Buxton leads the way for arts in the north
Buxton International Festival’s “special, unique brilliance” is leading the way for the arts in the north of England, the London Evening Standard’s new Associate Editor Julian Glover said on becoming a member of its board of directors.
Julian, a former chief speech writer for David Cameron when he was Prime Minister, will bring his experience in the media and government to bear in planning the future of the Festival as it approaches its 40th anniversary.
“I’m incredibly keen on opera and music as well as books and writing,” said Julian, who has been a Buxton Festival-goer for more than two decades and has a house in the hills above Bakewell as well as a home in London.
Britain has a huge range of arts and cultural events, but much of it is concentrated around the capital, “so it’s all the more important that we make sure we get the arts thriving outside the South East.
“London is not the only place that people should have to go to see things that are absolutely world class. Buxton really stands way above anything outside the cities in the North and is really distinctive even compared to them.
“That’s Buxton’s special, unique brilliance,” he said.
Julian, who studied history at Oxford, was a Guardian columnist for ten years, and wrote Man of Iron, a highly-acclaimed biography of industrial pioneer Thomas Telford.
This year’s Festival, which runs from July 6 to 22, will feature two unique productions of rarely performed operas, Verdi’s Alzira and Mozart’s Idomeneo, as well as concerts ranging from baroque to jazz music and a book series featuring leading public figures and thinkers.