What's On - Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th June

Atom Heart Mother

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A stunning festival curtain raiser: Ron Geesin, the co-composer of Atom Heart Mother recreates Pink Floyd's iconic 1970s 'rock suite' - their first number one album and first Gold record. The performances will feature Italian band Mun Floyd; a ten piece brass ensemble from the Royal College of Music; cellist Caroline Dale; and the 40-strong chorus Canticum conducted by Mark Forkgen. The performances will also feature archive material from the original recording and other music by Ron Geesin, including new scores created specially for the occasion.

Special announcement! Pink Floyd's David Gilmour will make a guest appearance and play in Atom Heart Mother on Sunday 15th June. Please note there are ticket purchase restrictions for this performance.

www.rongeesin.com

www.munfloyd.com

www.canticum.org.uk

Sponsor : Cadogan Paul Davis & Partners

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

Saturday 7.30pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Sunday 7.00pm (ends approx 9.15pm)

Tickets £55 £45 £35 £25

Sunday 15th June tickets will be restricted to 2 per customer
(4 for Friends of the Chelsea Festival)

What's On - Sunday 15th June

Aesop's Fables

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The Chelsea Festival's family programme kicks off with award winning children's writer, Michael Morpurgo's brand new adaptation of Aesop's Fables. Presented and performed by Bristol's Old Vic theatre company, three actors and a one-man-band combine with a host of colourful characters to recreate some of the most enchanting stories ever told - The Hare And The Tortoise, The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg. Fantastic family entertainment.

'Side-splitting. Appeals as much to adults as their offspring'
The Stage
'Charmed by these fabulous fables. A real hit'
Daily Mail ****

www.michaelmorpurgo.org

Chelsea Theatre
World's End Place, King's Road

11.00am (ends approx 12 noon)
2.30pm (ends approx 3.30pm)

Tickets £7

What's On - Sunday 15th June

Alexandra Krylova (piano)

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Alexandra Krylova started playing the piano when she was six years old and began to play concerts regularly a year later. Alexandra has performed in many of the prestigious concert halls in Russia including the Shostakovich Concert Hall in St Petersburg and the State Philharmonic Concert Hall in Rostov-on-Don. In the UK she has performed at the Farley Piano Festival, the Iffley Piano Festival, the Richmond Theatre Royal in North Yorkshire and at The Sage in Newcastle. Alexandra's favourite composer to listen to is Scriabin and to play, Debussy - whose ecstatic L'isle Joyeuse features in an extravagantly mixed programme of piano masterworks.

Supported by The Zetland Foundation

The State Apartments
Royal Hospital Chelsea

11.30am (ends approx 12.30pm)
Tickets £16
(to include coffee and biscuits)

What's On - Sunday 15th June

Odyssey of Love

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Featuring pianist Lucy Parham and actors Joanna David and Martin Jarvis, Odyssey of Love looks at the life and music of one of classical music's most colourful figures, Franz Liszt. Drawn largely from Liszt's letters and interspersed with some of his most ecstatic and expressive piano music, Odyssey of Love is a portrait of his relationship with the three most important women in his life: the aristocratic freethinking rebel and mother of his three children, Marie d'Agoult; the bizarre cigar-smoking intellectual Carolyne von Sayn Wittgenstein, whom he wanted to be his wife; and his long-suffering mother, Anna. Scripted by Lucy Parham.

www.lucyparham.com

The State Apartments
Royal Hospital Chelsea

3.30pm (ends approx 5.30pm)
Tickets £28
(to include coffee and biscuits)

What's On - Sunday 15th June

Chelsea Festival Choral Evensong

FREE EVENT

The annual service of Choral Evensong in celebration of the Chelsea Festival and the arts in Chelsea. With the choir, directed by Jonathan Leonard, and organist Benjamin Frost, the address at this annual event at the festival's historic - and current - home will be given by Lord Harries, former Bishop of Oxford and current head of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Agency.

Richard Harries was Bishop of Oxford from 1987- 2006. On his retirement he was made a Life Peer, (Lord Harries of Pentregarth) and he continues to be active in the House of Lords. He has published some 25 books, a number in relation to the arts and, most recently, The Re-enchantment of Morality: wisdom for a troubled world, (SPCK). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been a frequent broadcaster.

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

6.30pm (ends approx 7.45pm)
Tickets FREE

What's On - Sunday 15th June

Music for a Summer's Evening

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Sophie Bevan soprano
Diana Galvydyte violin
Anthony Hewitt piano

Immediately following the Festival Choral Evensong, St Luke's Church hosts a trio of stellar young musicians Ð violinist Diana Galvydyte, pianist Anthony Hewitt and singer Sophie Bevan.

www.anthonyhewitt.co.uk

Sponsor: The Bowerman Charitable Trust

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

8.15pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £20 £15

What's On - Monday 16th June

Organ Recital - John Scott

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The former organist and choirmaster of St Paul's Cathedral and now organist at New York's St Thomas Church John Scott performs music in celebration of one of the 20th century's greatest composers for the organ, Olivier Messiaen, in the 25th year since his death. At times brooding, at other times ecstatic, the four movement L'Ascension is one of the towering masterpieces of the contemporary organ repertoire. The programme also includes two great works by the original master of the instrument J S Bach.

www.saintthomaschurch.org/scott.html

Holy Trinity
Sloane Square

7.45pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £14
Wine Tickets £3

What's On - Monday 16th June

When Lights are Low

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Sir Richard Rodney Bennett
Claire Martin

'One of London's most finely-attuned cabaret partnerships' - composer and cabaret artist supreme Richard Rodney Bennett teams up with Claire Martin 'the best British jazz singer for a generation' (Mojo Magazine) for an evening of great 'American songbook' melody.

