perspectivesCheltenham Arts Council: awards_funding_publicity_events listings

Cheltenham JAZZ FESTIVAL PLUS: ART IN OUR HOSPITALS • FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTS • POETRY

C H E L T E N H A M A R T S C U L T U R E

February – May 2017

C O N T E N T S

Cheltenham JAzz festival 2

ART IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE Hospitals 4

Listings 6

Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts 11

Poetry: Cheltenham 300 12

PERSPECTIVES TEAM

EDITOR HOLLIE SMITH-CHARLES LISTINGS Alice HodsdonTEMPLATE DESIGN Chantal Freeman

COVER THE FRONT COVER SHOWS TAMARA SINGOGO'S WINNING IMAGE FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE YOUNG PHO-TOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2016, SECONDARY PRIZE

Welcome

This issue is filled with a feast of Festivals! We hear from the extraordinary and world-renowned Cheltenham Jazz Festival about why you should add this event to your cultural calendar. We also hear from the team behind Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts, arguably the town’s oldest festival. And we are pleased to feature information about the town’s newest – the Christian Arts Festival – with further details on the back page.

We hear from Niki Whitfield, the local art coordinator working hand in hand with our hospitals to bring inspiring art and creativity to patients, families and staff throughout the county. And I’m delighted to feature three poems from members of Cheltenham Poetry Society, who celebrated Cheltenham Spa’s 2016 tricentenary with a new anthology about the town, its famous characters and landmarks.

The front covers feature local, up-and-coming talent: some of the winners of the 2016 Gloucestershire Young Photographer of the Year, all from primary and secondary schools across the county

As ever, I’d love to hear your comments and ideas.

Perspectives is produced three times a year. The next issue will span June -September 2017. Please email your event details to perspectives.listings@gmail.com

Advertising costs from £25 for CAC Members or £30 for non-Members.

Please contact editor@cheltenhamartscouncil .co.uk for more info.

Submissions (ads and events) must be with us by the END of MARCH for

consideration for the next issue.

PERSPECTIVES FEBRUARY/MAY 2017 Issue

Hollie Smith-Charles

Cheltenham Arts Council

Hattie Crapper, Sapperton CE Primary School

izzy evans, kingshill School

young musicians taking part in Jazz it up for schools

josh cottell, jazz festival

perspectives CHELTENHAM ARTS COUNCIL.CO.UK

5. The best of European festivals Since it opened in 2009, the Parabola Arts Centre has proven itself to be the ideal, intimate venue for our contemporary jazz programme. If you’re curious about the latest in jazz, this year’s programme really is a window onto the most exciting artists from festivals across Europe, handpicked by our Artistic Adviser Tony Dudley-Evans and myself. It includes experimental Swiss drummer Julian Sartorius, acclaimed quartet Amok Amor, and Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset who played a sold-out show here in 2013.

6. Musical Encounters In recent years, we’ve been developing an exciting strand of programming which moves jazz out of the concert hall and creates unique experiences, offering a new way in to the music for people who are not regular attenders. Previous events have included mini-gigs for one audience member at a time, a concert in complete darkness, and interactive pieces of sound art. This year’s offering includes an exciting commission from local instrument-maker and musician Sam Underwood, as well as a ‘live remix’ of a gig created in front of your eyes (and ears).

7. Like to stay up late? Our new late-night addition is a residency by cult swing stars Kansas Smitty’s. They will take over the Daffodil from 11pm-1am every night, recreating the vibe of their Shoreditch club with juleps and dancing. We also return to Hotel du Vin for the long-established jam sessions (free entry). Who knows which festival artists might step up to play? The session officially ends at 3am but if you’re really committed, it

has been known to continue until the hotel serves breakfast at 5am.

8. Outstanding free gigs Around Town We try to programme the festival to suit all budgets and our series of free gigs by emerging talent is ever-expanding, under the banner of ‘…Around Town’. It now includes four days of free music in Montpellier Gardens, a street stage in Cambray Place over the weekend, pop-up performances on the streets plus gigs in local bars and restaurants. I recommend grabbing a drink, soaking up the April sunshine and trying something new. The full programme will be announced in March.

9. Cheltenham’s Next Generation In one of the most heart-warming moments of the weekend, we put young talent from Gloucestershire school jazz bands on our Free Stage on Saturday and Sunday. There’s also an annual gig which showcases the best local artists from the previous year’s Around Town programme.

