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Britten Pears Arts
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Britten Pears Arts
Britten Pears Arts is a large music education organisation based in Suffolk, England. It aims to continue the legacy of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, and to promote the enjoyment and experience of music for all. It is a registered charity.
The charity manages two historic locations on the Suffolk coast: Snape Maltings Concert Hall, a converted Victorian malting building on the edge of the River Alde in the village of Snape, Suffolk, and The Red House, the former home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. The organisation was founded by Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Eric Crozier in 1947 as an organisation to present the first Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts in 1948.
Each year Britten Pears Arts promotes the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts, the Snape Proms, concert series at Easter and October, together with a year-round performance programme at Snape Maltings Concert Hall and other venues on the Snape site. The Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, formerly known as the Britten–Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies, provides development opportunities for musicians early in their professional lives, between the ages of 18 and 25. Aldeburgh Young Musicians offers a programme of music mentoring for "promising young musicians" aged 10–18. Aldeburgh Education offers an annual programme of work involving the wider community, while Aldeburgh Residencies provides opportunities for established artists to develop their creative talents.
While touring with the English Opera Group in Europe in 1947, the composer Benjamin Britten, tenor Peter Pears and producer Eric Crozier developed the idea of a music festival in Aldeburgh, where Britten had a house on Crag Path. An executive committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Countess of Cranbrook and the first meeting took place at Thellusson Lodge, Aldeburgh on 27 October 1947. The first Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts was held from 5 to 12 June 1948, under the Artistic Direction of Britten, Pears and Crozier, with the Earl of Harewood as president and Elizabeth Sweeting as general manager.
Needing to expand the Festival into larger premises, in 1967, the Festival management acquired a lease on disused Victorian buildings at Snape Maltings, and converted the largest of the redundant malthouses into Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, no. 980281, on 21 May 1970 under the name of Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd. to manage the Snape buildings and develop further buildings on the site. The initial subscribers were Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Imogen Holst, Fidelity, Countess of Cranbrook, Marion, Countess of Harewood, Charles Gifford and The Lord Goodman. The company was registered with the Charity Commission as the Aldeburgh Foundation, registration number 261383, on 23 July 1970. The company changed its name to Aldeburgh Festival–Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd (known as AF-SMF) on 7 September 1976, and to Aldeburgh Foundation on 12 October 1983. In November 1997, the name of the company was changed to Aldeburgh Productions, and from July 2006 until the merger in April 2020 it had the name Aldeburgh Music.
Following its successful launch in 1948, the Aldeburgh Festival expanded year by year until it outgrew the available venues in the town. When redundant malting buildings in Snape became available in 1965, an initial 25-year lease was taken on the largest of the Victorian malthouses, and it was converted by Arup Associates (architects and engineers) and Wm. C. Reade (builders) into Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The 820-seat Hall was opened by HM The Queen on 2 June 1967. From that date, the main events of the annual Festival were relocated to Snape Maltings Concert Hall. A major fire in 1969 led to the re-development of the site, re-opening the following year, and gradually what was once a Concert Hall for a three-week Festival, became a year-round venue, including the introduction in the 1980s of the annual Snape Proms.
From the very beginning, part of the artistic vision of the original directors had been the development of young musical talent. As early as 1953, Britten and Pears, committed to the musical development of young people, formed the idea of having a school of music at Snape. The fundamental concept was "to prepare and promote young singers or string players for professional life at the very highest level." It took until September 1972 for the first masterclasses to be given, by Pears, and in 1975 a Snape Maltings Training Orchestra rehearsed and performed at the Hall for the first time. Following the death of Britten in 1976, the Benjamin Britten Memorial Appeal was launched, and the barley store adjacent to the Concert Hall was converted by Arup Associates into the Britten–Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies. Opened on 28 April 1979 by the patron of the Aldeburgh Foundation, HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the School incorporated a 120-seat recital room (today named the Peter Pears Recital Room), a top-floor Seminar Room, with many practice rooms in between and a reference library, the Holst Library.
Over the years, such artists as Dame Joan Sutherland, Ann Murray, Sir Thomas Allen, Galina Vishnevskaya, Murray Perahia, Sir Charles Mackerras, Elisabeth Söderström and Dawn Upshaw as well as Pears himself have been notable teachers, while its many alumni have included Thomas Adès, Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside and Dame Felicity Lott.
