Cathedral concerts resume plus artists by the seaside
Round-up Chichester Cathedral’s free lunchtime concerts restart on September 10 after the summer break.
The concerts take place on Tuesdays at 1.10pm during term time in the setting of the Cathedral Nave and feature a wealth of renowned local, national and international musicians. Each performance lasts approximately 50 minutes, and visitors are welcome to come and go as they please.
The autumn series begins with Chichester Cathedral’s assistant organist, Timothy Ravalde who will play Louis Vierne’s Symphony No 2 composed in 1902. Timothy has been assistant organist since 2010, accompanying the daily services, assisting with the training of the choir, and appearing on numerous recordings and broadcasts. Since 2011 he has also been the musical director of Fernhurst Choral Society with whom he has conducted a wide range of the choral and oratorio repertoire.
Other concerts in the series which run until November
19, feature Chichester pianist Maria Luc; Frederick Stocken, organist and assistant director of music at St George’s Metropolitan Cathedral, whose Chichester Service was commissioned for the Southern Cathedrals Festival held in the city this summer; and a host of other musicians performing on a range of instruments. chichestercathedral.org.uk.
The little art gallery in West Wittering has invited Shazia Mahmood and 34 other artists to celebrate summer in a new exhibition running until September 28.
Spokeswoman Linda Foskett said: “It will be a rolling show until the end of September. We will move things around and bring in new work to keep the show fresh and interesting.
“It will feature Shazia Mahmood who paints with a strong, colourful and vibrant palette, seascapes from our local coastline and the wild beaches of Scotland.
n“Some of our other artists who will be showing their works are Sheila Threadgill who captures the light in her views of East Wittering; Paddy Martin who paints on recycled sailcloth and also carves wooden sea birds and seals; Frances Knight who works plein air to produce works which are a joyful expression of light, colour and atmosphere; and Susie Monnington who has captured the white light across the water. “Amy Lague is new to our gallery, a young artist with a fresh approach to painting our local scenes. Dominic Firmstone is showing his amazing collection of beach huts from around the world and groyne posts, and for something very different Chrissie Shaw-town and has produced some refreshing still life work.”
Michael Joseph, a tutor at the Sussex Sculpture Studio in Billingshurst, will be exhibiting at RHS Wisley Gardens until September 22.
As he says, there is both tenderness and tension in Tryst, his latest sculpture.
n“The outsized angular man appears to have great strength; the woman seemingly slim and weak, yet he is the fragile one and she is made of solid steel. She is dreaming of permanence but his love is ephemeral and could disintegrate at any moment. Interestingly as you walk past, the man’s transparent body changes but the woman stays exactly the same. Women can always see through men.”
As Michael says, he likes subject material with feelings and emotions and expresses them in semi-abstract terms. More recently his sculptures are on a large scale. Michael’s studio includes a forge for shaping steel and a foundry for casting bronze
Nicola Dempsey will be teaching Irish dance at the Billingshurst Community Centre. The Dempsey School of Irish Dance opens on Saturday, September 7, with children’s classes running every Saturday during term time, from 9.30am10.30am. Further details from dempseyirishdance@gmail. com.
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