DUE TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK WE HAVE HAD TO POSTPONE OUR PLANNED EVENTS.
THE FESTIVAL OF SONG WILL BE POSTPONED UNTIL JULY 2021.
SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS OF OUR LATEST FUNDRAISING CONCERT
A Fundraising Concert - 'Retracing Our Steps'
Paul and Carol have recorded and filmed this beautifully crafted concert as a collaborative venture with artist Jonathan Smith and are proud and excited to share it with you. It will be available to watch on a link on this website, from November 14th.
This concert was originally to have been our spring fund-raising concert for the summer festival. We are continuing to fund-raise towards this festival, which will now be in July 2021.
Paul and Carol have very generously gifted their time, talents and imaginative flair to the festival, and we would like to invite you to reciprocate, by making a donation to watch it via the Donate button on this website.
And about the concert, Carol Kelly writes:
‘This concert will feature some well-known composers, Copland and Argento, but we are also excited to be exploring works by composers not as familiar to UK audiences. Theodore Chanler’s song output varies in style from classical to ragtime, and we perform settings of words from Williams Blake and Shakespeare, as well as quirky poetry from Leonard Feeney.
Americans are famous for their admiration of All Things British, and the London Sketches of Kathleen Lockhart Manning are a glimpse into her view of the Thames, Windsor Castle, and the renowned London fog. Light, quaint, too sentimental and saccharine perhaps for our cynical times, these songs are a sweet opener for more weighty themes to follow.
We fervently hope to communicate our enthusiasm for this music, and we look forward to performing for our friends in Lewes and America’.
Paul & Carol Kelly
Lewes Festival of Song
Patron: Mark Padmore
Welcome to our song festival, a celebration of the rich repertoire of classical song, held every summer over a long weekend at St. Anne's Church in Lewes
The Lewes Festival of Song features performers with an international reputation, as well as younger generation musicians and those on the brink of their careers.
Our 2021 summer Festival of Song is planned for July 2nd to 4th
Painting by Simon Dale
Well done on putting on yet another truly fantastic festival, beautifully planned and full of very special moments.
-M.P.
Gorgeous programming, as usual - thought-provoking, mind-expanding, lovely!
-O.G.
The programming & the performances are very special.
-L.Y.
The best ever song festival – so many talents and so much inspiring music on display. It was all world class, but if I had to choose a favourite from the whole thing it would be my personal love of the emotional Finzi settings of Hardy in James Newby’s wonderfully varied and insightful evening – what a talent! Or Alison Rose’s “Illuminations” – another favourite piece but in a spectacular performance with the Corelli – and wasn’t the tenor good! You should be very proud and pleased to bring all this to Lewes.
-M.B.
What a treat yesterday’s lunchtime concert was. I can’t thank you enough. Fabulous repertoire – most of which I didn’t know – beautifully played and sung.
-A.S.
What a huge success I thought the Festival was. Really interesting programmes and such well-chosen, brilliant young players. It was all delightful and last night’s ‘Illuminations’ was absolutely electrifying.
-J.H.
