Our 2008 concert took place on 2^nd November as part of the Bluehouse festival.

20th Birthday Concert

This was a special concert in 2007 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the creation of The Trust. We invited a selection of current beneficiaries to perform, together with some of those who are now proffesional musicians.

You can read more about this concert here

October 2006 Concert

We returned to the United Reformed Church in Oxted for another concert of music performed by young people who benefit from the Trust. This time, the concert was part of the Bluehouse Festival, and it was wonderful to see such a large audience who were clearly impressed at the standard of playing and singing.

Photos are here

You can read all about Iolanthe here.

March 2006 Concert

There was an excellent opportunity to hear some of the Trust's young musicians when they performed in a concert on Sunday 12^th March 2006.

You can find more pictures of the performers here.

For 2004, the works we performed were Purcell's Dido & Æneas in the Britten edition, and Britten's The Little Sweep (from Let's Make an Opera).

The composer Benjamin Britten was passionate about getting young people involved in his music both as audience and performers. His 45-minute gem The Little Sweep, composed in 1949, specifically features young singers. It's the tale of a nine-year-old boy "owned" by two brutal chimney sweeps who arrive at a Victorian country house to clean the chimneys for the holidays. Sam, the Little Sweep, gets stuck in a chimney but is rescued from his ordeal by the clever children of the house, who plot to win his freedom. It's a Dickensian tale of cruelty, ingenuity and hope, with some of Britten's most charming music.

Purcell was Britten's musical hero, so it is not surprising that he chose to create a modern work based on the Purcell opera Dido & Æneas.

Performances of the two operas took place on Friday 6^th and Saturday 7^th August in the Barn Theatre, Oxted.

The Trust is grateful to the Britten Estate for their financial support of this project. You can find out about their work on their web-site.

You can see Bob Barnes' photos of the productions by clicking on the links below.

Dido and Æneas	The little sweep	Preparations

Our previous concert was on Sunday 25^th May 2003.

You can find many more pictures of the performers here.

That's what the periodical Words and Music said about the performances of Trial by Jury and Brilliant the Dinosaur which we staged in August 2002. Another review called it "a most enjoyable, memorable and colourful evening". On the left is a 'thank you' card we had from one of the young performers in 'Brilliant', Laura. Some of the key episodes from the plot are depicted in this charming card.

This was without doubt the most ambitious project which the Trust has yet undertaken. Following on from our three earlier opera courses, we decided this time to run two parallel courses and productions. Richard Stilgoe's Brilliant the Dinosaur was rehearsed and performed by children aged eight to fourteen, while older students staged the G & S one-acter Trial by Jury. There were four performances on Friday 2^nd and Saturday 3^rd August 2002 in the Barn Theatre, Oxted.

'Brilliant' was written by Richard Stilgoe specifically for performance by children. Set 'in the near future', the story concerns a family who live in a rather boring South Coast town. During a storm, the three children discover a living dinosaur in a cave. They befriend the creature but there are nearly tragic results when the grown-ups come face-to-face with it. 'Brilliant' is a delightful piece with catchy tunes and is ideally suited for young performers. Trial by Jury needs no introduction.

The performances were well attended - our best 'box office' to date. Both works were very well received. The regional arts magazine Words and Music said of 'Brilliant': "What a terrific show to inspire youngsters and how well they performed". There was special praise for the "most effective and ingenious" appearance of the dinosaur. The review also called this an "excellent" performance of Trial by Jury, with "splendid characterisations".

The musical direction for the whole event was in the capable hands of our charismatic Musical Advisor, Jonathan Butcher. 'Trial' was produced by Alison Cooper and 'Brilliant' by James Apted; Roy Bell was the 'Brilliant' designer. Our thanks go to all of them, to the orchestra and production and back-stage teams and, of course, to the children and young people - nearly 60 in all - in the two casts. We must also thank our financial supporters, Tandridge District Council and the Making Music tuned in fund, without which we could not have contemplated such a large-scale project.

Each production was prepared during a week-long opera course which combined rehearsal sessions with other tuition. Our modest organisational resources were very stretched during that week, and we are grateful to everyone for their forbearance.

You can read some more quotes about the productions.

Or you can see Bob Barnes' photos of the productions by clicking on the links below.

	Trial by Jury
	Trial rehearsals
	Brilliant the Dinosaur
	Brilliant rehearsals
	Backstage