9 REASONS TO TRY CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL IN 2017WITH EMILY JONES, JAZZ FESTIVAL MANAGER

ou may have noticed the Big Top circus tent appear in Montpellier Gardens each April but have you ever been inside? Here’s what you need to

know about this year’s festival and why it has something to entice you in:

1. The Best Metropolitan Festival in the UK? We’re delighted that for the first time Cheltenham Jazz Festival has been shortlisted at the UK Festival Awards in the Best Metropolitan Festival category (for festivals based in a town or city using only indoor venues). It’s decided by a public vote and at the time of writing, we’re waiting for the results. Fingers crossed!

2. Living legends It’s fair to say the term ‘legend’ is overused in jazz. American pianist Chick Corea, however, is the real deal. And he’ll be at the Festival on 30th April. His first professional gig was with Cab Calloway and he went on to become a key member of Miles Davis’ band in the 60s. During a five-decade career which has touched on many genres, he has won 22 Grammy awards and been nominated for a grand total of 63. Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards and played by musicians around the world on a regular basis (including myself). He is truly deserving of the moniker.

3. World premieres It’s fascinating to ask an artist about their great, unrealised ideas; things they always wanted to try but have never had the opportunity to. We’re delighted to be bringing one of those ideas to life as internationally-

renowned jazz trio Phronesis perform a new concerto by their long-time friend and composer Dave Maric. If classical music is more your thing, this piece blends Maric’s minimalist classical sound with the driving, off-kilter grooves of Phronesis. Accompanied by the Engines Orchestra, it’s sure to be explosive.

4. Diverse influences As US musician Robert Glasper said, ‘jazz is a state of mind, there are no boundaries’. It’s a fitting explanation for how jazz blends seamlessly with other genres, as our line-up attests. A perfect example is Tunisian oud player and vocalist Dhafer Youssef. His band features top-notch musicians from the New York scene who artfully combine jazz with Youssef’s haunting vocals, inspired by the long line of muezzins in his family who deliver the call to prayer at mosques. His voice is breath-taking.

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chick corea

meshell Ndegeocello

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too. At Gloucester Royal Hospital, the atrium will from this Spring be adorned with a stunning new installation designed by George King Architects. Entitled One Thousand Thank Yous, it is designed to recognise the extraordinary gifts of organ donors and their families. The one thousand gift tags that make up the suspended golden heart are inscribed with personal messages that thank organ donors for the gift of life. As Niki says, “a thousand lives have been saved by these donors. It’s important to convey the message that it’s important to donate.” Niki organised a call out to artists last year, but “this idea immediately jumped out.”Underpinning all these projects and workshops is the Gloucestershire NHS Trust’s art collection, which adorns the walls of Cheltenham and Gloucester hospitals. Niki manages this collection, choosing what to hang in public, occasionally commissioning new work and accepting donated pieces. The centrepiece is a huge painting by renowned Cheltenham-based artist, PJ Crook, hanging in the café at Gloucester Royal. There are around 4,000 pieces in total and

other local artists include Sally Hislop (whose horse sketch you may have seen on last Spring’s cover of Perspectives), Peter Granville Edmunds and Mila Furstova.The hospital medical teams are known for their dedication, innovation and care. For Niki and the team behind the arts programme, it’s important that they help to create an environment that reflects that quality of care, boosts confidence and morale for everyone involved and shows how creativity and medicine can complement one another, every day.

uspended from the ceiling in Waterstones bookshop over Christmas was a beautiful, sparkling mobile made from scores of small,

paper angels. Created by Cheltenham artist Jayne Tricker and made by an army of local volunteers, the angels were part of a campaign to raise funds for Gloucestershire Oncology Centre, our local area’s specialist cancer unit, and to raise awareness of the benefit of art in our hospitals.Niki Whitfield is the Arts Coordinator for Gloucestershire Hospitals and explains that well-being and the arts go hand in hand. Her role was created five or so years ago when Sam Guglani, a Consultant Oncologist based in the Oncology Centre at Cheltenham General, asked her whether she could help him promote Medicine Unboxed, his seminal project to explore medicine and ethics through the arts and humanities. They got talking and realised there was much more that could be done to make the arts part of the hospitals’ everyday life. From this initial conversation, the plans took shape and Niki joined the oncology unit as curator, workshop leader and resident artist.There is a growing body of evidence that shows how well-being and morale – for patients, families and medical staff – can be enhanced by improving a person’s environment, and that a good way to do this is through art. A recent piece of research, for example, showed that if paintings of landscapes were hung at the end of patients’ beds, their recovery times were quicker. Niki explains that where the arts programme started, in the Oncology Centre, there is lots of waiting around and long treatments over extended periods. It’s a time of stress and crisis for many

