ANNUAL REVIEW 2009cheltenhamfestivals.com

BOARD MEMBERS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT BOARD & PROGRAMME DIRECTORS

2 Annual Review 2009 Board Members, Senior Management Team & Programme Directors

Board Members to July 2010

Sir Michael McWilliamChairman

Peter BondDeputy Chairman

Lewis CarnieChairman, Jazz Festival from July 2009

Jonathan CarrChairman, Audit Committee

Christopher CookChairman, Music Festival

Peter ElliottMember, Audit Committee

James HeneageChairman, Literature Festival

Virginia IsaacMember, Finance & General Purposes Committee

Dr Martin KnightMember, Finance & General Purposes Committee

Dr Gill Samuels CBE

Dr David WoodHonorary Treasurer

Current Senior Management Board

Donna RenneyChief Executive

Paul JenkinsDirector of Finance

Helena BibbyHR and Office Manager

Ian GeorgeJazz Festival Executive Director from July 2009

Sharon BishopScience Festival Executive Director

Steve BurgessScience Festival Development Director

Meurig BowenMusic Festival Director

Clair GreenawayLiterature Festival Executive Director

Sarah SmythLiterature Festival Artistic Director

Siân MorganDirector of Strategic Planning & Marketing on maternity leave

Chris PearsonHead of Marketing interim

Philippa ClaridgeEducation Manager

Programme Directors

Professor Kathy SykesScience Festival Director

Dr Mark LythgoeScience Festival Director

Tony Dudley-EvansJazz Festival Artistic Director

Chairman’s Review 4 – 5Sir Michael McWilliam, Chairman

Chief Executive’s Report 6 – 7The Power Of Four

Finances 8 – 9

Jazz Festival 10 – 11

Science Festival 12 – 13

Music Festival 14 – 15

Literature Festival 16 – 17

Education 18 – 21

Jerwood Jazz Generation Performers 22

Nesta Famelab & Famelab International 23

Music Festival Commissions & Premieres 24

Festival Academy Players 24

Wellcome Trust Events 25

Sponsors & Supporters 26 – 27

Patrons 27

CONTENTS

Annual Review 2009 Contents 3

In 2009 Cheltenham Festivals continued to enlarge the scope of its festival offerings, notably the Literature Festival which celebrated its 60th anniversary. The unfavourable economic climate did not affect adversely either sponsorship income or box office sales, thanks in part to increased marketing and development resource, but also to successful programming. Achieving a sustainable overall balance between recurrent revenues and operating expenditure remains a challenge, but Cheltenham Festivals was the fortunate beneficiary of a substantial gift as well as receiving tax refunds, so that there was a timely reinforcement of the company’s reserves during the year.

The financial outlook for arts organisations has many uncertainties and broadening the basis of financial support for Cheltenham Festivals remains a high priority. The new membership scheme now has in excess of 4,000 members and provides a vital underpinning to box office sales. Our festival programmes testify to the diversity of corporate, trust and individual sponsors, and we believe there is scope for further growth even in these testing times. Strong media support has played a vital role in promoting awareness of what Cheltenham has to offer.

Our core relationship with Cheltenham Borough Council continues to evolve, as Cheltenham Festivals becomes more securely established as a free standing festivals organisation. The interdependence is complex and vital.

Cheltenham Festivals uses the key venues of the Town Hall (and the Pump Room for the Music Festival) and the surrounding public space, and it depends on borough services and cooperation in mounting the festivals. In turn these events enhance Cheltenham’s reputation as a festival town for residents and visitors, and they bring wider benefits to the business community.Cheltenham Festivals has recently completed the separation of its accounting systems from those of the borough, so that it will not be affected by the financial reorganisation embracing a number of local authorities in the region. Consideration is being given to the self-management of festival box office administration, and there may even be scope for a more fundamental realignment of responsibilities in venue management. Our common aim must be that Cheltenham’s festival facilities should meet the rising expectations of modern audiences and sponsors. In a climate of financial stringency for local government and for arts organisations alike, this will call for both ingenuity and cooperation to forge durable solutions and we look forward to working with the borough to this end.

The Board of Cheltenham Festivals loses three members this year. James Heneage, chair of the Literature Festival, David Wood the finance member, and Virginia Isaac have each contributed wise counsel and considerable time to our affairs and I record grateful thanks to them. Two new members have been elected to the Board, Professor Russell Foster, who will chair the Science Festival, and Dominic Collier who will chair the Literature Festival.

Finally, I should record congratulations and thanks to the Chief Executive, Donna Renney, and the festival staff for a year of notable festival achievements and much hard work.

Sir Michael McWilliam

Chairman

4 Annual Review 2009 Chairman’s Review

SIR MICHAEL MCWILLIAM, CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN’S REVIEW

Annual Review 2009 Chairman’s Review 5

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT

THE POWER OF FOUR

6 Annual Review 2009 Chief Executive’s Report

2009 saw strong growth across the Festivals with increases in ticket sales of 20% achieved by Science, 8% by Music and 11% by Literature. We took the decision to concentrate the Jazz experience around the smaller town centre venues rather than spreading out across the town to the larger Centaur venue at the Racecourse. Overall I am proud that so many more people were able to enjoy our festival experience.

Despite the recession, we retained the loyalty of existing audiences as well as attracting new ticket buyers. To ensure an improved customer experience we expended considerable energy on continuing to define the Cheltenham Festival experience creating something that is hard to find elsewhere. Our key success factors remain the inventiveness of our staff and the strength of our relationships with the many partners and supporters who make up the broader Festival Family. These range from our key sponsors to performers and members of our advisory groups.

