We are delighted to introduce the 40th Woodley Festival. Once again most of the Festival will be held at Woodley Town Council’s excellent Oakwood Centre. We aim to provide quality facilities for your enjoyment and are very selective in our choice of professional adjudicators, venues and other facilities. In addition to being such an enjoyable artistic success, the 2009 Festival saw some 4,800 visitors, 1,750 performers and 850 performances.

We strive to create a warm and friendly environment, placing the emphasis on the enjoyment of performance and the appreciation of others’ efforts – all in the presence of professional adjudicators and a supportive audience.

For a 5th year, we are very grateful to MANNINGUK for their generous support & participation as our sponsor. We also wish to thank our President, the committee, and some 50 volunteers who all help to make the Festival run smoothly.

The fees payable to perform in our classes offer very good value for money compared with those for full music & drama exams, or even a single lesson. The performance practice, the adjudicators’ comments, and hearing others are all valued by many as ideal exam preparation. Similarly, to be able to watch up to 9 hours of performances for just £2 is remarkable value.

2010 is the 200th anniversary of Schumann’s birth so, to mark the occasion, we are running 3 special Schumann piano classes and we are delighted that our adjudicator, Anthony Williams, will give a recital & talk on Schumann.

We all look forward to welcoming you to the 2010 Woodley Festival.

Jackie Baines & Colin Brown (Co-chairs).