Diary

The diary of events for this year's Festival has been released, please click here for an overview of the diary from where you can choose the individual event.

Welcome...

...to the 13th Beaminster Festival of Music and the Visual Arts!

This year we are hosting a programme of events which we hope will appeal to everyone in Beaminster and West Dorset as well as to audiences from much further afield, including visitors to the dramatic Jurassic Coastline - now a World Heritage Site - which lies some 8 miles south of the town.

St. Mary's Church, in the heart of Beaminster, is the focus for all the classical concerts and we are delighted this year to produce a menu of music to be performed by violinist, Jennifer Pyke and the Armonico Consort and Choir; opera star, Eliano Pretorian; the Klemperer Piano Trio; the Doric String Quartet; pianist, Madalina Rusu; Sally Pryce, harp, and Adam Walker, flute; guitarist, Morgan Szymanski; an organ recital by Andrew Dewar; the Bristol Cathedral Choir; Stile Antico; the Eclipse Ensemble and the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields with soloist, Andrew Marriner.

Other Music around the town includes: Folk/Rock Band, Stornoway; American Roots Music from Stompin' Dave; Rock/Pop Band, DT8; Salsa Music from Havana Good Time; Jazz with the Border Trio and Nick Wardle; Folk Music from the Copper Family; and music from The Phoenix Brass Band and The Jellicle Cats.

Literary events include a Literary Supper with fiction writer, Rachel Billington; a talk about Samuel Taylor Coleridge's early life by Tom Mayberry; an architectural appraisal of London by Leo Hollis; a talk by literary lion, Michael Dobbs; a celebration of the life and work of T.S. Eliot given by the Very Rev. David Shearlock; and a Tribute to John Fowles given by Trish Knight Webb.

Other highlights include: The Illyria Open Air Theatre Company's new production of: Pinocchio; Beaminster School's production of: The Tolpuddle Martyrs; Puppetcraft's eco friendly production: The Tin Forest; Pip Utton's One-Man Show about the life of Chaplin; Richard Westcott's: Confessions of a Pantomime Dame.

There is lots of visual arts to attract the visitor, and an Art Trail which gives an opportunity to explore the town of Beaminster. The Museum hosts an Exhibition of Illustrations of Coleridge's: The Rime of The Ancient Mariner; two Exhibitions of Photography and an Exhibition of Textiles created by local artists.

Rosie Boycott launches the festival celebrations at Noon on Saturday 28th June.

Click on to our Diary and find out more.

A warm welcome awaits you here in Beaminster.

Tanya Bruce-Lockhart
Festival Director