patients and the centre could be a stark, intimidating environment without the hands-on input of the arts team. The Angels Appeal therefore began life as therapeutic workshops for cancer patients; a way to brighten the environment for staff and patients over Christmas and provide a creative and absorbing diversion from treatments, worry and pain. It helped to bring creativity to the hospital environment and to instill confidence and calm in patients. Niki and her team decided to take the Angels out and about, and to sell them in local shops, as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the difference art makes for patients and to raise money for Focus, the hospital’s fund which supports local cancer care as part of Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity. The project galvanised local artists and other volunteers and became a big community project. The aim now is to try and build upon its success throughout 2017 and run it again next Christmas.There are other major projects emerging

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ART FOR THE HEARTHOW GLOUCESTERSHIRE HOSPITALS ARE TAKING A CREATIVE

APPROACH TO CARE, BY HOLLIE SMITH-CHARLES

If you would like to be a volunteer Angel-maker or find out more, or if you would like to donate to the Focus fund for local cancer care, please contact Richard Smith, Head of Fundraising on richarda.smith@glos.nhs.uk or call 0300 422 3231.

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embrace arts and wellbeing

JAYNE TRICKER

ONCOLOGY DROP IN WORKSHOP

ONE THOUSAND THANK YOUS, Gloucester royal hospital

perspectives CHELTENHAM ARTS COUNCIL.CO.UK

6 E V E N T S E V E N T S 7

Events for FEBRUARY – MAY 2017 Events for FEBRUARY – MAY 2017

Cheltenham Music Society: Michael Petrov, cello, Alexander Ullman, piano, Thu 20 Apr, 7.30pm, Pittville Pump Room, Prokofiev: Cello Sonata in C op.119, Janáček: Pohádka (Fairy Tale), Carter: Figment for Solo Cello, Chopin: Cello Sonata in G min op.65.Cleeve Chorale Spring Concert, Sat 22 Apr, 7.30pm, £10, u16s free, St Michael & All Angels, Bishop’s Cleeve, Pergolesi: Magnificat, Mozart: Missa Brevis in D, Copeland: Old American Songs. Tickets: George Lewis Footwear, Woodmancote News & Gotherington Stores.Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra: Old Worlds, New Worlds 3, Sat 29 Apr, 7.30pm, Pittville Pump Room, Copland: Appalachian Spring, Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Lucia Caruso, piano), Dvořák: Symphony No.7 in D min.Charlton Kings Choral Society, Sat 13 May, 7.30pm, Tewkesbury Abbey, Mendelssohn: Elijah. With Regency Sinfonia.Cheltenham Chamber Orchestra, Sat 13 May, 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Church, Cond. Timothy Carey. Elgar, Beethoven, Ginastera.Cheltenham Opera Society: AGM & The Cunning Little Vixen, Janáček, Sat 20 May, 5.30pm AGM, 6pm DVD, £5 non-members, St Andrew’s Church, Montpellier, buffet supper in interval.

Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra and Tewkesbury Choral Society, Sat 20 May, 7.30pm, Tewks Abbey, Holst: Hymn of Jesus, Butterworth: A Shropshire Lad, Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast (Andrew Mayor, baritone). Tickets from Abbey Shop or Roses Theatre.

stage and dance Cheltenham Operatic & Dramatic Society: One Man, Two Guvnors, Sat 28 Jan- Sat 4 Feb, 7.45pm + 2pm matinee 4 Feb, Playhouse, Richard Bean’s adaptation of Servant of Two Masters.Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts, Tue 2- Sun 14 May, see cfpa.org.uk The Cotswold Savoyards: The Pirates of Penzance, Tue 16- Sun 21 May, Everyman, cotswoldsavoyards.com Cheltenham Operatic & Dramatic Society: Annie, Tue 30 May- Sat 3 Jun, Everyman, codsonline.co.uk

CHELTENHAM POETRY FESTIVAL Thu 4- Sun 14 May, readings, talks, workshops, stand-up, full programme cheltenhampoetryfest.co.uk, highlights will include: The Slam, 12 May, 8.30-10.30pm.Premiere of Howard Timms’ play Oscar Wilde’s Women, 10 May, 7.30-9.30pm.

