Tag: #RWBArtsFestival

Deadline Approaching for Speech and Drama Entries

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Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival

CALLING ALL SPEECH AND DRAMA PERFORMERS

Only days left to enter the Royal Wootton Bassett 2018 Speech and Drama Festival!

The Royal Wootton Bassett Speech and Drama Festival is gearing up for its fantastic annual event which takes place on 17th and 18th November at the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy this year. The festival, which draws performers from all over Wiltshire and beyond, is now in its 9th year.

The closing date for all entries is 30th September 2018. A copy of the syllabus and entry forms can be found here.

There are a wide range of classes available including Acting, Reading, Mime, Television News Reading and many more. We welcome entries from participants of all ages, from the very young to adults. There are opportunities for groups, pairs and solos.

Sandra McDowell, Chair of the Speech and Drama Festival said: “Our Speech and Drama Festival is thriving and growing rapidly as classes across the board are expanding. In 2009, we started with just one adjudicator, now we have four!

After its success last year, we’re really excited to be adding additional recital classes where entrants can perform a selection of poetry, prose, acting under one theme. We are also increasing the number of novice classes in both verse speaking and solo acting which is exclusively available to performers who are yet to win a cup at the festival. We have also launched an additional Choral Group Speaking class and a Shakespeare class for younger performers. Following great feedback last year, we will also continue to film our Television News Readers, giving them an even more professional and realistic experience. We believe there is something for everyone!

Our four expert adjudicators will be there at the festival to provide valuable feedback to our entrants. We know they will be engaging, inspirational and enriching.

We’d love you to get involved with the festival this year, either as a performer or a member of our valued audience.”

The Royal Wootton Bassett Speech and Drama Festival is the only one in Wiltshire affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals.

In addition, the RWBAF’s specialist Classical Guitar Festival will take place alongside the Speech and Drama Festival at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy. Expert guitarist Gary Ryan will be there to adjudicate the entrants. The closing date for the Classical Guitar Festival is 13th October 2017.

You can also find us on Facebook and you can contact us on RWBArtsFestival@gmail.com or on twitter @RWBArtsFestival, where we look forward to hearing all about your musical and dramatic achievements. 

Get sharing by using #RWBArtsFestival!

 

RWB Arts Festival Welcomes New Chair

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Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival welcomes new Music Chair and our Music Festival will change dates to run alongside Speech and Drama

Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival is delighted to announce its new Chair of Music, Sarah Sumner.

Sarah has a life-long love of music and has been playing since early childhood; enjoying the piano, oboe, viola and singing. She has a wide range of experience; from playing in numerous local festivals and orchestras to taking a range of music examinations. More recently, Sarah was validated as the Leading Teacher for Primary Music at Swindon Borough Council. She has also delivered Music Teacher Training to Graduate Students and has had an article about the importance of music in education published.

Sarah is currently Deputy Head of Westlea Primary School and a Trustee of the Friends of Swindon Young Musicians. She is also in the final year of a Master’s Degree in Education.

New Chair of Music, Sarah Sumner said: “I am really excited about this new adventure as the Chair of the Royal Wotton Bassett Music Festival and being involved in the holistic promotion of music for all ages and not just regarded as an elitist discipline. I want to use the festival as a performance platform for all participants, to experience performing in front of an audience and promote the positive aspects of music making. “   

In addition, the Music section of the Festival, which usually runs in June and July, is now being moved to join its sister section of Speech and Drama in November. The change will take effect from 2019. It could see Royal Wootton Bassett welcome over 1000 performers to the town over the Festival weekend.

Miranda Shirnia, overall Chair of the Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival said: “We are thrilled to have found such an experienced new chair with a clear passion for music and education. As she settles into her role, we are looking forward to seeing some exciting new developments in the music side of our ever-growing festival.

“We are also very excited about bringing the Music and Speech and Drama Festivals together over one huge, celebration of local talent – we can really maximize its potential.  Combining the resources of our fantastic committees means we have the skills and capacity to take the festival onto its next stage making it bigger and better than ever. We also believe that autumn will suit our performers better as it is now well away from the busy exam season.”

RWB Arts Festival seeks Music Enthusiasts to take the Festival into the Future

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Royal Wootton Bassett Arts FestivalRoyal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival seeks Music Enthusiasts to take the Festival into the Future
The Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival has just concluded yet another very successful Music
Festival with over 300 entries covering an estimated 600 performers in events like singing,
piano, brass, woodwind choirs and much more. This has been overseen by our long-standing
Chair of Music, John Davies but the time has come for him to step down which means we
are now looking for an enthusiastic replacement to take the Music Section forward.

What does it involve?
The Chair of Music needs to be enthusiastic about music and want to share their love of
music-making with the public. Just as important as a love of music is the ability to be
organized, to come with new and fresh ideas and the ability to work with the rest of the
Festival team. But volunteers are hard to find which is why we are spreading the word about
this role as far and wide as we can.

Don’t want to be Chair but would love to part of it?
We need new committee members too. We need people to organize our trophies, hand out
certificates and organize teas and coffees. These might seem like small jobs but if we had a
few more volunteers for these roles it would lighten the role all round.

Why join the Festival team?
We believe that the Arts are central to the culture in our community but the Arts are
threatened by budget cuts wherever you look so we believe that organisations like us are all
the more important these days.

