A rich mixture of concerts and talks will be held at Hanford School in Child Okeford, near Blandford, from June 19-25, as part of their Festival of Performing and Creative Arts.
On Monday, June 19 Spanish-born British soprano Alexandra Lowe will perform. She has made an indelible impression on critics and audiences, from her exquisite Dafne (Apollo e Dafne) to her tour-de-force Pierrot Lunaire at Covent Garden. This season marks her first since graduating from the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artist Progamme at the Royal Opera House.
On Tuesday, June 20 Hal Cazalet’s ‘Play on Words’ will honour his step great-grandfather PG Wodehouse, alongside Jerome Kern, Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Maury Yeston, Noël Coward, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Cazalet, Dudley Moore, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Ayckbourn, and many more.
On Wednesday, June 21 violinist Shana Douglas is in concert with Julian Gallant.
Violinist Shana has been sub-leader in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for ten years. Julian has travelled the world with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Oxford Philomusica, Moscow Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia, and Kiev Chamber Orchestra.
Saturday, June 24 there’s An Evening with Larry Lamb – one of Britain’s most popular and accomplished stage and screen actors. He has starred in numerous TV series, playing Mick Shipman in BBC’s Gavin & Stacey and Archie Mitchell in EastEnders. Larry’s talk, in conversation with a Dorset friend, is loosely entitled ‘Don’t Put Your Daughter On The Stage, Mrs Worthington’ and it promises to be a wonderful evening, full of fun and laughter in wonderful company.
Tickets from £10-£20 from hanfordschool.co.uk
Drinks are served from 6.30pm and the events will run from 7pm- 8pm.
On Sunday, June 26 Hanford’s gardens will be open as part of the National Gardens Scheme 2pm-5pm, with music from the Blackmore Vale Brass Band, tea, cake and magic by the Great Baldini.
Tickets from the National Garden Scheme website.