band
; the drama group; the festival players; the light opera
group; the civic society; and the festival choir. He was also the driving force in the creation of an arts centre
(few English towns of 7,000 people have one), a regular venue for string quartet
s, jazz, stand-up comedy
, plays, pantomimes, as well as talks and lectures. It was said that many a patient who went to the surgery with a sore throat found himself signed up for the basses in the Festival Choir before any prescription was written.
to opera. Celebrations began with the official opening on May 8 by broadcaster Jenni Murray
and ended with the traditional torchlight procession up White Nancy
, the local hill-top folly, on the last night on May 25.
The music programme was aimed at all tastes: a concert version of Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess
and two performances of Jonathan Doves’s opera Tobias and the Angel; a symphony concert; jazz with the Big Chris Barber Band, the Royal Northern College of Music Jazz Collective and Dave Mott; and folk with the New Rope String Band. The Upbeat Beatles sang with the Festival Orchestra and 17-year-old singer-songwriter Joni Fuller
had a solo.
The aZZiZ company of drummers and dancers brought traditional music from South Africa
, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Senegal, and Kim Schwartz and David Benitez demonstrated the sultry art of tango. There were also two big comedy nights: plays from (Dr Faustus
, Wind In the Willows
and Weekend Breaks by John Godber, and poetry with Carol Anne Duffy, Michael Symmons Roberts
and Jackie Kay. There were also evenings with Barrie Rutter, founder of pioneering theatre company Northern Broadsides, and Sir Mark Elder, music director of the Hallé. Exhibitions included the work of artists working in and around Bollington – a map guided visitors round their studios. Up to 50 pictures by Guardian photographer Don McPhee were on show in the Arts Centre.
There was also a major science strand (measure the speed of light with a microwave oven
), a fell race and many events aimed at children.
Bollington
Bollington is a small rural town and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, , England, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East. It is located east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield., and the ancient parish of Prestbury...
in the Pennine foothills near Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
in England. Launched in 1964, organizers claim there is no other event in Britain like it in terms of its scale and scope, being run entirely by volunteers with the support of many local people and organisations.
History
The festival was the idea of John Coope, a doctor who cared for the health of thousands of patients but also found time to write a book on Chekhov and consider the future of post-war society. Almost singlehandedly, Dr John set out in the 1960s to create in the village, a sense of community to counteract what he saw as a drift away from the collective towards the individual, and his work continued until his death on Christmas Day 2008. The 2005 festival was the first in which he played no major role.Coope believed that a community should be alive and kicking and, above all, an active place where people join together to achieve more than they can as lone operators. His legacy is in the organisations he launched, revived and often led: the brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
; the drama group; the festival players; the light opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
group; the civic society; and the festival choir. He was also the driving force in the creation of an arts centre
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
(few English towns of 7,000 people have one), a regular venue for string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s, jazz, stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
, plays, pantomimes, as well as talks and lectures. It was said that many a patient who went to the surgery with a sore throat found himself signed up for the basses in the Festival Choir before any prescription was written.
2009 Festival
The 2009 festival boasted 94 events in 18 days, and its principal venue was a 550-seat marquee, with comfortable seats, lighting rig and full sound system, erected on the town’s recreation ground. Events ranged from a dog showConformation show
Conformation shows, also referred to as breed shows, are a kind of dog show in which a judge familiar with a specific dog breed evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed's individual breed standard.A...
to opera. Celebrations began with the official opening on May 8 by broadcaster Jenni Murray
Jenni Murray
Dame Jennifer Susan "Jenni" Murray, DBE is a British journalist and broadcaster. She attended Barnsley Girls High School and has a degree in French and Drama from Hull University...
and ended with the traditional torchlight procession up White Nancy
White Nancy
White Nancy is a structure at the top of the northern extremity of The Saddle of Kerridge, overlooking the village of Kerridge and the town of Bollington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is on the National Monuments Record. Its...
, the local hill-top folly, on the last night on May 25.
The music programme was aimed at all tastes: a concert version of Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
and two performances of Jonathan Doves’s opera Tobias and the Angel; a symphony concert; jazz with the Big Chris Barber Band, the Royal Northern College of Music Jazz Collective and Dave Mott; and folk with the New Rope String Band. The Upbeat Beatles sang with the Festival Orchestra and 17-year-old singer-songwriter Joni Fuller
Joni Fuller
Joni Amelia Fuller is an English singer, songwriter, pianist and violinist from Lancashire.Joni persuaded her parents to buy her a violin for her 5th birthday. Aged 8, she was accepted into the Junior School at the Royal Northern College of Music...
had a solo.
The aZZiZ company of drummers and dancers brought traditional music from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Senegal, and Kim Schwartz and David Benitez demonstrated the sultry art of tango. There were also two big comedy nights: plays from (Dr Faustus
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge...
, Wind In the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
and Weekend Breaks by John Godber, and poetry with Carol Anne Duffy, Michael Symmons Roberts
Michael Symmons Roberts
Michael Symmons Roberts is a British poet. He has published five collections of poetry, all with Cape , and has won the Whitbread Poetry Award, as well as major prizes from the Arts Council and Society of Authors. He has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize twice, the Griffin International...
and Jackie Kay. There were also evenings with Barrie Rutter, founder of pioneering theatre company Northern Broadsides, and Sir Mark Elder, music director of the Hallé. Exhibitions included the work of artists working in and around Bollington – a map guided visitors round their studios. Up to 50 pictures by Guardian photographer Don McPhee were on show in the Arts Centre.
There was also a major science strand (measure the speed of light with a microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
), a fell race and many events aimed at children.
Sources
- The Bollington Festival http://www.bollingtonfestival.org.uk/
- Joni Fuller http://www.jonifuller.com/index.php
- The Chris Barber Band http://www.chrisbarber.net/