Sharon Canavar is Chief Executive of the Harrogate International Festivals, a year-round cultural organisation delivering programmes, events and festivals that bridges genres and art forms to deliver distinctive cultural experiences. Since joining the Harrogate International Festivals in 2003,  sponsorship now generates over a third of the turnover for the  Festivals with a broad range of bespoke partnerships aligned to  various projects. The organisation has also expanded and diversified  to encompass a year round programme of activity, attracting over 90,000 people to its portfolio of activities, most notably creating  and developing the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival  which has now been established as the world’s largest crime fiction  festival, with a celebrated and award winning partnership between Theakstons and the Festivals.

Prior to joining the Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon worked in special interest tourism, for both Kuoni Travel and JAC Travel & Sharon is currently a Trustee of the North Yorkshire Youth Music Action Zone (NYMAZ) and the Harrogate International Youth Festival.

Members – £25 + vat
Non-members – £30 + vat

To book your place please call Lorraine on 01423 525622 or email lorraine@themetclub.co.uk

Artur Pizarro’s recital promises the perfect start to the New Year, presenting a thrilling programme of music from Chopin’s ‘miniature masterpieces’ to the grand splendour of Wagner, Liszt and Rachmaninov. After winning first place at the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 1990, Pizarro has since taken the world by storm with his breath-taking performances.

The all-female Pavão String Quartet have rapidly established themselves as one of the most exciting young string quartets in the UK. This versatile ensemble is not only highly-regarded in classical concert venues, but has enjoyed collaborations with renowned rock, pop and jazz artists,  a contemporary dance company, and have even recorded music for the X-Factor!

The full season line-up is completed with performances from; pianist Martin Roscoe, one of Britain’s most prolific recitalists; Julian Bliss, alumni of the Festivals’ Young Musician Series; and draws to a close with one of Britain’s foremost cellists, Paul Watkins.

Tickets for the series are on sale directly from the Festival Office. Harrogate International Sunday Series tickets can be booked by phone on 01423 562303, by email on: info@harrogate-festival.org.uk or in person by visiting the office situated at Raglan House, Raglan Street, Harrogate, HG1 1LE. Booking Forms are also available to download from the Festival website: www.harrogate-festival.org.uk

Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of the Harrogate International Festivals, said: “We’re extremely proud to be maintaining the reputation and tradition of the Sunday Series with some of the finest talents at work today coming to Harrogate in 2012.”

Kinch – this year’s Guest Curator at the Festival – plays like a classically brilliant jazz musician – just one that breaks out into tremendous rap. He’s said to arouse ‘curiosity and admiration’ as his music is about the search for art, truth and humanity. In his lecture: Freedom Music: Improvising in Hip Hop and Jazz at 7.30pm tonight, he explores the development of his distinctive sound and asks controversially, does music today reflect the realities of a recession and social exclusion or is it simply the tool of advertising companies and corporations? Kinch will explore race politics in a post-Obama age and the travails of the independent recording artist.

It’s a rare chance to gain an insight into the musician before he performs later in the Festival alongside his nine-piece band, with his new album, The New Emancipation.

Jazz Wise magazine said: “Soweto played the saxophone like he was pouring his soul into his instrument and giving himself away. His play went from soaring joyful melodies to proclaiming political commentary…Soweto is a man to believe in…. An awesome talent with a true heart and intellect to match.”

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This week there’s a smorgasbord of music, theatre and authors up for grabs.

At Wesley Chapel this afternoon, put a frisson of frivolity into your Friday with authors Wendy Holden and Laurie Graham at 2.30pm. Holden’s first novel, Simply Divine, about a lowly hack who writes for a celebrity socialite, is inspired by her own experience writing for Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.

In the evening it’s one of the most eagerly awaited literary events of the Festival for Jackson Brodie fans – An Evening with Kate Atkinson – at the majestic Fountain’s Abbey at 7.30pm.

On Saturday 16 July at West Park Hotel, get the blood pumping at 2.30pm with the extreme marathon man, Robin Harvie. Author of Why We Run: A Story of Obsession, Harvie explores his own journey of obsession, grief and growing into adulthood in the ultimate story of self-discovery.

The Fab Four – the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet and Friends – take you on a musical extravaganza at 8pm on Saturday 16 July that spans continents and decades in the beautiful St Wilfrid’s Church.

