New Premières and Highlights Announced for The City of London Festival’s Golden Jubilee (24 June – 27 July)

Mon, Apr 23, 2012 16:55 CET

The City of London Festival, 24 June – 27 July 2012, celebrating 50 golden years enriching the cultural life of the City this year, has announced new première and performance highlights to an already packed programme of over 155 events in more than 55 spectacular London venues over 34 days.

The Festival's theme, City of London – Trading Places with the World will be brought to life with performances from internationally acclaimed stars in the City’s most iconic and historical spaces. The Festival opens with 300 free piano lessons in one day on 50 Golden Pianos that will be on the streets across the Square Mile for the duration of the Festival. (24 June, no booking required).

New highlights announced

Adding to the wealth of world première performances of new music and dance including 'Delphic Bee' by composer Tansy Davies for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a landmark piece performed by English National Ballet in St Paul’s Cathedral and Sir Colin Davis, performing Berlioz’s colossal work Grande Messe des Morts will be:

English National Ballet performs two new commissions for the Festival by Antony

Dowson and Van Le Ngoc, together with excerpts from the lost treasure of the Ballets

Russes, Suite en Blanc, at St Paul’s Cathedral (3 July).

Violin sensation, Tasmin Little, will be performing alongside the internationally acclaimed pianist Martin Roscoe at the Plaisterers’ Hall (11 July).

The première of Golden Fanfare by Francisco Coll for the LSO Brass and commissioned by the Goldsmiths’ Company will take place at Goldsmiths’ Hall (27 June).

Gold Medal winners from the renowned Tchaikovsky Competition and Queen Elisabeth Music Competition of Brussels, the cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan and pianist Denis Kozhukhin will make their London recital debut together at Merchant Taylors’ Hall (9 July).

A series of eight early evening concerts featuring the BBC’s New Generation Artists, all to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (see www.colf.org for performance dates).

Six free concerts in Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, featuring Jamaica’s first lady of Jazz Myrna Hague, drum ‘n’ bass, soul and the opportunity to celebrate Bastille Day (13 – 15 July).

Performance of Rafael Bonachela’s dance duet specially created for the 50 Golden Street Pianos, set to new music by Mercury Prize-nominee, Gwilym Simcock and danced by Sydney Dance Company (27 – 29 June).

12 free lunchtime concerts in the City’s beautiful churches, performed by the Guildhall School’s finest emerging musicians – encouraging City workers to reclaim their lunch hour and enjoy the beauty of the City.

Standout events already included in the Golden Jubilee programme include:

The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis, performing Berlioz’s colossal work Grande Messe des Morts in St Paul’s Cathedral. (25 & 26 June).

The Brodsky Quartet performing a unique programme with a quirky twist: ‘The Wheel of Four Tunes’, with four works selected at random by the spin of a wheel onstage, from 40 choices, celebrating 40 years of the Brodsky Quartet. (2 July).

Internationally-acclaimed guitarist John Williams, who will commemorate the Festival’s jubilee year by giving a recital echoing the performance he gave at the first City of London Festival in 1962. (10 July).

Live music sculptures at Tower Bridge and Monument, created specifically for the two icons by composer Samuel Bordoli. At Tower Bridge, guests can watch musicians play along the length of the high-level west walkway, 42 metres above the Thames. At The Monument, the music will travel up its 311 steps, inviting the audience to experience an aural and actual sense of ascension as they climb the stairs to the very top. (8 July).

The Festival’s commitment to supporting work for disabled and non-disabled performers continues. New work by composer Nigel Osborne will receive its world première by tetraplegic former trumpeter, Clarence Adoo, on his specially-designed new Headspace instrument which has enabled him to perform once again with fellow professionals. Christian Lindberg’s award-winning Dawn at Galamanta, created and performed by Swedish artists of all physicalities, receives its UK première at the Guildhall (both 6 July).

Each event and performance acts as a new instalment in the story of the City, taking the audience on an international journey that connects back to London’s heart.

