Roman River Festival 2008

The Roman River Festival is a festival of French music, food, film and culture to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the composer Olivier Messiaen. The event takes place from Thursday 9th until Sunday 12th October 2008 at various locations in the coastal region of north-east Essex.

The festival has invited some of the foremost chamber musicians of their generation to play the dramatic and haunting Quartet for the End of Time in an award-winning local theatre. The festival's song recital will be given in the candlelit surroundings of Fingringhoe Church by the soprano Katerina Mina.

The festival will also feature a Louis Malle film and morning concerts in East Mersea and Abberton churches. Zoe Rahman will showcase her new jazz world fusion album Where rivers meet. The talented young viol player Liam Byrne will perform the rich and expressive music of Marin Marais.

The programme of events is as follows:
FILM
7.30pm Thursday 9 October, Fingringhoe village hall - Milou en Mai Louis Malle

LAKESIDE CONCERT
7.30pm Friday 10 October, Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex - Simon Blendis violin Kate Gould cello; Duncan Prescott clarinet Simon Crawford-Phillips piano; Debussy Rhapsody Chopin Polonaise; Franck Sonata for violin and piano Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time.

BACH AT ABBERTON CHURCH
11am Saturday 11th October, St Andrew's Church, Abberton - Juliet Jopling viola; Bach Suite in C major, arr viola.

CANDLELIT CONCERT
7.30pm Saturday 11 October, St Andrew's Church, Fingringhoe - Katerina Mina soprano Simon Crawford-Phillips piano; Saint-Saëns, Chausson, Bizet & Schumann.

MARIN MARAIS AT EAST MERSEA CHURCH
11am Sunday 12 October, St Edmund, King and Martyr, East Mersea - Liam Byrne and Caroline Ritchie viols; Marin Marais.

ZOE RAHMAN - JAZZ CONCERT & SUPPER
Sunday 7 October, Fingringhoe Village Hall - Zoe Rahman piano Idris Rahman clarinet.

Tickets
Tickets for those aged 30 and under are priced at £3 per concert with a free glass of wine. A festival pass gives a discount of 20% on all the concerts, and a 'foursome' gives a further 5% discount on four passes. For more information please telephone 01206 729 356.

Roman River Festival takes place in various villages in a beautiful coastal region of north-east Essex, with local wine and beer, smoked fish and wild scenery. There are a choice of B&Bs and places to eat in the area. The area is a few minutes drive from Colchester, within two hours drive of London and Cambridge and within an hours drive of Ipswich.

More information will be here when available.

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