- Classical music festival taking place over seven days.
- Annual festival largest to date, to celebrate Liberation 70th anniversary
- See the full line-up
WORLD-renowned classical musicians and performers will feature in the Liberation International Music Festival, which this year is expected to be bigger than ever before.
Tickets went on sale earlier this week for the numerous concerts and events that are planned for the festival, which has been extended to take place over ten days from 7 to 17 May at various venues.
The central theme of the festival, which will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Occupation, is reconciliation, and one of the key events on Liberation Day itself is a concert at the Jersey Opera House by the Berlin Philharmonic Octet, who will perform a selection of popular chamber music.
The concert will also feature celebrity narrators, who are yet to be confirmed, and will include the reading of extracts from unpublished letters written by Jersey residents and German soldiers during the Occupation.
Sponsors Deutsche Bank and Mourant Ozannes, together with the organisers of the festival, are also offering ten pairs of complimentary tickets for the concert to Islanders who were resident in Jersey during the Occupation.
Other highlights of the festival include an evening with the Orchestre symphonique de Bretagne, which will feature songs from the Sound of Music sung by international soloist Sarah Fox.
The programme will also see the return of the Band of the Royal Marines, who will open the festival with military music, marches, old favourites and big band hits.
Also returning is jazz singer, songwriter and all-round entertainer Clare Teal, who will headline the afternoon’s line-up at the last event of the festival, Jazz at Hamptonne.
There will be no television celebrity dancers this year but instead there will be a ballet gala at Fort Regent with two world-class dancers, Sarah Lamb and Stuart McRae, who are both principals of the Royal Ballet.
They will be performing solos from Russian classics such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
The night also features the Jersey Chamber Orchestra, under conductor Michael Seal, and performers from a number of Jersey dance schools.
Islanders who were resident in Jersey during the Occupation who are interested in applying for one of the pairs of complimentary tickets should apply to Sari Cuming (sari.cuming@db.com) at Deutsche Bank, by 31 March, including their name, contact details and, if they choose, any memories they may like to share of the Occupation. Tickets will then be allocated through a ballot.
Tickets for the ballet are available from Fort Regent on 449827, while tickets for all other events are available from the Jersey Opera House on 511115, or through this wesbsite.
Meanwhile, Islanders who lived through the Occupation can also apply for free tickets for the Liberation Day events in the People’s Park. Anyone interested can collect application forms from parish halls or download them here.
Thursday 7 May – Band of the Royal Marines, at Jersey Opera House
Saturday 9 May – Berlin Philharmonic Octet, at Jersey Opera House
Wednesday 13 May – Concert by soloist Sarah Fox and the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, at Jersey Opera House
Saturday 16 May – Ballet Gala with the Royal Ballet’s Sarah Lamb, at Fort Regent
Sunday 17 May – Jazz at Hamptonne, featuring Clare Teal, at Hamptonne
THE line-up for this year’s Liberation Day 70th anniversary celebrations were announced last month and will include a series of public events culminating in a night-time finale at the People’s Park.
The Bailiff’s Chambers announced that the event will be marked on Saturday 9 May with a tea party, grand parade, and a food and entertainment event, as the traditional formal ceremony.
A service of thanksgiving and remembrance led by the Dean of Jersey is also scheduled to take place on Friday 8 May.
Speaking last month as he announced the events, the Bailiff, William Bailhache, said: ‘I hope that the special arrangements to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Liberation on 9 May will appeal to everyone in our community, young and old, and, in particular, service to recognise those who endured the Occupation, whether in Jersey or further afield as well as the memory of those who are no longer with us.
‘Let us all embrace the spirit of Liberation and celebrate our privileges and freedoms on this special anniversary.’
The events on 9 May will start at 11.30 am with the annual Slave Workers’ Memorial Service at Westmount.
The traditional flag-raising ceremony at the Pomme d’Or will go ahead as usual followed by a grand parade from Liberation Square to the People’s Park at 2 pm.
A ceremony will then take place at the park and it will include a special meeting of the States, an act of remembrance and a commemorative production involving theatre, music and visuals.
This will be followed by a community tea party and food fair with entertainment and a food and entertainment programme from 5 pm and into the evening.
The grand finale, details of which have yet to be released, is then due to take place at 10 pm.
However, not everyone is happy about the 70th anniversary events planned, with many Islanders are disappointed that the focus of the celebrations has moved from Liberation Square to the People’s Park.
This is one of the Letters to the Editor the JEP has received on the subject:
From June Beslièvre.
I SHARE the disgust of many at the way the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Liberation have been organised.
To have entertainment and a tea party running from 2 pm to late evening is one thing but to cut out all the things that matter most to the people who were here during the Occupation is shameful; they were the ones who endured so much so that the rest could enjoy the party.
The visit by the Royal Navy with the troops on board, youngsters with their parents re-enacting the scenes down the harbour as Liberation began, with soldiers distributing sweets, then the flag-raising ceremony and service of remembrance.
The final sing-song with the Band of the Island of Jersey and young people singing, then Sadie Rennard’s glorious rendition of Beautiful Jersey, that is the way it should still be done. The party in the park can still follow.
There seems no point in moving the service to 8 May, who is going to be there? Why is the ceremony in the park going to include a meeting of the States?
What an opportunity has been lost, youngsters will just have a jolly day without knowing what Liberation is all about.
A ROYAL visitor will help Islanders celebrate this year’s Liberation Day.
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex will visit Jersey on Saturday 9 May to take part in the 70th anniversary celebrations.
During her visit the Countess, who is married to Prince Edward, will attend a community event at People’s Park.
The Countess last visited the Island in June 2010 when she met children from Rouge Bouillon School
ISLANDERS should get an extra bank holiday to help mark the ‘landmark’ 70th anniversary of the Liberation, according to one States Member.
Deputy Sam Mézec is calling for Friday 8 May to be made a day off as Liberation Day, which is the usual bank holiday, falls on a Saturday.
The Deputy has lodged a proposition with the States, which will be debated on 10 March.
The States of Guernsey also narrowly rejected a call to allow an extra weekday bank holiday whenever 9 May falls on a weekend.
That vote was tied 20 votes each way and the proposal was therefore not passed.
Ministers in Jersey have previously said they will not be making 8 May a bank holiday.
But Deputy Mézec, a member of political party Reform Jersey, says that this year’s Liberation celebrations are special for several reasons – including that at 70 years it is a landmark anniversary.
In the report accompanying his proposition, Deputy Mézec says: ‘The 70th anniversary is a landmark anniversary, more significant than the usual annual commemoration and could well mark the last major anniversary where a significant number of Islanders who lived through the Occupation may still be with us to share their experiences and join in celebrations.
‘It is also worth remembering that the 8 May will mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day, which is surely worthy of special commemoration in itself, regardless of it not being an occasion unique to the Channel Islands.