For thespian frolics, the Festival’s perennial favourite theatre company Oddsocks, are back with their unique interpretation of Macbeth: Something Wicked This Way Comes! Pack a picnic to RHS: Harlow Carr on Tuesday 19 or Wednesday 20 July for 7.30pm and get ready to giggle.

On Wednesday, 12pm at St Wilfrid’s Church, there’s a chance to see two rising stars as part of the Harrogate Young Musicians’ series. Together international artist, violinist Kokila Gillet, and award-winning soloist, chamber musician and conductor, James Sherlock, are Dua Zingara, promising a stunning and powerful programme.

Plus, Wendesday see’s Alastair Campbell interviewed by Guest Curator of the literary strand, author and journalist, Henry Sutton at Harrogate Theatre at 8pm.

Power and Responsibility, the third volume of Alastair Campbell’s diaries, is released this July coinciding with this special event for the 2011 Summer Festival Literature programme.

Erica Morris, Literary Festivals Manager, said: “We’re very excited Alastair Campbell is one of our star authors. His insight into the workings of British politics as well as the personal fight with his own demons of alcohol and depression, promises a fascinating talk. It will be intriguing to get an insight into how he influences the media and how people perceive Westminster.”

Alastair Campbell changed British politics. For years he was at the heart of the Blair Government. A former Daily Mirror reporter and political editor, he become one of the most influential people in the country through his work with the Labour party.

Paloma Faith’s meteoric rise to fame certainly has the quirks and fantasy of a Brother’s Grimm story. She began her career singing in burlesque clubs and at one time was being sawn in half nightly as a magician’s assistant, before casting her spell on the pop world with her enchanting debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful. Renowned for her flamboyance, what can Harrogate audiences expect at her headline gig this July?

“Well I’m kind of mid album so I’m free to creatively let loose this time. I’ll always put on a big show and I’m planning something quite exciting for this. Expect the unexpected!” Paloma said.

Faith also put herself through college – a BA at Leeds University in contemporary dance, and an MA in drama at Central Saint Martins – by working in her spare time selling lingerie at Agent Provocateur – and famously built her name on the burlesque circuit, should Harrogate brace itself for something a little risqué?

“No, I sang in those clubs but never stripped! I’m the daughter of a feminist. I don’t take my clothes off or anything,” she laughed. “But I think it’s important to have an element of surprise in a performance so I’d rather not say what I’m going to do because it would ruin that surprise.”

The singer’s jazz, blues and soul inflections have drawn comparisons with Amy Winehouse and Duffy, with musical influences as diverse as Billie Holliday, PJ Harvey and Nina Simone, but Faith is distinctly her own artist.

“I don’t have strategies, I just do me,” Paloma said. “I don’t think there’s much calculation going on with me. I’m just myself. You do what you do.”

Paloma is a more alternative act for the Festival which has built its reputation over the years delivering the finest in classical, jazz and world music. How does she feel her sound will fit with this tradition?

“Well my band is very musical – we’re not a mainstream pop act – everyone’s a brilliant musician and I ensure I show them off as they’re so talented. We’re very musical but different I guess to what Harrogate is used to but I’m a hundred per cent sure people will have a nice time and a bit of a dance. I’ll be showcasing new songs from my forthcoming album which is out in January (depending on how fast I write it!) and I’ll try some new bits out at Harrogate – maybe I’ll be bringing more of a party atmosphere!”

Paloma has been photographed by David Bailey for Vogue, headlined on Later with Jools Holland and featured in movies, including the 2007 remake of St Trinian’s and Terry Gilliam’s cult hit – Heath Ledger’s final film – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

“I love cult cinema myself so I always said that’s what I’d like to do as an actor. I’m shooting a horror movie in October, so you can’t get more cult than that.”

She also recently released a charity single with Elton John – a cover of rapper Plan B’s track, ‘Hard Times’ – to help raise funds for the victims of last year’s floods in Pakistan. Does she think music can change the world for the better?

“I just think we make music and that’s all we can do to help. I’m not sure if I could make such a confident statement saying music can change the world but it’s always had a massive influence politically and on how people look at current affairs. It’s important in amongst the success that you do your bit to help the bigger picture.”

Faith has performed at high profile festivals including T4 on the Beach, she once joked about slumming it at festivals saying, ‘anywhere you can’t wear stilettos just isn’t worth going’ – she must be chuffed she’s coming to Harrogate with its boutique shops and quaint tea rooms?