Sustainability remains a core part of the Festival's programme, with flowers in the spotlight for 2012. The Festival will be promoting and nurturing wildflowers across the Square Mile, providing vital support for the City's population of pollinators. The public will be invited to feast on City honey taken from the Festival’s roof-top beehives, as well as celebrate urban flowers, at the Festival’s closing event in Paternoster Square (27 July).

Box Public information and tickets; Box office: 0845 120 7502 and online at www.colf.org

City of London Festival Director Ian Ritchie said: “The Festival was first created to revitalise the cultural life of the City, and in 2012, as we celebrate our Golden Jubilee, it is ranked among the finest cultural celebrations in the world. Words about the Festival from Sir Frederick Hoare, the Lord Mayor of London in 1962 and the Festival’s first President, have a powerful resonance today as to the Festival’s purpose:

“Amidst a period of the worship of Mammon, this Festival is trying to show many things that are beautiful and inspired in the arts, in the setting of this our most historic capital, and perhaps by doing so release man for a while and remind him that there are other things than those entirely material.”

“The insight of these words still ring true for the Festival today – 50 years later – and it is in this spirit that our programme for 2012 not only looks back with pride over the achievements of the past half century but also looks forward to the next 50 years.”

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of the City of London, and City of London Festival President, Alderman David Wootton said: “The City of London Festival is a fantastic celebration of the City's arts and culture. We boast one of the most diverse, influential and talented art sectors in the world – at the forefront of music, performance and craftsmanship. The Festival is a showcase of excellence, recognising the finest musicians, composers and performance artists – all thriving in the City of London.

“As Festival President, I look forward to seeing the City celebrated through performances and installations, and I am immensely proud of the Festival's artistic and aesthetic legacy.”

City of London Festival is delighted to continue its partnership with BNY Mellon, as the Festival’s principal sponsor for a third year.

Michael Cole-Fontayn, Chairman of Europe, Middle East & Africa at BNY Mellon, said: "We are proud to sponsor the City of London Festival for a third consecutive year. Promoting the arts is an important part of BNY Mellon’s 225-year heritage and we are pleased to support this year’s wide-ranging programme of events, which is one of the highlights of the City of London’s cultural calendar in this Olympic year. As a global company, the diversity, internationalism and entrepreneurial spirit embodied by the Festival are at the heart of what we do and speak to the core values of the City. The theme of this year’s Festival, with its focus on international trade, is an apt symbol of the central role London continues to play on the global stage.”

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Public booking information: 0845 120 7502 and www.colf.org

Press Contacts and Images
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Susannah Glynn e: susannah.glynn@kallaway.com t: 0207 221 7883
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Press pictures: http://bit.ly/CityofLondon

FULL LISTINGS BY GENRE
City of London Festival 2012
24 June to 27 July

Full public information at colf.org

MUSIC – CLASSICAL & CONTEMPORARY

24 June, 11.30am, St Paul's Cathedral, EC4, Festival Service: led by the Bishop of London, including Judith Bingham Missa brevis ‘The Road to Emmaeus’, The Pilgrimes Travels.

25 June, 1.05pm, Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, SE1, Organ Recital. (FREE)

25 & 26 June, 8.00pm, St Paul's Cathedral, EC4, London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Sir Colin Davis (conductor), Barry Banks (tenor): Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts.

26 June, 1.05pm, St Bride’s Fleet Street, EC4, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Thomas Besnard (piano): Debussy Preludes Book One. (FREE)

26 June, 6.00pm, St Vedast Alias Foster, Foster Lane, EC2, BBC New Generation Artists: Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), José Gallardo (piano): A Postcard from the Balkans; programme to include a World première by Fazil Say.

26 – 28 June, 7.30pm, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, EC1, The Opera Group, Edward Rushton: Babur in London.

27 June, 1.05pm, Temple Church, EC4, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

27 June, 6.00pm, St Giles Cripplegate, Fore St, EC2, BBC Singers: Music from the Cities of the Hanseatic League; composers to include Sweelinck and Grieg. (FREE)

27 June, 7.30pm, Goldsmiths' Hall, Foster Lane, EC2, LSO Brass Quintet: Golden Thread: Francisco Coll A Golden Fanfare (World première); JS Bach (arr Dudley Bright) ‘Praeludium’ from Goldberg Variations; Ewald Brass Quintet in D flat; Jim Parker The Golden Section; arr LSO Brass, a medley of popular ‘Golden Oldies’ including Gershwin ‘I Got Rhythm’, ‘Love Walked In’, ‘Fascinating Rhythm’; Fats Waller ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’.

