Chesterfield Festival

4 September 2008

Music and dance designed to appeal to people of all ages and tastes - from baroque to break dancing and classical to world music - is included in an eclectic line-up of concerts and gigs during the forthcoming Chesterfield Market Festival.

Among the headline attractions will be world class music performed by the internationally-renowned Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the town's Winding Wheel on the first night of the Festival, which will run from Thursday October 30 to Saturday November 1.

Conducted by its director and principal clarinettist Michael Whight, the programme will include The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Handel, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Symphony No.29 and Rumanian Folk Dances by Bartok.

A second musical treat on October 30 will be the vibrant and exciting band The Dizzy Club, whose members will perform highlights from their extensive repertoire at the Pomegranate Theatre.

Much in demand at venues across the UK, its musicians include John Naylor on lead vocals and guitar, Patrick Walker on violin and guitar, Mike Fleming on double bass and new drummer Caroline Boaden. Admission will be free to anyone with tickets for Festival evening events on Thursday.

Baroque music for recorder, flute, oboe and continuo will be performed by the well-established early music ensemble Fiori Musicali at the Crooked Spire Church on Friday October 31.

Katy Bircher, Gail Hennessy and Penelope Rapson will be joined by accomplished recorder player Pamela Thorby, featured artist on the million-selling Adiemus albums, to present a programme that features Pachelbel's famous Canon and Vivaldi's Sonata for cello in A minor.

High octane break, street and contemporary dance from award-winning, all-male 2FaCeD DaNcE is sure to wow the audience during an hour of energetic and intense acrobatics, robotics and gravity-defying moves at the Pomegranate Theatre on October 31.

The company's latest work, State of Matter, promises to take dance lovers on a challenging and thrilling ride through an action-packed programme showcasing the very latest state-of-the-art techniques.

Anyone booking for the evening performance will get the chance to perfect their breaking, popping and locking skills in two free lunchtime dance workshops with talented members of 2FaCeD DaNcE - at the Pomegranate Theatre from noon to 1pm (eight to 12 years) and at the Winding Wheel from noon to 2pm (over 12 years).

World music will take centre stage on Saturday November 1, when BBC World Musoc Award winners Transglobal Underground will fuse Western, Oriental and African sounds at the Winding Wheel.

Hot-foot from the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition, SOS-XA! Sounds of Southern Africa will bring their multi-cultural sound to the Crooked Spire Church during an afternoon performance on November 1.

Anyone who books will gain free admission to a Voice Harmony Workshop at the same venue between 1pm and 2pm, when they will be able to explore the community choir's multiple harmonic roots and compelling isicathamiya performance style, which literally means ‘to step forward and back, like a lion ready to pounce'.

Programmes giving full details of all events and tickets are now available from Chesterfield Tourist Information Centre, Rykneld Square, 01246 345777/8, e-mail tourism@chesterfield.gov.uk.

Main sponsor for this year's Chesterfield Market Festival is local company Printability.