“WOW, is the only way to describe the fantastic week of the 8th Festival.  The music was outstanding this year and I think maybe the best yet.  A lot of variety, and of course the wonderful Song of the Carnivores and Carmina Burana.  We would like to thank you and your committee most sincerely for an amazing 5 days in Bulawayo  -  blissfully cut off from the rest of the world listening to an endless supply of amazing performances.  You really have created an incredible festival with so many positive spin offs for the promotion of music for those less privileged young Zimbabweans”.

“Sorry for delay in telling you that that Carmina Burana was absolutely top class; in fact world class! Howard and I are not into that kind of music but it was really fantastic! You could easily take this on tour throughout the world and I am almost certain that you would have full houses every night.   Many thanks to you, the Academy, all the talent that was brought in to produce such a performance, and obviously most of all, those who performed that night; It was just so very special”.

“Please forgive my delay in writing to thank you and EVERYONE concerned in making this year’s festival the best ever, and the most memorable!   The innumerable hours of work, dedication and manifold problems you had to contend with must have taken years off your lives!!   But the rewards must be that we all had a blast!!   And we loved almost every moment – the exception being the Petroc saga!   We do hope that he has recovered from his ordeal and he has recovered completely from his injury. There were so many highlights – but for me The Song of the Carnivores (we were at the first session) and The Carnival of the Animals (with Richard Sisson’s inimitable commentary) stood out – but we loved it ALL!!!!   So THANK YOU and congratulations, and looking forward to the next one!”

AND FROM SOME OF THE MUSICIANS -

“To be able to meet a lot of fellow musicians for the first time and bond with them quickly through making music and then share that bond with a receptive audience (as the Bulawayo audiences always seem to be) is one of life’s great joys, and continuously reminds me why I want to be a musician. I hope you’ll have me back in future years – time, money and programming desires permitting!”

“I just wanted to send you an email thanking you for the wonderful opportunity you gave to me in inviting me to be a part of such a wonderful festival and trip.  I had an amazing time in that the people there are delightful, the music performed was beautiful and exceptional”.

“I enjoyed the festival immensely and was thrilled to be part of it! Everyone was so welcoming and warm and the audience so appreciative, it was a real pleasure. I would particularly love to do more workshops next time and found the collaborations with school children really exciting and fulfilling!”

“The festival was very special and certainly an experience I will never forget. I had a great time meeting you and everyone involved. It was a great pleasure and joy performing to the people there tremendously.   What moved me is the humility of all the people. The love for the music and apart from anything it made us musicians feel that our talent and what we had to bring was needed and appreciated”.

Zimbabwe’s Immigration department have changed the rules and bringing musicians to Zimbabwe has become a much more costly business. The paperwork for one South African performer promoted by the Alliance Française just over a week ago cost $1 100.00. We simply don’t have that kind of money for each concert even if we believed it was unmissable.

In the meantime, there’s a further complication: Immigration will not consider an application from Celebrity Subscription Concerts for a work permit, never mind about one from PAB, until they receive a letter from us explaining why we did not apply for a work permit on Petroc Trelawney’s behalf. That letter was written and sent to Celebs two weeks ago but at the time of writing Immigration had refused to accept delivery as the addressee was on leave.

Until this matter has been resolved, there is no question of Performing Arts registering as a promoter. In any case, as I said in that last letter, we hope to establish an umbrella organisation for all musical organisations who wish to bring  in performers. That shouldn’t take much time, but securing the necessary permissions may well take rather longer!…

Meanwhile we hope to offer concerts with local performers in the next couple of months, one as a fund-raiser for the festival. Despite its undoubted musical success (I’ve spoken to no one who didn’t consider it the best ever), it lost quite a lot of money, mainly because of lower ticket sales than anticipated rather than overspending, so we hope that you will be generous in your support!