“I’m really looking forward to it,” she laughed. “I used to live in Leeds so hopefully some old friends will be coming along. The Turkish Baths sound nice, but we’re usually pretty in and out after a gig but I hope to have a dance to some of the other performers at the Festival. I just think I’m excited to come and show you my wares! I think it will be a very fun thing and a very alternative gig…you can expect a bit more theatre!”

Paloma Faith, Thursday 14 July, Harrogate International Centre, 8pm.

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GRAHAM Chalmers knew the re-launched Harrogate Fringe was on the right track last year.

“There was a moment that made it all worthwhile and made me want to do it all again,” he says.

“Esteemed music critic David Stubbs, who writes for Wire magazine, which I admire a lot, attended The Rest Is Noise event where we had classical music treated as a rave night with 3D glasses.

“It was a daft idea but bizarrely it was brilliant, and David said ‘Right now, this is the coolest place to be in Britain’.”

Read the full article here

Harrogate International Festival Fringe runs from 1 July through to 31 July.

To see the full programme of events, click here

The ninety-minute sessions will see students taking part in Tom’s Football Reading Game workshop, an interactive session combining literacy with football. The first half is a quiz drawn from different football reading materials, such as the day’s newspapers, magazines and books. Children answer questions and the session is used to encourage them to talk about what they like to read and recommend things to each other. The second half is a penalty shoot-out, where the children who got the questions right compete in a penalty shoot-out with Tom in goal.

Don’t miss Tom at the Children’s Festival, Sunday 10 July 10am in our gigantic play-den!

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On Monday 26 July, she’ll be sharing the stage of the Royal Hall with Krystle Warren…

 How does your music reflect your world view?

 My music is made from my past experiences and my spontaneity. It’s like an artwork that accurately depicts my way of perceiving the world, even thought everything has not yet been said.

 To audiences in Harrogate who aren’t familiar with your music, how would you describe it to them?

The roots of my music come from Cape Verde but are also naturally inspired by other sounds.

You’re from Cuba, but have lived in Paris and travelled all over the world, where do you consider home and why?

I am originally Cape Verdean (born in Cuba by pure chance). My home is there even if I grew up between Cape Verde and other destinations.

I find I can live and evolve in foreign countries that are not my own and still make the most of the experiences. The idea of living in Cape Verde today gives me a sense of confinement as I would not be able to have access to many things (culturally) which I use as inspiration. Perhaps later on….am sure as every time I go back, I have a sensation of belonging where everything is very familiar – it’s very reassuring…

 If you couldn’t sing for a living, what do you think your life would be like?

Since the day I was born I always had a deep conviction that I would sing and up till now I have never done anything else. I have often said jokingly that if I was not a singer, I would probably be a secretary of high level!! I am passionate about the organisation of French paperwork, post-its and stamps….it’s fascinating!

You’re sharing a stage with Krystle Warren, what do you think audiences can expect from this unique partnership?

I do not know what to expect. What I can safely say is that Krystle has a sensitive and special world. I believe it’s her body and soul that is expressed when she sings.

 Anything you’d like to ad?

Merci. See you soon! I can’t wait and I am very happy to be able to be on stage for the British audience again, who has always welcomed me with such enthusiasm. Thanks so much and see you soon!!

Mayra Andrade and Krystle Warren, Monday 26 July, Royal Hall, 8pm. Tickets from £12, under 25s: £5. Booking hotline: 0845 130 8840.

Lucy Parham

It’s been said that if you can’t play the piano, Chopin is the best possible reason to start. Chopin is one of the richest musical imaginations the world has ever known. This year, celebrating the bicentenary of his birth, acclaimed pianists have queued up to sing his praises; just listen to classical pianist Emanuel Ax in the Guardian: “His connection with the piano is so complete, it feels almost as if the instrument was created to allow his music to come into the world.”

Pianist Lucy Parham has attracted critical acclaim for her unique delivery of classical music – her shows features some of Britain’s most prestigious actors reading the letters and journals of great composers with her performance. Nocturne, The Romantic Life of Frederic Chopin is the third event in this unique Parham genre. Previous shows include Beloved Clara, mapping the story of passion, music and tragedy between Robert Schumann, Clara and Brahms. Odyssey of Love followed – a journey into the heart of Franz Liszt, and now, in the 200^th year since his birth, Chopin.

