IT was fitting that the last Proms concert at Iford Manor, billed as The Final Fling, was sold out.
After 25 years at Iford Manor, the internationally-renowned Iford Arts is looking for a new home for its annual music festival and educational outreach work.
The Board of Trustees of Iford Arts announced back in March that the 2018 season at Iford Manor would be its last.
Over the past quarter century, the annual festival has attracted sell-out audiences for its opera, prom and concert performances to see the highest-calibre singers and musicians.
Saturday’s Prom concert in the Grade 1 listed Harold Peto Gardens featured violinist Joel Grainger, the Marco Marconi jazz trio, and Miss Kiddy and the Cads.
Taking them in order of performance, classically-trained violinist, Joel Grainger explores a multitude of genres and styles from Hip Hop to Indian Classical and popular modern music.
He performs regularly, both in the UK and abroad, having recently played for notable clients such as Google and Bentley, as well as performing in two international tours with UK artist Birdy.
His interpretations of popular classics provided the perfect accompaniment to the picnics that many audience members were enjoying in the exquisite Italianate gardens.
Performing in the Cloisters, Marco Marconi is an accomplished, classically-trained jazz pianist whose skill as a composer is naturally distinctive and seemingly effortless.
He has earned a fine reputation as a class act on the British festival circuit, the Fazioli Concert Hall in Venice and the buzzing London Jazz Club scene.
His creative ability, combined with innovative style and contemporary interpretation, imposes itself on your imagination within the first 30 seconds of hearing his music.
A packed Cloisters thoroughly enjoyed two sets by the trio, with Marco Marconi being accompanied by Huw Williams on double bass and Emiliano Caroselli on drums.
On the other side of the gardens, in the Casita, Miss Kiddy and the Cads gave the audience a unique vintage musical performance featuring a three-piece band and stunning tap dancer Lil’ Missy.
Miss Kiddy turns back the clock to a 1940s-style Chicago Speak Easy to a time when style and sass were the main order of the day.
Show-stopping vocals, a sensational band, stunning costumes, spectacular tap dancing, and the decadence of Vintage Hollywood are all wrapped up in a sophisticated musical comedy revue.
What I didn’t expect was a contemporary take on modern pop music classics, including superb versions of David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, Oasis’s Wonderwall and Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.
From Aloe Blacc, to Blur, the Spice Girls, Carly Rae Jepsen and Beyonce, their hits were given a vintage make over complete with swinging beats and toe-tapping finesse from Lil’ Missy.
The show is hugely entertaining and the imaginative new (but old) versions are playful, sophisticated and witty. Miss Kiddy’s band played up to their caddish characters but were note-perfect and tightly drilled and the audience just loved it.
The concert brought the curtain down on 25 years of an eclectic mix of musical genres that have shown off the lovely gardens of Iford Manor to perfection. I’m extremely glad that I didn’t miss it.
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