News & Events
Lori Goldston Concert at Myndtown Church, 9th May, 7.30pm
Following the Myndtown tradition of offering wide range of musical styles, the concert will be headlined by Lori Goldston. Classically trained “and rigorously de-trained“, possessor of a restless, semi-feral spirit, Lori is a cellist, composer, improvisor, producer, writer and teacher based in Seattle, Washington. Her expression as a cellist, amplified or acoustic, is full, textured, committed and original. A relentless inquirer, her work drifts freely across borders that separate genre, discipline, time and geography.
She came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana in 1993/94 and appears on their world-famous ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’ concert. Her list of collaborators is endless but includes Earth, Cat Power, David Byrne, Terry Riley, Jherek Bischoff, Lonnie Holley. Her work has been commissioned by and/or performed at the Kennedy Center, Sydney Festival, Cineteca Nacional de México, Tectonics Festival, Frye Art Museum, Time Based Art Festival, Paris Fashion Week, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle Jewish Film Festival, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, University of Chicago, and venues large and small throughout North America, Mexico, Australia, and Europe.
An extract from the ‘Unplugged in New York’ concert:
A piece about Lori:https://images.app.goo.gl/viTxm2cfdJ5jERe36
Nick Jonah Davis will be the support act: he is a British solo instrumental guitarist and composer from the Peak District, drawing primarily on British and American folk traditions. His most recent full-length release, ‘When the Sun Came’, was featured as one of 12 ‘Best of British’ guitar records in Guitarist Magazine and was also one of Folk Radio’s ‘Best Albums of the Year’. Radio plays have included Cerys Matthews (BBC 6 Music), Radcliffe and Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Gideon Coe (BBC6 Music), the Late Junction (BBC Radio 3) and New York’s WFMU. Tours in the UK, Europe and USA have included performances at the New York Guitar Festival, Sin Eater Festival and Supersonic. Nick has shared stages with luminaries from both the solo guitar and folk worlds.
A selection of pieces by Nick: https://www.nickjonahdavis.com/video
Tickets cost £14 and can be booked as follows:
or
E-mail: info@myndtownchurch.co.uk
or
Tel: 07917 807808
There will be a bar.
{Myndtown Church: SY7 8BL}
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CLASSICAL GUITAR RECITAL AT MYNDTOWN CHURCH, 24 MARCH 2023, 7:30 PM
Five years ago, classical guitar maestro Michael Partington entranced a Myndtown audience with a virtuoso performance. He Liked the venue so much that he has asked to come back when he returns to the UK next month and we are delighted to announce that he will be performing at the Church on 24 March at 7:30 pm.
As one of the most engaging concert players of his generation. this award-winning guitarist has performed to unanimous critical praise throughout North America, Europe, Russia and Scandinavia as a soloist and with ensembles.
Originally from South Wales, he is currently Artist in Residence and director of the guitar programme at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has given classes and workshops at festivals and institutions around the world, including the Royal College of Music in London, the Royal Conservatory in Gothenburg, Sweden, the San Francisco Conservatory, the Guitar Foundation of America, the Canadian National Confederation of Music Societies, and the International Guitar Research Centre.
Here are links to some videos of Michael performing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NFPS8GPGUU
“There is much praise that one can offer to a performer such as Partington, but he is one of those artists who possess a magic combination of a fluid technique with a wealth of musicianship. The refined manner of his sound, and his sense of phrase, articulation and dynamic were all conveyed with extraordinary attention to detail."
Guy Traviss, Classical Guitar Magazine
"Nimble, mercurial, subtle, and emotionally engaging, Partington’s playing consistently beguiles the ear, whether he is probing classics of the repertoire or brand-new pieces composed for him. He draws a spectacular array of effects and shades from his instrument." to detail."
Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT . . .
Daria Kulesh Trio in Concert - 28 May
Daria Kulesh Trio in Concert 28 May
After the long Covid hiatus, we’re delighted to announce that the acclaimed and multi-award-winning Daria Kulesh Trio will be performing in concert at Myndtown Church on 28 May at 7:30 pm.
