Chester Summer Music Festival gets under way on Thursday

Jul 1 2009 Ellesmere Port Pioneer

Among the diverse programme of events that form the Chester Summer Music Festival is an unusual premier – the first public performance of a piece composed by school pupils.

Artist in residence Graham Fitkin has been working with a class at Weston Primary School in Runcorn, to create a work inspired by the work of 17th composer Henry Purcell.

“It’s going really well,” says the composer and musician, whose own group will also perform during the two-week festival.

“They are excited and are coming up with lots of ideas, most of which will go into the piece.

“They basically do all of it – they’re picking the notes, the themes, how many times various sections are being repeated – and I pull it all together.”

The finished work will be performed by the Manchester Camerata, prior to the orchestra’s main concert in Chester Cathedral on July 10. It will be followed by Fitkin conducting his own piece, Vassal, arranged for full orchestral strings in 1998.

“It’s quite a fiendish, rhythmically vigorous piece,” he explains. “It starts out with all the instruments together in rhythmic unison and then the whole piece breaks apart.

“I’m excited to be conducting it.”

The festival as a whole aims to explore music written for the voice with an intense and exciting programme, consisting of 10 evening concerts and six lunch-time performances.

“It’s important for a city of Chester’s size and stature to have a music festival, where you’ve got a vision throughout in this case dance and Purcell,” says Fitkin, who collaborates with a wide range of organisations and musicians throughout the world.

“It’s exciting for the whole community and there are lots of opportunities for everyone to be involved.”

These include the interactive Big Sing, on Saturday, July 11, when choirs from all over the region gather at the Cross in the city centre before dispersing to sing on The Walls and streets. Other events include the BBC Singers performing at the Cathedral, composer master classes, Chetham School’s 40th anniversary concert and a gala concert showcase of Handel’s Israel in Egypt.

Graham Fitkin’s recording career began with Flak on the famous Manchester label, Factory Records, followed by five discs on Decca's Argo label.Š

The last of these was recorded by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and included the five works he wrote while composer-in-residence: the overture Metal (played for a visit by The Queen, and since played by nearly all the UK's major orchestras), and piece, Bebeto, based on a French footballer.Š

Graham was commissioned by Kathryn Stott to write L, a work celebrating Yo-Yo Ma’s 50th birthday and premiered in Liverpool in December 2008.

Plans are now in progress for a cello concerto for Mr Ma, commissioned by the BBC, for a BBC Prom in 2011.

Chester Summer Music Festival runs from today until July 18. Details at www.chesterfestivals.co.uk or ring 0845 241 7868.