Event Type : Music

This unique retelling of Dickens’ heart-warming tale uses an array of traditional and modern instruments and authentic musical arrangements. It brims with warmth, wit and wonder.

Modern-day balladeers Green Matthews take the well-loved festive adventure back to its Victorian fireside roots, painting a vivid and evocative picture of Dickens’ world. Chris Green (voice, guitar, mandocello, piano), Sophie Matthews (voice, flute, English border bagpipes) use a magical blend of new lyrics, traditional midwinter English folk tunes and carol melodies to illustrate the transformation of flinty-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge into the epitome of the Christmas spirit – warm-hearted, generous and loving.

Uplifting and melodic, Green Matthews’ A Christmas Carol perfectly recaptures the simple Yuletide delights of fellowship, laughter and good cheer.

“A delightful show… a lively retelling” London Theatre Reviews

“Sheer festive delight” FolkWords

Tickets: £12. £10 members and under 18s.

Trio Giocoso will be playing joyous and tuneful music of the seventeenth and eighteenth century intended for domestic performance, including works by Telemann and Corelli.

Part of the Shaftesbury Festival of Baroque.

Tickets: £13. Friends & Members £11. U18s free.

An introduction to the Baroque orchestra –  a talk, illustrated musically, by the founder in 2023 of the Baroque Academy at the Dorset Rural Music School. 

The Danish/British violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova was, among other positions, the guest principal with the Moscow Baroque Soloists, leaving Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. She has made recordings, including a recent one featured on Classic fm.

Part of the Shaftesbury Festival of Baroque.

Tickets: £13. Friends & Members £11. U18s free.

‘Rich and Strange’ are words sung by Ariel in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Works, either rich or strange, or both, including those by Purcell, Telemann, Biber and CPE Bach, will be played by this orchestra that specialises in the music of the Baroque. 

Part of the Shaftesbury Festival of Baroque.

Tickets: £15. Friends & Members £13. U18s free.

Critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest tribute shows, Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years continues to delight audiences across the globe. This spectacular concert transports you on a journey through the epic songs and history of the much-loved Simon and Garfunkel.

The show is a celebration of the unprecedented rise to fame of two boys from Queens, New York, who went on to become the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s, selling 38 million albums in the US alone, and receiving 10 Grammy Awards. In 1981, they performed to over half a million people in their hometown of New York, and in 1990 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

‘One of the greatest tribute shows anywhere in the world’ – Stuart Cameron, BBC and ITV Broadcaster

Collectively known as Bookends, Dan Haynes and Pete Richards have been fronting Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years since its creation in 2011. Much like their idols, they became friends at school and could not resist singing together from a tender age. Alongside stops in London’s West End, the show has toured extensively around the UK, Europe, United States and Australia, attracting packed houses night after night. With consecutive sell-out runs since 2014 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, they are championed as ‘one of the best vocal groups touring today’, whose sounds are ‘simply breathtaking’.

Featuring all the major hits, such as The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and the iconic Bridge Over Troubled Water, don’t miss out on this phenomenal show.

Tickets: £20. Members, Friends and under 18s £18.

Not to be missed! The Kast Off Kinks include former members of the legendary band The Kinks.

This great line-up features Mick Avory (founding member of The Kinks and the original drummer on all the classic hits from 1964-84), Mark Haley (keyboards/vocals, Kinks 1989-93, also played with The Rubettes), Mike Steed (bass/vocals, playing history with Love Affair, Chip Hawkes, Marmalade, The Rubettes and Mike Pender).

These high-class professionals are then fronted by the equally talented and charismatic Dave Clarke (guitar/main vocals). Dave made three albums with the Noel Redding Band, two solo albums as Dave Carlsen and the Dream Machine, one with Jimmy McCulloch and several others including Mick Avory, Dave Rowberry, Tim Rose and Keith Moon. Dave has been a member of the Kast Off Kinks since it was formed almost thirty years ago.

Expect all the hits, including You Really Got Me, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Sunny Afternoon, Lola, Days, Waterloo Sunset, Come Dancing, and many more for a great night out!

“A full house, and a standing ovation. To anyone wondering about going, do not hesitate” The Stables, Milton Keynes.

“Nothing short of superb. From start to finish it was filled with hit after hit” Mad Ferret, Preston.

Tickets: £22. Members, Friends and U18s £20.