One of the striking successes of 2009 has been to strengthen the power of four unique festivals under one dynamic organisation. When we first introduced our new anvil-shaped logo with a deliberately sharp point to highlight our determination to be “edgy”, collaborative programming between Festivals was one of the artistic goals we had in mind. It was a huge achievement for us when the Wellcome Trust agreed to support our cross-festival programming with Science at the end of 2008 and an immense pleasure to commence the project at the Jazz Festival in 2009 with “Martino Unstrung”. This is the story of legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino who lost his memory and ability to play the guitar following surgery for a brain tumour. The film charting Pat Martino’s recovery made by Ian Knox was shown and discussed and Pat was with us in Cheltenham to give a breathtaking performance of his virtuosic ability as a jazz guitarist. Further cross-festival programming continued at the Literature Festival, see page 25 for further details.

We initiated a new category of Festival Family this year with the launch of our Membership Scheme. We were most grateful to the two existing schemes, the Friends of the Literature Festival and Festival Society for becoming Founder Members and offering us much needed advice.

Our programmes are wide ranging with the aim of attracting as many people as possible to experience our Festivals. Achieving this aim has to be supported by strong marketing initiatives and a public engagement campaign. Thanks to additional support from the Arts Council in the form of a one-off grant, we strengthened our general marketing resource as well as improving the content of our website and developing our digital strategy particularly through the use of social networking (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr) This enabled us to communicate more effectively with a younger audience. The website development followed the work undertaken in the previous year that had been generously funded by the Summerfield Trust and Oldham Foundation. These are two organisations whose support of the Festivals’ infrastructure at vital times has allowed Cheltenham Festivals to develop as a much stronger organisation. Infrastructure funding for cultural organisations is not always the most attractive activity for charitable trustees but without it, organisations end up without the tools to withstand stormy waters.

It was with much gratitude that we receiveda major gift from Mr Alan Taylor dedicated tothe support of the Music Festival and in particular young artists. The gift was made from the estate of his brother Clifford Taylor who had been a life-long supporter of the Music Festival. With public sector cuts imminent, it is this kind of generous philanthropic support that will determine the winning organisations in the long term. Thismay be an uncomfortable message for manybut one that we all have to face up to if wewant to see the very best culture maintainedfor future generations.

It is often difficult for cultural organisations to find the funds for staff training but we depend on highly motivated and highly skilled staff. We embarked on an improved training programme for all staff linked to staff development reviews. Many of the courses were subsidised by Government and I can not emphasise how important I think such training provision is. The courses included health & safety training for all employees as well as diversity training for both staff and board members. Our training in 2009 particularly focused on leadership development in our pursuit of establishing a strong Senior Management Board able to overcome the challenges ahead.

We continued to develop and implement our Equal Opportunities Policy and this was well publicised and discussed within the organisation. In addition, we undertook a number of activities to increase the diversity of our workforce through placements, our internship programme and in partnership with the local University, the University of Gloucestershire.

We set up a Sustainability Group to monitor and improve the environmental impact of our business and Festivals.

During the year, as I rush from Festival to Festival and event to event, there are many times when a shiver runs down my spine and I experience a Cheltenham Festival “moment”. This is when I know for certain that we have got the programme just right, and the “buzz”, “bite” and “energy” are in perfect harmony. This happens not only in our professional programmes but also in our Education and Outreach work, when young people and those with little experience of traditional festival fare are challenged and inspired by one of our outstanding facilitators. So, this year, following a brief review of each Festival, I have highlighted the work of our Education and Outreach team in 2009 led by Philippa Claridge and ably supported by Nicola Tuxworth.

Annual Review 2009 Chief Executive’s Report 7

Donna Renney, Chief Executive

2009 was another year of growth with income 20% more than in 2008. This excludes the special gift made by Mr Alan Taylor in memory of his brother Mr Clifford Taylor. The main sources of growth have been sponsorships, donations and miscellaneous grants, 32% ahead of 2008, record box office sales of 162,585 tickets (an increase of 13,741 over 2008) yielding a 5% increase in box office revenue.

The increase in sponsorships, donations and miscellaneous grants has resulted from continuing success, particularly in Science and Literature, in attracting major partners to work with the Festivals. One of the reasons revenues increased so notably for Science was the running of the Famelab competition, supported by funding from NESTA. In Literature, Sky Arts and Kraft Foods were two important new sponsors.

The increased box office revenue was due to strong performances across 3 Festivals with Science, Music and Literature growing by 33%, 13% and 18% respectively. Jazz showed a substantial decrease of 44% from the 2008 Festivals, as a result of the decision to consolidate the Festival in the centre of town rather than use the large Centaur venue at Cheltenham Racecourse, and our decision to reduce Jazz Festival ticket prices in the face of the recession. The decision not to use the Centaur gave us considerably less capacity but the Festival maintained the same number of bookers as in 2008 which was very encouraging. The Literature Festival remains the organization’s largest Festival and continues to flourish through increasing ticket sales from 99,587 in 2008 to 110,297 in 2009. This figure excludes visitors to the free Festival events which are estimated to be in excess of 5,000.

Investment in the infrastructure of the organisation has started to yield good results and further developments of the staffing structure took place during 2009 particularly in the Marketing function. This investment in the organisation’s resources has been enabled through the LABGI (Local Authority Business Growth Incentive) grant of £500k from Cheltenham Borough Council. The final instalment of this grant was made in 2009. The organisation also received £261k support from the Arts Council which represented 7% of thetotal income for the year.

The current economic climate and imminent public sector cuts following the general election means that 2010 will be a difficult year for many arts and culture organisations. Competition for sponsorship, donations and grants will be fierce. Cheltenham Festivals feels it is well placed to weather this with the new staff structure in place and to seek out relationships yielding sponsorship income in the future. This will be vital given the end of the LABGI investment grant.

The current Arts Council funding for the Festivals for 2010/2011 equates to 6% of the total income for the year. Grants and in-kind support from Cheltenham Borough Council are expected to contribute another 8% in 2010 leaving 86% to be raised from box office takings, other grants, donations, gifts and memberships stressing the importance of business and fundraising income streams to the operation.

Tables showing box office and sponsorship income, expenditure analysis and number of tickets sold by festival are shown below.

