Welcome to the Winchester Festival



          Dame Judi Dench

It has been a particular pleasure to me that I was able to take part in the last two Festivals and I regret that my filming commitments make that impossible this year. However, I am glad that drama is to be so well-represented by several of my good friends and colleagues in the profession.

I would love to be able to join you in the audience, not just for them but for all the other distinguished artistes who will be stimulating the mind and the emotions throughout the Festival in so many different art-forms. It is no accident that Winchester has figured every year in the lists of the Ten Best Festivals.
I would like to pay special tribute to all those Sponsors and Patrons whose continuing support is so essential to the future life and growth of the Festival. In these difficult economic times we all need the inspiration of the arts more than ever to lift our spirits and enrich our lives.

I hope that you will find much in this programme that appeals to you, and that you enjoy every event you attend.


Judi Dench
President








John Miller Carol Butler

The 13th Festival offers another cornucopia of music, drama, film, literature and visual arts, in the range of styles that our audience has come to expect and appreciate.

In music there are the established popular favourites - the choral concerts in the Cathedral, chamber music at St Cross, and the Young Musicians at St Lawrence's. New departures include an exciting early music group at Winchester College Chapel, the premiere of a young people's opera in the Great Hall, a Big Band Concert in the Guildhall, and a celebration of Chopin's 200th anniversary in both words and music.

The literary programme features leading broadcasters, biographers, politicians, and historians, reflecting on major events in their lives and ours. The importance of literature to all of us will be explored in both the English Project Lecture and in the Festival Finale, With Great Pleasure.

Local talent will be represented again at all ages - all the Young Musicians this year, the Festival Players re-creating another significant episode in the history of Winchester, and the Schools Exhibition displaying the imaginative and technical skills of our upcoming young artists.

Artistic Director Music Director