Petworth Festival keeps the flag flying with online concert

Instead, it is keeping the flag flying with an online concert.

Festival artistic director Stewart Collins said: “Although the world is slowly opening back up following the recent period of lockdown, one of the most treasured aspects of our national life still sadly stays under wraps… the live, performing arts, and as yet, there are no clear signs for when this is likely to change. But ever positive, and ever determined to keep the flag flying for an event that has been flourishing for over four decades, the Petworth Festival team is announcing the first of two initiatives which, at least in part, will seek to fill the gap that’s been in all our lives for nearly four months.

“With the 42ndFestival due to have opened on Tuesday, July 14 with the usual fanfare, the festival team are proud to announce an online event that will run throughout the festival fortnight, at the end of which a further announcement will be made about the extended Petworth Festival Special that has been chalked in for October.

“Between 7.30pm on Tuesday, July 14 and midnight on Saturday, August 1, at any point you will be able to catch an online mini-concert that is being specially recorded in St Mary’s Church Petworth, a three-part celebration that features two remarkable sets of students from the Royal Academy of Music and one of the festival’s all-time favourite performers, the piano genius, Harry the Piano. Each will give sparkling, short performances to remind us all of the wonderful chemistry between live music and the festival’s beautiful home venue.”

Stewart added: “The concert will be made available free of charge, but there is of course no such thing as a free lunch – or in this case, a completely free concert. It will come as no surprise to anyone to hear that the cancellation of the summer’s festival has come at a very significant cost, and that whilst many of our wonderful supporters and sponsors have ensured that the damage isn’t fatal, we do urgently need to raise funds to minimise the impact both this year and into the future.

“We sadly had to cancel the biggest planned expansion of events aimed at the wider community this summer, but hopefully a successful appeal alongside July’s online event will ensure that we can resuscitate plans in 2021.”

You can log on to watch the summer special through the festival’s website where you will also find the appropriate donate button, http://www.petworthfestival.org.uk.

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