FINANCES

8 Annual Review 2009 Finances

JF

£450£500

£400

£350

£300

£250

£200

£150

£100

£50

£0SF MF LF General a/c

Inco

me

(k)

Festivals20092008

JF

£400

£500

£600

£700

£800

£300

£200

£100

£0SF MF LF

Inco

me

(k)

Festivals20092008

JF

80,000

100,000

120,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0SF MF LF

Num

ber o

f tic

kets

sold

Festivals20092008

JazzScienceMusicLiteratureGeneral a/c

2008£198,747£323,288£230,680£207,865£174,341

2009£182,187£485,488£249,037£313,638£263,254

JazzScienceMusicLiterature

2008£280,936£79,752£196,118£670,607

2009£158,496£105,718£221,570£793,859

JazzScienceMusicLiterature

200814,62418,96315,67099,587

200911,69022,71916,616110,297

Sponsorship Income

Ticket Sales

Box Office Income

Annual Review 2009 Finances 9

Sources of Income

2009 £3,840,674

£398,315

£109,200

£100,000

£192,000

£261,359

£1,279,643

£1,500,157

Expenditure

2009 £3,741,965

39% Programme

31% Fees and Salaries

13% Marketing and Sponsorship

12% Administration

5% CBC Box Office and venue hire charged

43% Programme

29% Fees and Salaries

11% Marketing and Sponsorship

12% Administration

5% CBC Box Office and venue hire charged

£198,432£170,465

£455,265£397,098

£469,921£349,692

£1,159,096£932,280

£1,458,981£1,380,867

2008 £3,200,734

36% Sponsorship,donations and misc grants

38% Box Office

7% Arts Council Grant

7% CBC In Kind

5% CBC Infastructure aLABGI grant

3% CBC cash grant

4% Other misc. income

39% Sponsorship,donations and misc grants

33% Box Office

7% Arts Council Grant

5% CBC In Kind

3% CBC Infastructure LABGI grant

3% CBC cash grant

10% Other misc. income

£112,806£109,200

£150,000

£231,537

£228,432

£1,227,413

£1,141,346

2008 £3,230,400

28 APRIL – 4 MAY46 EVENTS65 ARTISTS11,690 TICKETS

The festival year got off to an excellent start artistically with a strong Jazz Festival programme. Once again the Festival inspired impressive critical acclaim, with The Guardian’s John Fordham stating“There are jazz festivals at which the same swing beat and horn-chorus sounds start to merge …But Cheltenham’s bold programme does the opposite so effectively it can border on the disorientating”.

The Festival continued on its path to reach national and international audiences; as well as strengthening its reach locally through an improved fringe programme. A key aim was to create the atmosphere of Cheltenham as a true ‘Jazz Town’ throughout the Festival period. Creating this festival buzz proved a valuable tool in providing benefits demanded by sponsors and local supporters, as well as effectively engaging with new festival-goers. The new fringe programme offered a lively and accessible series of concerts to complement the main programme – delighting local residents and visitors alike.One notable success was a salsa/jive flash mob which took to the bustling high street tosurprise shoppers.

The main programme opened in spectacularstyle with an opening night gospel concert featuring The London Ruach Mass Choir, Mica Paris, Ian Shaw and Alex Wilson at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester. This Festival first featured100 local school pupils and attracted an impressive new audience.

The journey to broaden the Festival’s appeal saw good audiences for more popular acts such as Madeleine Peyroux and BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night - which this year told the tale of Billy Strayhorn and his relationship with Duke Ellington. The South African artist, Hugh Masekela, offered an outstanding performance to a packed Town Hall; and a stunning concert from the Dave Douglas Quintet was the highlight of the Festival for many jazz lovers.

A love of Jazz remains at the Festival’s core and the Sunday programme saw some of the most exciting Jazz names in the world perform in Cheltenham. The programme ranged from outstanding young British talent such as the Portico Quartet; to the best international talent including the hugely expressive Norwegian performer, Arve Henriksen. Virtuoso performances characterised the programme with a memorable performance by guitarist Pat Martino and a grand festival finale with hugely celebrated violinist Nigel Kennedy.

Alongside iconic performers, the Festival celebrated the stars of the future courtesy of the Jerwood Jazz Generation – a showcase for the very best young talent in the UK. James Allsop’s new trio The Golden Age of Steam, Robert Mitchell’s 3i0, and BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artist Tom Arthurs all featured. With unique collaborations and refreshing energy, each concert ofthe Jerwood Jazz Generation confirmedCheltenham’s position at the cutting edgeof the UK jazz scene.

10 Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2009

Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2009 11

3 – 7 JUNE 131 EVENTS190 PARTICIPANTS22,719 TICKETS

Inspired by a multitude of scientific anniversaries the 2009 programme embraced the Festival theme of ‘heresy’. This theme explored the challenges that scientists have faced in their quest to push forward the frontiers of discovery and defy conventional wisdom. Influential heretics Darwin, Galileo and Rutherford were all celebrated by speakers Jim Al-Khalili and James Moore – whilst journalist Ben Goldacre and science authors Simon Singh and Matt Ridley explored the fine line between genius and absurdity!

Throughout the adult programme we delved into a huge range of topics: from Robot Surgeons to Making our Planet Better. Thought-provoking debate remains at the core of the Festival’s ethos and 2009 proved to be no exception. ‘Can we solve the climate change conundrum?’; ‘How much should we know about our own genes?’; and‘Can we have faith and still believe in Evolution?’ were just a few of the big questions to comeunder the microscope.

In The Cutting Edge strand, funded by a Wellcome Trust grant, we explored the gruesome history and innovative future of surgery as well as asking ‘how do you decide if pioneering new surgery is worth the risk?’. We also ran three Anatomy Workshops. Aimed at adults, these hands on sessions provided a unique opportunity for the public to experience dissecting animal organs, and were deemed a huge success by the 100 people who took part.