Sam West

And sharing a stage with the likes of Rufus Sewell and Greg Wise, Lucy Parham has certainly put the romance into the life of Chopin. Greg Wise? He’s gorgeous! “Lots of people offered to turn my pages!!” Lucy laughed. “Greg Wise especially prompted a lot of calls from female friends asking to sit in the front row. He’s lovely…and he read brilliantly.”

What inspired her to mix actors with music, rather than say a straight concert or play?

“I always talked to the audience before I played a piece,” Lucy explained. “I was playing Schumann and reading the letters really touched and moved me. And people said it made a big difference before they heard the music, and I found myself reading more and more, and I thought I’d love to hear them read properly by a professional actor’s voice. I didn’t know any actors at that time, so it was a learning curve. But I always loved theatre – it’s my way of switching off.”

She had seen Malcolm Sinclair in an Aykbourn play, House/Garden and had read in his biography that he loved music. “I was such a big fan of his – so I wrote to him as a groupie really and he replied…one thing led to another.”

From Sinclair, the pedigree of actor Parham attracts is astounding. “A lot of actors will like this kind of recital, usually in a play they’re one of eight or so,” Lucy explained. “And of course there are lots of actors who love music. Once you have a good number of high profile actors others become more interested – it’s a certification of being okay. Asking Juliet Stevenson saying that Harriet Walter has done it gives it a certain kind of gravitas. But they seem to enjoy doing it and I love working with them…it’s very exciting having these beautiful actors’ voices on the same stage, I get such a buzz out of it. Harriet and Juliet are both amazing, how lucky am I? I’d have never of met them otherwise. A solo pianist’s life is quite solitary so it’s really nice to socialise with other people.”

Harriet Walter

She must have some great dinner parties? “Actually I did have a great one recently!” Lucy said, “with Martin Jarvis [one of Britain’s most versatile actors], Gemma Jones [who plays Bridget Jones’ mother], Phyllida Law [Emma Thompson’s mother], Petroc Trelawny [Radio 3 presenter of Music Matters], and Richard Sisson [of the cabaret act, Kit and the Widow]. It was weird, surreal having everyone there, but I’ve never laughed so much in my life! Most of my time is spent just practising, doing house work, more practising, teaching,” Lucy added.

Chopin is, Lucy says, probably the most popular of the three composers she’s profiled. The musician’s life has inspired contrasting responses – Schumann described the textures in his B flat minor Sonata (the Funeral March) as “cannon ­concealed amid blossoms”. To some he was an effete romantic, un-showy and ill at ease with the world.  But in his home country Poland, he is considered a national hero; his heart is buried in a pillar of the Holy Cross church in Warsaw. For Poland, Chopin is far from withdrawn, sentimental or consumptive, but ‘a lion of the keyboard’. Writing in the Guardian Tim Service puts this down to his enigmatic music being a ‘tapestry of poetic paradoxes’ embodying everything from ‘revolution to raindrops’.

Does Lucy enjoy the research behind the concerts? “I do enjoy it because I like using my brain in a different, creative way being immersed in books and letters. And I like thinking about how the music goes with the words – I like the marriage of the two. It’s a long but fulfilling process. And it’s ever changing, after the first performance of Chopin some edges get polished and the actors have an input too – they have ideas and over time some things change, it doesn’t stay static.”

It seems tragedy and genius is a prevailing theme for these great composers, do they go hand in hand? “Yes they do, and it’s a very good point and one seems to follow the other. None of these composers, possibly except from Mendelssohn, led a charmed life. Schumann suffered dreadfully with illness and Chopin was ill most of his life.”

Did she uncover anything that changed her mind or opinion of the man?

“I didn’t change my mind for the better. I had quite a benevolent attitude towards Chopin the man because his music is so extraordinary, but the more I got to know him, the less I liked him. Chopin was not particularly a nice character as a man. And you think how can someone like that make such heavenly music? If you were ill all the time you’re not going to be at your best but he was very pernickety, quite pedantic, fussy, and anti-Semitic: not a very generous spirit. Schumann was the opposite, he was very generous, he wanted to help other composers and he adored Clara. I never get the sense Chopin adored George Sand.”

Why did she focus on his romantic life?  “If you ask people what they knew about Chopin, if they know anything it will be the affair with George Sand – the affair in Majorca – and that he wrote the Funeral March. She was an immense part of his life, it would be impossible not to feature her.”

Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, best known by her pseudonym George Sand, was a French novelist who is regarded as the first French female novelist to gain a major reputation.

