The Friends of Buxton Festival

● Support the Festival through annual subscription
● Enjoy a range of social and cultural fundraising events throughout the year
● Encourage attendance at the Festival


Benefits of joining the Friends

● Priority booking
● Friends' reception during the Festival – wine and dine with fellow Friends and meet the season's major artists
● Opera holidays
● Quarterly newsletter

● Acknowledgement of support in the Festival programme

Download an application form here or call Lee on 01298 70395 for more information.


Levels of support

Gold Friend single / joint membership per annum

£55 / £80

● One week extra priority booking before Friends
● During priority booking single members may purchase two tickets per event and joint members four tickets per event

Individual Friend single / joint membership per annum
£25 / £35

● Three weeks priority booking
● During priority booking single members may purchase two tickets per event and joint members four tickets per event

We ask that our Friends overseas add an extra £5 to their subscription to cover postage costs.

An introduction to the Friends

The Friends of Buxton Festival was founded in 1980 to provide financial security for the Festival through subscriptions, donations and fundraising.

The Friends also support a major new opera production each year.

In 2009 the Friends raised over £100,000 – quite a feat in these straitened financial times! Membership is nearing 3,000.

94 pence in every pound raised goes directly to the Festival. And a large percentage of the Friends' income comes from subscriptions – even if you are unable to participate in any other way, joining the Friends' makes a valuable contribution.

Over £1,000,000 is needed to put on each Festival. Almost half of this income comes from Box Office receipts, leaving £500,000 to raise.

The Festival simply could not continue without the Friends' vital support.

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FRIENDS

Our Patrons provide invaluable financial security, helping the Festival to realise its artistic vision.

Every year Buxton audiences can enjoy at least two unique and fully-staged operas produced by the Festival. Each of these productions costs around £300,000.

The annual acclaim of national media and our ever-growing audience are testament to the calibre of our opera productions.

'The support from our Patrons and Friends makes a huge difference to the standard of programme we can offer.  It is much appreciated by the whole Festival Company as well as future Festival audiences.'
Glyn Foley, Chief Executive

Benefits of becoming a Patron

● Priority booking  - book one week before Friends
● Complimentary Festival programme
● Invitation to the Chairman's Bar for complimentary interval drinks
● Patron's Festival concert and lunch - meet other Patrons and Festival artists
● Acknowledgement of support in the Festival programme


Levels of support

£150 per annum single subscription
£200 per annum for a joint subscription

For more information call Lee on 01298 70395.

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PATRONS

A dedicated team of volunteers work hard year-round.

Extra help is needed in July for:

Stewarding
Selling programmes
Working in the shop

Call 01298 70395 for more information.

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The Foundation is an endowment fund. It was established in 2002 to safeguard the Festival's future.

Individuals can make a donation of over £1,000 or leave a legacy of to the Foundation. 

Contributors to the Foundation provide a secure financial base which allows the artistic team to plan ahead with confidence.

Because the Foundation is a registered charity donations are tax-effective and legacies are not liable for Inheritance Tax.

For more information please call 01298 70395.

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THE FOUNDATION

Each year the Festival lays on a series of free workshops, concerts and longer term projects for High Peak residents.

The Festival has involved over 10,000 people in creative projects in the last five years.

Led by professional artists, these events offer the chance to explore opera, music and literature to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity. 

You can help support this exciting work with a monthly donation from as a little as £2.

To find out more call Claire on 01298 70395 or download the Engage! newsletter here.

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In 2010 Buxton Festival appreciates important financial support from:

2010 SPONSORS

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The Festival gratefully acknowledged further support of many sponsors and donors including:

The Barceló Palace Hotel – is one of the Festival’s central venues as well as providing accommodation for some of our artists and speakers during the Festival.

Best Western Lee Wood Hotel – is the central venue of our afternoon literary series and they look forward to welcoming our audiences to the hotel this summer.

Brooke-Taylors Solicitors – is a long-standing Buxton company whose staff and partners have supported the Festival for many years.