Readings from Cheltenham Poetry Society’s anthology for Cheltenham’s 300th anniversary, 6 May, 2-3pm.Dead Poets Live, 7 May, 8.30-9.30pm. Cheltenham Poetry Festival Players, 8 May, 8.30-9.30pm.Contemporary poets and talks including: Matthew Sweeney & Ben Parker, 5th, John Goodby on Dylan Thomas, 6th, Jane Draycott on translating Pearl, 6th, Worple Press showcase, 7th, Roy McFarlane, Michael Henry & Tricia Torrington, 8th, Indigo Dreams showcase, 11th, John Hegley, 13th, Stuart Maconie, 13th, Fiona Sampson on Mary Shelley, 14th.

LECTURES & MEETINGS,

Cheltenham German Club Stammtisch, twice a month, town centre, for details: cheltenhamgermanclub.webs.com or Greg Arnold 01684 772966.WEA Walking Book Group, monthly, 2-4pm, Pittville Park, info: wea-cheltenham.co.uk or 01242 524621.Cercle Français: Soirée film, Mon 6 Feb, 7.30pm, St Philip & St James Church Centre, Up Hatherley, cercle-francais-cheltenham.webs.com Cheltenham Poetry Society Workshop, Tue 7 Feb, 7-10pm, £5, Parmoor House,

VISUAL ARTS

The Gardens Gallery, 10am-5pm daily, Montpellier Gardens, exhibitions and workshops by local artists and groups. 2017 marks the gallery’s 10th anniversary. Full exhibition details: gardensgallery.co.ukCOS 17: Cheltenham Open Studios, Sat 10- Sun 18 Jun, meet the artists and view their work. To join in visit cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk

MUSIC Musica Vera rehearsals, every Wed during term, 7.30pm, Leckhampton, vacancies for altos, tenors, basses. New members who can read music welcome. freewebs.com/musicavera or 01242 517258Cheltenham Opera Society: Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss, Mon 6 Feb, 7pm, £5, COS & CMFS members free, St Andrew’s Church, Montpellier, talk by Simon Rees.Cheltenham Music Society: Andrey Lebedev, guitar, Wed 15 Feb, 7.30pm, Prince Michael Hall, Dean Close, inc. works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Peter Maxwell Davies, Toru Takemitsu, Leo Brouwer, Ross Edwards and others.Cheltenham Music Society: Trio Dali, Tue 21 Feb, 7.30pm, Pittville Pump Room, Beethoven: Piano Trio E flat maj op.1 no.1, Smalley: Piano Trio, Mendelssohn: Piano Trio no.2 in C min op.66.

Cheltenham Opera Society: War and Peace, Prokofiev, Sun 26 Feb, 2-7.10pm, £5 non-members, St Andrew’s Church, Montpellier, DVD, with tea in interval.Cheltenham Chamber Orchestra, Sat 4 Mar, 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Church, Dir. Warwick Cole. Peter Kerr (bassoon), Paul Tomlinson & Laura Morris (horn). Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi.Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra: Old Worlds, New Worlds 2, Sat 11 Mar, 7.30pm, Pittville Pump Room, Barber: Adagio for Strings, Knoxville Summer of 1915 (April Fredrick, soprano), Dvořák: Symph No.8 in G.Cheltenham Opera Society: Partenope, Handel by ENO, Mon 20 Mar, London Coliseum, coach from Cheltenham, details tbc: cheltenhamoperasociety.org.uk Cheltenham Music Society: Brodsky Quartet, Thu 23 Mar, 7.30pm, Pittville Pump Room, Schubert: Quartettsatz C min D703, Webern: Six Bagatelles, Zemlinsky: String Qt no.4 op.25, Beethoven: String Qt C maj op.59 no. 3.Cheltenham Choral Society Spring Concert, Sat 25 Mar, Pittville Pump Room, details tbc, cheltenhamchoralsociety.org.uk

Musica Vera, Sat 25 Mar, 7.30pm, St Gregory’s Church, With Musica Vera Camerata. Vivaldi: Gloria RV588, Zelenka: Magnificat ZWV108, Vivaldi: Concerto in D min RV535 for 2 oboes.

CHELTENHAM BACH CHOIR

FESTIVAL OF THE BAROQUE

Singing Competition for Young Professional Singers, Fri 31 Mar, from 11am, Prince Michael Hall, Dean Close, with finalists concert at 7.30pm. cheltbachchoir.com Bach St Matthew Passion, Sat 1 Apr, 6pm, Town Hall, Chelt Bach Choir with The Musical & Amicable Society Baroque Orchestra.Bach Partitas for solo violin, Benjamin Baker, Sun 2 Apr, 7.30pm, Prince Michael Hall, Dean Close.

