Waterlooville Music Festival

I look forward to welcoming you to the fourth year of the Waterlooville Music Festival, from 13th to 21st June. The aim of this week is to bring music into St. George’s Church and into the centre of Waterlooville, for the whole community to enjoy. This year is no exception. Together with the Business Association’s “Market Place Music” on the first day of the Festival, you are invited to over 50 concerts, featuring soloists, choirs, instrumental groups and whole bands. It’s really good that once again local schools are taking part in the Festival. Students are performing in the afternoons and classes are coming to the special schools events - “Musical Storytime” and “Tempest”. Among the eight days of music the Festival welcomes for the first time this year “Mumbaba”, where parents and toddlers are encouraged to sing and play, and also Havant Light Opera which will lead a “sing-a-long” evening of Gilbert and Sullivan favourites.

The Festival Organisers are greatly indebted to local businesses and councils for the continued support, without which Waterlooville Music Festival could not continue. The individual sponsors are listed at the end of the festival programme, but special appreciation is given to Larcomes (Solicitors), J. Edwards & Sons (Funeral Directors), Havant Borough Council and Hampshire County Council, each of whom has sponsored a whole event. As last year, the organisers express thanks to Amberley Jewellers of Waterlooville for hosting the Festival Ticket Office. Please support the sponsors whenever possible.

New to the 2009 Festival is a “Songs of Praise” evening on Sunday July 19th. You are invited to choose a hymn on a form available at the Festival (ask a Steward if you are not given one) and the most selected will be sung. Please drop your completed form into the box on the Festival table. There will be no charge for the evening but there will be a retiring collection for Christian Aid.
All the monies taken during the week go towards the cost of staging the Festival and to providing a start up fund for next year. The 2010 programme is already being compiled - June 12th to 20th. If you would like to keep up to date with the various groups and individuals being booked, please click on
www.stgeorgesnews.org/wmf

I hope you enjoy this year’s Festival and that you’ll come again next year!

Mike Sheffield