Richard Rodney Bennett's compositional credits include the film scores to Four Weddings and a Funeral and Murder on the Orient Express but range far beyond to include jazz and classical scores. His partnership with Claire Martin, the latest in a line of top collaborators, is pure cabaret gold.

www.clairemartinjazz.com

St Columba's
Pont Street

8.00pm (ends approx 10.00pm)
Tickets £28
(to include a complimentary glass of wine kindly sponsored by Chelsea Festival)
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - Tuesday 17th June

Dominic Cooke - Royal Court Theatre

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The Chelsea Festival's popular morning series of events opens with the first of two talks by leading lights in the Chelsea cultural scene, the Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre, Dominic Cooke. An award winning director Cooke became the theatre's Artistic Director in 2006. Here he reflects on the history and reputation as well as the future of one of the UK's most important producers of contemporary theatre - indeed a venue described by the New York Times as 'the most important theatre in Europe'.

www.royalcourttheatre.com

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

10:45am (ends approx 12 noon)
Tickets £13

What's On - Tuesday 17th June

Live at Ciné Lumière - Double Bill

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At 7.00pm The Silent Pianist Speaks - Neil Brand, the writer and 'doyen of silent film pianists' (Radio 4), reveals the secrets of his unique profession and accompanies rare clips from the very best of silent cinema including Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and a tour de force finale featuring Laurel and Hardy.

At 8.30pm Coeur Fidéle Ciné Concert - in the second part of the evening, French pianist Maxence Cyrin performs live to Jean Epstein's 1923 masterpiece Coeur Fidele. A melodramatic story of thwarted romance set against the background of Marseille's docks, Epstein's treatment experiments with many techniques of camerawork and editing.

www.neilbrand.com

www.myspace.com/maxencecyrin

Presented in association with
Ciné Lumière, Institut Francais and French Music Bureau
With thanks to Collection Fondation Jérâme Seydoux - Pathé

Ciné Lumière at the Institut Français 17 Queensberry Place London SW7 2DT

7.00pm The Silent Pianist Speaks (ends approx 8.00pm)
8.30pm Coeur Fidéle Ciné Concert (ends approx 10.00pm)
Ticket price for each concert £7 £5 conc
Double-bill £12 £8 conc

What's On - Tuesday 17th June

Celebrity Recital Barbara Bonney

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American soprano Barbara Bonney is widely recognized as one of the world's superlative recital and concert artists, known for her radiant tone and the engaging warmth of her personality as well as for her stylistic versatility. For her Chelsea Festival and Cadogan Hall debuts, she is joined by acclaimed pianist Wolfram Rieger in repertoire including the sublime Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss.

Sponsor: Kinnaird

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

7.30pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £32 £27 £20 £10

What's On - Wednesday 18th June

Vikram Seth/ Alec Roth The Confluences Project

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Prior to the London premiere of the third part of the remarkable Confluences project, The Traveller, novelist Vikram Seth and composer Alec Roth discuss their mould breaking four year collaboration with Chelsea Festival Artistic Director Stewart Collins. Having already garnered exceptional reviews for Songs in Time of War and A New Song, the creative team offer an insight into a project co-commissioned by the Chelsea, Salisbury and Lichfield Festivals.

'Roth's response to Seth's words is intelligent and inspired' The Times

www.contemporarywriters.com/authors

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

10.45am (ends approx 12 noon)
Tickets £13
(£5 if bought in conjunction with the evening performance)

What's On - Wednesday 18th June

Blazin' Fiddles

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Received with great acclaim at an Albert Hall Late Night Prom in 2005, the Blazin' Fiddles are a group of the hottest contemporary fiddle players from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. During a performance, the audience has a rare opportunity to hear pieces featuring the regional styles of each fiddler followed by all hands jumping in for a wonderful explosion of music.

'...this is the five-fiddle-fronted band at its best. Rich harmony, aggressive rhythm, subtle dynamics and sensitive phrasing... Changing direction as tightly as a flock of birds, their reels can take the breath away.' Scotland on Sunday

www.blazin-fiddles.co.uk

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

7.45pm (ends approx 10.00pm)
Tickets £20 £15
Wine Ticket £3

What's On - Wednesday 18th June

Confluences - The Traveller

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Mark Padmore tenor Philippe Honore violin
Britten Sinfonia The Joyful Company of Singers
Children's Choir of Redcliffe School Chelsea

Following the striking successes of Songs in Time of War (2006) and A New Song (2007), Vikram Seth and Alec Roth's new work is performed alongside Gerald Finzi's exquisite vehicle for tenor and orchestra, Dies Natalis, and Ysaye's Sonata no 2 in A minor for solo violin.

