Celebrating her 90th birthday, Dame Cleo Laine and her family will play host to a stellar line-up of artists next month, including Lesley Garrett, clarinet virtuoso Emma Johnson, classical guitarist John Williams, the internationally acclaimed Brodsky Quartet; poet, playwright and novelist Ben Okri; vocalist, actress and director Maria Friedman and classical guitarist Craig Ogden.
Cleo is opening up her enchanting private gardens to the public on July 14, 15 and 16 for the 2017 ‘Music In the Garden: The Dankworth Family Festival’.
This year the festival will be donating all proceeds to Beds and Northants MS Therapy Centre, a charity close to the family’s heart as Dame Cleo’s son Stuart suffers from the debilitating condition.
Since its inception by the legendary John Dankworth, the Dankworth Family Festival brings together the extended Dankworth family (Cleo, Jacqui and husband Charlie Wood, Alec and daughter Emily) plus very special friends each year for a weekend of world-class performances in a magical setting.
The Old Rectory in Wavendon, a romantic Gothic Revival greensand and limestone vicarage built in 1848 by architect William Butterfield, has been home to the Dankworth family since the late 1960s.
In the 1990s it was the late Sir John Dankworth who thought the idyllic Victorian garden would be the perfect setting for hosting his own music festival, The Dankworth Family Festival, an event that offers a humble, honest and real experience to any serious music fan.
There are lots of interesting nooks and crannies which Sir John delighted in naming after beloved musicians, such as: Acker's Archway, a woodland pathway; Shearing's Clearing, an area devoted to the British jazz legend; Tracey's Trace, devoted to the great British pianist composer; to name but a few!
Over the years John and Cleo played host to such diverse performers as Eddi Reader, Fenella Fielding, Darius Brubeck, Alexander Armstrong and numerous others from the worlds of music, theatre and the arts.
For full event details and to book your seats for an exceptional weekend click here
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