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Camden New Journal - by MICHAEL MANN
Published: 28 June 2007

Former opera singer Helen Lawrence - "People have taken the festival to their hearts"

Music festival set to go higher still and higher

This year’s Hampstead and Highgate Festival, the fourth run under the management of artistic director George Vass and festival trustees chair Helen Lawrence, has set the seal on their aim to turn the festival round and win the support of the local community.
Now the aim is to expand the project, opening the door for it to be the best so far. Festival organisers announced this week that the internationally renowned pianist Stephen Kovacevich will be returning for another concert performance.
“The joyful atmosphere at all the 30 events this year and the enthusiastic feedback from audiences shows that the local public have now taken the festival to their hearts,” said Ms Lawrence, herself a retired opera singer and former chairman of the Heath and Hampstead Society, said:
“The quality of the programme is not in doubt, as can be seen from the superlatives in the press and the fact that all the smaller events were booked out and the main concerts all well attended.”
What was significant this year was that some of the concerts were fund-raising events for local charities such as the Burgh House Trust and the Royal Free Hospital Charitable Trust.
The festival’s fund-raising strategy has also given it a new-found financial stability with the opportunity now to expand the programme.
The £60,000 raised for this festival was very much thanks to sponsorship by local and national companies, the principal sponsor being estate agents Goldschmidt & Howland, Capital Gardens as well as major companies such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Barclays Bank and the Heron Corporation.
One idea being contemplated for next year is an exhibition at Burgh House from the fascinating archives of Goldschmidt & Howland, featuring the sales over the decades of major local properties.

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