Saint Hill International Arts Festival: August 2016

By Sheila Gaiman, Executive Producer

There were many smiling faces all week at this year's Saint Hill International Arts Festival!

According to what attendees said in their success stories, their lives were changed for the better and they were totally thrilled with what they learned throughout the week. They now cannot wait to apply all the new skills and techniques they acquired from the Festival which they now feel will make them into better artists than they ever dreamed of. They were so thankful for what they learned!

The Festival has even helped established artists like Judy Norton; it has been a favourite event of hers since she first attended in 2003. Along with running workshops and participating in evening performances, Judy credits the Arts Festival with inspiring her to reach out as a writer, director and singer leading to much of her subsequent success in these fields.

The highlights of the week included:

Cllr Mrs Julie Mockford, Deputy Mayor of East Grinstead, helped to officially open the Arts Festival. She said in her speech, "I think it's very important to support the arts in our town."

The Blaze Ensemble opened the Saint Hill Arts Festival once again, this time with the orchestra comprising 30 musicians - the largest orchestra ever to perform at Saint Hill. They performed Elgar's Serenade for Strings, Mozart's Bassoon Concerto with soloist Tom Hardy, and Mozart's Symphony 40 in G minor to a packed house.

Evening showcases which gave many young artists a chance to perform in front of an appreciative audience.

A South African song performed by the Arts Festival Choir, conducted by double Grammy Award-winning artist, Robin Hogarth.

Stan Gerson's magic workshops teaching attendees how to publicly perform magic tricks and he also performed himself at various times throughout the week.

Hollywood actress, Lee Purcell's drama workshops which greatly inspired many.

Hollywood actress and singer, Judy Norton's singing performance workshops.
Angie Lemon, Festival Co-ordinator, said, "The Arts Festival provides a great opportunity to learn from other artists and for talents to be shared. Very importantly, it also allows artists to express themselves in a safe environment with no criticism, only support."
Adrian Pownall, Festival Co-ordinator, said, "I was delighted to be part of this great Festival and to see so many people get so much from it. The celebrities were generous in the extreme with their time and delighted us all with their performances. I'm already looking forward to next year."
Vast Age Range - Artists from 6 to 94 years of age attended and benefited from the Festival!

Sheila Gaiman, the Arts Festival's Executive Producer with Cllr Mrs Julie Mockford, Deputy Mayor of East Grinstead (Photo by Scott Mathieson, 31/7/16)

The Saint Hill International Arts Festival 2016 (Photo by Jane Billing, 31/7/16)

The Blaze Ensemble performing Mozart's Bassoon Concerto with soloist Tom Hardy (Photo by Becky Danese, 31/7/16)

Judy Norton in concert (Photo by Jane Billing, 6/8/16)

Katy Norman, Judy Norton, Robin Hogarth, Lee Purcell, Stan Gerson, Chris Dresser, Sheila Gaiman, Krystyna Louw, Adrian Pownall (Photo by Jane Billing, 6/8/16)