ALL OUR 130 years of giving people the chance to showcase their talent
WRITER AND JOURNALIST TELLS WHY 2019 IS A SPECIAL YEAR FOR HUDDERSFIELD’S MRS SUNDERLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL
THE year of 1889 was no ordinary time for the UK. From the birth of comedic legend Charlie Chaplin to the Egyptian and British victory of the Battle of Toski, many landmark events took place 130 years ago.
Something special was also happening in Huddersfield during that very same year thanks to a Brighouse-born soprano soloist called Mrs Susannah Sunderland who sang for Queen Victoria and made history within the Huddersfield area.
Her name should undoubtedly be familiar to many now because, in 1889, she was the inspiration which led to the very first Mrs Sunderland Festival.
For Mrs Sunderland staged something the town of Huddersfield had never experienced before in her bid to encourage education and individual development within performing arts for the benefit of the community.
She did just that during the event’s inaugural year as Mrs Sunderland invited 37 singers and pianists to all compete and showcase their musical talents during a spe- cial festival in April 1889.
The coveted prize for each performer was to not only take centre stage, but to have Mrs Sunderland herself present them with prizes for their musical prowess.
Despite the festival’s modest beginning, the competition has, rather remarkably, taken place every single year since 1889 – barring 1940 because the country was in the grip of the Second World War.
In that time, it has grown exponentially, too – creating opportunities for thousands of performers and becoming a registered charity. The festival now covers nine days of music, vocal solo classes, adult and junior choirs, drama, piano, brass and workshops for those with disabilities.
Over a century later, the 2018 competition attracted more than 4,000 performers, and the curtain is about to go up on 2019’s event, which will celebrate the 130th festival and the bicentenary birth of the incredible Mrs Sunderland.
Ray Brown, chairman of the Mrs Sunderland Festival, said: “This year will mark something truly special for the town of Huddersfield and the district of Kirklees.
“It will be a celebration of the wonderful opportunities Mrs Sunderland gave to budding musicians all those years ago – something we have kept as our mission statement for a real landmark occasion for the area.
“We want to continue the tradition that Susannah put in place by giving people of all ages every opportunity to showcase their performing talents. We have seen how tremendous the festival has grown over the latter years.
“Our last festival was a fantastic event and our ambition to keep developing it for the benefit of the community and pass it on to the next generation in good order is continuing at great pace.
“We have so many amazing talents in this area and an incredible amount of dedicated volunteers to stage this brilliant event. Susannah Sunderland will continue to be very much at the heart of what the Mrs Sunderland Festival is about, and have the same mission that it first represented in 1889, to give the people of Kirklees opportunities they will never forget.”
Affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech, the Mrs Sunderland Festival promises to be even bigger and better this year with thousands of entrants from the ages of four to 80-plus coming from all over the UK and Europe to participate in classes and performances.
As well as the many classes on offer and trophies to claim, other 2019 highlights include a 300-strong choir performing with the Huddersfield Choral Society singing Hallelujah, a special-needs day with the Dark Horse Theatre group, a music- for-the-brain tea dance in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Society, and the hotly-contested Kirklees Young Musician competition with a £1,000 prize for the winner, to be spent furthering the victor’s musical development.
In true honour of Mrs Susannah Sunderland, English classical composer and pianist Will Todd has been commissioned jointly with the Huddersfield Choral Society to compose a new choral work which will be premiered by the Huddersfield Choral Society during the festival’s last night concert. Mrs Sunderland was a founding member of the Huddersfield Choral Society.