We programmed Engineering Uncovered with three of our sponsors - Royal Academy of Engineering, Technology Strategy Board and EPSRC. This strand encompassed the broad applications of engineering today, for example in car design, preventing flood damage and in making our homes greener. ‘How Can Science Help Build a Better Future?’ was a question raised by The Impact! Debate featuring Science Minister Lord Paul Drayson and two young, successful technology entrepreneurs. In this key debate they discussed how this country needs science and engineering innovation even more than ever.

The NESTA FameLab Grand Final was once again a highlight of the Festival programme. The national competition, sponsored by both NESTA and Channel 4, ran over many months seeking to identify and train the science communicators of the future who could promote science to a wider audience. Over 130 scientists and engineers competed at five regional heats, to reach the final held during the Festival and win the £10,000 first prize. A fantastic finale took place in the main arena, where we saw Tom Whyntie, an Imperial College graduate now working at CERN, winning with an astonishing performance about how ‘finding nothing can be a success!’

The FameLab® format is now rapidly expandingon an international basis supported by theBritish Council.

12 Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Science Festival 2009

Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Science Festival 2009 13

3 – 18 JULY69 EVENTS125 ARTISTS16,616 TICKETS

The 2009 Music Festival’s main thematic areas were: a focus on the string quartet, in acknowledgment of the Haydn bicentenary; a focus on music by composers of Jewish heritage, in acknowledgment of the Mendelssohn bicentenary, and his own religious/cultural origins; and, to mark the Festival’s 65th anniversary, a celebration of premieres past and present.

‘World Quartets’ featured eight string quartets from around the world, and showed off the format’s diverse repertoire. Ensembles came to Cheltenham from Russia, France, Finland, Australia, Poland and the UK.

The Jewish strand featured a huge range of repertoire. Composers such as Mendelssohn, Alkan, Bernstein, Bloch, Copland, Finzi, Mahler, Philip Glass and Steve Reich combined with émigré music from Henry VIII’s court and Hollywood film music, performed memorably by the John Wilson Orchestra.

New music featured in 2009 included premieres by Harrison Birtwistle, Michael Zev Gordon and Matthias Pintscher, and previous Cheltenham premieres revisited included music by Britten, Hoddinott, Maw, Bennett and Ades. The Festival Academy, freshly minted in 2009 as an accomplished string ensemble, played a big part in this.

The Music Festival took a great leap in the diversity of its musical offerings in 2009. There was klezmer from Kol Simcha, cabaret from Kit and the Widow, classically-geared jazz from the David Rees Williams Trio, a range of film screenings and a series of talks that featured Robert Winston, Toby Faber on Stradivarius and Martin Coath on the science of making string instruments.

Two ambitious exhibitions also greatly enhanced the programme: the complete works of Gerard Hoffnung, 50 years after his death, and Painted Quartets, featuring a range of artists’ responses to the blank canvas of a recycled violin, viola or cello.

The Music Festival’s progress in engaging more deeply with the local community was exemplified by the Fiesta in Pittville Park, collaboration with Cheltenham Strategic Partnership and Cheltenham Borough Council that celebrated Cheltenham’s diverse communities through music, food and entertainment

14 Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Music Festival 2009

Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Music Festival 2009 15

9 – 18 OCTOBER440 EVENTS600 SPEAKERS110,297 TICKETS

Celebrating the Festival’s 60th anniversary, the theme Taking the Temperature united a celebration of the Festival’s past with forward-looking debate exploring key current issues. 10 Guest Directors reflected the breadth of the programme, each programming 2-3 events on their Festival day. The Times also joined the celebration by giving the public the opportunity to vote for their 60 best-loved novels since 1949 in an online poll, with the winner being announced in a dedicated event at the Festival. In addition, the Waterstone’s Cheltenham Decades promotion raised the Festival’s literary profile in a large number of Waterstone’s stores.

Our international programming included a event celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Caine Prize for African Writing with past winners Brian Chikwava and Binyavanga Wainaina, and shortlisted author Chika Unigwe.

We gave three young, up-and-coming non-fiction writers the opportunity to be Writers in Residence throughout the Festival, which included contributing to a dedicated blog on Cheltenham Festivals’ website as well as presenting new work in a special Festival event.

The Festival was also host to the first official public event with the Man Booker prize winner 2009, Hilary Mantel, following the announcement just before the Festival started.

Cross-Festival programming reached a new level in 2009, with Richard Williams talking about his Miles Davis biography (Jazz), Alfred Brendel about his life and work (Music), and Stephen Oppenheimer and Alice Roberts discussing the human journey (Science).

One of our most successful outreach projects, The Big Read, experienced another year of growth, welcoming more local Festival goers and book groups than ever to join together in reading F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Free discussion groups took place across Gloucestershire before the Festival, as well as in Festival venues during the Festival period. This project also went international in 2009, in collaboration with the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

In 2009, the Festival further developed relationships with several key partners. SkyArts recorded two sessions of the Book Showprogramme in front of a live Festival audience. The Wellcome Book Trust Prize shortlist was announced at the Festival, reflecting the fascinating interaction between medicine and literature. Furthermore, Talking Science, a series of events supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of Cheltenham Festivals’ 3-year Society Award explored the challenges of organ donation.

In collaboration with The Summerfield Trust, the Festival programmed two strands of events: one focusing on environmental issues and offering audiences the opportunity to approach the topic from different angles throughout one day; the other looking back at the 20th Anniversary of the “Velvet Revolution” which changed the political landscape of Eastern Europe.

All in all, the Festival had an incredibly successful year, selling 110,297 tickets, increasing total number of tickets sold by 11% on 2008.

16 Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Literature Festival 2009

Annual Review 2009 Cheltenham Literature Festival 2009 17

BUDVAR CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL 2009

Jazz It Up!195 pupils12 bands from 10 Schools 22 workshops

2009 saw the eighth year of Jazz It Up! The project has two key objectives: to offer school jazz bands the chance to perform at an internationally renowned jazz festival, and to give a young professional jazz musician the experience of working in schools as both mentor and composer.