28 June, 1.05pm, St Lawrence Jewry, Gresham Street, EC2, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Richard Uttley (piano): Debussy Images Book One. (FREE)

28 June, 6.00pm, St Lawrence Jewry, Gresham Street, EC2, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist recital: Clara Mouriz (mezzo soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano), A Postcard from Spain.

28 June. 7.30pm, Mansion House, Walbrook, EC4, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Alina Ibragimova (violin), Edward Gardner (conductor): Rossini Overture, The Italian Girl in Algiers; Mendelssohn Violin Concerto; Tansy Davies New work (World première); Mendelssohn Symphony No 4 in A major Op 90 Italian.

29 June, 1.05pm, St Mary-at-Hill, Eastcheap, EC3, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

29 June, 6.00pm, Innholders' Hall, College Street, EC4, Counterpoise: HK Gruber (arr Iain Farrington) Expulsion from Paradise (UK première of arr); Walton Façade; Edward Rushton Pandora.

29 June, 6.00pm, St Bartholomew-the-Great, Cloth Fair, EC1, Young Classical Artist Trust: Kathryn Rudge (mezzo-soprano), James Baillieu (piano).

30 June, 2.00 – 5.00pm, St Olave Hart Street - St Mary-at-Hill - St Stephen Walbrook, a 3-part performance within and outside 3 great City churches developed by Clare Whistler: Where the Wild Flowers Are, 15 specially-commissioned short solo instrumental pieces, together with commissioned poetry and photography, reintroducing and celebrating the City’s wild flowers.

2 July, 1.05pm, Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, SE1, Greg Morris (organ), programme to celebrate the 300th anniversary of John Stanley, London composer and organist. (FREE)

2 July, 6.00pm, St Giles Cripplegate, Fore Street, EC2, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist recital: Ben Johnson (tenor), James Baillieu (piano): A Postcard from Paris.

2 July, 7.30pm, Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton Avenue, EC2. Brodsky Quartet: ‘The Wheel of Four Tunes’, with four works selected at random by the spin of a wheel onstage, from 40 choices, celebrating 40 years of the Brodsky Quartet.

3 July, 1.05pm, St Andrew, Holborn, EC4, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, MinJung Baek (piano): Debussy Suite Bergamasque and L’Isle Joyeuse. (FREE)

3 July, 6.00pm, St Andrew, Holborn, EC4, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist recital: Igor Levit (piano): A Postcard from Vienna, programme to include Beethoven’s early and late sonatas.

4 July, 1.05pm, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, 10 Giltspur Street, EC1, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

4 July, 7.30pm, St Bride's, Fleet Street, EC4, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Claire Seaton (soprano), Andrew Radley (countertenor), Daniel Cook (organ), Nicolas Cleobury (conductor): Judith Bingham Jacob's Ladder; Handel Organ Concerto; Judith Bingham The Hythe (World première); Pergolesi Stabat Mater.

5 July, 1.05pm, St Vedast Alias Foster, Foster Lane, EC2, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

5 July, 6.00pm, St Bartholomew-the-Great, Cloth Fair, EC1, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist recital, Escher String Quartet: A Postcard from America's East Coast: Ryan Wigglesworth String Quartet (World première); Zemlinsky Movement for String Quartet 'Yankee Doodle', Dvorak String Quartet Op 96 'American'.

5 July, 7.30pm, Stationers' Hall, EC4, Rubikon Quartet: Puccini I Crisantemi; Ravel String Quartet; Toshio Hosokawa Blossoming; Elgar String Quartet.

5 July, 7.30pm, Dutch Church, Austin Friars, EC2, Wishful Singing, female a cappella vocal group: programme of sacred and secular a capella vocal works connecting the City of London and the Netherlands, including Paul Patterson Time Piece (London première of revised version).

