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Our box office: catching up with technology in 2022

Regular visitors to Mid-Somerset Festival events will be aware that since time immemorial, when purchasing audience entry tickets or programmes from one of our venue Box Offices we have only been able to accept cash from you.

How quickly the world moves on!  Over the past few years, feedback from audiences has increasingly drawn attention to how old fashioned and inconvenient this is.READ MORE

Mid-Somerset Festival books reviewed by Longvernal Primary School

Looking for some last minute gift ideas for the young bookworm in your family? Every year the Mid-Somerset Festival selects new and classic books for the Reading Aloud classes.

We asked the Chatterbooks Club at Longvernal Primary School in Midsomer Norton to review some of the books set for 2022.

Perhaps the Chatterbooks’ recommendations will provide some suggestions for Christmas holiday reading?  Or even inspire young book enthusiasts to read aloud at the Mid-Somerset Speech and Drama week in March.READ MORE

The Mid-Somerset Festival breaks down financial barriers to training in performance arts

MSF – financially accessible!

The cost of training in performance arts can be very high, and for musicians there is the added expense of paying for an instrument. Fortunately, the Mid-Somerset strives to keep entry fees as low as possible. This results in an educational and performance experience, with feedback from a professional adjudicator, at a fraction of the cost of an examination. 

The Mid-Somerset Festival is open to all, you don’t have to pay for private tuition or attend an independent school to enter. READ MORE

Adults only

A question that is often asked is, “Does the Mid-Somerset Festival offer classes for adults?”  The answer is definitely “Yes!”

Many adults enjoy playing an instrument, singing, acting or writing in their spare time. The Mid-Somerset gives people of all ages a chance to share their work, and enjoy learning from others.READ MORE

Poetry Aloud

Young performers enjoy exploring poetry through themes in the Junior Open Verse Speaking classes. In the Primary section, individual set poems can be studied collectively, resulting in many creative interpretations of the same lines. 

At GCSE and A level standard, the Mid-Somerset Festival challenges participants to look at poetry from a different perspective. Studying the work of a specific poet leads to an understanding of influences and individual style in poetry. In addition, the sonnet class reveals how emotion and form are closely intertwined. 

Let’s take a look at this year’s chosen poets.READ MORE

Folk songs are for everyone!

Folk songs are performed at the Mid-Somerset Festival by children up to 15 years old, unaccompanied. Every year we are delighted to hear international students sing traditional songs from around the world.READ MORE

Creative writing: where do you get your ideas from?

It’s time to start putting pen to paper! Entries for the Mid-Somerset Creative Writing classes are due in on 19 January 2022.

Most writers take a notebook and pen with them everywhere they go, to jot down observations and ideas.  

What if the ideas don’t arrive, and you’re facing a blank page or screen?

READ MORE

The Mid-Somerset in a city of festivals

Bath is a city of arts festivals, and the Mid-Somerset Festival is one of the oldest in the calendar. Our city hosts Bath International Music Festival, Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Bath Comedy Festival, Bath Mozartfest, the Jane Austen Festival, and more.READ MORE