Our theme for 2009 was cartoons, and guitarist and improvisation specialist Sid Peacock led two workshops with each of the 11 bands taking part. The project culminated in performances over the Bank Holiday weekend, taking prime position on the Budvar Stage.

Ruach Gospel Project100 pupils2 schools4 workshops

The London Ruach Mass Choir opened this year’s Jazz Festival with a spectacular, roof-raising concert of soul and gospel music at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester – our first community event in Gloucester – joined by 100 pupils from two Gloucestershire schools. The pupils had a very short time for rehearsals, but they produced an inspiring and polished performance on the night of the concert, in front of a large and wildly enthusiastic audience of over 800 people.

THE TIMES CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2009

Science for SchoolsBookings increased by 17% from 2008.3701 pupils and teachers from 60 schools attended over 2 events each.

Demand from schools for high-quality, stimulating Science events proved stronger than ever.

2009 also saw the introduction of day packages which proved to be a huge success.

Young Scientists’ Day 6 schools35 pupils6 visiting staff

Jim Walton and colleagues planned an amazing Darwin-themed day for 35 gifted and talented children and their teachers at Cheltenham College Junior School. Working in groups of ten, the children got a chance to plan an attempt on the Everest summit with successful summiteer Dom Faulkner; test their reflexes and endurance with Jim Walton; and, perhaps most exciting of all, find out the energy content of popular foods by setting fire to them! We were delighted that Professor Lord Winston was able to join the children for part of the day.

Creative SeedsAn outreach project funded by The Environment Agency and delivered by artist and scientistDr Lizzie Burns with administrative supportfrom the Education team.

Exhibition at Times Cheltenham Science Festival:3 – 7 June8 workshops Over 200 participants from 9 community groups.

Over 200 people took part in Lizzie’s workshops, creating beautiful and striking images based on their thoughts about their surroundings and how they could be improved. These images were displayed at the Town Hall during the Science Festival itself. The Environment Agency will continue working with the Springbank Centre on a long-term basis.

18 Annual Review 2009 Education

Education and Outreach is at the core of Cheltenham Festivals, as is demonstrated by a year round programme of rewarding activity for schools and community groups across Gloucestershire. Education projects often culminate in outstanding events and exhibitions at the Festivals.

Sid was fantastic and gave our young musicians so much confidence.Lisa Thornhill, Pittville School (Jazz It Up!)

I think it’s a really good way of saving the environment but a fun way. I thought it was amazing. Paige, aged 10 (Creative Seeds)

I would like to thank you sincerely for inviting us both to see our pupils rise to the expectations of these fabulous musicians and to share an experience that will be with them forever!! Lynne Burr, Beaufort Community School, Gloucester (Ruach Gospel Choir)

The Discover Zone was highlighted by all students as a real plus. They enjoyed the equipment and it really developed their thinking and questioning of what goes on around them in their everyday lives. Teacher, Cleeve School (Science for Schools)

Annual Review 2009 Education 19

HSBC CHELTENHAM MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009

The Festival Academy and the National Star College14 students12 musicians6 co-ordinators

This was a unique collaboration between the Festival Academy’s brilliant young musicians and students from the National Star College (NSC), a world-renowned centre for young adults with acquired brain injuries. Now in its fifth year, the project was led by the talented young conductor William Carslake. Will led workshops over two days with all the students playing a range of percussion instruments and the Soundbeam - a machine which emits an ultrasonic ray through a device which is positioned so that the player can interrupt the ray with any physical movement.

Sing East Sing West186 children7 schools24 workshops

This year’s singing project was the most ambitious yet. Starring 186 primary school pupils, it took as its theme the music of the Jewish Diaspora. Led by experienced singing teachers Liz Terry and Rachel Gay, both teachers and pupils rose to the challenge of mastering 15 songs, nearly all of which were in a foreign language.

Poet and author Brenda Read-Brown visited the schools and, with input from the children, wrote a lively and engaging script to link the songs together. Generous funding from Sing Up enabled us to engage Joglaresa, a captivating ensemble specialising in Judeo-Arabic rhythms and music,to visit all the schools taking part.

Tunde Jegede and HKB Finn2009 saw the culmination of a 3-year project, generously funded by the Steel Charitable Trust, to bring classical music written and performed by individuals of black and minority ethnic backgrounds to the Cheltenham Music Festival. The project centred around Tunde Jegede, a composer, performer, producer and multi-instrumentalist whose work straddles traditional West African and Western classical music, as well as hip hop and R and B. He specialises in playing the kora, a complex and beautiful ancient stringed instrument from West Africa, and cello.

The Mantra Project: Musical Conversations across the Indian Ocean2 workshops3 musicians34 pupils

This year saw an exciting collaboration between young musicians from Chosen Hill School in Churchdown, the critically-acclaimed Orlando Consort, and a clutch of brilliant and award-winning musicians specialising in Indian instruments and music. Pupils were introduced to diverse musical traditions and helped to devise their own improvisations and compositions.

Painted Quartets 27 schools, 3 children’s centres, 2 day centres, 1 leisure centre, The National Star College, 1 troop of Brownies, 1 library

A visual arts companion to the Music Festival, Painted Quartets was a major exhibition which saw redundant violas, violins and cellos transformed into unique works of art by artists. The outreach component gave schools and community groups the opportunity to participate by painting and decorating two-dimensional violins made of card. Accompanying notes and a CD introducing string quartet music added an extra dimension to this popular project. 1468 violins made a fantastically eye-catching exhibition at the Brewery Complex in Cheltenham town centre throughout the duration ofthe Festival.

Gamelan - Fiesta in the ParkIn collaboration with the Cheltenham Strategic Partnership, and as part of the Virtual School activities programme this major community event brought together free and outdoor Festival events and performances with a host of local community groups. The Cheltenham Gamelan featured in two performances at this fun-packed family afternoon. Children attended six gamelan workshops where they explored the cultural background of the gamelan, learned to play three traditional pieces, and sang Javanese songs, accompanied by the Community Gamelan Players.