Seth and Roth's new piece 'The Traveller' takes India as its literary and cultural inspiration. Using the theme The Ages of Man, in addition to writing 6 new poems, Vikram Seth will translate more than 20 Indian texts from a rich variety of sources, traditions and languages, including Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and Tamil.

"Some partnerships have stardust sprinkled on them. That between the writer Vikram Seth and composer Alec Roth is turning into the Rolls and Royce of the Arts World". The Times

Sponsor: The Friends of Chelsea Festival

Holy Trinity
Sloane Square

8.00pm (ends approx 10.15pm)
Tickets £22* £16*
Wine Ticket £3
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - Thursday 19th June

Nigel Hurst - Saatchi Gallery

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The Sloane Square area is rapidly becoming one of London's most important cultural hubs. The latest arrival is the Saatchi Gallery, newly establishing itself in the Duke of York's buildings. The Director of the Saatchi Gallery, Nigel Hurst, talks about the contemporary art scene and the specific role of the Saatchi Gallery and its world famous collection.

www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk

Sponsor: Henry & James

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

10.45am (ends approx 12 noon)
Tickets £13

What's On - Thursdays and Fridays

The Chelsea Festival Walks

Thursday 19th June at 2pm

Friday 20th June at 2pm

Thursday 26th June at 2pm

Friday 27th June at 2pm

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In its second season of delights, The Chelsea Walks is proud to be offering four tailor-made weekday walks, during The Chelsea Festival, capturing the magnificence of this most Royal borough, in her own annual summer showcase. 90 minutes of delectable cultural and musical morsels await each walker, from Tudor to Turner, Whistler to Westwood, Betjeman to Beatles. Your guide, Chelsea-born, and '60s bred Gary, unfolds its peerless parade of people, places and events, that literally shape the 21st century.

The Chelsea Walks will start at Sloane Square, end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street, and take place on Thu 19, Fri 20, Thu 26 and Fri 27 June at 2pm.
Each walk lasts 90 minutes plus questions.
Capacity for each walk: 15 people.

Tickets to be booked in advance, from the Chelsea Festival Box Office

Sloane Square
end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street

2.00pm (ends approx 3.30pm)
Tickets £8

What's On - Thursday 19th June

The Al Farabi Concerto
featuring
Hiba Al Kawas (Lebanon)
The Nieuw Ensemble

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Garry Walker conductor Wafaa Safar ney (Syria) Taoufik Mirkhan qanun (Syria)

This very special Chelsea Festival evening marks the launch of the Al Farabi Concerto series of concerts, introducing important composers from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Syria to London audiences. Taking its name from the great Islamic philosopher Abu Nasr al Farabi (870-950 AD), the series opens with the acclaimed Dutch group, the Nieuw Ensemble, making its long-awaited London debut. They are joined by the acclaimed Lebanese Diva, Hiba Al Kawas, in new settings of her own songs specially arranged by Ian Gardiner. The programme also includes UK premieres by composers from Syria, Jordan and Kuwait, and commissions from Tan Dun and Franco Donatoni.

www.nieuw-ensemble.nl

The Al Farabi Concerto series: Strategic Sponsor - BMG Foundation

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

7.30pm (ends approx 10.00pm)
Tickets £32 £27 £20 £10

What's On - Thursday 19th June

Dance, Death... and Salad
Music to Eat, Dance and Die to

I Fagiolini

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I Fagiolini

Four singers, harp, lute and vihuela explore the vibrant world of Spanish secular music of the Siglo d'Oro (Golden Age). Common themes were love, death and loss - of loved ones across social and religious divides or even whole cities such as Granada, famously taken from the Moors in 1492. Yet infectious Spanish dance-rhythms are never far away, bringing a sway and swagger to the love songs and totally dominating the 'ensaladas' (salads) that combined languages and dance in a furious celebration of Christmas.

'I Fagiolini - an irrepressible force in the early music world, bringing bags of style, energy and dramatic excitement to everything they touch.'
International Record Review

www.ifagiolini.com

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

7.45pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Tickets £20* £15*
Wine Ticket £3
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - Thursday 19th June

Kevin Tomlinson - Seven Ages

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Taking true stories from his own life and that of his audience, Kevin Tomlinson of Kepow Theatre Company explores Shakespeare's idea that we go through seven stages in life. Completely improvised, Seven Ages features masks, storytelling and audience participation and explores two of the most important questions one can ever ask oneself: Why am I here? and What's important in my life?

A truly unique show that makes one re-assess one's priorities in life, whilst simultaneously making you laugh - a lot! Come and be inspired.

