SHAKESPEARE, MUSIC AND COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER FOR SPECIAL CONCERT IN AID OF CHILDRENS BOOKFEST
A unique concert bringing together Shakespeare, music and performance is taking place at Boxgrove Priory this October, raising funds for local charity Childrens BookFest.
Entitled All For Your Delight, a line from Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, the concert will take place at 2pm on Saturday 24 October at the Church of St Mary and St Blaise at Boxgrove Priory in Chichester.
Introduced and compered by international best-selling author Kate Mosse CBE, President of Childrens BookFest, the concert will feature music orchestrated by composer John Gleadall, and bring together the OK Chorale choir, Encore Chichester Community Orchestra (ECCO) and actors from local drama group New Theatre Productions.
A highlight of the programme will be the premiere of John Gleadalls orchestration of Pyramus and Thisbe, the famously comic play performed by the Mechanicals in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream. The piece has been newly set to music and arranged by Gleadall for the occasion, with actors from New Theatre Productions joining OK Chorale and ECCO to bring Shakespeares words to life.
The programme will also feature Gleadalls dramatic orchestration of The Highwayman, based on Alfred Noyes celebrated poem. Originally written as part of a musical theatre production by Greg Mosse and John Gleadall, the work will be performed with the kind permission of Alfred Noyes granddaughter. Noyes daughter was a long-time resident of Boxgrove until her death in 2022, giving the performance a particular local connection.
Robert Smiths Into the Storm and Sibelius Finlandia will complete a programme spanning choral and orchestral music, poetry and theatre.
The OK Chorale is a Chichester-based community choir, now in its tenth year under the leadership of composer John Gleadall. For All For Your Delight, the choir will collaborate with the Encore Chichester Community Orchestra, led by Professor Laura Ritchie.
ECCO brings musicians from across the community together without auditions or judgement, united by a shared enjoyment of making music. The concert will give the group the opportunity to work directly with a choir, composer and actors in one collaborative performance.
President of Childrens BookFest, Kate Mosse said:
This will be a wonderful, one-off celebration of music and theatre in the beautiful setting of Boxgrove Priory. Im delighted that the concert is also raising funds for Childrens BookFest, an organisation that does such important work in encouraging children to discover the joy of books, reading and storytelling. I am honoured to be the charitys new President.
This event promises to be the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon and a very special occasion for everyone involved.
Funds raised through All For Your Delight will support Childrens BookFests work with children across the local area, bringing leading authors and illustrators into schools and communities and putting brand-new books into childrens hands to take home, keep and enjoy.
Tickets for All For Your Delight are available to buy from £10 per person. Click here to book tickets - ticketsource.com/childrens-book-fest-chichester