Award-winning music festival saved after funding re-think
The future of one of Scotland’s leading classical music events has been secured for at least two years after a rethink from Creative Scotland over whether it should be funded.
Organisers of the Lammermuir Festival, in East Lothian, mounted a campaign to save the event in september after a string of rejections from the Scottish Government’s arts agency.
They had warned that its future was under threat after they had to raid their reserves to ensure the 2023 festival went ahead after losing almost a quarter of their planned budget less than a month before the event was due to get underway in september.
However the festival has now secured a two-year commitment worth £135,000 from Creative Scotland, which had been urged to rethink its stance by some of the country’s leading musical figures and organisations.
It will allow the festival to put on a full 12-day programme, with other crucial backing secured private individuals, trust sand foundation sin recent months.
The festival, which provides work for around 350 musicians every September, has been valued at around £750,000 for the economy and was previously honoured as the UK’S best festivalor concert series by the royal Philharmonic Society.
However it was turned down three times in the space of 40 weeks by Creative Scotland, which was accused of “destabilising” the festival and undermining its ability to plan ahead for this year and beyond.
An open letter to creative scotlandchief executive iain munro and chair robert wilson said its application process appeared to have “no strategic overview of provision, and no clear artistic, quality or geographic priorities ”.
Backers of the campaign included violinist Nicola Benedetti, composer and conductor James Macmillan, opera singer Andrea Baker, composer Stuart Macrae, conductor Garry Walker, pianist steven osborne, accordionist ryan corbett, scottish Opera and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
James Waters, the festival’s artistic director, said: “We’re delighted to be in a position to confirm that the festival will go ahead in September this year.
“With confirmation of two years of support from Creative Scotland, we can now say confidently that the planned festival will happen. We thank them for their recognition of the value the festival holds for so many in East Lothian and further afield.”
In a message to supporters, the festival said :“we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many individuals, trust sand foundationswho have given generously over the last few months to help secure the future of the festival .” Alan Morrison, Creative Scotland’s head of music, said: “We recognise the financial challenges faced by Lammermuir Festival when presenting last year’s event and we’ re happy that their strengthened application was successful at a recent funding panel.
“This is the single largest award the festival has received to date. We hope the stability offered by a two-year commitment allows it to continue to deliver world-class music in East Lothian while unlocking other sources of funding for a more secure future.”
We can now say confidently that the planned festival will happen James Waters, the festival’s artistic director