The annual launch and preview of the Shipley Arts Festival is always a cause for excitement and this year there is a particular reason to celebrate as the festival marks it’s 25th Anniversary.
The preview and launch was once again hosted by Toovey’s where Festival Director Andrew Bernardi gathered an array of world class and young musicians, the Festival Friends and sponsors for an evening of celebration and music. It is a remarkable achievement to have established one of the country’s leading regional music festivals in just 25 years. Andrew explained how it all began “I met Christina Maude and Ginny de Zoete through a charity concert at Shipley Parish Church. Afterwards we got together at the Selsey Arms and met Gordon Lindsay at his home and the festival was born!”
Andrew’s life as a violinist has taken him all over the world but it is his family and being rooted in the heart of Sussex with its gentle hills, countryside, towns and communities which feed and inspire him. Speaking on the evening Andrew thanked his wife Lucy and son Josh, and said “What we all have in common with our sponsors, friends and patrons are our shared values. A belief in our communities and young people, and that there is a place for excellence.”
He is following in the footsteps of musicians and composers like John Ireland, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Sir Edward Elgar who lived and worked in Sussex. Through the festival and its patrons Andrew Bernardi, continues to commission new and exciting work from some of our nation’s leading contemporary composers.
I ask him what his violin means to him. He reflects “The Stradivarius violin is a remarkable instrument with an extraordinary range.” Relationships are important to the success of the Shipley Arts Festival and the array of international musicians who return year after year are responding to the aspirations, loyalty and vision of its Artistic Director, Andrew Bernardi.
As the longest standing sponsor of the Shipley Arts Festival I am delighted that Toovey’s and myself remain at the heart of this remarkable celebration of music and community. Together with our fellow sponsors NFU Mutual at Horsham, Henfield and Chichester, Nyetimber and Kreston Reeves we wish Andrew Bernardi and his Shipley Arts Festival every success with the 25th Anniversary concert season. For more information on the forthcoming Shipley Arts Festival and to book your tickets visit the box office at www.bmglive.com.