Wymondham Music Festival Norfolk

At a well-attended annual public meeting on Monday 6 February, plans were outlined for a very busy Wymondham Music Festival in 2012, with nearly 90 events from May to December and an exciting Festival Fortnight, 23 June to 8 July ,www.wymfestival.org.uk The full programme will be launched on Saturday 5 May. At the public meeting, Chairman John Wood gave notice that there will be changes in the 20-strong organising team in the next few years. These may have consequences for the nature of this major event in Wymondham’s social and cultural calendar. Most trustees and some committee members are now well into pensionable age, many have been with the Festival for 15 years or more and some have expressed a wish to step back from the work involved in running a festival of the present kind. The Trustees and committee have decided to start a process of change intended to put a new management team in place within the next five years. Some of the present team wish to retire, some to take less onerous roles, some are very happy to continue. But it is essential that new members come forward to provide the Festival with new people, new ideas and new vitality. John Wood said: “The Festival team hope that many of these changes will have taken place by 2016. Meanwhile wide publicity will be given to the call for new members, preparatory work will be done on procedures, systems and records, and volunteers who come forward will be briefed and given the chance to play a part at once in running the Festival on present lines. But what emerges may look very different from what we have now.” He added; “If this process does not result in finding a new team then the Festival as we will have known it for 20 years will cease. However, the charity will continue. The trust deed does not refer specifically to running a festival and the objects refer only in general terms to music education. The Trustees could decide to offer other services to music in the Wymondham area, and a festival could be revived whenever there was the enthusiasm to do so. Meanwhile, comments, suggestions and above all volunteers are invited. The next few years will be busy and interesting, and hold potential promise for the future of the Festival. Offers of help, comments and suggestions should be sent to: John Wood 01953 602051, e-mail: j.r.wood@lineone.net Barbara Randall 01953 601939, e-mail office@wymfestival.org.uk More information is available from the Festival’s websitewww.wymfestival.org.uk