Pupils join the professionals at composers fest

More than 100 school children will be taking part.

The concert is called ‘Dancing Around the World’ and will feature six specially commissioned ‘Symphonic Dances’ by international composers which reflect the musical traditions of six different areas of the globe.

Eastbourne Academy of Dancing have choreographed and will perform four pieces: one from Mexico with music by Carlos Salomon; one from Arabia written by Qatar-born composer Ash Madni, who is the festival’s Composer in Residence; another from France with music by Julian Marczak; and a final piece from England by Simon Proctor.

The Diana Freedman School of Dance in Bexhill have choreographed and will perform two further pieces: one Japanese with music by Nobuya Monta and one Argentinian with music by the Festival’s founder and Artistic Director Polo Piatti.

The children will be performing in the first half of the concert, which will take place at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sunday September 23 at 4pm.

The second half will be taken up by the world premiere of a specially commissioned ballet by the Japanese composer Nobuya Monta, who is a long-standing supporter of the festival.

It’s called The Crane’s Wife and is based on a traditional Japanese fairy tale. It has been choreographed by Mayu Uesugi and will be performed by her ballet troupe the Niconomiel Dance Company. They are based in Osaka and will be flying in from Japan specially to perform at the festival.

The music for both parts of the concert will be performed live by the International Festival Orchestra which is comprised of international professional players playing together with distinguished local musicians.

The concert will be the climax of the festival, which starts on the evening of Friday September 21 with a grand opening concert at the Opus Theatre in Hastings.

There will be three further concerts at the De La Warr Pavilion on Saturday September 22: a chamber music concert in the morning, a special performance by the Brighton Film Quartet at lunchtime and a full orchestral concert in the evening featuring music from films, television and games.

On the morning of Sunday September 23 at the De La Warr there will be a fascinating discussion between Polo Piatti and two leading young pianists,

Sunny Li from China and Oliver Poole from the UK. Both pianists will perform a selection of stunning new pieces.

For further information, go to www.composersfestival.com. Tickets are available now from the Hastings Tourist Information Centre (01424 451111) for the Opus Theatre and from the De La Warr Pavilion for all their concerts (01424 229111). Tickets for under-18s accompanied by a paying adult are free.