Member Spotlight July 2024 - Lincoln Music and Drama Festival
Member Spotlight July 2024 - Lincoln Music and Drama Festival
Steeped in an 85-year history, with performers going on to be accomplished pianists, composers and even Prime Ministers, Lincoln Music and Drama Festival has been an important part of the cultural fabric of Lincolnshire for many generations.
Despite this illustrious past, the festival is now facing an uncertain future. The closure of the festival is imminent unless personnel can be found to take the festival into 2025 and beyond. The festival is urging volunteers to come forward to secure its future.
Paul Hill, the outgoing Chair of the festival, spoke to BIFF about the history of the festival, what volunteering for the last 17 years has meant to him and what the community and young performers would lose if the festival were to close.
We aim to include performers of all ages
Set in the historic city of Lincoln, in the heart of Lincolnshire, Lincoln Music and Drama Festival was founded in 1936 by the organist of Lincoln Cathedral, Dr Gordon Slater.
The festival runs during the first two weeks in March, covering a multitude of classes in speech, drama and music. Their current home is the Central Methodist Church and, despite taking a hit on entries since the pandemic, there were four days of speech and drama and five days of music during the 2024 festival. In an average year, the festival sees over 2000 performers grace its stages.
Paul Hill took over as Chair in 2007, having performed at the festival since 1989. “I’ve been a lifelong performer. I’m a singer and part-time church organist and I’ve also done some amateur dramatics” Paul explains. “My wife sings as well. We met in a choir 45 years ago and have sung together ever since!”.
“When I retired in 2006, I was asked if I would consider becoming the Vice Chairman of the festival. Of course, as soon as I said I would, the Chair announced her retirement! I became the Chair in 2007 and have been in that position ever since”.
The festival has constantly evolved throughout its history, including the introduction of their new ‘Song from a Musical, Theatre Show or Film’ class. The class has been so popular, it had to be split due to the high number of entries. The classes may evolve and change but the ethos of the festival has remained.
“We aim to include performers of all ages.” Paul notes about the festival. “I make it my duty to be on hands the whole time. I’m at every session at the festival. To see the youngsters starting out and develop over the years, and benefit from the input of the adjudicators and performing in front of an audience, it warms the heart”.
With many years and thousands of entries to its name, the festival has had a number of performers who have gone on to lead successful careers.
“Sir Neville Marriner, the famous conductor and violinist, took part in the very first festival. The adjudicator suggested that he ‘furthered his studies’ and, as he told me in a lovely e-mail years ago, the rest was history”.
“There was a young pianist who took part in the early 1950s. She didn’t do very well but she found other avenues for her talents and became our first female prime minister. That was Margaret Thatcher!”.
“We’ve also had Jane Eaglen, the soprano, Ashley Wass, the pianist, and the current Director of Music at York Minster, Robert Sharpe”.
But, as Paul explains, it’s not only performers going down a professional performing arts route that owe their success to the festival.
“Ursula Lidbetter, who recently retired as chair of the Lincolnshire Co-operative Society, took part in the festival from the age of six and I can remember her performing Tennyson’s poetry very well. She grew up in the festival and she makes no secret that without that experience through her younger days, she wouldn’t have been able to do the job she did with a lot of public-facing activity”.
I look back on my service with pride on being able to do that for so long, but we can’t go on forever
However, despite the continued popularity of the festival, it faces an uncertain future.
“The Chairs of Music and Speech & Drama, and myself as Chair, we are all well-past retirement.” Paul explains. “With great reluctance, we’ve taken the decision that the present team cannot continue to run the festival and this year’s would be the last.”
The festival is looking for replacements for the Chair roles, as well as General Secretary, Trophies' Official and Stewards’ Coordinator. However, Paul notes that a team would be the best option to take over the running of the festival.
“I don’t think it’s a case anymore of individual volunteers coming forward as we need some cohesion, and a group is better working together”.
“We recognise that if a group comes forward and can take this on, the format of the festival may change, but there is a wealth of experience in the present team and I’m sure we’ll be able to offer support”.
“We’ve been appealing for people to come forward and shadow us in our programme, on our website, and at well attended sessions. Nobody has come forward to offer that sort of continuity”.
Paul outlines some of the work that taking on these roles would involve.
“For the Chairs of the Sections, the responsibilities are there throughout the year, but it’s little bursts of activity. You need to prepare a syllabus, which we put out for the festival in March, and then process the entries in mid-January. There’s quite a lot of work in January setting the programme”.
Some of the other roles include the General Secretary who would deal with the administration of the festival, the Trophies’ Official who will need to keep track of over 80 trophies awarded by the festival, and the Stewards’ Coordinator, who manages the stewards that volunteer for the festival every year.
“In the widest sense, we have a wonderful cultural tradition in this country of amateur performers and have the opportunity to give young performers in particular, a chance to perform in front of not only an audience, but a professional adjudicator to receive constructive criticism. That is so worthwhile, and I feel that, having been able to provide that opportunity and to see the results, has given me a huge amount of satisfaction”.
“I look back on my service with pride on being able to do that for so long, but we can’t go on forever” Paul notes “It’s for other people to come forward”.
The country and this area are going to lose out very seriously if we can’t offer these opportunities
The potential closing of the festival could have a devastating cultural impact on the area and the thousands of performers who take part. This is why Paul is working hard to try and secure succession for the festival.
“We still see people who took part in the festival years ago. We have parents coming with their children and they say we took part when we were at school”.
“The country and this area are going to lose out very seriously if we can’t offer these opportunities”.
Volunteering at the festival for so many years has created a lifetime of memories for Paul, and he recounts his favourite and most poignant memory from the festival.
“In 2020 we managed to stage the festival. It was immediately before lockdown. We completed the festival in the first fortnight in March and lockdown came in during that week. I was part of a group, The Hungate Singers, that has taken part in every single festival since 1987”.
“During the 2020 festival, our conductor, Greg Wright, was terminally ill. He died in the April having taken part in the festival in March and there was one piece, ‘Even When He Is Silent’ based on a poem which was found on a wall in Auschwitz and put to music by a Norwegian composer. It’s a very moving piece and that was one of the pieces we sang. It was one of Greg’s last performances with us and we won the class. That will stay with me”.