PATRON: HRH THE COUNTESS OF WESSEX GCVO
Imagine.
The John Adie Memorial Appeal
Registered charity (No. 1095723) | Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England and Wales (No. 4242801)
Registered Office: Barkham, Sandyway, South Molton, Devon, EX36 3LU
Imagination
A N D A L E A P O F FA I T H
‘You have created
something very special
with the Two Moors’
PETROC TRELAWNEY,
BBC CLASSICAL MUSIC
PRESENTER
Starting a festival, especially one in a rural
area, and gaining international renown
is remarkable enough, but maintaining
and developing it over fifteen years with
dedication, expertise and imagination is
an exceptional achievement - as well as a
huge leap of faith.
John Adie, together with his wife Penny,
did just that.
The value the Festival brings to artists
and eager, blossoming audiences and
participants is incalculable.
Penny’s imaginative programming has
significantly increased the profile of the
region’s cultural identity. Local people
of all ages have joined the Festival to
create outstanding music and lasting
memories. What’s more, the Festival
indirectly injects well over £350,000 a
year into the local economy.
This is John’s legacy and you
can be part of supporting it.
Imagine.
‘John and Penny have lit the touch paper with
immeasurable aplomb but - suitably in John Adie’s
memory - a new challenge is about to begin’
JONATHAN FREEMAN-ATTWOOD,
PRINCIPAL ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC
John died following a short illness during the 2015 Festival. The
Imagine appeal has been launched to build on his extraordinary
legacy and to develop aspects of the Festival that were especially
important to him and remain central to the Two Moors’ mission -
Extraordinary music in unexpected places
• creating outstanding new opportunities for young musicians,
composers and the international stars of the future
• reaching out to local people of all ages and encouraging them
to join in • bringing the world’s most esteemed artists
to the smallest moorland towns and villages
thetwomoorsfestival.co.uk/imagine
Stretching
imaginations
‘Thank you so much for
choosing me to play the dove.
I really enjoyed doing it and
watching it. If you know of
any other parts you think
I could do in the future, I
would love to have a go’
CHILD PARTICIPANT IN
THE COMMISSIONED OPERA,
‘TARKA THE OTTER’
Imagine.
John was always thrilled by events
that involved people of all ages and
he loved to encourage new audiences.
He was also delighted by the vitality
that the new works commissioned by
Penny brought to the Festival.
Although John was too ill during
last year’s festival to see the fruits
of his labours, he would have been
proud of the success of the specially
commissioned Tarka the Otter Opera
project. The original idea behind this
was to involve large numbers of local
adults and children. The excitement
and enjoyment it brought to those
involved fully reflected this.
‘Working in such an idyllic
environment is a perfect catalyst
for focus and inspiration…’
GILDAS QUARTET
John would have been delighted that both the Gildas Quartet
and Joel Munday, participants in the Residencies programme
and winner of the Young Musicians Platform Competition
respectively, are featured artists at the 2016 Festival.
‘I can honestly say that the Young Musicians
Platform Competition has been among the best
musical experiences of my life so far’
JOEL MUNDAY, VIOLINIST, 2016 COMPETITION WINNER
thetwomoorsfestival.co.uk/imagine
Imaginative
opportunities
John was always chuffed to bits
to see how much pleasure – and
learning benefit – the Festival’s
orchestral project brings to
thirty young people a year, each
one thrilled to be given the
opportunity to rehearse and
perform alongside professional
orchestral musicians in Exeter’s
glorious cathedral.
‘Two Moors Festival stands alone with the imaginative
opportunities it offers to young musicians in the Southwest…
for example, participating in operas or playing alongside the
Orchestra of the Swan in a performance of Elgar’s
Cello Concerto that I gave with them in Exeter Cathedral.
Their standard is always exceptional’
JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER
Imagine.
The Festival’s Patron, Her Royal Highness,
The Countess of Wessex seen here with
Artistic Director, Penny Adie
Artistic Director and
John Adie’s wife Penny,
leads the Imagine appeal
Many of us remember the pall of
gloom that descended over the British
countryside in 2001. In Britain’s first
major outbreak of foot-and-mouth for
more than thirty years, nearly 6.5 million
sheep, cattle and pigs were slaughtered
and burning pyres of animal carcases
became the ghastly symbol of the disease.
It ripped the heart out of rural Britain.
As an Exmoor resident and musician
who has always believed in the
transformational power of music, I
instinctively knew I had to do something.
That ‘something’ was to be a week of
stunning music-making by renowned
musicians in remote villages on the two
moors of Exmoor and Dartmoor. Its aim
was to help regenerate the local economy
and bring some much needed cheer to
people’s lives. When I pitched the idea to
my husband John, his resigned response
was, “Oh no, not another one”.
And so the Two Moors Festival was born.
From that moment, John devoted his life
to delivering our vision and raising the
money to enable the Festival to take
place. Initially intended as a one-off
event, the Two Moors Festival quickly
took on a life of its own. Over the next
fifteen years John miraculously raised
over £1.5 million to sustain what has
become an internationally revered
classical music festival and a treasured
fixture in many diaries.
John’s untimely death on the penultimate
day of the 2015 Festival at just sixty-nine
years of age meant that he did not have
the opportunity to reflect fully on his
achievements. To those of us who are
left, however, one thing is abundantly
clear: as the Festival developed and
grew under John’s behind-the-scenes
direction, so too did its impact and
the calibre of musicians. John has left
behind not only a void where his larger
than life presence once was, but also an
extraordinary legacy.
Every donation, gift, grant or sponsorship
to the Imagine appeal will make a
huge difference to our ability to deliver
exceptional music in this exquisite corner
of England. Your valued support will also
enable us to build on John’s work to create
new platforms for talented young artists
–the classical musicians of the future.
Penny Adie mbe
thetwomoorsfestival.co.uk/imagine
Imagining the future
Our initial goal is to raise £250,000.
Now is the perfect time to build on John and Penny’s achievements and, with
your help, to establish the Festival as one of the most engaging, imaginative
and durable music festivals in the world. Funds raised will enable us to unlock
further resources to invest in the Festival’s long-term future.
• A gift of £20,000 will secure a new commission
• A gift of £10,000 will support the Young Musicians Platform Competition
• A gift of £5,000 will pay for a Residency
• A gift of £2,500 will fund a day’s rehearsal for students with a major orchestra
• A gift of £1,000 will facilitate a composition workshop in a local school
Will you join us?
We invite individuals, businesses, trusts and foundations to help us to reach
our initial target by 30 April 2017, through…
• Making a one-off or recurring monthly donation
• Leaving a legacy in your will or making an in memoriam gift
• Making a grant
• Becoming a named sponsor of a new commission or a Residency
• Donating to the retiring collections in John’s name at the Festival
• Telling others about the Festival, and encouraging them to support this appeal
To make a donation, please visit:
www.thetwomoorsfestival.co.uk/imagine
Karen Malim, Festival Manager
T +44 (0)7964 194530
E [email protected]