6 July, 1.05pm, St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, Queen Victoria Street, EC4, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

6 July, 7.30pm, Guildhall Great Hall, Guildhall, EC2, Christian Lindberg (conductor/trombone), Swedish Wind Ensemble, Share Music Sweden: Hugo Alfvén Old Mountain Hymn, Devil Polka and Marching Tune from the ballet Prodigal Son; Walton (arr Högstedt) A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table (World première of arr); Andrea Tarrodi A Tribute to Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden; Gershwin An American in Paris; Christian Lindberg Dawn at Galamanta. Part of London 2012 Festival.

9 July, 1.00pm, Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, SE1, Organ recital. (FREE)

9 July, 6.00pm, St Andrew Holborn, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist recital, Christian Ihle Hadland (piano), A Postcard from Leipzig: Chopin Impromptu in A flat major Op 29, Grieg Agitato EG 106, Kjerulf Three piano pieces Op 4, Mendelssohn Six songs without words Op 19, Grieg Four Piano Pieces Op 1, Schumann Arabeske Op 18.

9 July, 7.30pm, Merchant Taylors' Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, EC2, Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello), Denis Kozhukhin (piano), gold medal winners from the Tchaikovsky and Belgian competitions: Ysaÿe Sonata (for solo cello), Franck Sonata in A major, Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition.

10 July, 1.05pm, St Anne & St Agnes, Gresham Street, EC2, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes.(FREE)

10 July, 6.00pm, St Bartholomew-the-Great, Cloth Fair, EC1, BBC NGA, Alexandra Soumm (violin), Aimo Pagin (piano): A Postcard from Purgatory: Tartini Devil’s Trill Sonata; Milstein Paganiniana; Glück Melodie from Orpheus and Euridice; Saint-Saens Danse Macabre; Schubert (arr Ernst) Der Erlkönig.

10 July, 7.30pm, Fishmongers' Hall, EC4, John Williams and Friends, John Williams (guitar), Craig Ogden (guitar), Lucy Wakeford (harp), Tristan Fry (percussion), Bear Love (didjeridu), Kelly Lovelady (conductor): JS Bach Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (arr for solo guitar); Steve Goss New work (World première); Giuliani Variazioni Concertante Op 130 (for two guitars); Phillip Houghton The Light on the Edge (UK première).

11 July, 1.05pm, St Margaret Pattens, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

11 July, 6.00pm, St Lawrence Jewry, BBC NGA, Jennifer Johnston (mezzo soprano), Alisdair Hogarth (piano), A Postcard from Home:Vaughan Williams Four Last Songs,Warlock The Frostbound Wood,WarlockSleep, Cheryl Frances-Hoad Beowulf (World première).

11 July, 7.30pm, Plaisterers' Hall, Tasmin Little (violin) Martin Roscoe (piano); Kreisler Praeludium and Allegro; Elgar Allegretto on G.E.D.G.E.; Elgar Sonata; Szymanowski Narcisse; Delius Sonata No 2, Scott Lotus Land, Debussy Beau Soir; Szymanowski Notturno e Tarantelle.

12 July, 1.05pm, St Michael Cornhill, St Michael’s Alley, EC3, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

12 July, 6.00pm, Great Hall, St Barts Hospital, North Wing, EC1, Louis Schwizgebel (piano), Di Sherlock (actor), Ian Ritchie (narrator), Alberto Venzago (photography): A Year Without Summer: Words and music tell the story of Byron’s exile from England, his journey to Switzerland and his Promethean struggles in 1816, played out as Manfred on the Jungfrau’s slopes. This was overshadowed by the catastrophic after-effects of the explosion of Tambora in Indonesia. Music by Beethoven, Liszt, Mendelssohn (Fanny and Felix) and Judith Bingham’s Byron, Violent Progress.

