Lake District Summer Music (LDSM) is a music festival in the English
Lake District. An annual event held in August, it features performances by international artists and there is also an academy for young musicians.
Founded in 1985, LDSM was listed as one of the "Ten Truly Festive Festivals" in the world by the ''
Daily Telegraph'' in 2010. The festival concerts - principally focussed on chamber music - make use of a variety of venues, including
St Mary's Church, Ambleside, and
Blackwell.
History
Renna Kellaway, a South African-born pianist and teacher, founded the festival.
Kellaway received an
MBE in the 2009 New Year's Honours for services to music and was married to the late Sir John Manduell CBE, former Director of the
Cheltenham Music Festival and founding Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.
The
Chilingirian Quartet were resident artists from inception.
The Festival used to combine with a summer school programmes: one for emerging professional musicians and another for younger string players, but these have now been replaced by Young Artist masterclasses. Alumni of the International Summer Music Academy have included
Nicola Benedetti
Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is an Italian-British classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She w ...
,
Nikolaj Znaider
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (born 5 July 1975 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish violinist and conductor.
Biography
Szeps-Znaider was born in Copenhagen to Polish-Jewish parents. His father had originally emigrated from Poland to Israel, and his mot ...
,
Jennifer Pike
Jennifer Elizabeth Pike (born 9 November 1989) is a British violinist.
Early years and education
Pike began playing the violin at the age of five, and after auditioning at the age of eight she gained a place at Chetham's School of Music in M ...
,
Steven Osborne,
James Rhodes, the
Sacconi and
Belcea quartets, as well as
The Pether Trio.
The organisation was a Regularly Funded Organisation of
Arts Council England until 2012 and has been supported by
South Lakeland District Council.
During 2001-2008, LDSM extended its work beyond the summer in a series of developments devised by chief officer Andrew Lucas. A 4x4 Composer Residency, held in the spring or early summer, gave four emerging professional composers opportunity to compose works for an established ensemble, led by a leading British composer. Lead composers of previous projects are Nicola LeFanu, Martin Butler, John Casken and Robert Saxton. 4x4 Alumni have included John Habron,
Benjamin Wallfisch,
Paul Mealor, David Bruce and Phillip Cooke.
An Autumn Music from a Foreign Land project introduced the music and musicians of different continents through creative workshops and performances.
A programme of Street Concerts, SplashClassics, saw a concert take place at five stations along the train line from Manchester Airport (where many of the academy students arrived into the UK) through to
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...
(the nearest station to the academy base near Ambleside). The SplashClassics series was developed into a separate venture by its founder, Andrew Lucas, in 2013 and saw it reach new audiences through innovative series of events combining classical music, animation, poetry and dance.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Lake District Summer Music website
Music festivals in Cumbria
Recurring events established in 1985
Lake District
1985 establishments in England