Cheltenham Philharmonic Orchestra: The Children’s Concert, Sun 2 Apr, 3pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, Walton: Henry V, Williams: Jurassic Park, Beatles Medley, Cheltenham Philharmonic Winds, Patterson: Three Little Pigs.Music for Springtime: The Waites of Gloucester, Fri 7 Apr, 7.30pm, Bishop’s Cleeve Tithe Barn, the Holst Museum presents a feast of Renaissance music on strange and wonderful instruments. Info: holstmuseum.org

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Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Cheltenham Civic Society, Tue 7 Feb, 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, Cheltenham’s Economic & Cultural Vitality, with Tim Atkins, CBC. cheltenhamcivicsociety.org.uk Meanwhile Back at Home: Family Lives of Holst & Vaughan Williams, Fri 10 Feb, 7.30pm, £10/8/5, St Luke’s Church Hall, with Laura Kinnear (Holst Museum) and Hugh Cobbe (Vaughan Williams Trust). Tickets from The Wilson or Holst Birthplace Museum.Cheltenham Italian Society: Amerigo Vespucci: esploratore, navigatore e cartografo, Mon 13 Feb, 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, with Paolo Detassis. Info: cheltenhamitaliansociety.webs.com or John Sheppard 01242 243167.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 13 Feb, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. Theme: Lost in…Cheltenham Decorative and Fine Arts Society (DFAS): Children’s Book Illustrations, Tue 14 Feb, 7.30 for 8pm, Sacred Hearts Hall, CK, with John Ericson. Full details, inc. membership: cdfas.org.uk

Leckhampton Local History Society Members’ Evening, Wed 15 Feb, 7.30pm, visitors £2, Glebe Cottages, Church Road.Cercle Français: Marcel Pagnol et la Provence, Mon 20 Feb, 7.30pm, St Philip & St James Church Centre, Up Hatherley, with Germaine Jones.Cheltenham Poetry Society Reading Group Meeting, Tue 21 Feb, 7-10pm, £3, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.CLHS: Stained Glass in Cheltenham, Tue 21 Feb, 7.30pm, £2 non-members, Municipal Offices, with Adrian Barlow. cheltlocalhistory.org.uk Cheltenham German Club: Albrecht Dürer, Kunst zu Zeiten der Deutschen Renaissance, Fri 24 Feb, 7 for 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, with Simon Lewis. Info: cheltenhamgermanclub.webs.com or Greg Arnold 01684 772966.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 27 Feb, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. Theme: Satisfaction.Prestbury Local History Society, Mon 27 Feb, 7.30pm, Prestbury W.I. Hall, Prestbury’s Military Connections, with Tony Noel.

Cheltenham Poetry Society Members’ Writing Group Meeting, Tue 28 Feb, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Glos Gardens and Landscape Trust: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Mon 6 Mar, 7.15pm, £6 (members £4), St Luke’s Church Hall, with Alistair Bayford, see gglt.org Cercle Français: Les tableaux impressionnistes français en exil, Mon 6 Mar, 7.30pm, St Philip & St James Church Centre, Up Hatherley, with Catherine Greensmith.Cheltenham Poetry Society Workshop, Tue 7 Mar, 7-10pm, £5, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Cheltenham Civic Society: AGM & Open Forum, Tue 7 Mar, 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 13 Mar, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. Theme: Murmurings.Cheltenham DFAS: Treasures of the Turf, Tue 14 Mar, 7.30 for 8pm, Sacred Hearts Hall, CK, the fine and decorative arts of horseracing, with Christopher Garibaldi. Full details: cdfas.org.ukLeckhampton Local History Society, Wed 15 Mar, 7.30pm, visitors £2, Glebe Cottages, Church Road, Mills of the River

Events for FEBRUARY – MAY 2017Events for FEBRUARY – MAY 2017

Chelt, with Dr Ray Wilson.Cercle Français, Mon 20 Mar, 7.30pm, St Philip & St James Church Centre, Up Hatherley, petites présentations sur une variété de sujets.Cheltenham Italian Society: Italy, Islam and the Islamic World from 9/11 to the Arab Uprisings, Mon 20 Mar, 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, with Prof Charles Burdett. Info: cheltenhamitaliansociety.webs.com or John Sheppard 01242 243167.Cheltenham Poetry Society Reading Group Meeting, Tue 21 Mar, 7-10pm, £3, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.CLHS: Coates Carter, a Late Flourishing of the Arts & Crafts, Tue 21 Mar, 7.30pm, £2 non-members, Municipal Offices, with Alec Hamilton.Cheltenham German Club: Filmabend, Die Fälscher, Fri 24 Mar, 7 for 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, das größte Geldfälschungsprogramm der Nationalsozialsten im 2. Weltkrieg. Info: cheltenhamgermanclub.webs.com or Greg Arnold 01684 772966.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 27 Mar, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative

writing at all levels. Writing Exercise.Prestbury Local History Society, Mon 27 Mar, 7.30pm, Prestbury W.I. Hall, Prestbury Manor Court Rolls, with Norman Baker.Cheltenham Poetry Society Members’ Writing Group Meeting, Tue 28 Mar, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Glos Gardens and Landscape Trust: Wheeler’s of Gloucester, a commercial nursery 1750-1974, Mon 3 Apr, 7.15pm, £6 (members £4), St Luke’s Church Hall, with Jan Broadway, see gglt.orgCercle Français: Le libertinage au 18ème siècle en France, Mon 3 Apr, 7.30pm, St Philip & St James Church Centre, Up Hatherley, with Claude Audinet.CLHS: Cheltenham’s History in Black and White, Tue 4 Apr, 10 for 10.30am, £2, St Luke’s Church Hall, with John Chandler.Cheltenham Poetry Society Workshop, Tue 4 Apr, 7-10pm, £5, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Cheltenham Italian Society: Caravaggio e i suoi autoritratti, Mon 10 Apr, 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, with Dr Laura Rorato. Info: cheltenhamitaliansociety.webs.com or John Sheppard 01242 243167.

Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 10 Apr, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. Theme: Tomorrow is Another Day.Cheltenham DFAS: Degas and the painting of modern life, Tue 11 Apr, 7.30 for 8pm, Sacred Hearts Hall, CK, with Dr Kathy McLaughlan. Full details: cdfas.org.ukCheltenham Poetry Society Reading Group Meeting, Tue 18 Apr, 7-10pm, £3, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Cheltenham Civic Society: Civic Awards Presentation, Wed 19 Apr, 4pm, Town Hall, presented by Simon Bradley, editor of ‘The Buildings of England’ Pevsner Guides.Cheltenham Civic Society: Civic Awards Lecture, Wed 19 Apr, 7.30pm, £7.50, inc. wine, Harwood Hall, Christ Church, with Simon Bradley of the celebrated Pevsner Architectural Guides.Leckhampton Local History Society, Wed 19 Apr, 7.30pm, visitors £2, Glebe Cottages, Church Road, Trying to photograph listed buildings for English Heritage, with John Peters.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 24 Apr, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. AGM.

CHELTENHAM ARTS COUNCIL.CO.UKperspectives

hat is the CFPA? Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts provides the opportunity for children and adults to perform a

piece of Music, Dance or Drama. There are over 300 ‘classes’ which performers can enter from ballet to Shakespeare to reading from your favourite book. We have something for every level from those just starting out to a full recital. It is held in May each year mainly at Cheltenham Town Hall.

What are the aims of the CFPA and why is it important to Cheltenham?We aim to provide opportunities for people not only to perform but also to watch a wide variety of performing arts. We support the progress of performers by providing professional feedback. Being part of this type of event builds confidence in performers, improves the ability to express themselves and they learn how to work with others. They also have the opportunity to watch and learn from their peers. Cheltenham has a number of festivals but this is one of the few that people can take part in. It gives them an outlet for their skills or provides a supportive place where they can just have a go.

Tell us a little more about your history.The CFPA was set up in 1926 by the Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce. Their chairman had seen a music festival in Hull and recognised that Cheltenham would be an ideal place to hold something similar. The festival started life as The Cheltenham Spa Competitive Music Festival but very quickly grew to include Elocution classes as well as Country Dancing. Over the years the Festival has grown from a 3 day event to a 13 day event, and is now managed as

a charity. We have people coming from all over the country to enter and even have a few international performers. We celebrated our 90th birthday in 2016.

What are the best and worst things about the Festival?The best thing is the enjoyment the performers get from being part of the Festival. We see a lot of excited and smiley faces as they come off the stage. There’s nothing quite like the buzz that is created in the hallways of the Town Hall as performers arrive to take part or are heading to the office to collect their certificate. The worst thing, certainly for our dedicated team of volunteers, can be the long days. We try to pack as much in as we can to the 13 days which means long days for some people. However, we try to look after everyone and we have people come back year after year, so we must be doing something right!