Gamelan - HMP Eastwood Park20 prisoners11 Community Players

In collaboration with Good Vibrations our gamelan made its second visit to Eastwood Park women’s prison for a week of intensive workshops with 20 prisoners culminating in a concert in the prison.

Free for Schools10 schools11 concerts244 tickets

This year, we once again offered free tickets to school groups for any of the Music Festival concerts, subject to availability.

THE TIMES CHELTENHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Time Will TellA short story slamFunded by BBC OutreachIn association with BBC Radio Gloucestershire

6 schools143 pupils24 workshops1 performance at Cheltenham Town Hall

We celebrated the Literature Festival’s 60th

birthday with an outstanding Short Story Slam – Time Will Tell. Taking a decade from the Festival’s history as their inspiration, six Gloucestershire schools each wrote a short story – and with the help of an experienced drama practitioner and their own ‘Decade Detective’ developed the story into a final performance fit for the Festival stage.

Young Writers’ DayIn association with Cheltenham College Junior School

30 children7 participating teachers

As part of our programme for Gifted and Talented primary schoolchildren, we held our second Young Writers’ Day at Cheltenham College Junior School – especially designed to engage local children (year 5-6) who have been identified as gifted and talented. In this day of literary creativity teachers accompany the students meaning that they are equipped with the perfect tools to take the enthusiasm for creative writing back totheir classrooms.

This year the theme was Writing for Laughs, and the day was led by the popular comic author Tony Bradman (Dilly the Dinosaur, the Bluebeards series, and many more titles for children). We considered such questions as “What is funny?” “Why is timing important?” “How do you write a joke?”

Book It! for Schools 2009Revenue up by 21% (£16,165 in 2008, £19,639 in 2009)5577 pupils and their teachers attended one event or more56 schools

Our Book It! for schools programme continues to be a keenly anticipated highlight of the new school year. In 2009 we were delighted to welcome the literary superstar Anthony Horowitz, ex-children’s Laureates Anne Fine and Michael Morpurgo and Julia Donaldson, creator of the much-loved Gruffalo stories. New initiatives such as our themed packages featuring a workshop and a linked author event were very popular. A busy programme of 22 events peaked on Friday 16 October, when nearly 2,000 teachers and pupils arrived at the Town Hall within an hour.

20 Annual Review 2009 Education

Annual Review 2009 Education 21

The women gained so much again from the project this year... Their contributions were very moving. Not only did their social skills markedly improve over the week but they found it very relaxing and, for a brief period, it helped them to forget all their troubles. Caroline Thompson, education officer at Eastwood Park

The day was very good, and sparked mass enthusiasm which continued into school over half term. Tiffany Baker, St Marks C of E Junior School

22 Annual Review 2009 Jazz Generation Performers

JERWOOD JAZZ GENERATION PERFORMERS

The Golden Age of SteamThis new commission came about following James Allsopp and Tim Giles’ previous appearance at Cheltenham with the band Fraud which is one of the all time successes of the Jerwood scheme.  Following their performance in Cheltenham, Fraud went on to make a BBC Jazz Award winning recording and to perform two national tours becoming one of the top young UK bands.

This new project, The Golden Age of Steamwas a more contemplative trio which featured the young pianist and keyboard playerKit Downes alongside Alsopp and Giles.The gig was recorded for BBC Radio 3’sJazz on 3 programme. 

James Allsopp Baritone SaxophoneKit Downes Hammond OrganTim Giles Drums

Nikki Yeoh Trio Infinitum with John Surman  This was a new commission and also a special collaboration between renowned reeds player John Surman and Jerwood artist Nikki Yeoh. This idea was a result of Nikki’s participation at the Jerwood Take 5 Seminar, where John is a Musical Director.  The Festival commissioned Nikki to write a series of pieces to feature John Surman, who acted as a mentor to Nikki throughout the project.  Unfortunately there was a major power cut at the Everyman Theatre on the Saturday afternoon which led to the cancellation of the gig. However one piece was performed on the Sunday before the Jack DeJohnette concert and was very well received. 

Nikki Yeoh PianoJohn Surman Saxophones/ClarinetsMichael Mondesir BassMark Mondesir Drums

Tom Arthurs’ Subtopia  Trumpeter Tom played in two concerts and gave one masterclass at Cheltenham this year. As well as playing with this new group of his, he was part of the Jack DeJohnette Jerwood Allstars.  Tom has been resident in Berlin for a little time and this new band consisted of people he works with there, plus longstanding colleague Ingrid Laubrock, also German, but now resident in London and New York.  Tom’s writing has always shown a lot of classical influences in his writing and this music was attractive yet introspective.

Tom Arthurs Flügelhorn, Trumpet Ingrid Laubrock SaxophoneLothar Ohlmeier Bass Clarinet, Clarinet Andreas Willers GuitarRudi Fischerlehner Drums

Jack DeJohnette & Jerwood AllstarsThis project came about as a result of Jack’s presence at the 2008 festival when our Chief Executive was discussing with him Cheltenham Festivals ambition for young artists. He then expressed a desire to work with young UK musicians.  The band selected included a mix of players from the Jerwood Rising Stars and Jerwood Take 5 schemes.  Each member of the band was invited to contribute material and Jack brought some of his own compositions.  They rehearsed extensively in London the day before the concert and it was clear that the UK band members found the experience of working with Jack Dejohnette very inspiring. BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 programme also recorded this set at the Festival.

Jack DeJohnette DrumsTom Arthurs TrumpetNathaniel Facey Alto SaxophoneShabaka Hutchings Tenor Saxophone & ClarinetsGareth Lockrane FluteTom Cawley PianoNeil Charles BassChris Sharkey Guitar

Robert Mitchell 3io  Robert was one of the first Jerwood Rising Stars with his group Panacea and having made a new album it was time to have Robert back. This performance by his relatively new trio sold out the Pillar Room and was extremely well received by the audience.  The interaction between Robert on piano and the drummer Richard Spaven, who subtly brings in a variety of rhythms from hip hop and other urban forms into his drumming, gives the trio a different feel from the general jazz piano trio. BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 programme also recorded this setat the Festival.