Columbine Restaurant – is a prestigious local restaurant which has supported the Festival for many years and fed many happy Festival guests over the years.

Dow Hyperlast – is a local company which specialises in the production of polyurethane solutions that is proud to support the Festival in 2010.

East Lodge Country House Hotel – is a luxury hotel whose location in the heart of the Peak makes them the perfect supporter of this year’s talk by the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire.

Going Digital – is a company that runs photography courses in spectacular settings around the Peak District that in 2010 supports the Festival’s photography competition.

The Grove Hotel – is one of Buxton’s original hotels which this year helps the Festival by looking after some of our artists in July.

The Green Pavilion – is a beautiful florist shop that creates the Festival’s artists’ bouquets which are presented on stage on the opening night of each opera.  Their sister business The Café@ The Green Pavilion is also a favourite haunt of our artists.

Hewson & Howson Ltd – are the Festival’s accountants and are proud to support the continued development of the Festival.

The Moorside Grange Hotel and Spa – is a beautiful spa hotel set in Peak District countryside.  They support the Festival by looking after some of our literary speakers during their visit to Buxton.

Nat's Kitchen - is a relaxed and friendly restaurant and B&B set in the heart of Buxton. They serve a delicious à la carte menu which utilises the wealth of good quality produce available locally. They are delighted to be working with the Festival for the first time this summer.

Northern Rail – helps the Festival encourage our audience to travel to Buxton on the train thus helping the environment and reducing congestion in the town during the Festival.

Simon Watkinson Photography – is a photographic training centre based in the Peak District that in 2010 supports the Festival’s photography competition.

Tarmac – is a quarrying company with several sites in the area.  They are proud to support the Festival in 2010.

Tom Son Ltd – is a well established local company who supply fruit and vegetables to many of the town’s restaurants and hotels. 

Waitrose – is proud to sponsor several foodie events at this summer’s Festival including cookery demonstrations and literary talks.

Waterstone’s – this prestigious book store supports the Festival’s poetry competition by providing prizes for the winners of our Youth and Children’s categories.

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Buxton Festival’s reputation for high quality, innovative work extends further than the stage. 

Sponsoring Buxton Festival guarantees you a quality experience tailored to suit your company’s objectives:

●  Communicating brand values through unique and quality hospitality
●  Targeting specific segments of our audience
●  Appealing to new customers
●  Investing in the community
●  Enhancing investor/government relations
●  Providing staff incentives/rewards
●  Enhancing CSR profile

‘We regard our sponsorship of Buxton Festival as an investment in the town and our business interests in the community.  Our commitment to Buxton’s most prominent cultural organisation demonstrates our own pursuit of quality, responsible business and successful investment in successful ventures.  For this reason, we continue to increase our investment in the Festival’s continuing success.’      
Trevor Osborne, The Osborne Group

Buxton Festival’s sponsorship packages cater for all budgets and special offers are available to first time sponsors. To find out more download our sponsorship leaflet here or call Claire Rhodes on 01298 70395.

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The Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the following trusts and foundations in 2010:

● Bingham Trust
● Countess of Munster Trust
● Ernest Cook Trust
● Derbyshire Community Foundation
● Hall Bank Trust
● Idlewild Trust
● Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust
● Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund
● Martyn Donaldson Music Trust
● Peter Moores Foundation
● PRS for Music Foundation
● RVW Trust
● Rotary Club of Buxton
● Ruth Bison
● Tesco Charity Trust
● William Alwyn Foundation

The support of these organisations allows us to maintain our central opera programme and to involve 2,000 local people in creative arts activity through our community and education programme. 

Their contributions are key to our continued success.

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The Festival is both a limited company and a charity, promoting a summer Festival of the arts and an associated community and education programme.  Festival policies are set by a Board of trustees listed below.

