Stroud’s Sacred Music Festival: building on last year’s success for 2016
ST LAURENCE Church, in the heart of Stroud’s town centre, is once again to be the hub of this year’s Sacred Music Festival.
Co-director Girish Patel says, “the response to last year’s sell-out event exceeded our expectations, and this has enthused us to expand it over two days this year.”
The Festival was the dream of Stroud priest Rev Simon Howell, who shares with Girish the belief that music is the language of the heart, and can succeed in bringing unity and peace where dialogue often fails.
“The Sacred Music Festival is essentially an act of peace. We have aspired to bring together outstanding and soulful musicians from many spiritual paths this year - including from Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, anthroposophical and indigenous traditions - in this expression of unity.”
Stroud homoeopathist Kate Marney, who attended the event last year, said “I was delighted by how joyful and fun last years festival was, and I am excited about this year’s line-up.”
This year there is an opportunity for local people to participate: we are bringing a brilliant Congolese Gospel artist Jean-Paul Waboti to form a choir specifically to perform at the event.
Originally from central Africa, he will be flying in from his home in France for two weekends prior to the festival.
Twenty-five people will get to learn from this master of his craft, and it is hoped that after the performance the choir will continue to meet and perform in the area.
More information about the workshops can be found at
sacredmusicfestival.org.uk/workshop.html
The event begins on the evening of Friday, July 1, with an exciting line up topped by international group the Ganda Boys who are huge stars in their homeland of Uganda.
There will be a Sikh Bhangra workshop at the Subscription Rooms on Saturday morning, followed by a procession through the town arriving at St Laurence Church at 1pm.
This heralds the start of varied sacred music workshops throughout the afternoon.
An impressive line-up of artists in the evening are headlined by the world-renowned duo Susheela Raman and Sam Mills who have taken their vibrant Sufi/Bhakti musical sounds all over the globe.
The festival organisers are keen to hear from anyone interested in volunteering in the preparation for the event or on the days.
Please email girishpatel108@yahoo.com
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here