A charming concert in a quaint church in a leafy enclave of north London – the ideal summer evening out
Fantasia Orchestra opened Proms at St Jude’s Music & Literary Festival last Saturday with an eclectic mix of hymns, Pimms and strings.
The orchestra was founded in 2016 by conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh and is home to a handful of today’s best young classical music talent. It returns for its sixth successive appearance at the festival having first performed there in 2019. This time around they are performing two concerts, the first of which was last Saturday. A second concert will take place on Thursday June 27th. Saturday’s concert was ‘An American Celebration’, and it was performed with passion under the expert baton of Fetherstonhaugh.
Fetherstonhaugh took on hosting duties as well as conducting and has a likeable way about him. He did a good job of explaining the music included in the programme, and the audience soon warmed to him as kept proceedings flowing.
The music performed was a celebration of American composers with works including Bernstein’s West Side Story overture, Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue marking the 100th anniversary of its first performance and An American in Paris inspired by the sights and sounds of 1920s Paris. Overlooked until quite recently, African-American composer Florence Price’s Adoration is a simple yet beautiful work of deep devotion and sincerity. Ives’ Three Places in New England portrays scenes from the American War of Independence and Civil War.
Fetherstonhaugh said, “Proms at St Jude’s is a champion of young musicians, and it is a great pleasure to be returning to the festival for a sixth year. We’re delighted also to be involved with the festival’s work in education, giving the premiere of the Fantastic Fanfare composition competition winner and playing for the Schools’ Prom.”
Education is central to the ethos of Fantasia and 2020 saw the launch of its partnership with the music education charity the DaCapo Music Foundation. Together they have created a new resource for the primary classroom: DaCapo Online is a comprehensive, ambitious and inclusive music curriculum that features Fantasia musicians at every stage.
At the second concert on Thursday June 27th Fantasia Orchestra will be a key part of the Schools’ Prom, featuring almost 400 children from 10 local schools. With John Ashton Thomas’ Chocolate as the musical focus, Fantasia joins forces with presenter Will Dollard for this annual highlight of the festival’s calendar. Proms at St Jude’s takes singing workshops into schools, giving students the opportunity to learn the repertoire in advance of the festival.
Proms at St Jude’s Music & Literary Festival is an event I was unaware of until I was asked to do this review. It runs for a week every June and has music, stand-up comedy, “in conversation with…” events with authors, heritage walks and lots more on offer. St Jude’s Church in the leafy enclave of Hampstead is the venue, and it is so quaint it was once used as a location in a Harry Potter movie. There is a wide range of events to choose from as well as plenty of Pimms and all the Victoria sponge you can eat. Discovering little gems like this is what makes London special, and I look forward to attending again next year.