Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama

Do you have plans this Friday night? No? You do now!

Check out Lo-Five - a jazz group formed of 5 ex Cambridge University Choral Scholars who will be hosting an Evening of Jazz at the Bunyan Meeting Free Church from 6:30pm.

It promises to be a fantastic evening from a super talented bunch of young singers.

Tickets and more information are available via the link below:

An Evening of Jazz - Bedford Come and join us for a night of smooth jazz and good vibes in Bedford on August 30, 2024 at 6:30 PM!

Do you have your tickets to the Bedfordshire Youth Opera double bill this week?

Enjoy not one but two fantastic operas, performed by Bedfordshire’s best and brightest young singers. It promises to be a wonderful summer treat.

What could be better than a BYO show? Two, of course! 👀

Join us for an exciting double bill of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley this August. Two tales of love, loss and twisted fate, spanning centuries, promise a captivating evening.

Performances will run from Wednesday 28th August to Saturday 31st August at The University of Bedfordshire Theatre, Polhill Avenue, Bedford, MK41 9EA.

🎟️ Book your tickets now: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/bedfordshiremusictrust/1300317

Head to our website for more information: https://www.bedfordshiremusictrust.org.uk/youth-opera-2024-production/

Fantastic to see the new team take the reins of Milton Keynes Festival of the Arts for Dance, Speech and Music 👏

Festivals offer such important opportunities for performers to receive feedback and to share their work with their peers. Congrats to our friends at MK Festival and sending our best wishes to Pat who has done a magnificent job of running the festival for so many years. Enjoy the rest Pat! 🥂

As the outgoing organiser, I am thrilled to introduce to you the fabulous new team who will be bringing the 2025 Music and Drama Festivals to The Venue MK next February and March. The dates are on the home page of the website www.miltonkeynesfestival.org
The new team will post very soon to say that the 2025 syllabus and entry form are now downloadable from the website and that the online entry portal is open. They can be contacted via [email protected] and they are looking forward to meeting you all in person soon.
Thank you to Kawai UK for their continued and generous sponsorship enabling so many performers to take part in our festival, which is the largest and longest-running performance event for amateurs of all ages and levels of achievement.
Kawai UK
MK Music Hub
MK Music Centre
MK Citizen
The British and International Federation of Festivals group
Thornton College
Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama
Milton Keynes Dance Festival Community
Milton Keynes Music Co-operative
Milton Keynes Community Hub
Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust - NMPAT
Northampton Festival of the Performing Arts
Northampton Male Voice Choir
Arts1
Milton Keynes City Council
Pulse Magazine
The Stables MK

This looks like a Concert not to be missed!

Timothy Ridout: a guide to the brilliant British viola player you'll see at the 2024 BBC Proms A guide to the British viola player Timothy Ridout, who graces the 2024 BBC Proms with his performance of the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante

Andrew Manze Conducts Mozart and Bruckner, with Timothy Ridout - Bedford Corn Exchange Andrew Manze Conducts Mozart and Bruckner with Timothy Ridout – viola and the Bedfordshire Music Trust Orchestra   Programme MOZART […]

Did you pick up one of our flyers at the Bedford Music Hub stage at the River Festival over the weekend?

While everybody is relaxing over the summer holidays, we are busy putting the finishing touches to our syllabus which will be released in September.

We've got some new, exciting classes to launch and we can't wait to tell you all about them!

In the meantime, be sure to put the 2025 dates in your diary 🤩

Here's a more comprehensive programme for our Bedford Music Hub stage. There are a few tweaks from the advertised one. Please check your times and remember to arrive 15mins before your time.

Some familiar Festival faces are performing at the Community Stage this weekend, including our friends at Bedfordshire Woodwind Academy Flute Ensemble 🎶

Another stage is taking shape, ready for this weekend's Bedford River Festival 2024...

The Community Stage, showcasing fantastic performances from local musicians, can be found on the way to the Schools Boathouse from the Suspension Bridge. Its What3Words location is https://w3w.co/grass.boats.remind.

Nearby in Mill Meadows you'll also be able to explore a new Arts and Culture area, full of local creativity, stalls galore, there's also some giant inflatables and water activities.

Setlist for the Community Stage, learn more about each act in the programme:

Saturday
11.00am Danny Matcham
11.25am The Magpies
12.00pm Bedfordshire Woodwind Academy Flute Ensemble
12.25pm Lily James
1.00pm Donna Samuels
1.25pm The Barrys
2.00pm Stagecoach Bedford Performing Arts School
2.25pm Black Ridge Band
3.00pm Bedford Marionettes
3.25pm Flamin' Wet Gurus
4.00pm Chris Cleverley
4.25pm Deveil's Mojo
5.00pm Aththayanake Dance Group
5.25pm Roxze & FiveFiveSix
6.00pm Bedford College Performing Arts
6.25pm SK & The Kings
7.00pm Bedford Bandhan
7.25pm Tolani
8.00pm Joe Bygraves
8.25pm Bhangra Smash Up

Sunday
11.00am Fundamentalz Dance
11.25am Stalkers
12.00pm Bedford Academy
12.25pm Sandy Ukulele Group
1.00pm Arabia Belly Dancing Group
1.25pm Dani Elle
2.00pm Bedford Fight Klub
2.25pm Freddies Barnet
3.00pm BigJohny Da Talkative
3.25pm Roll Cage
4.00pm Mizz-C
4.25pm Dogs! Teeth!

Explore the full River Festival programme on the Linktree on our profile, and we'll add a link in the comments too.