Robert Mitchell PianoTom Mason BassRichard Spaven Drums

Chris Bowden’s Tomorrow Band  This trio is led by Chris Bowden who has been an inspirational player on the Birmingham and London scenes for many years and has a unique voice on saxophone.  He has been working with the trio for a few years and it is beginning to get recognition beyond Birmingham. 

Chris Bowden Alto SaxophoneBen Markland BassNeil Bullock Drums

NESTA FAMELAB & FAMELAB INTERNATIONAL

Annual Review 2009 Famelab International Winners & Finalists 23

A highlight in 2009 was NESTA FameLab, our exciting national competition to find the new voices of science. It ran for the 4th time in the UK, uncovering an amazing amount of new talent from across the country. 109 scientists, engineers and mathematicians came to the 5 regional audition heats. These were held in Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Oxford and London. We also introduced a new entry route – with participants able to enter by video. At each of the 5 regional heats one video entrant was chosen to leap directly into that regional final. This increased the number of participants by 34% allowing even more people to enter from across the country. Ten finalists were chosen from the 5 heats and they all took part in a weekend masterclass in Bristol, where they were able to develop their presenting skills and experience filming and TV presenting.

The grand final took place at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival on 5th June, where Tom Whyntie was crowned the national champion and winner of £10,000. Tom and three other finals also won the chance to film ‘three minute wonders’ for Channel 4.

For the third year in a row, FameLab international ran in 9 South East European countries in 2009. The winners from each of the national competitions won a trip to the UK to take part in FameLab International competition and to be part of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival. Mirko Djordjevic from Serbia won the competition with an exceptionaltalk about the science of sexual attractionin mammals.

The legacy of FameLab continues with many FameLabbers from the three previous UK competitions taking part in the festival in various capacities – adult events, schools and family events and free activities in the gardens.

24 Annual Review 2009 Music Festival Commissions & Premieres 2009

MUSIC FESTIVAL COMMISSIONS & PREMIERES 2009

FESTIVAL ACADEMY PLAYERS

Harrison Birtwistle Bogenstrich (UK)Performed by Roderick Williams, voice,Adrian Brendel, cello and Till Fellner, pianoPittville Pump Room UK Première

Felix Mendelssohn VariationsPerformed by Steven Isserlis, celloPittville Pump Room UK Première

Michael Zev GordonA Pebble in the Pond (world)Performed by the Festival Academy SoloistsHoly Apostles Church World Première

Huw WatkinsFour InventionsPerformed by Huw Watkins, pianoHoly Apostles Church World Première

Tunde JegedeReminiscent Mirror (world)Performed by the Festival AcademyPittville Pump Room World Première

Alexander GoehrManere (UK)Performed by the Nash EnsemblePittville Pump Room UK Première

Philip GrangeCloud AtlasPerformed by the National Youth Wind Ensemble and National Youth Chamber OrchestraPittville Pump Room World Première

Shiva Fesharekiinsistent distortionsPerformed by the National Youth Wind Ensemble and National Youth Chamber OrchestraPittville Pump Room World Première

Matthias PintscherStudy IV for Treatise on the VielPerformed by Quatuor DiotimaPittville Pump Room UK Première

Michael Zev GordonMandelstam Settings (world)Performed by Catherine Hopper, mezzo-soprano, and Simon Lepper, pianoPittville Pump Room World Première

Sasha Siemfrom the white dictionary (world)Performed by Catherine Hopper, mezzo-soprano, and Tanya Houghton, harpPittville Pump Room World Première

ArtistsNeil Thomson ConductorTom Hankey ViolinAlex Wood ViolinCaroline Henbest ViolaRobin Michael Cello

StudentsGuy Button ViolinAlexandru-Catalin Chelaru ViolinLucy McKay ViolinKathryn Riley ViolinRuth Rimer ViolinJames Sandalls ViolinSarah Sew ViolinMaria Wernberg ViolinBethany Britt ViolaManuela Mocanu ViolaKirsten Jensen CelloJonathan Rees CelloDavid Cousins Double Bass

WELLCOME TRUST EVENTS

Annual Review 2009 Wellcome Trust Events 25

LabOratoryIn January, 2009 the Wellcome Trust awarded Cheltenham Festivals a grant of £200,000 to undertake a project to increase public engagement in biomedical science. LabOratory, as it has subsequently become known, is a hugely exciting initiative which works across the four festivals, weaving biomedical strands into the event programming.

During the first part of 2009 a Think Tank was appointed to provide creative input into the project. Membership of the group includes Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Mr Quentin Cooper, Ms Maggie Gee, Professor Anthony Grayling, Dr Dan Glaser, Mr Robin Ince, Professor Raymond Tallis and Aaron Williamon.

The first LabOratory events appeared at the Jazz Festival in April 2009 with a series of events exploring the impact of brain surgery on Pat Martino. Including a screening of Ian Knox’s Martino Unsung, and a question and answer session with Pat Martino himself this provided an inspiring start to the partnership.

At the Literature Festival in October, Cheltenham audiences were invited to consider the challenges of organ donation. Following complementary sessions exploring the ethical and scientific background of the issues, the series concluded in a high profile panel debate. The Festival also marked the inaugural Wellcome Trust Book Prize in an exclusive event with the award judges, which also saw the announcement of the 2009 shortlist.

The relationship with the Wellcome Trust continued outside of LabOratory at the Science Festival in June with ‘The Cutting Edge’ series. These events delved into the nature of healing and the enormous risks that pioneering surgeons, patients and engineers take to advance surgical technique and prolong human life. Events even included the chance for the public to try their hand at on site dissection.

