Hastings International Piano Festival to open next year

Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural Hastings International Piano festival. Presented by the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, the event will be held at both the White Rock Theatre and St Mary in the Castle from February 26 to March 8 2020. The following press release was sent highlighting the big names and attractions to be featured next year.

The inaugural Hastings International Piano Festival will host an exciting array of music concerts, featuring some of the most celebrated artists including headliner Rufus Wainwright, one of the world’s most revered singer-songwriters, composers and performers of his generation. Rufus will be joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday 28 February at the White Rock Theatre on Hastings iconic sea front, for a spectacular evening of songs from his eclectic discography.

Reuben James.

The festival opens on Wednesday 26 February with a concert by one of the UK’s most successful songwriters of all time – Guy Chambers, whose 50-year career has seen Guy write and produce for some of the world’s most popular artists including Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Mark Ronson and Rufus Wainwright to name but a few. He will perform songs at the piano, including tracks from his new album Go Gently Into the Light.

The festival continues on Thursday 27 February with Reuben James, one of the UK’s most exciting young singer-songwriters and performers, best known for his on-going collaborations with Sam Smith. Reuben co-wrote the title track from Sam Smith’s most recent album The Thrill Of It All, as well as the song Him, and the festival is delighted he is bringing his 10-piece band which explores the boundaries between jazz and pop.

The festival welcomes Claire Martin OBE, the Queen of British Jazz to Hastings on Thursday 5 March at St Mary in the Castle, with a stellar line-up of Claire’s music friends, including some of the jazz world’s great artists such as Liane Carroll, Alex Garnett and The Swedish Trio.

Rachel Portman OBE.

Oscar winning composer and songwriter Rachel Portman OBE will perform and be interviewed about her extensive career during a unique production on Friday 6 March at St Mary in the Castle, specially produced for Hastings International Piano Festival. Rachel has written over 100 scores for film, television and film and is the first woman to win an Academy Award for film music, for the film Emma. She went on to be nominated twice more, for Cider House Rules and Chocolat, which also earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Rachel’s performance will include special collaborations with local pianists, giving them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform with a globally renowned artist.

Hastings International Piano Festival Classical Gala Concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra takes place at the White Rock Theatre on Saturday 29 February, with a spectacular programme of piano concertos performed by an array of artists, including the illustrious pianist and BBC Young Musician of The Year, Martin James Bartlett. Martin will be joined by the winner of the 2019 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Fumiya Koido, and prizewinner Sylvia Jiang.

Two of our most respected British actors, Patricia Hodge and Alex Jennings, join pianist Lucy Parham on Sunday 1 March at the White Rock Theatre for The Romantic Life of Chopin – an evening of words and music scripted and adapted from letters and diaries chronicling the romantic life of one of the greatest and most popular composers for solo piano.

The Puppini Sisters.

Silent Movie Night Beggars of Life, with live accompaniment from The Dodge Brothers featuring Mark Kermode and Neil Brand, takes place at St Mary in the Castle on Wednesday 4 March. Revered film critic Kermode joins his band mates and acclaimed composer Brand for this film extravaganza.

Closing the 2020 festival, the Puppini Sisters, the Queens of Close Harmony Swing, and The Pasadena Roof Orchestra take to the stage at St Mary in the Castle on Saturday 7 March to delight the festival audience with their trailblazing re-workings of pop and classical songs that will have the audience dancing in the aisles.

Tickets for both the White Rock Theatre and St Mary in the Castle are on sale now and can be purchased from the White Rock Theatre box office or from their website.

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