Those of you who attended the 2019 Gigspanner concert will remember, not only the wonderful Gigspanner and the magical sunset, but the amazing surprise guest performance of a song by Daria, best described as magically haunting.
Daria will be accompanied by Tristan Seume, one of the UK’s leading acoustic guitarists, and fiddler Katrina Davies. The performance will be refreshing and mesmerising, full of passion and magic, with Daria mixing her Eastern roots with Western folk influences as she creates an original and exciting sound.
The concert will include songs from Daria’s second album ‘Long Lost Home’, about her grandmother’s home, Ingushetia, a land of immense beauty and harrowing tragedy, of fascinating history and unique traditions, located in the breathtaking Caucasus Mountains. Celtic songs will be included, too.
Recently, the church was an official stop on the ‘Salop Sludger’, a self- guided point to point gravel and mountain bike adventure approximately 50km in length and involving some 1,150m of climbing.
Over 170 riders participated and visited Myndtown in the course of the day. On arrival they played a dice game which determined the ingredients for a cocktail and tea, coffee and soup warmed up the cold, wet participants. We were delighted to have so many visitors in one day and very grateful to the organisers for their very generous donation to the maintenance fund.
‘A LOCKDOWN WITH JAKE THACKRAY’
We hope you are all staying safe and well during the current lockdown.
You will remember that the ‘An Evening With Jake Thackray’ concert was to be performed at Myndtown Church by Peter Lockerman this coming Saturday, but was postponed by the pandemic.
We suggested to Peter that he might want to bring a smile to everybody by posting a few songs from the concert on to YouTube. Despite not having picked up his guitar since the postponement, he readily agreed and set about recording three. His willing wife, Mary, then loaded the resulting piece onto YouTube - a process which, thanks to our awful internet speed in rural Shropshire, took 17 hours!
Peter recorded it it one take and did a great job. You can watch what he refers to as his ‘mini-gig’ but we are calling ‘A Lockdown With Jake Thackray’ here:
If you enjoy it, please show your appreciation to Peter by leaving a comment on YouTube.
We look forward to a time when we will be able to reschedule the concert. In the meantime, stay safe!
MYNDTOWN CHURCH 18 APRIL CONCERT POSTPONED
We have considered discussed the April 18 concert in light of the Coronavirus situation and have decided, with regret, to postpone it until circumstances change.
We have no wish to be alarmist, but it is becoming clear that such events will probably to be prohibited well in advance of next month. And, this morning, the Health Secretary said that everyone over 70 is likely to be asked, in the next few weeks, to self-isolate for four months. That would cut out the organiser and the performer!
We would rather be “ahead of the curve” and take a responsible decision now, than wait until it is forced upon us.
All ticket holders have been informed and their payments will be refunded as soon as possible.
Stay safe.
‘An Evening with Jake Thackray’
On Saturday, April 18th, Myndtown Church will host a concert by local singer/songwriter Peter Lockerman, performing songs by the wonderful and much-missed Yorkshire songwriter Jake Thackray. Although he died at the end of 2002, Jake left behind him a collection of songs that is truly unique in their wit, humour, poetry, variety, musicality and story-telling and they are remembered very fondly by his large number of admirers, both old and new.
Peter not only has a strong connection to Jake Thackray’s music but also to Myndtown, having lived in the parish for 43 years. Peter has performed both as a solo artist and in a variety of bands for all of this time (....and longer!) and has played at very many venues all over Shropshire and beyond.
Peter says “I started singing Jake’s songs about 25 years ago and always include some wherever I perform. Although Jake’s musical career lasted from the late 60s to the 80s, there still always seems to be someone at every gig or session I play who remembers him with great fondness and is pleased to be reminded of his songs. I don’t really find this surprising as his songs are so well crafted and so unusual. It will be a great joy to me to be able to perform a whole concert of his music at Myndtown, as he is my favourite songwriter and, in my opinion, one without equal. If you share my enthusiasm for and delight in Jake’s music or if, like me, you were lucky enough to see him perform at The Three Tuns or elsewhere, then please come along to Myndtown and join in this celebration of his life and his music. And if you’re not yet a fan, well come along anyway and I’m sure you will become one!”