26 Annual Review 2009 Sponsors & Supporters

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERSMedia PartnersBBC Radio 3Channel 4Gloucestershire MediaPlush MusicSky ArtsThe Daily Telegraph

Education PartnerEDF Energy

Major SponsorsBond Aviation GroupCHK CharitiesConservatoires UKHSBCLexusLord AshcroftMackwoods Fine TeaMessier-DowtyNotgrove Charitable TrustResearch Councils UKThe Oldham FoundationUCASUniversity of GloucestershireWillans LLP

Festival Partners AmecBritish CouncilCharles RussellChosen Hill SchoolForesightGE AviationGulliversHighland ParkIOP PublishingJazzwiseKier MossKing's College LondonPeace PennelsRensburg SheppardsTechnology Strategy BoardThe Booker Prize FoundationThe DaffodilThe London LibraryThe Royal Academy of EngineeringUCLWintonWoman and HomeYamaha

Associate SponsorsALCSBCSBerkhampstead SchoolBonne MamanChase DistilleryCheltenham CollegeCheltenham RacecourseCity of London SchoolCotswold LifeCountry LifeCouttsCowley ManorCreed CateringDean Close SchoolDocumentGloucestershire Wildlife TrustGQHotel Du VinKeats Shelley Memorial AssociationKing's School GloucesterLords of the ManorMalvern CollegeMills and BoonMobenn MarqueesMolton BrownMorning AdvertiserNC3RsNelson ThornesNorwegian EmbassySalsa SquadSavillsShooting FoodSign CraftSing UpSpirax SarcoStuart HolmesTaylor BrothersThe BreweryThe Cheltenham Ladies' CollegeThe Fiery Beacon GalleryThe PremisesThe Royal SocityThinwhiteWiggin Osborne Fullerlove

Title Sponsors

Prinicipal Sponsors

Regular Funders

PATRONS

Annual Review 2009 Patrons 27

Life PatronCharles FisherGraham and Eileen Lockwood

Corporate PatronHSBCWillans LLP Solicitors

Platinum PatronPeter and Anne BondJennifer Bryant-PearsonDominic Collier in memory of Karen HoodMichael and Angela CronkJeremy HitchinsJonathan and Cassinha HitchinsStephen and Tania HitchinsSimon and Emma KeswickHoward and Jay MiltonIn memory of Jørgen Philip-Sørensen

Gold PatronAnonymousDavid and Clare AstorJack and Dora BlackSue and Mark BlanchfieldEleanor BudgeCharlie ChanClive Coates and Ann MurrayStuart and Gillian CorbynJanet and Jean-François CristauMichael and Felicia CrystalWallace and Morag DobbinPeter and Sue ElliottLord and Lady HoffmannElizabeth JacobsSir Peter and Lady MarychurchFiona McLeodSir Michael McWilliamThe Helena Oldacre TrustEsther and Peter SmedvigFiona and David SymondsonGiles and Michelle ThorleyJanet Wedge and Charles MiddletonSteve and Eugenia WinwoodPeter and Alison Yiangou

Festival PatronKate AdieAnonymousChris BaylisMark and Maria BentleyStephen and Victoria BondJonathan and Daphne CarrRobert Cawthorne and Catherine WhiteSimon CollingsChristopher DreyfusViscount and Viscountess EsherJames FlemingKate FlemingMaurice GranProfessor A C GraylingHuw and Nicki Gwynn-JonesMarianne HintonStephen HodgeAnthony Hoffman and Dr Christine Facer HoffmanRichard and Peta HoyleKeith JagoMichael and Elizabeth JonesMartin KnightLady Elaine MarriottRosamund and Geoff MarshallMark McKergow and Jenny ClarkeMary and Timothy MitchellProfessor Angela NewingRobert PadgettSir David and Lady PepperLeslie PerrinMaggie PhillipsHugh Poole-WarrenJonathon PorrittPatricia Routledge CBEKeith SalwayLavinia SidgwickJonathan and Gail TaylorProfessor Lord WinstonAnne WoodMichael and Jacqueline Woof

For further information on the Patrons’ Scheme please contactArlene McGlynn, Patrons Manager01242 775857arlene.mcglynn@cheltenhamfestivals.com

Single Event and In-Kind SponsorsBattledown BreweryBBCBritish Pharmacological SocietyComfort Control DesignDaphne Jackson TrustFostersGlide Media MarketingLower Slaughter ManorMajorlift HydraulicMercure Cheltenham Queen's HotelMRG Systems LtdRoyal Well TavernTechniquestThe Curry CornerThe Department of Meteorology, University of ReadingThe Greenway HotelThe Open UniversityThe Science MuseumThe Wheatsheaf

Individual SupportersAnonymousEleanor BudgeBeryl Calver-JonesKamala Chelliah-BoardmanMichael and Angela CronkClive Coates and Ann MurrayJohn EadenRosemary HarveyElizabeth JacobsGraham and Eileen LockwoodSir Peter and Lady MarychurchSir Michael McWilliamMary Mackenzie, Richard Walton and FriendsGerry MattockNeil and Ann ParrackPatricia Routledge CBEAnne and Lloyd SurgenorJonathan TaylorDiana Woolley

Trusts and FoundationsAlan Cadbury TrustAlkan SocietyBerners TrustBritten Pears FoundationDelius TrustDelius TrustD'Oyly Carte Charitable TrustGarfield WestonGeorge Budge TrustHelena Oldacre TrustHolst FoundationHoneybourne TrustLincoln Financial GroupPRSFQuenington Sculpture TrustRVW TrustSammermar TrustSteel Charitable TrustThe Sir Jules Thorn Charitable TrustClifford Taylor Young Artist Series(Alan Taylor)

Acknowledgements

PresidentDame Judi Dench CH

Vice-PresidentsEleanor Budge Charles Fisher Sir John Manduell CBE Sir Peter Marychurch KCMG Graham Lockwood Edward Gillespie Ion Trewin

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