Little Venice hosts classical music gala

This weekend venues across Little Venice will be hosting a classical music festival that promises to offer performances to remember.

THIS weekend venues across Little Venice will be hosting a classical music festival that promises to offer performances to remember.

Now in its eighth year, The Little Venice Music Festival comprises five concerts held over three days.

All the concert venues are local, with the main ones being St.Saviour’s Church, opposite Warwick Avenue tube station, and St.Mary’s Church on Paddington Green.

The musical mind behind the festival is the artistic director, Sylvia Rhys-Thomas, a resident of Little Venice and long distinguished operatic soprano.

Along with festival administrator, Virginia de Vaal, who co-founded this annual autumn event, Rhys-Thomas has compiled a wide variety of performances.

The bill includes string quartets, brass quartets, vocal and instrumental soloists and an array of different ensembles.

Opera singer, Anando Mukajee, who will be flexing his vocal chords at the festival’s opera gala for a fourth season, is excited by the “unusual nature” of the festival.

“It’s a hidden gem with a very broad opera gala unlike any other,” he said.

“It’s not the typical opera repertoire found at a pop concert and it’s a chance to catch some very interesting and not often performed pieces.”

The gala climax will involve around 10-15 singers, performing pieces from Renaissance to Baroque in several languages, including: German, French, Italian and Spanish.

The event also features a radiant repertoire which whirls the audience through chamber, choral as well as operatic music.

Mr Mukajee added that the highlight of the festival was “the fact it showcases young and rising talent, as well as established stars.

“It’s a fine fixture in the musical scene and will be there for long time. I hope it grows and grows.”

For more information on the musical line up and to book tickets go to www.littlevenice-mf.com or call 0207 289 1728.