The concert will start at 7:30 pm and tickets will cost £10, including tea and coffee. Wine and beer will be on sale. All monies raised will be split between Greenpeace and Myndtown Church Maintenance Fund.
REPRINT OF MYNDTOWN BOOK NOW AVAILABLE
The first print run of our book ‘Myndtown, Its Church, Parish and Surroundings’ sold out some time ago, but we are delighted to advise that a reprint is now available.
It was printed by local company Craven Design and Print, of Craven Arms, owned by James Sherratt. We were surprised to find that his daughter, Lucy, works for the company, as she happens to be one of the Ludlow College design students who entered the competition to design a logo for the church as part of the restoration project and, moreover, won the second prize! We can thoroughly recommend the company: their prices are very competitive and their service fast, efficient and of high quality. James and Lucy are pictured below.
The book can be purchased at the church. It can also be ordered via the shop on this website, where one can pay by PayPal, credit card or debit card.
FIVE-PAGE PHOTO-ARTICLE IN 'COUNTRYSIDE' MAGAZINE
Last year, ‘Countryside’ (the National Farmers’ Union monthly “glossy” magazine) contracted photojournalist David Edmund-Jones to do an article on the church’s HLF restoration project.
In March, David spent a day photographing the church, which was then stripped right town and cocooned in scaffolding.
The result? - a five-page article in this month’s edition of the magazine, including a dramatic double-page spread of the exposed roof structure.
See the article below.
MYNDTOWN CHURCH PROJECT RECEIVES SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL DESIGN AND CONSERVATION AWARD
Shropshire’s best architecture, urban design and building conservation for 2017 was recognised last Friday, when the first-ever Shropshire Council Design and Conservation Awards were presented in an event at Shirehall in Shrewsbury.
Myndtown Church’s Heritage Lottery Fund restoration project was one of only four entries to receive a full award. Five other entries received commendationsand three received special mentions.
Certificates were presented to the Myndtown project’s architects (Sean Pemble and Andrew Arrol, of Arrol and Snell, contractor (Mike Curry of Phillips and Curry) and project manager, John Burt.
The awards were launched at the start of 2017 and aimed to promote, encourage and recognise inclusive, sustainable and high quality developments across the county. Thirty entries were received and were assessed according to a range of criteria including design quality, context, craftsmanship and sustainability. Judging took place in two phases: an internal assessment, followed by a design review with external judges.
Ian Kilby, Planning Services Magager of Shropshire Council, recommented “One of the key success factors that most impressed the judges with regard to Myndtown Church was the skill and delicacy with which these essential building repairs had been undertaken. This has ensured that the special architectural and historic interest of this important Grade II * listed building will be preserved for the future."
Photo of the presentation shows (left to right): Sean Pemble (Arrol and Snell, Architect); Mike Curry (Phillips and Curry, Contratctor); Andrew Arroll (Arrol and Snell); John Burt (Project Manager); James Handley (external judge); Ian Kilby (Planning Sevices Manager, Shropshire Council
Myndtown Church’s excellent acoustics made it a superb venue for last week’s enthralling choral concert, ‘The Golden Age of English Church Music’, by the More Singers, under the expert direction of Alistair Auld, with chamber organ interludes beautifully played by Richard Silk.
The church was full to the brim: a number of people arrived without reservations, meaning that some had to stand. Profits from the evening will be divided between the More Singers and the church’s Maintenance Fund.
This was the first in what is hoped will be a series of musical events (The Myndtown Music Project) covering a wide range of genres, including folk, opera, blues, ska, rock and jazz. Look out for announcements here or on our Facebook page.