We offer performers an opportunity to perform in public, gain feedback on their work from
professional musicians and improve as a result. It’s all about learning and developing
whatever your age or experience.

Apart from Music we also have a Speech and Drama Festival allowing performers the chance
to develop in a whole range of other disciplines too.

If you would like to join us come along to our Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday
26th July at 7pm.

About the Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival
The Wootton Bassett Arts Festival is a celebration of artistic talent in and around Royal
Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire. Classes are offered in Music, both instrumental and voice and
Speech and Drama. Professional adjudicators are engaged to offer feedback and present
trophies to the winners. The Festival is affiliated to the British & International Federation of Festivals.

Additional Information
Our classes include: Jazz, Prose Reading, Piano, Brass, Solo Mime, Folk Songs, Classical Guitar, Solo Acting, Public Speaking, Choirs, Verse Speaking, Woodwind, Group Acting, Songs from Shows, Duologue, Mime, Television News Reading, Sacred and Spiritual Songs, Duologue Acting, Strings, Shakespeare Acting, Ensemble, Bible Reading, Choral/Group Speaking, Modern Pop Songs and Duet

For more information about the Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival contact:
Mrs. Jackie Lawrence on 01793 340377

Or contact the team on:
Email: rwbartsfestival@gmail.com
Twitter: @RWBArtsFestival
Become a fan on Facebook: @RWBArtsFestival
Website: RWBArtsFestival.com

 

RWB Arts Singing Festival

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We welcome audiences at all sessions! Do please come along and listen to the many talented performers that join us at our Summer Festival. Adults £3.00, children are free! Pay on the door!

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From 6.30pm Friday 22nd to 4.30pm Sunday 24th June 2018 it is our Singing Festival at the Royal Wootton Bassett Memorial Hall. This year we are delighted to announce we have adjudicators Jane Wilkinson, Rebecca Moseley-Morgan, Andrew Hansford and Ruth Gerald joining us.

Thursday 28th June:

1.00pm Primary School Choir and ensemble, RWB Academy Brass players
3.00pm RWB Flute, Clarinets, Saxophones and Brass Ensembles.
6.00pm Children’s & Youth Choirs, Musical Theatre Groups.
7.15pm Adult and Community Choirs

Also 
7.30pm Saturday 30th June RWB Choral Society’s WW1 themed concert. Retiring collection.

 

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Volunteer Recognition Day

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Today is Volunteer Recognition Day. Our Festival is run purely by volunteers, and it would not be able to take place each year without all the efforts of each and every one. Our many Committee members, helpers, and supporters make our Festival a joy each year for the many children who compete and the many parents who chart their childrens’ blossoming talents, whether that is in the Music Festival or the Speech and Drama one.

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Our volunteers take on many roles: from cleaning tables, arranging chairs, processing entry forms, contacting adjudicators, baking cakes, sweeping up, running Facebook pages, devising every class syllabi, writing minutes, liaising with community members and press, establishing safeguarding processes, improving best practice, as well as maintaining our own commitment of time, professionalism, and enthusiasm for our ever growing Festival. Each and every gift of time and action is valued, and it is often the smallest of jobs which make the biggest difference.

So a big and sincere thank you to all of our volunteers at RWB Arts Festival, whatever your role. Thank you.

 

Spring Gala Concert and 2018 RWB Arts Festival Syllabus Launch

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On Friday the 23rd February there will be a spring concert and syllabus launch for the 2018 RWB Arts Festival. This will be held at the Memorial Hall, Station Road, Royal Wootton Bassett.

The programme will include special performances from the Music, and Speech and Drama Festivals held in the Spring and in November of 2017.

This event is usually by private invitation only; however, if you would like to come and join us, please do contact us on RWBArtsFestival@gmail.com for a ticket or register at Event Brite for one.

We would love to welcome you and encourage new friends and new interest in our Festival. So, do come along and enjoy a glass of wine, and see the wonderful talent of the next generation being showcased!

 

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New RWB Music Festival Syllabus Launched for 2018

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The RWB Arts Festival 2018 Music Syllabi are now available for download!

The programme includes many possibilities for exciting performances at this year’s upcoming Festival. Thank you to all those who took part, their teachers, their friends and family, in the 2017 Festival and we look forward to seeing you all again later this year to show case your talent.

 

RWB Arts Festival 2017 Reflections

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Miranda Shirnia Chair of the Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival said: “2017 was a truly exciting year for us. The Speech and Drama section of the festival grew enormously – we had 38% more entries than in 2017 with over 100 trophies and medals being awarded to the top performers. We want to continue to build this momentum and so urge performers to look at our new music and speech and drama syllabi and choose a class to try. With novice classes available in both festivals, beginners, as well as those more experienced, are being encouraged to take part. With the launch of our new website www.RWBArtsFestival.com it’s now easier than ever to find out what’s going on this year. Do have a look it is updated frequently with exciting news and blog posts.

You can also contact us on RWBArtsFestival@gmail.com or on twitter @RWBArtsFestival, where we look forward to hearing all about your musical and dramatic achievements!”

RWB Arts Festival Plans for 2018

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Plans for the 2018 Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival are well underway after a lovely committee meeting yesterday morning. With a few more classes scheduled in for the Speech and Drama side of the 2018 Festival, and lots of talk about the successes of all the wonderful children who took part this year, we hope to continue building on our ever popular Festival.

Please come back and check for details in the New Year!

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