If you’re visiting the River Festival, be sure to check out all the amazing talent at the Bedford Music Hub stage this weekend! 🎶

On September 8th Andrew Manze and Timothy Ridout will join forces with an orchestra of professional and semi-professional musicians from Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes in a concert of wonderful music from Mozart and Bruckner.

All net proceeds from the event will go to the Bedfordshire Music Trust which supports young musicians from the area by organising instrumental courses and Bedfordshire Youth Opera.

Tickets are now available at the Corn Exchange online (https://www.bedfordcornexchange.co.uk/events/andrew-manze-conducts-mozart-and-bruckner-with-timothy-ridout/) or by calling 01234 718044.

Could you help with this exciting event?

A great initiative in our local community 👏

We’re offering parents a £50 school uniform grant if your child is changing from primary to secondary school in Bedford Borough and is eligible for free school meals. You will need to access the voucher from the secondary school they will be attending and get in contact with the school.

This is just one of the many ways we help those in the community, visit www.harpurtrust.org.uk for further information.

Bedford Academy Bedford Free School Biddenham International School Castle Newnham School Daubeney Academy Goldington Academy Kempston Academy Lincroft Academy Mark Rutherford School Sharnbrook Academy St Thomas More Secondary & 6th Form Wixams Academy Wootton Upper School

While the nation took to the polls yesterday, there was an official handover of roles at the Festival too as we hosted our AGM last night.

During the evening we said a fond farewell to our outgoing Chair and Vice Chair, Julia Smith and Jo Barrow, and officially elected our new Chair, Lucy Copeman and our new Vice Chair, Henry Vann.

We were also delighted to welcome two new committee members, Lucy Eggleton and Irina Ermakova, into the Festival family, both of whom will be a huge asset to the team and will bring new ideas and energy into our planning for 2025.

Thank you so much to all those who attended the AGM - we are grateful for all the support that we receive from our valued stewards, friends and sponsors, without whom the Festival could not continue. We appreciate your time and expertise so much.

Thank you to Julia, Jo and their families for all they have done to make the Festival such a success and to move it forward under their tenure. You will be greatly missed, but you leave us in a great position to move forward into this next chapter.

A fantastic event for young people interested in giving a musical instrument a try 🤩

Check out our Musical Explorer's event which we are now offering to non pupil premium students on the 6th August. This is a one day course for all 7 – 11 year olds, that offers opportunities for young people to experience a range of musical styles, listen to quality live performances and try out different instruments and musical equipment. No prior musical experience is necessary. For further info please check out our website https://bedfordmusichub.org.uk/activities/musical-explorers-4/

Our outgoing Chair and Vice Chair, Julia and Jo, were delighted to join the Lord Lieutenant yesterday for a Service of Thanksgiving for Voluntary Organisations.

We are proud to be part of a rich community of charities and organisations in this county who are working to improve the lives and experiences of the people of Bedfordshire. Thank you for including us in this special day.

This year's Bedfordshire Festival AGM will take place on Thursday 4th July but will not take place at the venue as advertised in the programme.

If you would like to join us for the AGM, please email [email protected] to receive details of the new venue and timings.

Our friends at the Bedfordshire Music Trust are hosting an exciting concert at the Bedford Corn Exchange on Sunday 8th September.

See below for details or check out www.bedfordcornexchange.co.uk/events to find out more! 🎶🎻

A date for your diary!

The 2025 Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama will take place from 1st to 8th March.

Planning is already underway for next year's event, we can't wait to share news of our new syllabus which will be launching in September.

A great opportunity for young people in Bedford who would like to learn to play an instrument or join a music group!

Bedford Music Hub Music for Bedford Borough is the lead organisation for Bedford Music Hub providing and supporting musical experiences for children and young people.

If you're a string player looking for something exciting to do with your half term, look no further than Wizard Strings which is taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday next week! 🎸🎻🪕

To book your place or find out more, contact [email protected]

Be sure to put this date in your diary as our friends at Rotary Club of Bedford host the Concerto Masterclass featuring winners from
this year’s Bedfordshire festival 🎶🎹🎻🎺

It promises to be an amazing afternoon!

As our thoughts turn to planning for the 2025 Festival, we'd love to hear from you.

Are there any classes that you'd love to see in our next syllabus?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or email [email protected]

Now that the dust has settled on the 2024 Bedfordshire Festival and our thoughts turn to planning for 2025, we would love to hear your feedback on things we can improve and any obstacles that you as teachers or performers may face in entering the Festival in the future.

We are keen to find new ways of reaching students and schools and would welcome any ideas and suggestions you may have.

We would also be happy to meet with any schools thinking of taking part in 2025 to help them with the entry process.

Please do let us know your thoughts via the form below, or contact us directly at [email protected]

Thank you for your continued support of our Festival ♥️

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAEVF0wynQJUOFI0T0wzUk1SSjEzTjdNRUJESkRYVVlFSy4u

Fantastic work! Thank you for sharing your talent with us and we hope to see you again next year! 👏

Toyosi Year 5 & Moremi Year 3 competed in Grade 3 & 4 Piano groups (21 entrants in total) at The Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama held at the Harpur Suite. Although they didn’t leave with a prize, they were awarded a Distinction for “an excellent performance technically and artistically.”👏

This is their first time playing to an audience outside of Webber and they held their nerve and did a great job!

Special thanks to Ms Guest for suggesting this and registering them for this event.🥰

Music and drama festival in Bedford celebrates best talent the county has to offer It culminated in a gala concert on Saturday (March 9)