London Sketch Club
7 Dilke Street

8.00pm (ends approx 9.10pm)
Tickets £14

What's On - Thursdays and Fridays

The Chelsea Festival Walks

Thursday 19th June at 2pm

Friday 20th June at 2pm

Thursday 26th June at 2pm

Friday 27th June at 2pm

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In its second season of delights, The Chelsea Walks is proud to be offering four tailor-made weekday walks, during The Chelsea Festival, capturing the magnificence of this most Royal borough, in her own annual summer showcase. 90 minutes of delectable cultural and musical morsels await each walker, from Tudor to Turner, Whistler to Westwood, Betjeman to Beatles. Your guide, Chelsea-born, and '60s bred Gary, unfolds its peerless parade of people, places and events, that literally shape the 21st century.

The Chelsea Walks will start at Sloane Square, end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street, and take place on Thu 19, Fri 20, Thu 26 and Fri 27 June at 2pm.
Each walk lasts 90 minutes plus questions.
Capacity for each walk: 15 people.

Tickets to be booked in advance, from the Chelsea Festival Box Office

Sloane Square
end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street

2.00pm (ends approx 3.30pm)
Tickets £8

What's On - Friday 20th June

Nicola Benedetti plays Bach

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The remarkable young Scottish violinist and a former winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year at the age of 16 plays a programme that includes a number of Bach's greatest works for the violin including the Concerto in A Minor and the extraordinary Chaconne in D minor. For the first time Nicola Benedetti also assumes the role of director in a performance of Handel's ornate Concerto Grosso No 6 in G minor. The programme concludes with one of the Baroque period's greatest choral works, Handel's Dixit Dominus. With the Armonico Consort and chorus directed by Christopher Monks.

"Acclaimed for her beauty, violinist Nicola Benedetti has genuine talent and depth" Los Angeles Times
"Benedetti's playing is beautifully precise and she has a deliciously unaffected charm" The Sunday Times

www.nicolabenedetti.co.uk  www.armonico.org.uk

Sponsor: Zurich

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

7.30pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £32 £27 £20 £10

What's On - Friday 20th June

Rein Rannap and Tiit Kika

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Two of Estonia's foremost contemporary musicians - Rein Rannap (piano) and Tiit Kikas (violin, samplers, theremin) come together for an evening of new and improvised performance. Rannap is an award winning classical pianist and a famed rock composer. His style encompasses the contemporary classical idiom, rock music, Estonian folk music, new age and jazz music. He is joined by the similarly eclectic Tiit Kika, who has composed music for feature films, including Shop of Dreams, and has performed with the Estonian metal band No Big Silence.

Supported by the Estonian Embassy

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

7.45pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £15
Wine Ticket £3

What's On - Friday 20th June

Comedy with Miles Jupp

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Miles Jupp was nominated for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2003, for his show 'Gentlemen Prefer Brogues'. He has been described as "A clever, dead pan, dead funny upperclass bloke, physically reminiscent of Martin Clunes but funnier... his musings are classic"
The Scotsman.

www.comedycv.co.uk/milesjupp

London Sketch Club
7 Dilke Street

8.00pm (ends approx 9.15pm)
9.30pm (ends approx 10.45pm)
Tickets £14

What's On - Saturday 21st June

Waterbugs & Dragonflies and The Wemmick Story

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Springs Dance Company for Children

Springs Dance Company is a unique dance company specializing in work targeted at the 3-9 age group. At the Chelsea Theatre they present their double bill, Waterbugs and Dragonflies - set at the bottom of a pond and The Wemmick Story based on Max Lucado's heart warming story You are special. Choreographed by Suzannah West with spectacular designs by Anna Jones and original music by Jeremy Clay.

"...youthful freshness and generosity..."

"that is probably the most delightful and moving piece of dance I have ever seen"

www.SpringsDanceCompany.org.uk

Chelsea Theatre
World's End Place, King's Road

3.00pm (ends approx 4.30pm)
Tickets £7

What's On - Saturday 21st June

N'Faly Kouyate and Dunyakan

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The Chelsea Festival continues to welcome musicians from around the world - the magical and infectious sound of the Kora or African harp as reinterpreted by the modern day master musician, Guinean N'Faly Kouyate. Together with the singers and dancers of Dunyakan (The Voice of the World), Kouyate intermingles blues, world music, jazz and the traditional music of Guinea. One of the most charismatic performers of his generation N'Faly Kouyate is also well known as a solo artist and a member of the internationally acknowledged Afro Celt Sound System.

"As one of the most charismatic performers of his generation, N'faly is ideally placed to carry on the legacy of his father and also to help promote knowledge, enjoyment and respect for his culture."
Arc Music

www.dunyakan.com

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

7.30pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £26 £22 £18 £10

What's On - Saturday 21st June

Ex Cathedra - Fire Burning in Snow

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A joyous musical celebration. Directed by the inspirational Jeffrey Skidmore, one of the most exciting of all British vocal ensembles, Ex Cathedra, revels in the colourful music from the jungles and cathedrals of 17th and 18th century Bolivia, Mexico and Peru. A particular feature is the rhythmically arresting music of Juan de Araujo with his settings of wonderfully evocative, indigenous imagery. Performed by chorus, soloists and continuo ensemble including traditional South American drums, Ex Cathedra's latest CD, Fire Burning in Snow, was released to a great fanfare of publicity and praise in February. One of the great discoveries of the last decade this is music that dances with joy.

