The fundraiser at Glyndebourne for Transition Town Lewes was ‘a crazy, ambitious and supremely magical event‘. A whole medley of Lewes performers came together in what some are calling ‘the event of the season‘. The performances were hosted and woven together with entertaining stories about Lewes by Gus Christie, owner of Glyndebourne. The event, which was virtually sold out, attracted local people of all ages and walks of life, many of whom had never been to the world-famous opera house.  

The afternoon raised a net of nearly £8,000 for Transition Town Lewes. Oliver Dudok van Heel, who helped organise the concert, said, ‘We’re delighted with the success of the event and the way it celebrated Lewes, its culture and musical talent. It has also given us the financial support needed to carry out practical actions geared towards developing solutions to the challenges of peak oil and climate change and will help our local energy company, Ovesco, support the creation a share issue for possibly Britain’s first community-owned solar photovoltaic power station.’

The high-calibre performers included included Kalamus, bagpipe group; a special choir of over 100 people on stage, conducted by John Hancorn; The Baroque Collective and the world’s best recorder player Piers Adams; The God of Hellfire, Arthur Brown; and world famous opera stars Paul Austin Kelly, Liz Brice, Thomasin Trezise and Riccardo Simonetti, performing together accompanied by Carol Kelly; Glyndebourne’s Youth choir and The Galliard Ensemble, one of Britain’s leading chamber ensembles. The whole event was sponsored by Glyndebourne, with Bills and Harveys providing refreshments for the performers. Thanks, everyone!

Read more about the event by Adrienne Campbell of TTL.