News
No more concerts on the horizon
June 2023 - Sadly, we've been unable to fill the vacancies for Concert Arranger or Secretary and so we regret that there are no more concerts programmed for the coming season. Until such time as volunteers willing to take on the roles come forward, we are putting the NWA's activities on hold.
Committe Members needed.
Our Appleby Concert series is put together each year by a small, dedicated team of volunteers, The Committee. But as the years tick by, despite the rejuvenating power of music, our committee is maturing and would like to step down to make way for young blood with new ideas and energy.
We would like to have a core of new members in place for our 2020-21 season start for a smooth handover with guidance from our retiring members before the season's close.
In particular, after decades of unswerving service to the NWA, our Treasurer, Lord Hothfield would like to hand over the role to a new safe pair of hands and so please get in touch with us if you would like to be considered.
Our situation is not unusual amongst such groups but, if we are unable to put together a core of new blood, the 2020-21 concert season will be our last.
2019-20 Season
Our new season's mailshot goes out today (Friday 2nd August) and with the bones of the programme loaded elsewhere on this website, you can start making space in your busy diaries for six more evenings of deliciousness.
As ever, we have an exciting mix of talent appearing over the season and we hope that there will be something for everyone.
New this year is a non-musical evening, with a nod to our past and our very title "North Westmorland Arts", with an evening of archive film from around old Cumberland& Westmorland, amalgamated (along with Lancashire North of the Sands) in 1974 to create the new county of Cumbria. There will be an entertaining commentary over the otherwise un-narrated films. You will all know someone whom you would love to brng along to share in this nostlgic trip down memory lane.
2017-18 Season
Our new programme has now gone live here on our website with lots of interesting links to follow to get to know our performers before they even arrive.
If you've never been to one of our concerts before and you have a few minutes, please have a browse through our past concerts to see what you have been missing. And all such fantastic value.
We look forwards to seeing you all over the coming autumn, winter and spring.
2015-16 Season
Our regular concert-goers will now be able to delight in the new stage curtaining in Appleby's Public Hall, which was replaced during the summer. It was with not a little embarrassment that previously we had introduced our international performers onto the stage to a tatty backdrop of torn and safety-pinned rags. But no more! Now a splendid navy blue velvet adorns the stage and, with a new lick of paint too, the hall is looking much brighter.
We are also told that, immediately prior to our first concert, the old metal windows will be replaced with double-glazing units. Theset should provide a much higher level of acoustic insulation from the occasional rorty exhaust blast as the youth of Appleby promenade around the town in their Novas, Civics and Fiestas, just as we're listening to a delicate pizzicato passage from the pen of an18th century composer. Perhaps it will rob us of the chance of pondering the irony of this juxtaposition of the ages? Discuss during the interval.
The NWA have also been busy fundraising over the past year and have bought a new, proper concert stool for our visiting pianists. The old stool had no padding at all and could not be adjusted for height. After 20 minutes playing, shorter players would start getting pins and needles in their legs - not very conducive to the best performance! At the same time, with the same funding from The Hadfield Trust, we've purchased some matching music stands to use on stage. Frequently our musicians travel by train and so will only have their instruments and overnight bag and we end up with a mish-mash of stands on stage. No more - thank you Hadfield.
2013-14 Season
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