How do you see the Festival evolving in the future?The Festival is constantly evolving and each year, when we publish our Syllabus of classes to enter, we discuss new classes to include. We recently introduced a dance class for primary schools, an ‘own composition’ music class for budding songwriters and we have ‘Reading to an Audience’ for anyone who has English as their second language. We always welcome feedback from performers and audience members to help us evolve. We hope to still be going in another 90 years.

Prestbury Local History Society, Mon 24 Apr, 7.30pm, Prestbury W.I. Hall, current research evening.Cheltenham Poetry Society Members’ Writing Group Meeting, Tue 25 Apr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.CLHS: Georgian Nurseries In Glos, Tue 25 Apr, 7.30pm, £2 non-members, Municipal Offices, with Jan Broadway.Cheltenham German Club: Erinnerungskultur der ehemaligen DDR, Fri 28 Apr, 7 for 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, with Dr Debbie Pinfold. Info: cheltenhamgermanclub.webs.com or Greg Arnold 01684 772966.Cheltenham Poetry Society Workshop, Tue 2 May, 7-10pm, £5, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Cheltenham Italian Society: AGM & Mare, monti e castelli delle Marche, Mon 8 May, 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, with Helga Hann. Serata sociale e buffet. Info: cheltenhamitaliansociety.webs.com or John Sheppard 01242 243167.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 8 May, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. Theme: Good News.Cheltenham Civic Society: From Ballaragh to Bayshill, Tue 9 May, 7.30pm, Parmoor

House, Lypiatt Terr, The Life & Times of Henry Skillicorne, with James Hodsdon.Cheltenham DFAS: Rodin, the first modern sculptor?, Tue 9 May, 7.30 for 8pm, Sacred Hearts Hall, CK, with Eveline Eaton. Full details: cdfas.org.uk, Cercle Français: Assemblée générale, Mon 15 May, 7.30pm, St Philip & St James Church Centre, Up Hatherley, suivie par une mini-conférence, thème encore inconnu.Cheltenham Poetry Society Reading Group Meeting, Tue 16 May, 7-10pm, £3, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.Leckhampton Local History Society AGM, Wed 17 May, 7.30pm, Glebe Cottages, Church Road, followed by Music, friendship & the Cotswold hills: Gustav Holst, by Angela Applegate.Cheltenham German Club: AGM Unterhaltung, Fri 19 May, 7 for 7.30pm, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, info: cheltenhamgermanclub.webs.com or Greg Arnold 01684 772966.Cheltenham Writers’ Circle, Mon 22 May, 7.30pm, £2, Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terr, encouraging creative writing at all levels. Guest Speaker.Prestbury Local History Society, Mon 22 May, 7.30pm, Prestbury W.I. Hall, Stables and Jockeys, with

Val Porter.CLHS: AGM + Beguiling Barbara Cartland, Tue 23 May, 7.30pm, £2 non-members, Municipal Offices, talk by John Dixon.Cheltenham Poetry Society Members’ Writing Group Meeting, Tue 30 May, info: Sharon Larkin 07540 329389.CHELTENHAM WEA COURSES: Details: wea-cheltenham.co.uk or Derek Briggs 01242 234488. Please enrol at wea.org.uk or tel. 0845 4582758. Free to those receiving certain benefits.Beginners Spanish 2, Thu 12 Jan- 6 Apr, 6.30-8.30pm, Phoenix, 86-90 Winchcombe St.Beginners and Improvers Calligraphy, Wed 15 Feb- 29 Mar, 10.30am-12.30pm, venue tbc.Britain and Ireland after the Romans: 400-750AD, Tue 21 Feb- 4 Apr, 2-4pm, St Mark’s Methodist Church Hall.Essential Poetry, Wed 26 Apr- 7 Jun, 2-4pm, St Mark’s Methodist Church Hall.Further your French with Fun, Thu 27 Apr- 8 Jun, 2-4pm, Christ Church Hall.Modern Art, Tue 2 May- 13 Jun, 2-4pm, St Mark’s Methodist Church Hall.

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Events for FEBRUARY – MAY 2017 SPOTLIGHT ON CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTSBY ANNA TREASURE

W

Submission (ads and events) must

be with us by the end of march for

consideration for the next issue.

Please email event details to

perspectives.listings@gmail.com

Amelia Johnston, Scarlett Jones and Kiri Green, CFPA

perspectives

Cheltenham Hero

Sunlight, filtering through chestnut leaves, cannot warm you. Summer greenery shivers above your winter hat, your bat-winged jerkin immobile in the breeze. Unaware of Remembrance Day crowds, you stand, hands on hips, in boots and fur mittens, ready to step forward. Your bravery was not the fighting kind.

