From the
Chichester Observer:-
[/b]
Former prime minister John Major and singers
Hayley Westenra, Sir Willard White and Cleo Laine were announced earlier this year.
Now Kennedy (July 11) and Dimbleby (July 12) add further weight to an impressive array of talent this summer (June 29 to July 15).
Kennedy was last in Chichester Cathedral a year and a half ago with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
“But this will be quite different,” says Festivities director Amanda Sharp.
“This is his brand-new jazz project he has launched. He has always been a great, great jazz aficionado.”
The visit offers the Nigel Kennedy Quintet: “He is performing this for the first time in London some time in May. This is his only other performance. It’s very special and very exciting.
“Whenever he has played here, you just know you are in the presence of a genius.
“He is just at an amazing level. Whether you like his music or not, you are looking at someone very special indeed.”
Also confirmed for the Festivities are Tenebrae (July 3), a professional chamber choir, founded and directed by Nigel Short.
Often performing by candlelight, the choir creates an ‘atmosphere of spiritual and musical reflection’, where medieval chant and renaissance works are interspersed with contemporary works.
The Festivities will also welcome the King’s Singers working with L’Arpeggiata, a French ensemble directed by Christina Pluhar (July 8).
L’Arpeggiata’s aim is to revive an almost unknown repertoire and to focus their artistic work especially on French, Italian and Neapolitan music from the beginning of the 17th century.
On a sadder note, the Festivities will also see the return of French bass player Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac for a concert in memory of his son Marin, who was killed in a car crash last year on the very evening Benoit was on stage in Chichester performing with the Jacques Louisser Trio.
Benoit expressed the wish to come back to Chichester to perform to mark the anniversary. This time he will be performing as part of Plumes (July 4).
Miss Sharp said she was delighted with the box office response to those events which have already been announced.
Top-price tickets have already sold out for Hayley Westenra (July 9, Cathedral) and The Philharmonia Orchestra (July 12, Cathedral).
And the response to the revamped Goodwood racecourse fireworks concert has also been excellent. This year it is the Magic of Motown fireworks concert with special guests The Drifters (June 29) – and tickets sales are up by a half on last year.
In a break with tradition, Cleo Laine and six cathedral concerts were announced at the beginning of March rather than the usual mid-April timing – a decision which has been vindicated in terms of sales – Sir Willard White (July 10, Cathedral) is also selling well.
“We have also been much more active this year with on-line booking. Last year it was very minimal. This year we have used it much more.”
And the hope is that full online booking will be up and running by mid-May.
Last year, the Festivities broke records with around 20,000 ticketed attendances at core Festivities events, up from around 18,000 the year before.
Despite good sales so far, Miss Sharp remains cautious: “Sponsorship becomes harder and harder each year because there is so much competition around, with St Richard’s Hospital, with the CFT and so on and everything else.
“We are very, very grateful to the usual sponsors, but this year overall it has been disappointing. The figure has dropped since last year. I would rather not say how much. It is not hugely off, but it is down.”
19 April 2007[/size][/quote]
Richard
, so I might have a ticket on H row ....... but I won't know until the postman brings it 