"a fascinating programme, brilliantly executed"
Music Web International

www.ex-cathedra.org

Holy Trinity
Sloane Square

7.45pm (ends approx 9.55pm)
Tickets £22* £16*
Wine Ticket £3
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - Sunday 22nd June

Sonic Walk - 2pm

Cadogan Hall to Chelsea Theatre
Sunday 22nd June, 2pm - 6pm

'Sonic Garden' live launch - 6.30pm

World's End Place, outside Chelsea Theatre
Sunday 22nd June, 6.30pm - 8pm

When was the last time you went somewhere just to listen? The Sonic Walk is a unique and fun chance to really listen to what the streets around you are saying, and to be a part of the creation of a Chelsea Soundscape.

Sonic Walkers will be given recordable mp3 players and a sonic map and sent forth to collect sounds from around the area. Sounds collected on the walk will then be transformed into an original sound installation - the Sonic Garden - by the artist designer Dody Nash featuring the wierd and wonderful sounds of Chelsea mixed by leading sound artists.

The Sonic Walk will start with a private tour around Cadogan Hall and will finish at the Chelsea Theatre where the Sonic Garden will be launched in Worlds End Place with fantastic live art performances curated by Chelsea Theatre.

Invite your friends and family and enjoy a very different Sunday afternoon walk!

Or come and see the Sonic Garden any time between 22nd June and 16th July.

In partnership with the London Festival of Architecture, Chelsea Festival, and Chelsea Theatre.

Free of charge but booking essential. Contact arts@rbkc.gov.uk or 020 7361 3204 for further information and to book your place.

Photo ID, proof of address and card details will need to be provided at the start of the walk. These details are needed for theft prevention and will be destroyed on the return of the recording equipment.

The Sonic Walk is kindly supported by Edirol and Studiospec.

What's On - Sunday 22nd June

Coffee Concert The Barbirolli Quartet

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Formed in 2003, the Barbirolli Quartet (formerly known as the Stillman Quartet) brings together a wealth of experience, its members each having performed widely in their native countries of Canada, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. Current recipients of the prestigious Munster Scholarship, the quartet are: Katie Stillman, Rakhi Singh, Ella Brinch and Victoria Simonsen.

www.tashmina.co.uk/artists/the-barbirolli-string-quartet

Supported by the Munster Trust

The State Apartments
Royal Hospital Chelsea

11.30am (ends approx 12.40pm)
Tickets £16 (to include coffee and biscuits)

What's On - Sunday 22nd June

Volpino

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A little red caravan full of surprises! An enchanting piece of puppet theatre for the 4-9 age group performed by French company Theatre du Risorius.

Volpino, a young fox, sets off for a wild and fantastic adventure. The story features a family of foxes who have left the fields and hedgerows, to try their luck in the city. There, the young fox meets a number of other animals, including Mimine, a young rabbit. The tale follows the adventures of these two unlikely companions as they fly around the moon, create mayhem in a miniature city, swing through a shed of elasticated chickens... Puppeteer Thierry Dupre animates each character beautifully, showing us a fox-eye view of a world where animals can break with their ancestral instincts.

"Theatre du Risorius has been touring for 17 years and its experience showsÉthis is an enchanting and thought-provoking show for children of all ages"
The Scotsman

St Luke's Churchyard
Sydney Street

12 noon /1.30pm /2.30pm /4.00pm (Performances last 35 minutes)
Tickets £7 adults £5 children

What's On - Sunday 22nd June

Slava and Leonard Grigoryan (guitars)

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Brothers Slava and Leonard Grigoriyan are probably the finest classical guitar duo in Australia and have been playing together since Leonard was 4. They made their London debut in 2006 at the Wigmore Hall. Although they perform much of the standard repertoire for two guitars, their passion is to expand the classical guitar repertoire through new arrangements, new commissions and collaborations with contemporary composers as well as their own compositions and improvisations.

'there is almost nothing more beautiful than the sound of a classical guitar - except, perhaps, the sound of two' The West Australian

The State Apartments
Royal Hospital Chelsea

3.30pm (ends approx 5.30pm)
Tickets £25* (to include tea and biscuits)
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - 22nd & 25th June

At the Drop of a Hippopotamus

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Tim FitzHigham with Duncan Walsh Atkins

Chelsea's famous Arts Club opens its doors for the hugely entertaining re-creation of Flanders and Swann's great comic songs. The Masters of 1950s and 1960s madness, mirth and total silliness are paid affectionate tribute in this evening of their words and music. Mud, Mud Glorious Mud (The Hippopotamus Song), The Gnu Song, Madeira M'dear, The Gasman Cometh; songs that have passed into legend along with their anarchic sense of humour, wordplay and fun. These timeless songs are brought to life by a true inheritor of the British eccentric tradition, the astounding Tim FitzHigham together with pianist Duncan Walsh Atkins.