13 July, 1.05pm, St Olave, Hart Street, EC3, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Lunchtime recital on Festival themes. (FREE)

13 July, Great Hall, Bishopsgate Institute, EC2, Percussions Claviers de Lyon, Portrait of Claude Debussy: Debussy arr Gerard Lecointe Suite Bergamasque; Debussy arr Gerard Lecointe Four Preludes; Gerard Lecointe After Masks; Debussy arr Gerard Lecointe Two Nocturnes; Francois Narboni Rigodon (Homage to Claude Debussy).

13 July, 7.30pm, LSO St Luke's, EC1, & 15 July, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, Aurora Orchestra: Biber Battalia; Holst ‘Mars and Venus’ from The Planets; Julian Phillips New work; Shostakovich String Quartet No 3; Live B-boy battle with break dancing, short arrangements by Chris Willis.

15 July, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2, London Symphony Orchestra, Renée Fleming (soprano), Valery Gergiev (conductor): Debussy La mer; Henri Dutilleux Le temps l’horloge (UK première); Ravel Shéhérazade; Stravinsky Petrushka.

MUSIC – JAZZ, FOLK & WORLD

25 – 29 June, 12.30 – 2.00pm & 5.30 – 7.00pm, Broadgate Circle, EC2, Euromix Garden: a five-day open-air celebration of inter-European music collaboration. Artists include Corou de Berra, Fribo, She’Koyokh, Grand Union Orchestra, Assembly Point, Prego, Söndörgő, Viaggio, Sardana Dance and Federspiel. (FREE)

2 – 5 July, 12.30-2.00pm and 5.30-7.00pm, Guildhall Yard, Gresham Street, EC2, Music in the Yard:artists include the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Digby Fairweather, Jim Tomlinson, Batucada Sound Machine and Music in Offices’ Office Choir of the Year finalists. (FREE)

6 July, 5.30-7pm, Guildhall Yard, Gresham Street, EC2, Clarence Adoo, Headspace Ensemble & Guildhall Jazz Ensemble: World première of Love & Money by Nigel Osborne. (FREE)

12 July, 8.00pm, St Paul's Cathedral, EC4, Jan Garbarek (saxophone) and The Hilliard Ensemble: Officium Novum.

13 – 15 July, 7.00 – 9.00pm, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, free music including 14 July Bastille Day Celebration in partnership with Bureau Export. (FREE)

27 July, 12.00 - 2.00pm, Paternoster Square, Golden Honey Feast, a public feast with the Festival's beekeeping partners, live music, poetry and participative activities. (FREE)

DANCE

27 – 29 June, Various locations, 50 Golden Street Pianos, pop-up dance duet choreographed by Sydney Dance Company’s Rafael Bonachela. (FREE)

3 July, 8.00pm, St Paul's Cathedral, EC4, English National Ballet.

12 & 13 July, 1.00pm and 6.30pm, Millennium Bridge, Festival Gardens, Paternoster Square, St Paul's steps, Four Corners, 60 conservatoire dancers present new choreography by Nina Rajarani, Bawren Tavaziva, Ponciano Almeida and Lea Anderson. (FREE)

13 – 15 July, 7.00 – 9.00pm, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, music including 14 July Bastille Day Celebration in partnership with Bureau Export. (FREE)

14 July, 6.00pm, Millennium Bridge, Festival Gardens, Paternoster Square, St Paul's steps, Four Corners, 60 conservatoire dancers present new choreography by Nina Rajarani, Bawren Tavaziva, Ponciano Almeida and Lea Anderson. (FREE)

15 July, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, Roadworks, Etta Ermini Dance Theatre and BMX-dance workshops. (FREE)

ART & EXHIBITIONS

1 June – 28 July, 10.00am – 5.00pm, Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, EC2V 6BN, Gold: Power and Allure – 4500 years of gold treasures from across Britain.

