MAIDSTONE Area Arts Council,
presents Living Arts by Living People.

This first half of the new year sees all MAAC’s ‘big guns’ offering the very best of the arts in the Borough. The MSO, the MCU, Maidstone Wind Symphony, the Music Society at Sutton Valence, Willington Players and the Film Society (to name but a few) all have performances worthy of the West End. Indeed when you add the cost of public transport to the ticket price in going into London, buying into local arts becomes easy on the wallet, and the quality of performance on offer is very comparable.

What makes the performances so remarkable is the high calibre of the soloists invited to the stage. Just look at the MSO ~ violinists Ben Hancox and Tamara Waley-Cohen, plus pianist Maurizio Baglini, all grace the stage for us to enjoy, along with the accompanying players, some of greatest artistry available. Glance at the East Malling Research Station Music Club’s list of soloists ~ accordionist Milos Milivojevik, soprano Elaine Tait, Philip Dyson, the Medway String Quartet and the Louise Jones Trio, an awesome representation of talent rarely assembled in one Borough in the UK.

Then you spot the Choral Union staging Mozart’s Requiem at All Saints and the Bearsted Choral Society performing Stainer’s Crucifixion, Britten’s Te Deum and Handel’s O Praise the Lord, and you recognise that we have sublime concerts on offer right in our own back yard to elevate our spirits right up to the heavens.

What makes MAAC unique within the Borough is the width and depth of its programming. Local people have never had such choice and variety from which to select their pleasure. With UK TV offering such a dismal selection of programmes for our entertainment, it is reassuring that we can journey out locally to gain the real delight of live performances. Look at the ‘Willies’ murder mystery production coming up at the Hazlitt – Edward Percy’s renowned The Shop at Sly Corner’. Willington Players will always entertain you with a chuckle, or, as in this case, a real brain-teaser of a mystery play!

If all this were not enough, the eye spots the local Film Society also based at the Hazlitt, who stage amazing films such as the UK’s Four Lions and Another Year, or the USA’s stunning The Illusionist and the renowned Double Indemnity. With the other world-class films on offer they represent a unique opportunity to view some of the finest creative film making on this planet. Do go along to whatever catches your eye and buy an individual ticket at the door or however is listed.

All we ask is that you look closely at what’s on offer from all the MAAC members, many not mentioned here. The venues are local ~ Grove Hall at Sutton Valence, All Saints Church, the Lenham Tithe Barn, the offer diverse and enriching, stimulating the eye and the ear, warming the spirit and warding off the worst of the winter ahead of a new spring. Big guns make big noises, just go and listen for yourself!

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