Shipley Arts Festival: Celebrating 25 Silver Years in 2025
We were delighted to welcome a full house for the NFU & Nyetimber Annual Review. The evening included a fantastic performance by members of String Academy and featured a short film screening of Chris Hussey’s evocative folk opera, Beware the Mackerel Sky, alongside a video showreel from our vibrant Jazz & Strings ensemble.
Beyond our concerts, our commitment to youth programmes remains at the heart of what we do. In 2025, the String Academy programme will continue to inspire young musicians. Additionally, we are eager to complete the recording of our past commissioned works and release an album as part of our Silver Jubilee celebrations, marking 25 glorious years of the Shipley Arts Festival. Details about this project will be announced in 2025. If you’re able to offer financial support for this initiative, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Your generosity could help engage a new generation with classical music while ensuring these extraordinary compositions are preserved for everyone to enjoy.
Our 2025 concert programme will officially be unveiled at the Shipley Festival Preview Evening, hosted once again at Toovey’s Auction House. The event is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Sunday, 19th January.
Friends of the Festival will receive updates directly, including more information about this exciting evening. We are particularly delighted to share details of the Festival’s opening concert for its Silver Year in 2025. The Stradivarius Piano Trio, joined by Anando Mukerjee and Friends, will present a passion-filled evening of opera at Sedgwick Park on Sunday, 2nd March, at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the opening concert will be available soon at www.bmglive.com.
If you’re not yet a Festival Friend and would like to join, please visit our Local Giving page to make a donation. Becoming a Friend supports our efforts to bring exceptional music to life and nurture future talent.
Finally, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all our Festival Friends and our sponsors, NFU Mutual Horsham & Chichester, Toovey’s Auctioneers, Kreston Reeves, and Nyetimber, whose continued support enables us to develop new partnerships and explore exciting musical opportunities.
With best wishes,
Andrew
NB: This article was first published in the December edition of the Shipley Parish News. Big thanks to Teresa for all the hard work with SPN and the continued support!