Janet Smith (Chairman) lived in Buxton for many years and is now delighted to have the opportunity to spend more time in the town.  After a career as a barrister in Manchester, she became a High Court judge in 1992 and is now a Lady Justice of Appeal, working at the Royal Courts of Justice.  She chaired the Shipman Inquiry in 2001-5.  She is married to Robin Mathieson, has three children, two stepsons and five shared grandchildren.  Apart from her passion for opera, she loves theatre in winter and gardening in fair weather.

Cedric Coates (Vice Chairman) is a Civil Engineer with a long career in management of the design and construction of major projects.  He is actively involved in politics, church, choral music and a Commissioner of General Taxation.

John Anfield came to Buxton in 1978 when he was appointed Head of Planning with the Peak District National Park.  Now retired, he is a volunteer National Park Ranger,  a keen amateur musician, an organist at Buxton Methodist Church and singer with Buxton Musical Society.  He has attended every Buxton Festival, and became a member of the Board in 2003.

Jennie Ball has been on the Festival’s Board for four years.  She is Chairman of the Broadoak Group, based in Northumberland, Vice Chairman of High Peak Radio, and actively involved in Peak Music Society.  Her interests range from music and the arts, via media and sport to heritage and travel.  Splitting her time between the Peak District and London, Jennie also works as a volunteer at Thomas Carlyle house in Chelsea and in charitable work centred on children and young people.

Averil Glatman qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist, working in hospitals and as a locum.  She has travelled extensively and been involved with both Opera North and Buxton Festival since their inception.  Her interests range from theatre, music and opera to the welfare of children and the elderly.  She has served on Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital Board for over 30 years.

Trevor Osborne has been a property developer for the past 40 years. The Osborne Group are regarded as experts on buildings of architectural and historic interest. He is a member of the Royal Opera House Development Board and the founding chairman of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales’s Urban Villages Forum. He is currently a Council Member of the Georgian Group, a Trustee of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust, a Director of the Academy of Urbanism and the Chairman of the Advisory Board of South East Excellence. The Group’s philosophy is to engage and be involved in the communities in which it operates. In Buxton he is is heavily engaged in promoting the Opera House, The University of Derby and local organisations.

Louise Potter, a member of the Festival’s board since 1994, also chairs the Friends of Buxton Festival and is a member of the Opera House Board.  Louise restored and developed the Old Hall Hotel and is passionate about Buxton and the Peak District, a supporter of the Festival and Opera House, with interests including art, travel, history, archaeology and walking.  She is the Derbyshire representative for the Art Fund and also on Visit Peak District’s Board. 

After studying music in Manchester, Phil Ramsbottom decided, after considerable heart searching, that he could best serve music in an amateur rather than professional capacity and thus duly joined the Manchester office of an international firm of chartered accountants, retiring in 2000 after 31 years’ service.  Despite a busy professional life, he was a regular member of the BBC Northern Singers for over 20 years, performing with Solti, Groves, Boulez and Downes.  In addition to Buxton Festival, Phil is on the governing bodies of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, RNCM, Chetham’s School of Music, Chetham’s Hospital and Library, the Granada Foundation and the Britten-Pears Foundation.

Buxton has always been home to Michael Williams.  After reading Law at Oxford, he qualified as a Solicitor.  He became a church organist whilst still at school and has been Organist and Master of the Music at St John’s Church since 1985.  He first conducted Buxton Musical Society in 1967, and has since then covered a wide repertoire of choral and orchestral music.  He was a member of the original steering committee which engineered the reopening of the Opera House and the establishment of the Festival in 1979.  He has served on the Opera House Board ever since, currently as Chairman, and joined the Festival Board in 1993.  In 1997 he was appointed MBE for services to the arts in Buxton.

Stuart Lester has a long-standing interest and involvement in the arts and education. He was a founder trustee of the Hampstead & Highgate Festival and is Chair of Governors of two schools in the London Borough of Barnet. A chartered accountant by profession, he had a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry before retiring to pursue an eclectic range of interests, including opera, classical music, theatre, sport, walking and all aspects of Italian life and culture. He has been a regular visitor to Buxton since the first festival in 1979 and joined the Board in 2010.

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