'If you think Eminem is the last word in lyrical dexterity, listen to FitzHigham - a younger, sexier Richard Stilgoe - wrap his tonsils around Flanders' tongue-tangling Have some Madeira M'dear.'
Evening Standard

"At the Drop of a Hippopotamus wholly captures Flanders and Swann's astute wit and delight in ingenious wordplay - a great British tradition"
The Guardian

www.fitzhigham.com

Chelsea Arts Club
Old Church Street

6.30pm (ends approx 7.45pm)
Tickets £20
 Please do not make dinner reservations
(Chelsea Arts Club 020 7376 3311) until tickets for the performance have been received

What's On - Monday 23rd June

Chelsea Festival Hat Show

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Kensington and Chelsea College, Britain's leading college for millinery, presents exclusive designs as part of the Chelsea Festival. Hundreds of spectacular hats, modelled by students from the English National Ballet School, will take to the runway in this glittering catwalk show, as final year millinery students present their collections ranging from contemporary to avant-garde. Many KCC millinery students have been snapped up by top names in the hat industry; this is a chance to preview the designers of the future.

www.kcc.ac.uk

The 2008 Chelsea Festival Hat Show is sponsored
by 'Chelsea Apartments' - 26 stunning new private
luxury apartments on the corner of Hortensia
Road and Fulham Road by Manhattan Loft
Corporation and The Trevor Osborne Group.
For Chelsea Apartments, sales 0207 016 3700,
www.thechelseaapartments.com

Event also supported by Peter Jones and Henry & James

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

7.30pm (ends approx 8.45pm)
Tickets £10

What's On - Monday 23rd June

Vaughan Willliams Anniversary Concert

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London Conchord Ensemble
and James Gilchrist tenor

Chelsea Festival marks the 50th anniversary of the death of sometime Cheyne Walk resident, Ralph Vaughan Williams. The young, stellar group that is the London Conchord Ensemble celebrates the music of one of the greatest of all English composers together with that of a number of his contemporaries. For their Chelsea Festival performance they are joined by leading English tenor, James Gilchrist.

The London Conchord Ensemble are Emily Pailthorpe oboe, Maya Koch violin, Douglas Patterson viola, Thomas Carroll cello, and Julian Milford piano.

www.conchord.co.uk
www.jamesgilchrist.co.uk

Sponsor: The Bowerman Charitable Trust

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

7.45pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Tickets £20 £15
Wine Ticket £3

What's On - Tuesday 24th June

Simon Hoggart

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The Hamster that loved Puccini

Voted by MP's as the wittiest of all parliamentary sketch writers, The Guardian's Simon Hoggart is also the wine and tv critic for the Spectator as well as the longtime Chairman of Radio 4's The News Quiz. He is a regular on Grumpy Old Men, and the author of two best selling books about Round Robin Christmas letters and hair-raising emails home from gap year students.

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

10.45am (ends approx 12 noon)
Tickets £13

What's On - Tuesday 24th June

Dido & Aeneas directed by Jonathan Miller

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Directed by Jonathan Miller
Philip Pickett/New London Consort

Chelsea Festival presents the premiere of a new performing edition of Purcell's masterpiece by Peter Holman and Philip Pickett, directed by Jonathan Miller. Purcell's Dido and Aeneas was possibly written for court performance in the early 1680s, and later revived at Josias Priest's Chelsea girls' school. In 1700, thanks to the efforts of the actor-manager Thomas Betterton, the opera reappeared in the commercial theatre as a "Masque in Four Musical Entertainments" - interludes gracing a Restoration adaptation of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Philip Pickett and the New London Consort have reconstructed the latter version with choreography by Sue Lefton and costumes by Eskandar.

With Julia Gooding as Dido, Michael George as Aeneas and Joanna Lunn as Belinda and featuring a large and colourful orchestra of slide-trumpets, kettle-drums, recorders, oboes, bassoon, double bass, strings, harpsichord, theorbo and even a serpent!

www.newlondonconsort.com

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

7.30pm (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £32* £27* £20* £10
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - Tuesday 24th June

Orthodox Music of the World

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The Estonian Orthodox Choir
directed by Valery Petrov

Inheritors of one of the great European vocal traditions, the Estonian Orthodox Choir was founded in 1989 by Valery Petrov. It has subsequently established a reputation as one of the finest professional ensembles in Estonia, receiving awards at a number of international competitions and European music festivals. The repertoire of the ensemble includes great works from the Russian sacred choral literature including compositions by Alexander Arkhangelsky and Sergei Rachmaninov, as well as arrangements of Russian sacred folk songs.

Recent additions to its repertoire have included the music of contemporary Orthodox composers such as Sir John Tavener, Valery Kalistratov, and Arvo PŠrt. The Chelsea Festival programme includes a London premiere by Erik-Sven Tuur.