And one last point: although several of us both work at the Academy and are on the Festival/Performing Arts committee, the two are entirely separate organisations with their own funding and own priorities. The Academy hosted the festival but paid nothing towards it, very much the reverse, in fact, as it was paid $3 000.00 for the use of the hall and various rooms for festival week. In addition pianos were tuned and repaired by both Christopher Smith and Keith Jarred, so overall the Academy did quite well from the festival!

Best wishes as always,

Michael Bullivant

BZAM, the British trust fund supporting the Academy, was instrumental in sourcing the donation.  Sibelius 7 is the most advanced and up-to-date form of the well-known music-writing programme and will be of inestimable value to both the Academy staff in preparing music for their own needs and to its senior students.  It will also be invaluable in preparing parts for Richard Sisson’s Festival commission, The Song of the Carnivores, and the choral workshops associated with it.  All at the Academy express their very real gratitude to both Pavan and AVID and to BZAM.

Apart from the very welcome updating of office equipment, the additional resources have enabled the Academy in conjunction with its own equipment to establish three rooms with full DVD facilities, two with projectors and screens and the third with a television, so that it can accommodate audiences of up to 300, 50-60 or 15-20.  It also means that the Hudson Room can now function as an audio-visual room both for groups and individuals working at individual desks with computers equipped with the Sibelius programme and sound facilities.

The donation was handed over at a special concert given by Academy students on 23 June attended by Mr.Li Hua, First Secretary at the Chinese Embassy, and Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.  Mr.Li said that “music goes beyond borders and it has a universal language that everyone understands. Through music, nations can be brought closer to each other.”

Senator Coltart extended his thanks to the Chinese government and went on to explain how the donation had arisen, saying that he was invited to the Peoples Republic of China late in 2010: “I met the Chinese Minister of Culture last year when I visited the country and I was taken to a magnificent opera centre.  During my visit there, my ministry was given a donation of musical instruments as a token of appreciation which we could use at our own discretion.”  He went on to explain that he thought the Academy was a worthy recipient and commented: “It is a miracle that the Academy has survived this long. It has gone through a lot and has withstood the test of time.  It has done wonderful work for the community.  We hope that the next generation of children will learn to appreciate classical music.”

Featuring Beethoven, Brahms, Berg and Britten, the concert was given in the music room of the home of Sir Vernon Ellis, chairman of both the British Council and the English National Opera.

The concert was full to capacity and Sir Vernon introduced the evening by paying tribute to the work of BZAM. Petroc Trelawny spoke in the interval about BZAM’s plans and Ron Sandler made an address at the end appealing for support. Graham’s five singers were young,  passionate and highly talented, and he interleaved the songs with explanation and anecdotes about Zimbabwe and his time at the Academy. There was a real sense of warmth and enthusiasm pervading the whole night.

The concert itself raised upwards of £10 000. BZAM’s initial aim is a trust fund of US$100 000 (around £62 500) but its fund-raising will be ongoing and it plans at least one concert to this end each year. (see BZAM page).

…………………………………………

The Programme:

BZAM Launch Concert – Monday 28th February 2011
49, Queens Gate Terrace, London

‘B is for Bulawayo’ with:

Lucy Page, soprano
Katie Bray, mezzo-soprano
Rupert Charlesworth, tenor
Benjamin Appl, baritone
Martin Häßler, baritone
Graham Johnson, piano

Beethoven   An die ferne Geliebte – performed by Benjamin Appl (baritone)
Brahms   Auf dem Kirchhofe – An eine Aeolsharfe – Es schauen die Blumen alle –
Lerchengesang‑Ständchen; performed by Martin Häßler (baritone)
Vor der Tür (duet) performed by Martin Hässler and Katie Bray (mezzo soprano)
SHORT INTERVAL
Berg   Die Nacht – Schilflied – Im Zimmer –Die Nachtigall; performed by Lucy Page (soprano)
Britten   Canticle I “My beloved is mine” performed by  Rupert Charlesworth (tenor)
Cabaret Songs: Tell me the truth about love – Johnny – Calypso – Funeral Blues;
performed by Katie Bray (mezzo)