Diversity key for Guildford International Music Festival

With so many different genres of music on display, the Guildford International Music Festival promises to be a diverse celebration of world music.
With the African, American, big band and swing, chamber, classical, contemporary, popular, choral, easy listening, jazz, historical, religious and orchestral music all represented, the festival is a great chance to learn about different international styles.
Among the highlights of the show, which runs from March 5th until March 26th, include a concert featuring masterpieces from three European centres of music to be played by students from the Royal College of Music’s Historical Performance Department, the Surrey Advertiser reports.
Another highlight promises to be the 75th birthday celebration for Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, one of Britain’s most prolific and best-loved film and instrumental composers and jazz musicians.
In a brand new show entitled ‘We’re a Couple of Swells’, Sir Richard and jazz singer Claire Martin are due to perform a number of classics.
One of Britain’s most respected and versatile musicians, he has written in excess of 200 works for the concert hall, as well as and 50 scores for film and television over the course of a career that has spanned more than half a century.
Sir Richard has a unique and recognisable dramato-abstract style, while in recent years he has adopted an increasingly tonal approach to his works.
The festival will also host the ‘Revolutionary Drawing Room’ which showcases works by Mozart and Chopin, played on an 1846 Pleyel piano, owned by the composer himself and will also host a special evening in the company of world renowned bass-baritone Sir Willard White.
Other art forms such as film and dance also form an integral part of the festival, with special screenings of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and the celebrated ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ running throughout the event.