Winter brings a dusting of frost and snow, ghosts of the icy terror you faced; the homeless man opposite is warmer than you, while we moan at hauling heavy shopping. Some of us may notice you, set back under a tree, and wonder who you are, but you are not forgotten. The museum bears your name, and flowers bloom below those boots, in Spring.

Sheila Spence

Promenade Pigeon We strut and coo among your legs,a feathered tide that ebbs and flowsand flutters to feast on fallen food.

You must have noticed me, however:plume perfect, beak held high, a swagger in my pink-toed gait,a bird of distinction to whom the lesser sort bows low.

I am a Chalybeate1, don’t you know,a descendant of that flockdiscerning in its taste for mineral water.We led, you followed, three hundred years ago.

Without us, no Promenade, no Cheltenham Spa.No wonder you use our coat of arms.

Alice Ross

1 Chalybeate – the dissolved iron salts that gave Cheltenham Spa water its health-giving qualities. The first spring was, according to legend, identified from the number of pigeons drinking there.

A Cheltenham Fantasy Between Bath Road and Old Bath Roadthere must be things worth seeing,people with stories I’ll never know.There might well be dragons,nests of hamadryads,vast maelstroms into whichgreat chunks of Regency architecturehave tumbled., I’m tolda unicorn has been seenquietly grazingin Montpellier Gardens.

I picture the vast savannahsbeyond the Prince of Wales Stadiumwhere lions and zebra roamand struggle out their exotic lives,where savage customs of a defunct empireplay out their rituals,

to say nothing of the homespun folkwho weave macramé wall-hangingsin Bishop’s Cleeve or Charlton Kings,or the gingerbread cottage in Leckhamptonwhere lost children are cookedand eaten by the resident crone.I’ve never seen a woodcutter nearby,but I bet they’re ten a pennyaround Cheltenham.

or several years, members of Cheltenham Poetry Society have attended a writing retreat in the summer. In 2016, we decided to take

Cheltenham as our theme, since the 300th anniversary of the town as a spa was being commemorated in the autumn. We took photographs around the town, and made these available at the retreat, together with articles on famous people associated with Cheltenham, and aspects of the town’s history. These acted as writing prompts for the poems in the anthology.

CPS is grateful to David Elder for his book Literary Cheltenham (Amberley Publishing, 2014) which provided further inspiration. We hope people enjoy the variety of poetic voices assembled in Cheltenham 300, and find the facts, fantasies and new angles on Cheltenham both illuminating and entertaining.

Cheltenham 300, published in November 2016, is available, price £5.95, by emailing cheltenhampoetrysociety@gmail.com

CHELTENHAM ARTS COUNCIL.CO.UK

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CHELTENHAM 300POEMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE 300TH ANNIVERSARY OF

CHELTENHAM AS A SPA TOWN

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© Sh

aron

Lar

kin

Cheltenham Poetry Society is grateful to Cheltenham Arts Council for support towards funding of the project.

See p.7 for details of the 2017 Cheltenham Poetry Festival.

Stuart Nunn

Sharon Larkin, Chair, Cheltenham Poetry Society

The Hare & the Minotaur by Sophie Ryder

J O U R N E YT H RO U G HC O N F L I C T

Saturday 29 April 2017 6.30-8pmTrinity Church Winchcombe Street Cheltenham

Returning by popular request after last year’s sell-out event

Major-General Andy Salmon CMG OBE was the last British General inBasra, after three campaigns spanning 19 years of turmoil in Iraq. Hetakes you on an emotional and personal journey through conflict, set

against a backdrop of 3 works of art, suffused with live piano improvisations.This is a story of resurrection, redemption and hope, and how different

communities and faiths unite to further peace and reconciliation.

“Andy took us on a magic carpet. We met the people he encountered, smelledthe good and the bad on that journey, from torture chamber to cafés...”

With Call to Prayer by Ismail Ginwalla MBE

Tickets from christianartsfestival.org

Supported by

AS HEARD ON

BBC RADIO 2

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22 April –7 May 2017Cheltenhamcelebrate challenge entertain engage

To book tickets and for further information visitchristianartsfestival.org or call 01242 898403

62 Festival events in 35 venues across the town

@ChristianArtsCH /Christian-Arts-Festival-Cheltenham-985533224800151

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