The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Locked down venues won’t halt plans for musical celebrations
The Perth Festival of the Arts, a long-standing celebration of music and culture, has revealed its digital plans for 2021.
Undeterred by locked up theatres and ongoing pandemic challenges, the Fair City event is preparing to deliver a virtual 10-day arts-packed programme from May 20.
Organisers are collaborating with artists from across the UK to create unique music, literary, drama and film experiences, with the goal of reaching audiences around the globe, while showcasing the city’s cultural offerings.
The online festival will feature a diverse series of concerts broadcast from across Perth’s range of modern and historic venues including the concert hall, theatre and Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
Centred around a strong classical core featuring celebrated artists such as the Scottish Ensemble, the Sixteen and the Gesualdo Six, the programme will also include jazz, folk, indie/ rock, literature, drama and exclusive artist questionand-answer sessions and interviews.
Ticketholders can tune in for individual concerts or enjoy passes that give access to the full Festival or a specific series such as the Classical Concerts.
Festival chairman David Brand said: “We are excited to be preparing for as full a festival as ever and working creatively to make the online experience special and unique to Perth.
“We’re looking forward to opening the doors to the city’s fantastic cultural venues and hope that audiences will enjoy the new arts experiences and online connections that the festival will offer.”
He added: “We are grateful to our funders, artists and audiences for their invaluable support and for accompanying us on this exciting digital journey.”
The festival’s line-up will be announced over the coming weeks with tickets going on sale April 5.
Meanwhile, Perth Concert Hall has announced a team-up with BBC Radio 3 and the Lammermuir Festival to create an exclusive minifestival of classical music, filmed live from the venue.
The Perth Easter Festival of Classical Music opens on Saturday March 27, with a filmed performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion by Dunedin Consort in Perth Concert Hall broadcast to audiences via the online platform Vimeo.
The festival continues from April 6 to 9 with a series of lunchtime concerts from the hall which audiences can also view on Vimeo.
Produced in association with BBC Radio 3, the shows which feature pianist Steven Osborne, Maxwell String Quartet and musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra with clarinettist Maximiliano Martin and pianist Susan Tomes will also be available to listen to on BBC Radio 3.
All concerts will be available to watch for 30 days after initial broadcast.
Tickets can be booked at the Horsecross Arts website.
“We are excited to be preparing for as full a festival as ever