24 June – 27 July, All day, Cheapside, Stories from the Square Mile, 50 years and 50 stories presented in an open-air exhibition exploring lesser-known communities living and working in the City. (FREE)

28 June – 11 August, 12.30 – 5.30pm (Tues – Fri) October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, WC1, Romuald Hazoumè: October Gallery unveils a series of new works by renowned artist Romuald Hazoumè (b.1962). Prolific in a wide range of media, Hazoumè creates masks, photographs, canvases and installations. (FREE)

2 July, 6.00pm, Deutsche Bank, Winchester House, Great Winchester Street, EC2, Art Tour.

8 July, Tower Bridge and Monument, Sam Bordoli (composer), Live Music Sculpture at Tower Bridge and the Monument: innovative composer and musician Samuel Bordoli will be using these unique structures to play with the ways in which music is perceived. (FREE at Tower Bridge Exhibition; admission applies at the Monument)

11 July, 6.30pm, Clifford Chance, 10 Upper Bank Street, E14, Art Tour.

OUTDOOR PERFORMANCES

27 – 29 June, Various locations, 50 Golden Street Pianos, pop-up dance duets at the choreographed by Sydney Dance Company’s Rafael Bonachela. (FREE)

26 & 28 June, 3 & 5 July 1.30 – 2.00pm, Devonshire Square, EC2, Golden Keys to the City, pop-up music tours performed by primary school children. (FREE)

1 July, 12.00 – 7.00pm, Hampstead Heath, World on the Heath Family Day, an open air celebration of music and games from across the world. Music on the bandstand from John Williams and John Etheridge, Federspiel, and Batucada Sound Machine.

5 – 26 July, every Thursday, 5-7pm, Liverpool Street Station, EC2, Commuter Music. (FREE)

6 July, 5.30-7pm, Guildhall Yard, Gresham Street, EC2, Clarence Adoo, Headspace Ensemble & Guildhall Jazz Ensemble: World première of Love & Money by Nigel Osborne. (FREE)

13 – 15 July, 7.00 – 9.00pm, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, free music including 14 July Bastille Day Celebration in partnership with Bureau Export. (FREE)

15 July, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, Aurora Orchestra, chamber music and break-dancing. (FREE)

15 July, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf, E14, Roadworks, Etta Ermini Dance Theatre and BMX-dance workshops. (FREE)

27 July, 12.00 - 2.00pm, Paternoster Square, Golden Honey Feast, a public feast with the Festival's beekeeping partners, poetry, participative activities and live music including Kai Hoffman & the Honeybees. (FREE)

TALKS, LECTURES & POETRY

26 June, 6.00pm, Gresham College, Holborn, EC1, David Cairns (lecturer): Berlioz lecture. (FREE).

4 July, 6.00pm, Sir Andrew Motion, Festival lecture. (FREE)

7 July, 10am – 7.00pm, Guildhall Livery Hall, Guildhall Yard, Gresham Street, EC2, Level Playing Field, a symposium on the development of musical opportunities, aesthetics and instrument technology for musicians of all physicalities – including case studies and performances. In partnership with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Drake Music.

27 July, 12.00 - 2.00pm, Paternoster Square, Golden Honey Feast, a public feast with the Festival's beekeeping partners, live music, poetry and participative activities. (FREE)

WALKS & TOURS

27 June, 2.15pm, Charterhouse Tour.

28 June, 11.00am, Mansion House Tour.

23 & 30 June, 9.30am - 4.00pm, Bank of England Open Day, 30-minute tours throughout the day of parts of the Bank usually inaccessible to the public; highlights include the Garden Court (weather permitting), the Governor’s office, the Court Room and the Committee Room. (FREE)

1 July, 2.00pm, Singing the City: As the Street Pianos appear for a final time, take this last opportunity to join Cwti Green and Sheila Holloway for a fun-filled musical tour of the City. Bring your voice for an impromptu sing-along on this walk featuring historical sites and the songs that relate them.

2 July, 6.00pm, Deutsche Bank, Winchester House, Great Winchester Street, EC2, Art Tour:

7 & 8 July, 11.00am and 4.00pm (7 July), 2.00pm (8 July), The World in the City walk with John Constable.

11 July, 6.30pm, Clifford Chance, 10 Upper Bank Street, E14, Art Tour.

13 & 14 July, 2.00pm, Heart of Empire: Art & Commerce in the City, 1880 – 1920 walk with Francis Pugh.

