The Wantage Music Festival Annual General Meeting 2020 will be held on Thursday 8th October, 8pm via Zoom.

Everyone with any interest in Wantage Music Festival is welcome, whether you are a past or present entrant, parent, teacher, group leader, spectator, helper or just interested. It’s online so you’ll be able to join us from the comfort of your own home – distance no object!

With the pandemic there’s not so much to put in the formal reports this year so we’ll have more time to look forward to 2021. There will be an open forum and we would love to hear your opinions – what you like about the Festival, what you think we can improve, and any changes you would like to see.

We would also love to see some new faces on our friendly organizing team to contribute their ideas and help with the planning and smooth running of the festival next year.

Then this time next year we shall be able to look forward to the warm glow that we have after a successful festival with memories of the festival’s friends working and socialising together and many fine performances.

Please CLICK HERE to register for the AGM on Eventbrite (no charge). Register now and the AGM paperwork will be sent to you in early October along with the Zoom meeting details.

We hope to see you on the 8th but, if you can’t make it and would like to comment or help the team, please contact Helen Carter at vicechair@wantagemusicfestival.org.uk.

It is with regret that we have taken the decision to cancel the music festival this year due to the ongoing situation with Covid-19.  We shall be back next year. In the meantime  do visit  our Facebook page, where you will see items of interest to musicians and music lovers as well as updates about next year’s festival.

Below is a letter from our Vice-Chairman:

Dear Supporter,

As you can imagine, we have been increasingly concerned about the possible effect of the Covid-19 on the Festival, which brings together people from across a wide area. Our priority has to be the health of our participants, audience, volunteers and staff.

Monday’s change in government strategy is expected to reduce the infection peak but it is likely that the social curbs will last through to July or August and include our Festival.

So, after much discussion, we have decided to cancel this year’s Wantage Music Festival forthwith. It is fairer to all to do this now rather than wait until it becomes inevitable. Those of you who have already submitted entries will be contacted and refunded.

Thank you for your continuing support of the Festival. We will, of course, be back in 2021, at the same time of year. Hope to see you then.

Kind regards,
Helen Carter
Vice-Chairman.

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Saturday 20^th June

Piano Classes qdjudicated by John Byrne

Sunday 21^st June

Instrumental Classes (other than piano) adjudicated Caroline Diffley

Saturday 27^th June

Vocal Classes adjudicated by Rebecca Moseley-Morgan

Sunday 28^th June

Vocal Classes adjudicated by Rebecca Moseley-Morgan

Saturday 4^th July

Festival Finale 2:30 pm

Featuring the Instrumental Prize Finals (John Durrant Prize and Cooper Cup), all Awards and the Festival Highlights Concert.

We are pleased to announce that the 2020 Festival Syllabus is now available. So if you, or your child or your pupil, are an enthusiastic or aspiring singer or musician, download the syllabus now and see what classes you would like to enter.

You have the opportunity to perform in front of a sympathetic audience and a highly qualified adjudicator who will provide helpful advice while assessing you, and you will receive a written adjudication and a certificate. You will be able to enjoy hearing other performers. If you do really well you may even get the chance to perform in the Final Concert or be considered for one of our cash prizes or trophies.

There is a not to be missed opportunity to be accompanied at no extra cost by our widely experienced accompanist on one of the world class grand pianos in the Hall at Challow Park.

We have classes for all ages from 9 and under to 55 and over, singers in many genres, instruments including strings (guitars as well as orchestral) , woodwind, brass, piano. organ, percussion, even handbells, for soloists and groups of all sizes from 2 to 30.

We are delighted to introduce our adjudicators and accompanists for 2020! All are highly experienced musicians with extensive experience of performing and teaching.

They and their pupils have won many prizes and scholarships between them, so they know what it is like to perform in  a competition. They also know how to communicate their love of music through both their singing or playing and their teaching.

For the entrants it is a chance to have their performance evaluated by a top professional. Each performer receives a certificate as well as a mark-sheet with helpful comments on their performance.

