Cheltenham Festivals blog

Cheltenham Festivals blog archives

Jennifer Pike Interview

3 months
2 weeks ago

Jennifer-Pike-cr-Tom-Bangbala

The programme for the 2010 Music Festival is swiftly coming together, with some very exciting events to look forward to: Jennifer Pike’s appearance is one such concert that we’re hoping to confirm. She recently featured as a guest on Iain Burnside’s BBC Radio 3 show on ‘Prodigies’, being one herself, and you can listen to it again here.

For the latest announcements about the 2010 Cheltenham Music Festival programme, be sure to sign up to our eNews; and for an even more in-depth look into all the Festivals, you can also become part of our Membership scheme.

We’ve tagged this post with , on Wednesday 2 December 2009.

Great names and faces at The Book Show, for FREE!

5 months
2 weeks ago

book-show

We’re all very excited about Sky Arts’ flagship programme The Book Show that’s coming to the Literature Festival this weekend — as well as all the great names that’ll be making an appearance alongside Mariella Frostrup. Sky Arts will be filming the first two episodes of the new series of the UK’s only television programme dedicated to books, and this is your chance to be part of the live studio audience!

Each episode will include interviews with leading authors from the world of books. The first recording, from 10-11am, will feature Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi, broadcaster and journalist Melvyn Bragg, and ex-editor of The Sunday Times Harold Evans – Shappi Khorsandi and Melvyn Bragg’s other Festival events are sold out, so don’t miss this chance to see these popular guests!

The 12-1pm event will feature Guest Director Richard Eyre, award-winning screen-writer Christopher Hampton, and star actor Robert Vaughn.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be behind the scenes of a TV show, then this is great opportunity. Remember, both of these events are absolutely free, but tickets are limited: don’t delay in booking your place, and experiencing a really rare event!

The Book Show: Saturday 10am →
The Book Show: Saturday 12 noon →

The Book Show airs on Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 1 HD Thursday at 7pm from 15 October. For further details please visit www.skyarts.co.uk/thebookshow

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Tuesday 6 October 2009.

John Wilson’s plight for ‘light music’ — The Daily Telegraph

9 months ago

John Wilson

“Light music — the very words evoke a bygone age of Lyons Corner Houses, thés dansants and Workers’ Playtime. But for one young conductor, light music will always be cutting-edge…”

Read the full article about John Wilson in The Daily Telegraph.

The John Wilson Orchestra will be at the HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival on Friday 3 July with a specially-devised programme that celebrates the very best music from seven decades of the silver screen…
Hear This! audio samples and book online

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Thursday 25 June 2009.

A Music Festival preview — with Meurig Bowen

9 months ago

In this exclusive preview of the 2009 HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival, Festival Director Meurig Bowen guides you through the programme — and what events to look out for.

Don’t miss your chance to book these great concerts!

http://www.vimeo.com/5298007

Look out for…

We’ve tagged this post with , , , , , on Wednesday 24 June 2009.

Cheltenham Music Festival — a short film on Sky Arts

9 months ago

Sky Arts website

HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival is profiled in a short film on Sky Arts, our TV media partner in 2009. The film will be screened 20 times on Sky Arts during the end of June and throughout the Festival period.

Festival Director Meurig Bowen talks about the programme on location at the Pittville Pump Room and Town Hall. There are stunning shots of Cheltenham and the Cotswolds. And there are specially-filmed interviews and performance extracts from soprano Elizabeth Watts, singing Schubert, and the Endellion Quartet, performing Beethoven.

watch online on Sky Arts

To be screened on Sky Arts 2 HD on 3 July 10:50am, 5 July 10:50pm, and 6 July at 6:20pm.

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Monday 22 June 2009.

Science Festival 2009 Highlights from “Sounds of Science”

9 months
1 week ago

Science Festival 2009

Courtesy of the Sounds of Science guys, find out what Dara Ó Briain, Alice Roberts and all thought, did and enjoyed about this year’s Science Festival!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

by Sounds of Science — www.soundsofscience.co.uk

We’ve tagged this post with , , , on Saturday 13 June 2009.

10 minutes with…

9 months
1 week ago

Jonathon Porritt
Program Director of Forum for the Future, Chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission

Jonathon Porritt

What is your involvement with The Times Cheltenham Science Festival?
A: I’ve been involved pretty much from the start actually because I love the way they get big ideas going here, get kids involved, and do all kinds of things to make science more accessible, interesting and exciting. It still baffles me that an awful lot of people think science is for geeks stuck in ivory towers, not really for people trying to make sense of their own lives and understand big issues. I was Guest Director the year before last, and last year I gave a talk about population. People got very hot under the collar, but that’s what it should be.

…continue reading →

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Friday 12 June 2009.

10 minutes with…

9 months
2 weeks ago

Carol Vorderman
Guest Director of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival 2009

Carol Vorderman

Why did you decide to be Guest Director of the festival?
A: The Cheltenham Science Festival is fantastic. It’s quite an intimate science festival and it’s such a nice place to come to in all ways. I think it’s wonderful and this year I’m very proud to be Guest Director! What I love about the Cheltenham Science Festival is its purpose is to communicate science to the general public — be they children, or schools, or families. It is terribly important, even if you haven’t received a formal education in science that you begin to understand some of the issues.

…continue reading →

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Thursday 11 June 2009.

Standing ovation for science — Mark Lythgoe’s festival highlight

9 months
2 weeks ago

Mark Lythgoe

Mark Lythgoe, Co-director of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, talked to Sue Harris about one of his festival highlights – Good Bugs, Bad Bugs by Mike Wilson, Professor of Microbiology at UCL.

I went to the most amazing talk I have been to in the last 2 years. The audience must have clapped for about 2 to 3 minutes continuously afterwards. I have never, ever felt that kind of electricity — when every single person in the audience just connected together, knowing that they had experienced a really special moment in their lives. Every single one of us would have walked out of that lecture theatre and looked at themselves and the world completely differently because of what I heard. It was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had.

…continue reading →

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Thursday 11 June 2009.

10 minutes with…

9 months
2 weeks ago

Heston Blumenthal
Chef and owner of The Fat Duck restaurant

Heston Blumenthal

Why do you love The Times Cheltenham Science Festival?
A: I think this country has as strong a tradition of science then any other country on the planet and there has been a problem recently of people not taking science up at university. So anything that makes science more accessible, and above all, makes it fun is important. That’s why the Cheltenham Science Festival is completely unique. It does that and it brings people in. You know, a lot of people are scared of science because they feel intimidated by it, that you have to have a degree to understand it. Actually that’s complete and utter nonsense. Science is involved in everything that we do. And the key thing is that it can just be great fun, and this festival is testament to that.

…continue reading →

We’ve tagged this post with , , on Saturday 6 June 2009.

12

Contact us | Media room | Jobs | Privacy | Terms of use | Photo credits

Cheltenham Borough Council Arts Council England

cheltenhamfestivals.com, kindly supported by The Oldham Foundation and The Summerfield Charitable Trust

Copyright © 2009 Cheltenham Festivals | Registered charity: 251765