Supported by the Estonian Embassy

Christ Church
off Flood Street

8.00pm (ends approx 10.00pm)
Tickets £20 £15
Wine Ticket £3

What's On - Wednesday 25th June

Decadence & Decoration

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Stephen Calloway

Author, Historian and Curator of Prints at the Victoria & Albert Museum Stephen Calloway brings to life the decadent and opulent world of the great society decorators between the World Wars; providing a fascinating look at the private and professional lives of celebrated figures such as Oliver Messel, Cecil Beaton, Rex Whistler and their creation of luxurious and exotic interiors, setdesigns, costumes, photographs and paintings.

www.vam.ac.uk

The talk is presented in association with Potterton Books London, 93 Lower Sloane Street, London SW1W 8DA.

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

10.45am (ends approx 12 noon)
Tickets £13

This talk commences a special day of art & design related book-signings and talks at Potterton Books. For more details call 020 7730 4235 or visit www.pottertonbookslondon.co.uk

What's On - Wednesday 25th June

Chelsea Festival Cricket Match

Free Event

The fourth annual cricket match between Chelsea Arts Club C.C. and Friend & Falcke Marauders takes place in the wonderful setting of Burton's Court in front of The Royal Hospital. Both teams are from the long tradition of London based wandering cricket teams, some of whom have existed for well over a century. The match will be 50 overs a side and Chelsea Arts Club lead the series by 3-1. This is a quintessential English event and is highly recommended to those who enjoy watching a little cricket and/or savouring the unique atmosphere of this enchanting ground. There will be a cash bar during the afternoon.

Sponsor: Friend & Falcke

Burton's Court
(entrance off St Leonard's Terrace)

11.00am (ends approx 6.00pm)
Entry Free

What's On - Wednesday 25th June

Lights and Shadows
with Eleanor Bron

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Eleanor Bron speaker with Counterpoise
Kyle Horch saxophone Deborah Calland trumpet
Helen Reid piano

The incomparable Eleanor Bron brings her wide ranging talents to an extraordinarily rich and diverse show which draws on cabaret, poetry and jazz, as well as various classical genres. The programme spotlights the fusion of words and music from Britten's nightclub blues The Spider and the Fly to Copland's evocative urban landscape Quiet City. Poetry by Keats, Auden, Eliot and Langston Hughes is woven into the texture of the programme and cross-references between the genres (jazz/classical, poetry/music) explored. There is also a rare opportunity to sample the notoriety of George Antheil, the Bad Boy of Music. Programme includes:

Supported by Buildburo

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

7.45pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Tickets £20* £15*
Wine Ticket £3
*£2 discount for Festival Friends

What's On - Wednesday 25th June

Sandi Toksvig - AVAILABLE

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The much loved writer, broadcaster and comedienne is giving a rare series of solo stand-up performances across the Summer of 2008. In 2007 she was named Channel 4's Political Humorist of the Year and Radio Broadcaster of the Year by the Broadcast Press Guild. She currently chairs Radio 4's News Quiz as well as appearing regularly on LBC. Chelsea Festival is delighted to welcome the diminutive Dane.

St Columba's
Pont Street

8.00pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Tickets £20
(to include a complimentary glass of wine kindly sponsored by Chelsea Festival)

What's On - Thursday 26th June

Humphrey Burton - Leonard Bernstein

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With musical illustrations from Bernstein's many and varied masterpieces - West Side Story, The Chichester Psalms, Candide and much more besides - Humphrey Burton, the veteran broadcaster and biographer of composer Leonard Bernstein, talks about the polymath's remarkable life in music in the 90th year since his birth.

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace

10.45am (ends approx 12 noon)
Tickets £13

What's On - Thursdays and Fridays

The Chelsea Festival Walks

Thursday 19th June at 2pm

Friday 20th June at 2pm

Thursday 26th June at 2pm

Friday 27th June at 2pm

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In its second season of delights, The Chelsea Walks is proud to be offering four tailor-made weekday walks, during The Chelsea Festival, capturing the magnificence of this most Royal borough, in her own annual summer showcase. 90 minutes of delectable cultural and musical morsels await each walker, from Tudor to Turner, Whistler to Westwood, Betjeman to Beatles. Your guide, Chelsea-born, and '60s bred Gary, unfolds its peerless parade of people, places and events, that literally shape the 21st century.

The Chelsea Walks will start at Sloane Square, end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street, and take place on Thu 19, Fri 20, Thu 26 and Fri 27 June at 2pm.
Each walk lasts 90 minutes plus questions.
Capacity for each walk: 15 people.

Tickets to be booked in advance, from the Chelsea Festival Box Office

Sloane Square
end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street

2.00pm (ends approx 3.30pm)
Tickets £8

What's On - Thursday 26th June

Yoko Nishi (koto)

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A traditional 13 stringed Japanese instrument, the Koto was introduced from China to Japan in the 7th and 8th centuries. With an astounding repertoire of traditional and contemporary works at her disposal, Yoko Nishi is one of Japan's most sought after koto players and she brings to the Chelsea Festival a programme that includes traditional music for the koto as well as adaptations of repertoire by Mozart, Ravel and Piazzolla. She is joined by acclaimed pianist Motoki Hirai and violinist Michael Spencer. We invite the Chelsea Festival audience to immerse themselves in a stunningly different and beautiful sound world.

This concert features a pre-concert talk at 6.30pm and is available free to all ticket holders for this concert.