COMMUNITY & FAMILY EVENTS (ALL FREE)

24 June 1.00 - 4.00pm, Various locations, 50 Golden Street Pianos, free piano lessons for the public at all 50 pianos.

24 June – 13 July, All day, Various locations, 50 Golden Street Pianos, Festival street pianos return for a fourth and final year, located across the City and in neighbouring boroughs.

29 June, 12.45 - 1.30pm, Guildhall Yard, Cheapside, St Paul's Steps, Festival Procession, 1,000 children and young people weave through the City celebrating 'Flowers of the World'.
1.15 - 1.30pm, Paternoster Square, EC4, Festival Procession.
1.30pm - 1.45pm, St Paul's Steps, St Paul’s, EC4, Procession finale - Steps performance, 1,000 procession participants arrive at St Paul's for a music performance and Festival Arts Award presentation.

30 June, 10.00am - 12.00pm Barbican Children's Library, Barbican Centre, EC2, Power of Flowers Children's Event, drawing literature and art together in a morning of magical stories.

Notes to Editors

About City of London Festival
24 June – 27 July 2012, colf.org

Since its inauguration in 1962 the Festival has been animating the City, bringing the Square Mile’s monumental architecture, wealth of buildings, outdoor spaces, and ancient streets to life with a rich and extraordinary programme of music, performance, events and installations. Ranked among the world’s leading cultural celebrations, City of London Festival is one of the UK’s most significant and highly regarded artistic platforms featuring a dazzling array of luminaries from across the worlds of music, dance, visual art and street performance. Inspired by the history of the City and its communities it has built a reputation for innovative programming, showcasing newly discovered and world-class artists, championing new work and presenting contemporary collaborations in beautiful surroundings.

For half a century the Festival has connected the communities of the City with the world’s most acclaimed musicians and performers, enlivening the City, its inhabitants and visitors through culture. The alumni of contributing artists over the Festival’s lifetime reads like a Who’s Who of the world’s most accomplished artists. The Festival alone featured the likes of Jacqueline Du Pré, Sir Willard White, Yehudi Menuhin and Elizabeth Schwarzkopf to name only a few. In its 50th year the Festival will continue to add to this outstanding pedigree of performance, as well as building upon its commitment to searching out exceptional emerging talent.

Sponsor: BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon has been a proud sponsor of the City of London Festival for 3 years, connecting with the Festival’s core values of global excellence, quality and community in the City.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $25.8 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.26 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com or follow on Twitter @BNYMellon.

Festival Director: Ian Ritchie
Ian Ritchie was born in London of Scottish parents in 1953. Music was in his blood – by the age of 18 he was studying at the Royal College of Music, where he won the Mario Grisi Prize, and was heading towards a solo singing career. Ian took up a choral scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Law and Music, as well as post-graduate studies at the Guildhall School.

In 1976, Ian decided to redirect his energies to arts management, working as Promotion Manager at Universal Edition. Thus began a new career and a lifelong involvement with composers and artists.

In 1979, Ian was invited to run the Richard Hickox Singers & Orchestra, which soon became the City of London Sinfonia, and in 1983 he was appointed Artistic Director of the City of London Festival, a job he undertook in parallel with managing the CLS! In 1984, he was lured to Scotland to run the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and immediately set about reinventing the role of an orchestra as musicians for the community as well as a community of musicians, winning the ABSA/BP Arts Award for making the most imaginative use of sponsorship in 1990 and the Prudential Awards for Music and for the Arts overall in 1991.

Since leaving the SCO in 1993, Ian has led numerous arts organisations, including Opera North and St Magnus Festival, Orkney. His wider musical interests and trusteeships inform his festival work, including The Choirbook for The Queen (chairing the Editorial Committee for this recently published collection of 44 contemporary anthems to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee), the Musical Brain (Artistic Director of conferences exploring the frontiers of music, science and medicine) and Musicians without Borders (using music to rebuild communities divided by conflict, both at home and abroad).

In 2005, Ian found himself coming full circle and once again taking up the directorship of the City of London Festival after a gap of more than 20 years.

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New Premières and Highlights Announced for The City of London Festival’s Golden Jubilee (24 June – 27 July)

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