Names lined up for the 10th anniversary festival
Chichester is set for a summer celebration of the arts with the launch of the Festival of Chichester, which is set to build on the success of its early years as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of the festival. This year is particularly significant as The Festival of Chichester is one of the anniversary partners for Culture Spark which brings together exciting arts activities across the Chichester District.
Chichester will be celebrating music, literature, talks, art exhibitions, theatre, walks, film and more.
- Cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra combining Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6
- The Pathetique; 23 year old saxophone star Jess Gillam will display her virtuosity with the London Mozart Players in musical highlights ranging from Mozart to Glazunov
- Ensemble Reza delve into jazzy rhythms and cool blues rubbing shoulders with classical sounds at St Paul’s
- The Stradivarius Piano Trio perform both Robert and Clara Schumann
- Author Elly Griffiths will be discussing her new detective fiction
- Poet Roger McGough will bring the essence of Liverpool to the Cathedral for a Shelley bicentenary celebration
- Musician’s musician Andy Cutting brings virtuosic folk to Graylingwell Chapel
- The Greek music of Pavlos Carvalho and Friends will entertain at St Paul’s
- The Poetry & Jazz Café features Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry winners Grace Nichols and John Agard performing poetry alongside jazz from Julian Stringle and Dominic Ashworth in the Assembly Room
- Open air theatre abounds with Pergola Theatre at West Dean Gardens
- The Rude Mechanical Theatre Company at Halnaker and on Cathedral Green
- The Lord Chamberlain’s Men offering As You Like It
- Free lunchtime concert with pianist Elena Toponogova at Chichester Cathedral
Exhibitions at the Festival of Chichester include
- A Glyn Philpot show at Pallant House Gallery
- Piers Ottey at Oxmarket Contemporary
- Kerry Harding’s Cornish Coasts at the Candida Stevens Gallery
- For lovers of indie and rock music there is a series of gigs featuring Jody and the Jerms, Olivia Stevens and Stone Cold bringing the music of summer at the Chichester Inn
- There’s comedy at the Chapel with Ninia Benjamin and the story of Edward and Wallis Simpson in a brand-new musical W.E. at the Pallant Suite
- Radical speaker Peter Tatchell will take audiences on a journey from Chrisianity to Humanism
- Renowned pianist John Lenehan will be playing piano to a screening of Laurel and Hardy
- Classical re-imaginings feature with the flamboyant All That Malarkey at St John’s Chapel
- There’s a focus on youth with a showcase for the Students of the Yehudi Menuhin School at the University of Chichester
- The University of Chichester is presenting a range of concerts covering opera, Dido and Aeneas, Broadway Tonight and the Last Night of the Proms
- Author Nicola Garrard discusses her hit YA novel, 29 Locks.
Music, comedy, drama and much more features at the hybrid live/streamed Fringe.
Festival of Chichester opening and closing acts
Festival coordinator Barry Smith says: “In between there’s a wonderful diversity of events, with something for everyone, it’s a thrilling line-up of top quality events. With music, plays, talks, walks, food and drink, cinema, open days and exhibitions, everyone will find plenty to enjoy in the fantastic range on offer.”
The Festival of Chichester opens on June 11th with a free open-air concert on Cathedral Green featuring H.M Army Band, Sandhurst and the Bernardi Music Group.
The Festival of Chichester closes a month later over a weekend featuring the Parnassian Ensemble’s Baroque Treats, the Chichester Symphony Orchestra at St Paul’s Church performing Sibelius Symphony No. 2, Chichester Chorale with Handel’s Coronation Anthems at Boxgrove Priory and Pergola Theatre with the open-air comedy Come on Jeeves in the grounds of West Dean.
Festival of Chichester will last from 11th June to 10th July 2022 www.festivalofchichester.co.uk
Tickets from www.thenovium.org/boxoffice at The Novium/TIC, 1 Tower Street, Chichester, PO19 1HQ, or phone 01243 816525