Three Choirs Festival 7-15 August

The Three Choirs Festival, held each year since the early eighteenth century, and rotating between the three great cathedral cities of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford is one of the world’s oldest classical choral music festivals. This heritage has long established the Festival as a firm fixture in the British music calendar and a must-visit for lovers of the great choral works from across Britain, Europe, America and Australasia.

The festival returns to Gloucester this August with an excellent line up. Each festival provides an attached Festival Club, traditionally run by the “Friends” of the home festival, which provides a central social venue for audience and performers alike, as well as food and drink in a welcoming and hospitable atmosphere.

For more details see http://www.3choirs.org/

August getaways in the Cotswolds - free dinner offer

The Dormy House Hotel - August Cotswold Getaways Pay for B&B, Get Dinner Free

* From £188 per room per night
(upgrades available for a modest supplement)

* Full Cotswolds Breakfast

* Free 'Three-Course' dinner for two in The Dining Room

* Available throughout August 2010

For more information:

Call Reservations on 01386 852711

Email: reservations@dormyhouse.co.uk

Visit: www.dormyhouse.co.uk

EAC Art Awards 2010

For news about the 2010 Art Awards please visit www.eacartawards.org.uk !

74% of music organisations say music education is the most important issue facing the sector

A survey by the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) has revealed that 74% of ISM corporate members rate music education as the most important issue facing the whole of the music sector.

To read this article in full visit http://www.ism.org

Lace Making Demonstrations

26th July - 8th August 2010

The Lace Society and Cotswold Lacemakers, with help from Vale Lacemakers and Pillow Talk Lace Group, will be demonstrating lace-making techniques at Sudeley Castle once again in 2010.

There will be a 'have-a-go pillow' where visitors can try their hand at lace making and there will be a variety of styles of lace on display. Demonstrations will take place in the Exhibitions area daily.

The recent returning trend in hand-made goods has prompted an upsurge of interest in traditional crafts. Sudeley’s textile exhibition was launched three years ago by Cath Kidston, since when the collection has been re-themed to focus on floral inspirations in textiles.
There are many fascinating pieces in the collection, including a fragment of fabric from a dress belonging to Katherine Parr.

Another highlight is a magnificent 17th century Stumpwork casket with no less than 7 secret drawers. A film introduced to the exhibitions last year shows the secrets of the box being revealed and discusses its themes and techniques.

For more information on the Lace Society please visit http://thelacesociety.org.uk.

The first ever London Theatre Writing Award opens for entries: £500 cash prize!

Open to all writers

Deadline: 25 July 2010

Do you have an original voice? Does your play have the potential to transform an audience? Be part of history and submit your writing now!

Run by the London Playwrights' Collective with the support of ScenePool for London Fringe, this award is in search of the most promising piece of new writing or devised work by a writer/s or theatre group. Open to all writers it offers a unique opportunity to showcase your work to industry professionals.

Writers must submit their plays online via www.londonfestivalfringe.com by 25 July. The winner will receive £500 cash prize and, along with two other shortlisted works, a rehearsed reading in a central London venue with a view to future production. Readings will be performed between 22 - 25 August and a trophy presented to the winner at a ceremony for the London Awards for Art and Performance at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel on 26 August 2010.

The London Awards: Recognising, celebrating and bringing together artists at the forefront of their art!

The London Fringe: brings together and celebrates art and performance throughout the year in the world’s arts capital: www.londonfestivalfringe.com

A journey into 200 years of transport - West Midlands 17 July - 29 August

Learn more about the canals that flow through the borough. Find out more about the development of the railways. Come and visit this new display at Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery. Presenting the developments of different modes of transport around the borough, this exhibition covers 200 years of history which has included the development of roads, canals and railways.

The display includes activities for children. Try a driver hat on for different vehicles, piece together a transport puzzle, become a driver or passenger in a car and work out what road signs and signals mean.

See the impact that transport has had on local areas through a range of objects and photographs from the museum’s collections on display.

