Benjamin Grosvenor, Hyeyoon Park, Raja Halder launch the Bromley and Beckenham International Music Festival

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Bromley

The collapse of live performance and the lack of opportunities for artists has made some performers create their own luck. 

Three artists who all happen to be based in Bromley, have decided to get together and create the Bromley and Beckenham International Music Festival. This has been launched by pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and violinists Raja Halder and Hyeyoon Park, and the first festival runs at St Peter and St Paul Church in Bromley from 17 to 20 September 2020. 

The programme includes four socially-distanced chamber concerts with guest artists including Tomo Keller, Timothy Ridout, Leon Bosch, David Cohen, and festival co-founders Raja Halder, Benjamin Grosvenor and Hyeyoon Park. Whether by accident or design the programme has a variety of quintets to the fore, including Beethoven's Violin Concerto in a version for violin and string quintet with soloist Hyeyoon Park, Schubert's Trout Quintet and Dvorak's Piano Quintet no. 2, plus piano quartets by Brahms and Mahler.

Care has been taken over socially distancing the concerts, but if regulations prevent a live audience from being present then the concerts will take place without one and will be live-streamed for ticket holders.

50% of profits from the 2020 festival will go to St Christopher’s Hospice, a local hospice offering palliative and end of life care whose fundraising streams were devastated by the pandemic. The remaining 50% of profits will be invested in the 2021 festival.

 

Full details from the festival website.