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Sunday 11 July 2010

The Village that Rocks

The 2010 Milford on Sea Arts & Music Festival was blessed with glorious weather & provided a fantastic weekend of entertainment. The festival achieved a unique balance between professional presentation & the quaint charm of a village event. Thursday evening saw a lively start to the festival with the Folk Night & children’s ceilidh. This was followed on Friday by Young People’s Band Night where local youth talent performed to an audience of all ages. Cool Saturday was a full day event with plenty to keep the children entertained & included a special performance from the local primary school. The village green was alive with food stalls, beer tent, children’s entertainment & craft stalls. First on the main stage were the village’s own ‘The Four Winds’, a saxophone quartet who soon got feet tapping. Our very own ‘Total Voice’ village choir gave a powerful performance in the afternoon, followed by ‘Keya Bobo’ playing tribal African music. To maintain the international theme, we were then treated to traditional Thai dancers. The village ‘Windmill Band’ strutted their stuff before were entertainment by other local bands ‘The Travelling Johnnies’ & ‘Dog Ruff’. The glorious summer’s evening saw the village rocking on the packed green & it was certainly a case of standing room only, as hoards of local people & holidaymakers enjoyed the live music. As the night commenced our winning youth band gave a further performance followed by ‘The Alex Hall Band’ taking us back in time with some timeless pop classics. ‘Drew Flanigan & the Black Bombers’ were then on stage with a high octane rock & roll show. To close the evening the headline act, ‘Freddie & the Freeloaders’ rocked the enthusiastic crowd with soul, motown, jazz & modern classics.

Smooth Sunday morning maintained the glorious sunny sky, & spirits were again high. The day opened with a charming combined service by the four local churches on the village green. Soon after the music was underway with a classical extravaganza. A stirring performance of a Rossini opera was presented by professional local opera singers & Lymington Choral Society. The Hyde Band then blew any remaining cobwebs away with some rousing tunes. The afternoon then turned to dance as Georgian & Regency dances were performed by The Hampshire Regency Dancers, followed by Zapp School of Dance giving us a contemporary dance show. Milford Musicale then treated us to a set including arias & musical theatre numbers as the afternoon gently passed by. Next we had the New Forest Community Orchestra, some live poetry & a surprising Nautical Percussion performance.

The grand finale was certainly worth waiting for, as The Three Tenors took to the stage. Colin Judson, a professional opera singer from the village, was joined by Wynne Evans ( the tenor from the ‘Go Compare’ TV advertisement) & Nick Ransley to provide us with some classic opera performances. In minutes the guys had everyone eating out of their hands, and the mix of incredible music & sharp humour was intoxicating. There was not an inch to spare on the green, with children & adults, young & old, recognising many of the numbers & being enthralled by renditions they may not have heard before. The concert played for well over an hour & the entire audience was spellbound. Unsurprisingly, the closing drama of ‘Nessun Dorma’ thrilled the enthusiastic audience and this was rewarded with rapturous applause and a well deserved standing ovation. It was clear to see why each singer has such a strong reputation on the international opera scene & we were very lucky to have experienced their individual talents at this festival.

Once again the village had enjoyed a great weekend & spectacular festival. The annual event is run by the Milford on Sea Arts & Music Festival Committee, & this small group of dedicated village volunteers once again created a major event in the village calendar. Their efforts are greatly appreciated & certainly enhance the character of this special seaside village. Well done to all.

Milford on Sea Arts & Music Festival website:
http://www.milfordfestival.org.uk/

The Three Tenors:
http://www.colinjudson.co.uk/
http://www.wynneevans.co.uk/
http://www.nicholasransley.com/

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