Wooler Arts Summer Concerts 2024
Presenting five concerts this year for the first time proved popular. Audiences were very good and in some cases larger and better than ever. But, the true successes of the season were the concerts themselves. The quality of musicianship and levels of performance were outstanding and the audience responses and appreciation of the range of music were extremely rewarding and encouraging.
You can see some of the reactions below next to the individual concerts and for the season as a whole, here are a few comments:
The series has been excellent, a wonderful range of music and musicians
I love the variety of programming
Wonderful music all season
A most enjoyable series of concerts and we very much look forward to next year. Keep up the good work.
Joyful Company of Singers who began this year’s series gave a second impressive concert the following evening at St Paul’s Church in Alnwick. St Mary’s, Wooler proved a perfect venue for this 35-strong London choir and the church’s fine acoustic responded well to their rich choral sound.
Once again we were able to collaborate with Glendale Community Middle School and the involvement of the children playing our new Wooler Arts Junk Orchestra alongside the trombone quartet Slide Action in a new composition by the children received an especially favourable response from the audience. This was an unforgettable concert with the four young musicians obviously enjoying the virtuosic challenges of their fascinating programme.
It was very good to be able to announce to the audience for Quatuor Danel that the following evening they were performing at Wigmore Hall, London, a true mark of the quality of musicians accepting invitations to play in Wooler. Their concert here was truly remarkable and I felt very privileged that they should include my own string quintet Inevitable Rifts with guest cellist Petr Prause. After their transported interpretation of Schubert’s great Quintet the audience response was rapturous with a total standing ovation.
The final two concerts in the same weekend were excellent and very different. Nigel Clayton & Imma Setiadi were the first piano duettists we have had and their dazzling performances of arrangements of orchestral music were quite revelatory, especially Holst’s The Planets.
Matt Carmichael, with Fergus McCreadie and Charlie Stewart rounded off the season the next day to a huge audience with Matt’s own beautiful and engaging Scottish folk, coast and landscape-inspired pieces. Fabulous playing.
And now for next year. Concerts for 2025 are all planned and an announcement will be posted very soon with details of artists and dates.
Thank you to all who have come along to support Wooler Arts Summer Concerts and I look forward to seeing you in 2025.
John Casken
Artistic Director
Wooler Arts Summer Concerts