“In a sense her letters and her journals are so beautifully written, it’s almost worth having a one woman show without Chopin,” Lucy adds. “I hope through the show one gets a sense that he was quite fussy and fastidious, cantankerous and difficult. But everything is forgiven because writing music like that you can forgive anything.”

Sands and Chopin were polar opposites. “He liked everything just so with his hot chocolate before bed, she was bohemian, free spirited and wrote till 2am and got up at noon, their lives never really fused. But it must have worked creatively, she completely recognised his genius, and nurtured his genius.”

What is it about Chopin’s music and life that speaks to Lucy? “I think there’s probably no one that can write piano like Chopin for a start,” Lucy said. “He’s one of the few composers when you hear his music you instantly know its Chopin. His output in such a short life is extraordinary. If I had to pick two composers to take to a desert island it would be Chopin and Schumann.”

Lucy has a long relationship with Harrogate, the Festival and the Royal Hall: “Harrogate is particularly special to me. I first came to the Festival 15 or 20 years ago. And more recently for the opening of the Royal Hall – I was very involved in that, seeing the Hall rebuilt. So I feel like it’s a second home for me. Lilian did an amazing thing, rebuilding the Hall.” Lilian Mina was the Royal Hall Restoration Trust Chairman who lost her fight against cancer in 2008, dying just five days before the Royal Hall was due to be reopened. “Although not officially, it’s in her memory I’m coming, it’s an honour. She’ll always be in my mind every time I come to Harrogate. I do feel particularly attached to the place and to the Royal Hall.”

Nocturne: The Romantic Life of Chopin by Lucy Parham featuring Sam West and Harriet Walter is at the Royal Hall on Thursday 29 July at 8pm. Tickets from £15 to £57 for boxes (under 25s: £5). Ticket hotline: 0845 130 8840 or book online at www.harrogate-festival.org.uk

Can you explain the character behind the Sawa blues for audiences unfamiliar with the music?

Sawa Blues is a concept which aims to enlighten the richness of the Sawa culture, and the Sawa people (all the population living by the sea in the coast of Cameroon). It’s a rich and diverse culture where music plays a significant role by supporting almost all the activities of day to day life: fishing, farming, hunting, washing clothes, carrying water, all kind of work, celebrating or mourning. Why blues?  Because the word is more internationally recognisable, in ‘Esewe’, ‘Ndutu’, ‘Bolobo’, ‘Ngoso’, (names of the different ways of singing & doing music) we see a similarity with the ‘work songs’ in the sugar cane fields in slavery America which gave birth to what is known today as blues music. So the origin of this music is rooted deep in the centre of the planet earth, in a place known today as Cameroon. But beyond that, it’s the story of all the people around the world who use water, sea, river as a mean of communication, of travelling. So it’s the journey or the story of the human kind through migration, exchange and collaboration.

Muntu Valdo

I read you played your first guitar aged 8 (made of plasterboard and fishing wire). How important was it discovering music in childhood?

It was as important as being able to recognise or identify the names and the faces of different people, as important as knowing how to speak or read. It was just one of the key moments in my life.

You were injured as a student by the military during protests in Cameroon. It sounds like a difficult place to grow up – did the political situation inform your music or make music more important as a creative act? 

Of course, just like an event as big as the Football World Cup in South Africa, the release of Nelson Mandela after 25 years in prison for false and political reason, or like the Catholic Clergy paedophilia business or all the big news or issue in life. Everything that captures my attention is a source of inspiration.

You live in London now (via Paris!) which must be a world away from your childhood. Do you miss Cameroon or is life too full in London?

Yes you always miss home. Even if London is another home for me now, you always miss your home. Imagine if you have 3 brothers. Even if you see one of them everyday, you’ll still miss the others. Home is home. One, two or three homes. You always miss your home.

What kind of impact do you hope your music has on audiences?

I want my music to bring joy, happiness and positive thinking to the audience. I want them to share good moments in my company and to remember in their life when they came across an important moment by watching and listening to live music.

What would you say to Harrogate  who haven’t heard your sound before to entice the to come along to your show?

See Munto Valdo on July 17, 7.30 – 8.50pm in the New Music New Venues Papa-kata tent on Crescent Gardens, Harrogate.

To read a recent review of a Munto’s gig at the Slaughtered Lamb, click below:

http://thelondoneer.blogspot.com/2010/07/muntu-valdo-sawa-blues-tour-slaughtered.html