Koto - The tradition and beyond - This pre-concert talk will unfold and explore the secrets of the koto, a musical instrument which has attracted people both inside and outside of Japan, and has inspired many musicians to create innovative pieces of music for this timeless instrument. The musicians themselves will take part in the talk, and the subsequent discussions to explain the features of some of the musical pieces which will be performed at the concert. Pre-concert talk led by Shino Arisawa, School of Oriental and African Studies

Supported by Mitsubishi Corporation (UK) Plc
www.mitsubishicorp-uk.com

Christ Church
off Flood Street

6.30pm - Pre Concert Talk
7.30pm - Concert (ends approx 9.30pm)
Tickets £20 £15
Wine Ticket £3

What's On - Thursday 26th June

The Music of John Ireland
with Mark Bebbington (piano)

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Mark Bebbington (piano)

The composer John Ireland was organist of St Luke's Church during the years 1904-1926. Pianist Mark Bebbington pays tribute to Ireland's music with Three London Pieces (written when he lived in Chelsea), and the Ballade of London Nights. The concert also celebrates the centenary of Howard Ferguson's birth with a performance of his magnificent Piano Sonata in F minor. The programme also includes Mark Bebbington's acclaimed interpretation of Elgar's 1st Symphony in a transcription by Siegfried Karg-Elert.

"....a virtuoso recasting that needs a Liszt to play it..... revealing and often thrilling results" 5*****
BBC Music Magazine, November 2007

Preceded at 6.45pm by a pre-concert talk
'John Ireland in Chelsea' - Pianist Alan Rowlands, who knew the composer well, talks about John Ireland's 50 or so years in Chelsea, illustrated with recorded examples of the composer's own performances.

www.markbebbington.co.uk

Supported by The John Ireland Trust

St Luke's Church
Sydney Street

7.45pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Tickets £20 £15
Wine Ticket £3

What's On - Thursday 26th June

Comedy with Josie Long

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Trying is Good

The 2006 If.comedy's Best Newcomer hits the London Sketch Club with her latest show designed to inspire people to talk to one another more on public transport. "I'm trying to make my second show as good as playing Uno with your housemates or discovering foreign chocolate bars with offensive names". Silly. Upbeat. Friendly.

'She's daft, she's uplifting, she's truly magical.'
Time Out

It's probably scientifically impossible to dislike Long... a rare comedy talent.' Metro *****

www.ilovejosielong.co.uk

London Sketch Club
7 Dilke Street

7.45pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
Tickets £14

What's On - Thursdays and Fridays

The Chelsea Festival Walks

Thursday 19th June at 2pm

Friday 20th June at 2pm

Thursday 26th June at 2pm

Friday 27th June at 2pm

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In its second season of delights, The Chelsea Walks is proud to be offering four tailor-made weekday walks, during The Chelsea Festival, capturing the magnificence of this most Royal borough, in her own annual summer showcase. 90 minutes of delectable cultural and musical morsels await each walker, from Tudor to Turner, Whistler to Westwood, Betjeman to Beatles. Your guide, Chelsea-born, and '60s bred Gary, unfolds its peerless parade of people, places and events, that literally shape the 21st century.

The Chelsea Walks will start at Sloane Square, end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street, and take place on Thu 19, Fri 20, Thu 26 and Fri 27 June at 2pm.
Each walk lasts 90 minutes plus questions.
Capacity for each walk: 15 people.

Tickets to be booked in advance, from the Chelsea Festival Box Office

Sloane Square
end at the Cross Keys, Lawrence Street

2.00pm (ends approx 3.30pm)
Tickets £8

What's On - Friday 27th June

The Glory of Venice

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With the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Cornett and Sackbut ensemble
Julia Doyle (soprano) directed by Steven Devine

Sir Christopher Wren's Royal Hospital Chapel welcomes an ensemble from one of the UK's foremost period music ensembles as they perform dazzling repertoire composed for another building of exceptional beauty and with a wonderful acoustic, St Mark's in Venice. Programme includes:

www.ecse.co.uk

Royal Hospital Chapel
Royal Hospital Chelsea

7.00pm (ends approx 9.45pm)
The programme will include a picnic interval of one hour
Tickets £30* £26* £22*
*£2 discount for Festival Friends
Black Tie optional

What's On - Friday 27th June

Ian Shaw Sings Ray Charles

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Winner in the Best Vocalist category at the 2007 BBC Jazz Awards, the remarkable Ian Shaw performs his powerful tribute to the legendary singer-cum-pianist-cum-composer Ray Charles. With his regular band - pianist Janette Mason, Thad Kelly (bass) and Mark Fletcher (drums) - Shaw highlights Charles' illustrious internationally successful recordings, from his early gospel and blues beginnings through the famous partnership with Betty Carter to his later forays into pop crossover and soul.

"our favourite jazz singer . . . simply this country's finest" Time Out

www.ianshaw.biz

St Columba's
Pont Street

8.00pm (ends approx 10.00pm)
Tickets £20
(to include a complimentary glass of wine kindly sponsored by Chelsea Festival)