Foundation Tickets back on Sale & Mill Hill Music Festival Day 6 - Rog T's Festival Diary

First up, some exciting news. We had put sale of tickets for The Foundations on hold due as we'd reached the indoor capacity. As the weather forecast is now for fine weather, the event can be held outside. This means that we are reopening sale of tickets. If you order them in advance, they are only £13, if you buy them on the night they will be £15, so place your order now.

You can order them via the Festival Website for collection on the door, or buy them from Mill Hill Wines.

The link to order is here https://millhillmusicfest.co.uk/event/the-foundations/ this will be an amazing night!

****** Rog's Festival Diary ******

So we are now more than half way through the festival and thus far it has been magnificent. Last night we had a barnstorming performance of HMS Pinafore by The Charles Court Opera at The Hartley Hall. When we put the events in the programme together, each committee member will suggest specific events and then they deal with the organisation. The Opera is very much the baby of Dan. I consider myself an expert in the matter of all things Rock & Pop gig organising, but Opera is a completely different matter. For one thing there is no PA system, there is an elaborate stage and the lighting and staging is key. Therefore to stage such an event in a festival, you really do need to work with a professional company. Over the 26 years of the Festival, we've dealt with quite a number of these. Last night we hosted the Charles Court Opera Company. I have to say that in terms of professionalism, they were A*. The festival crew did our bit, supplying a Hall and selling all of the tickets. The team at Charles Court did the rest and very impressive it was too. My involvement was limited to setting up chairs, acting as door usher and lugging out the heavy set at the end.

It’s curtain up @millhillfest for #hmspinafore pic.twitter.com/3LypWH3KwR

— Charles Court Opera (@charlescourt) June 18, 2019

And a packed house to boot! pic.twitter.com/86gG7ecwsK

— Mill Hill Music Fest (@millhillfest) June 18, 2019

The audience were extremely appreciative of the show. Many people were asking to have the company back next time. As you can imagine, Dan was very pleased with the response. Best of all, the show broke even, which, as a festival organiser is a very good thing. To stage an opera in the Hartley Hall, at reasonable prices, we rely on a sell out crowd and a decent bar taking, and had both. The Mill Hill Music Festival gets no grants or support from the arts council or The London Borough of Barnet. We aim to operate on a not for profit basis and any profits we make are ploughed back in to the festival. This has allowed us to buy stages, lighting and means we have the cash in the bank to print the programmes and pay the up front costs for the next festival. Our mission is to put high quality music on in Mill Hill at a reasonable cost, to bring the community together and to promote live music. I think we do rather well. All of the committee and volunteers are unpaid and do it for the love of music. Some of us are musicians, some of us are just music lovers. We all have different tastes and our aim is to provide a mix for everyone.

Tonight we have a very interesting programme.

First up, we have an amazing classical music concert.  An exciting collaboration between Samuel Austin (organ) and Milo Harper (harp) with a variety of solos and duets at the lovely setting of this church. The concert will feature a programme of chamber music from the 18th century to the present day.

For this collaboration between Samuel Austin (organ) and Milo Harper (harp), we will hear a variety of solos and duets at the lovely setting of this church. The concert will feature a programme of chamber music from the 18th century to the present day, with familiar classics including works by composers such as Bach and Handel, as well as some lesser known works by composers such as Hindemith.

The ensemble is a blend of two of the most ancient instruments and promises to be a delightful evening in the favourable acoustics of St Paul’s Church. Samuel studied organ at The Birmingham Conservatoire and The Royal Northern College of Music, winning the coveted Organ Recital Prize at the latter. Samuel is now the Assistant Director of Music at Aldenham School, as well as Director of Music at St Paul’s Mill Hill! Milo Harper is also a multi-award winning harpist, he is gaining a reputation as one of the leading UK harpists of his generation. Samuel and Milo have come together to organise what will surely be a scintillating programme of music for tonight’s event.

https://millhillmusicfest.co.uk/event/baroque-by-the-pond/

Then we have some high quality jazz at the Mill Hill Golf Club, hosted by The Mill Hill Jazz Club.

We have two of Londons finest Jazz singers,

Elizabeth Tillotson and Jimmy Cannon. Together, they will be exploring songs from both the American and British songbook with music from the Golden Age of songwriting, covering the jazz standards you love. Jimmy is also an accomplished saxophonist who has toured and performed with Sir Tom Jones, The Commitments, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, The Rat Pack touring show, Rodriguez, Maroon Town, Roger Taylor, and Mbawula. Highly regarded London based singer and pianist Elizabeth Tillotson graduated from Leeds College of Music with a first in jazz, and has been in demand ever since. With her exquisite phrasing and understated vocal style, Elizabeth brings a memorable interpretation of her extensive repertoire of well known songs. They will be joined by a selection of top class musicians for tonight’s performance.

https://millhillmusicfest.co.uk/event/jimmycannon/

So what are my plans for today. It is a fairly light day for me. The classical concert requires no PA system and the Jazz club host the 'Later' event, so I will help on the door at St Pauls Church, then have a beer and watch some quality jazz after. As the next three days will be full on, it will be a welcome break! Tomorrow night we have a very special show. It features the Alan Barnes Octet and is a tribute to Brian Peerless, our Festival Jazz impresario. Brian organised this event, before he passed away in January. It will be his final curtain call as a festival organiser and Alan has prepared a special trubute to him. I don't expect a dry eye in the house.

https://millhillmusicfest.co.uk/event/the-alan-barnes-octet/

That's it from me. I'm off to the studio to earn some money!