Visit this exhibition to discover how transport has contributed to local people’s lives and the area we know today.

Suitable for all of the family, entry to the museum is free!

Whether you sing in the bath or perform in public (or both!?)...

Songs on the Eastern Wind is a fantastic song workshop tutored by the ever popular Chris Rowbury.

Taking place 24-26 September at Farncombe Estate, all songs will be taught by ear in the traditional way. No previous experience is necessary, just a love of singing. This will be a relaxed, informal and fun weekend of group harmony singing. You will be surprised and delighted by the rich and stunning harmonies we will produce in a relatively short time.

This workshop is open to all whether you just sing in the bath, or perform in public. All songs have been carefully chosen and arranged for unaccompanied voice.

We've uploaded some song samples to our website - listen to them here
http://www.farncombeestate.co.uk/coursedetail.asp?course=1935

Literature and Science - The Frankenstein Effect Sunday 12 September Tickets £5

As part of our Open Day programme on Sunday 12 September join Angela Day to explore how literature has popularised scientific advance and also issued warnings against it. H G Wells’s The Time Machine and William Morris’s News from Nowhere celebrated the opportunities created by technological progress, whereas Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World show the consequences of allowing science to get out of control.

Tickets £5 if booked before 12 August - call 01386 854100 or book online.

Open Day Presentation 11.00am: Literature and Science - The Frankenstein Effect - OPEN DAY 2010

We've still got £600 in gift vouchers to give away in 2010

Amy Mitchell, Sue Lemmon & Sue Butler are the latest winners in our monthly Referral prize draw - if you know someone that might be interested in events at Farncombe and for your chance to win - visit our website and simply fill in the online form ;

http://www.farncombeestate.co.uk/referafriend.asp

Take a look - featured items 2010

From painting courses and willow sculpture to gardening and cookery courses, find out more by visiting our website Spotlight on ...

Chris Rowbury - Woven Chords

Chris Rowbury has been leading the Stamford-based community choir Woven Chords for the last 10 years. To celebrate his 10 years with the choir (and 15 years since they were formed), Woven Chords have just released a brand new live CD. The CD contains 27 tracks from concerts over the last five years ranging across 21 different countries! Singing in unaccompanied harmony, and always in the original language, Woven Chords’ joyful performances swell the spirit and touch the soul. You can buy the CD from their website: http://www.wovenchords.com/ where you can also hear sound clips.

The Big Draw 2010 events go live !

Everyone who registers for the 2010 Big Draw receives a free DVD packed with inspirational films, slide shows and ideas for drawing activities for different audiences. Even if you’re still at the exploratory stage, it’s worth registering as the DVD could help develop your plans.

More information available from The Campaign for Drawing www.campaignfordrawing.org

Calling all artists/Open Submission, New Greenham Arts

Established and emerging artists within the UK are invited to submit works to the New Greenham Arts & Corn Exchange 2010 Open Submission exhibition in October. Works will be considered from all media, traditional and new media. One artist will be selected from the show for a solo exhibition in 2011.

For more information and an application form contact the Visual Arts Manager Sally Childs Tel: 01635 817480 or E: sally@ng-arts.org.uk or visit the Corn Exchange/New Greenham Arts website at www.cornexchangenew.com .

Dealine for applications is 31st August 2010.

City Chorus Commission Competition

City Chorus (London, England) is celebrating its 90th birthday season in 2010-2011: the culmination of our anniversary year will be a concert in July 2011, which will feature a newly commissioned 20-minute work for chorus. Composers from around the world are invited to apply for this GBP2000 commission. City Chorus is an adult mixed choir, open to all without audition, and our 'ideal' composer will be able to write music that is original and exciting, yet within the capability of our amateur singers. Deadline: 3 December 2010.

for full details, please visit:

http://www.citychorus.info/
and click on "competition"

or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
City Chorus Commission Competition
Woodfall House
53 Carpenters Wood Drive
Chorleywood
Hertfordshire
WD3 5RP
England