WALESTONIA FESTIVAL 2008

27.06.2008

GET READY....WALESTONIA FESTIVAL 2008

TO MARK THE 90th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA...

MORE THAN 30 CONCERTS, PERFORMANCES, EXHIBITIONS, WORKSHOPS, UK PREMIERES, SHOWS AROUND WALES...

IN CARDIFF, SWANSEA, ABERYSTWYTH, LLANFYLLIN, HAY-ON-WYE, NEWPORT...

ballet, choir music, gregorian chant, traditional music, sculpture, poetry, interactive projects, video, photography, glass installation, animation, fashion, pop music, film, literature, dance....etc

A series of events will take place in autumn in Wales celebrating the longstanding relations between Wales and Estonia, and their shared heritage of expressing national identity through the arts. The cultural ties between Wales and Estonia  began over a decade ago when the Vale of Glamorgan Festival featured Estonia’s most renowned musicians. The Welsh First Minister, Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan also attended Wales Day in Estonia in 2003.
                                                  
The highlights of WALESTONIA FESTIVAL 2008 will take place within the framework of the Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts in October 2008. The Estonian National Opera will stage a modern ballet “Hamlet” and the Estonian National Male Choir (R.A.M.) will perform together with the Pontarddullais Male Choir. R.A.M. will also participate in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex performance together with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in the Brangwyn Hall. The internationally renowned Gregorian chant ensemble Vox Clamantis will sing with the Catalan soprano Arianna Savall at the Vale of Glamorgan festival in September. The Estonian-Welsh traditional music duo Sild will give joint concerts and traditional dance workshops with the Estonian traditional music trio Klapp in Cardiff and Swansea Valley in October. Lochws International is working with Estonian artists Marko Mäetamm and Neeme Külm to create temporary visual arts projects for public and accessible spaces across the city of Swansea. As part of Walestonia the Llanfyllin workhouse will host a cultural artists exchange, where five artists from Estonia will work alongside four artists from the local area to create artistic ‘interventions’ in and around the Llanfyllin Workhouse building and it’s surroundings, culminating in a public exhibition of the works. The Estonian Literature Information Centre and the Literature Across Frontiers are planning a joint event in Aberystwyth with two young Estonian poets. Cooperation in the field of literature started in May this year when Estonians participated in the Hay-on-Wye Festival for the first time. The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery will work together with the Estonian artist Minna Hint on an interactive project, which will be displayed in Swansea in September.
 
Join us in Wales for many great events and performances. Check our website www.walestonia.com for more information soon...