For those who come to listen it is like attending a masterclass as they hear the performances followed by the adjudicators’ summing up, often with tips to help the performers develop their singing or playing.

Our performers also have the opportunity to  be accompanied by our highly qualified official accompanists at no extra cost, although they may bring their own accompanist if they prefer.

This year the Festival has two highly accomplished young Oxford-based accompanists, David Palmer and Tom Carr. David Palmer has won a number of awards and Tom Carr’s recent work as an operatic repetiteur has included three world premieres as well as several classic operas. They will have available the Hall’s two world class concert sized grand pianos: a 7ft 5in Fazioli F228 and a 6ft 7in Shigeru Kawai.

If you enjoy listening to live music the Wantage Music Festival provides a plethora of it! Young and not-so-young musicians from all around bring their favourite pieces to play and be heard by the audience and an adjudicator who provides expert guidance both on the aspects of the performance that communicate well as well as what could be looked at to take the performance to a higher level.

We are delighted to introduce our adjudicators and accompanist for 2019! All are highly experienced musicians with extensive experience of performing and teaching.

They have won many prizes between them, so they know what it is like to compete in a music festival. They also know how to communicate their love of music through both their singing or playing and their teaching.

For the entrants it is a chance to have their performance evaluated by a top professional. Each performer receives a certificate and a marksheet with helpful comments on their performance.

For those who come to listen it is like attending a masterclass as they hear the performances followed by the adjudicators’ summing up, often with tips to help the performers develop their singing or playing,

Our performers also have the opportunity to  be accompanied by our highly qualified official accompanist, this year at no extra cost, although some choose to bring their own accompanist.

Paul Turner is a highly experienced recitalist both in the UK and internationally and excels in a wide range of genres. He will have at his disposal the Hall’s two world class concert sized grand pianos: a 7ft 5in Fazioli F228 and a 6ft 7in Shigeru Kawaia 7ft 5in Fazioli F228 and a 6ft 7in Shigeru Kawai.

Entries are being processed and the programme finalised. Dates for each section are given below, and outline timings will be added in mid to late May.

Saturday 22nd June – Piano classes

Sunday 23rd June – Other Instrumental classes (Brass, Woodwind, Bowed Strings, Guitars, Miscellaneous)

Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June – Vocal classes

Saturday 6th July – Festival Finale, including the instrumental finals (John Durrant award and Cooper Cup),  Chairman’s Choice of other outstanding and enjoyable vocal and instrumental performances selected from the whole Festival, and the Presentation of Prizes (vocal, instrumental solo and the new Challow Park Chamber Music prize).

Performers: if you have requested the services of the Official Accompanist please send a copy of your music to the Music Librarian as soon as possible if you have not already done so. See the syllabus (page 6) for the address and regulations.

Volunteers: We always need people to help, both in the entrance hall and the main hall. If you would like to be part of making this festival possible, and hear as much as you would like of the competition at no charge, contact our Helpers’ Organiser.

Audience: Do come and be our audience and that for our performers. Enjoy listening to our young and not-so-young performers and hear our expert adjudicators. It’s like a combination of a concert and a series of masterclasses!

It’s at The Hall at Challow Park, OX12 9RH. You can attend any and every session (except the final concert) with a ticket costing £3. Youngsters in full time education do not pay to be in the audience, but must be with an adult. Full details are in the Festival Programme, available for £3.00 at the hall.

Yes, Wantage Music Festival entries have been extended until Friday so you can get your entries in!

Please note entries are now closed. We look forward to hearing all our performers in June and hope others will join us in the audience for an enjoyable Festival.

The 2019 syllabus has been undergoing final checks and is now available here.

You can enter by post or online. Please note that entries for 2019 are now closed, but you can come and listen to the Festival.

This year a new feature of the festival is the Challow Park Chamber Music Prize.  This prize of £100 is sponsored by the Challow Park Music trust and will be awarded to a group competing in the Chamber Music class 280.

Watch this space for updates, or see our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.