East Neuk Festival
The East Neuk Festival is an annual music festival that takes place over ten days at the end of June/beginning of July in the area known as the East Neuk of Fife.
History
Established in 2004 it was the brainchild of Donald and Louise MacDonald and founding artistic director Svend Brown.
Venues and Artists
The festival concerts take place in a range of venues including churches in villages such as St Monans, Crail, Kilconquhar, Kilrenny and Cellardyke as well as unusual spaces such as Scotland’s Secret Bunker an aircraft shelter at RAF Leuchars, gardens, caves, dells, local attractions and notably, a large barn on the Cambo Estate which is transformed into a performance venue especially for the event.
Musicians and ensembles join together in residencies for practically the duration of the festival playing core chamber music repertoire alongside new commissions, contemporary works, jazz and world music. Storytelling, poetry, literature, exhibitions, films and other art and installation projects also feature.
Other performers have included conductor/pianist Christian Zacharias, violinist Alexander Janiczek and writer Dr Richard Holloway, the Alban Berg Quartet, Skampa String Quartet, Belcea Quartet and Leipzig String Quartet, the Doric String Quartet, Elias String Quartet and Royal String Quartet.
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East Neuk Festival Retreat
In 2015 the Festival created the ENF Retreat, a intensive chamber music seminar designed to offer young professional musicians who have demonstrated a special commitment to chamber music an opportunity to work with outstanding established artists. With the support of the Misses Barrie Charitable Trust it offered 10 string players from around the world coaching and mentoring by Alexander Janiczek (violin), Krzysztof Chorzelski (violist of the Belcea Quartet), David Watkins (Head of Strings at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and pianist Alexander Lonquich. in 2016 the second Retreat brings together 8 young players to be coached by Janiczek, Chorzelski and Watkins joined by Ursula Smith (cello) and also cellist Valentin Erben as a special guest to coach Schubert's Quintet in C. The Retreat takes place in the village of Elie in Fife
Music and Community
ENF is committed to commissioning new works by major figures that are intended for performance by professional and community musicians side-by-side. The first work in this series was Across the Distance for 32 horns by John Luther Adams in 2015. In 2016 this is followed by David Lang's Memorial Ground for amateur and professional singers, a choral commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. This will be premiered on 2 July 2016 before becoming a nationwide project. Memorial Ground is commissioned jointly by the East Neuk Festival and 14-18 NOW, with the support of Creative Scotland.
Awards
East Neuk Festival received the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Audience Development in 2007 and in 2008 was shortlisted by the Scottish tourist industry for a Thistle Award.