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Britten Pears Arts
Britten Pears Arts is a large music education organisation based in Suffolk, England. It aims to continue the legacy of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, and to promote the enjoyment and experience of music for all. It is a registered charity.
The charity manages two historic locations on the Suffolk coast: Snape Maltings Concert Hall, a converted Victorian malting building on the edge of the River Alde in the village of Snape, Suffolk, and The Red House, the former home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. The organisation was founded by Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Eric Crozier in 1947 as an organisation to present the first Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts in 1948.
Each year Britten Pears Arts promotes the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts, the Snape Proms, concert series at Easter and October, together with a year-round performance programme at Snape Maltings Concert Hall and other venues on the Snape site. The Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, formerly known as the Britten–Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies, provides development opportunities for musicians early in their professional lives, between the ages of 18 and 25. Aldeburgh Young Musicians offers a programme of music mentoring for "promising young musicians" aged 10–18. Aldeburgh Education offers an annual programme of work involving the wider community, while Aldeburgh Residencies provides opportunities for established artists to develop their creative talents.
While touring with the English Opera Group in Europe in 1947, the composer Benjamin Britten, tenor Peter Pears and producer Eric Crozier developed the idea of a music festival in Aldeburgh, where Britten had a house on Crag Path. An executive committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Countess of Cranbrook and the first meeting took place at Thellusson Lodge, Aldeburgh on 27 October 1947. The first Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts was held from 5 to 12 June 1948, under the Artistic Direction of Britten, Pears and Crozier, with the Earl of Harewood as president and Elizabeth Sweeting as general manager.
Needing to expand the Festival into larger premises, in 1967, the Festival management acquired a lease on disused Victorian buildings at Snape Maltings, and converted the largest of the redundant malthouses into Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, no. 980281, on 21 May 1970 under the name of Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd. to manage the Snape buildings and develop further buildings on the site. The initial subscribers were Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Imogen Holst, Fidelity, Countess of Cranbrook, Marion, Countess of Harewood, Charles Gifford and The Lord Goodman. The company was registered with the Charity Commission as the Aldeburgh Foundation, registration number 261383, on 23 July 1970. The company changed its name to Aldeburgh Festival–Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd (known as AF-SMF) on 7 September 1976, and to Aldeburgh Foundation on 12 October 1983. In November 1997, the name of the company was changed to Aldeburgh Productions, and from July 2006 until the merger in April 2020 it had the name Aldeburgh Music.
Following its successful launch in 1948, the Aldeburgh Festival expanded year by year until it outgrew the available venues in the town. When redundant malting buildings in Snape became available in 1965, an initial 25-year lease was taken on the largest of the Victorian malthouses, and it was converted by Arup Associates (architects and engineers) and Wm. C. Reade (builders) into Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The 820-seat Hall was opened by HM The Queen on 2 June 1967. From that date, the main events of the annual Festival were relocated to Snape Maltings Concert Hall. A major fire in 1969 led to the re-development of the site, re-opening the following year, and gradually what was once a Concert Hall for a three-week Festival, became a year-round venue, including the introduction in the 1980s of the annual Snape Proms.
From the very beginning, part of the artistic vision of the original directors had been the development of young musical talent. As early as 1953, Britten and Pears, committed to the musical development of young people, formed the idea of having a school of music at Snape. The fundamental concept was "to prepare and promote young singers or string players for professional life at the very highest level." It took until September 1972 for the first masterclasses to be given, by Pears, and in 1975 a Snape Maltings Training Orchestra rehearsed and performed at the Hall for the first time. Following the death of Britten in 1976, the Benjamin Britten Memorial Appeal was launched, and the barley store adjacent to the Concert Hall was converted by Arup Associates into the Britten–Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies. Opened on 28 April 1979 by the patron of the Aldeburgh Foundation, HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the School incorporated a 120-seat recital room (today named the Peter Pears Recital Room), a top-floor Seminar Room, with many practice rooms in between and a reference library, the Holst Library.
Over the years, such artists as Dame Joan Sutherland, Ann Murray, Sir Thomas Allen, Galina Vishnevskaya, Murray Perahia, Sir Charles Mackerras, Elisabeth Söderström and Dawn Upshaw as well as Pears himself have been notable teachers, while its many alumni have included Thomas Adès, Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside and Dame Felicity Lott.