Friends of Classical Music at The Sands

Version 46, 2019

Important News (September 2019).

Dates and Programmes for the concerts in the 2017 - 2018 season are given below, which are now of historical interest. As you will see the last concert given at The Sands Centre was by the Hallé Orchestra in May 2018. Owing to the withdrawal of grant funding, and the possibility of major building work at the Sands Centre no concerts have been arranged for the foreseeable future.
Coach Trips. The next coach trip to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to hear the BBC Philharmonic is on Thursday 28 Novemberber 2019. Details of this are given in the letter below. Any further questions to the chairman of the Friends, David Ferriby chairman@thesandsfriends.org.uk

About the Friends of Classical Music at The Sands
The International Classical Concert Series, 2017 - 2018

The Friends has been set up with the following objectives:

as a communications and advisory channel between the concert audiences and the management of The Sands Centre on matters such as
- future concert programmes,
- presentation and ambience.
- concert talks and so on
developing concert audiences for the future - schools programmes, and the like.
assisting in bringing the concert series to the attention of more people in more areas
having our own activities outside the concerts in Carlisle, e.g. trips to concerts elsewhere.

The Friends have been set up on a formal basis. You can find a copy of our constitution here. If you are interested in being involved, please send an E-mail with your details to: contact@thesandsfriends.org.uk or, better still, complete a membership application form and send it with your subscription of £5.

The Sands Centre itself has a web-site,

Coach Trip on Thursday 28 November 2019 to Bridgewater Hall

From the Friends of Classical Music at the Sands September 2019

Dear Music Lovers,

We were disappointed that we had to cancel the visit to Bridgewater Hall in October due to a lack of numbers. However, we are very hopeful that we shall be able to take a coach full of enthusiastic supporters on our next planned outing.

The chosen concert is on THURSDAY 28^th NOVEMBER 2019 for an evening concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. This orchestra gave several very memorable performances in Carlisle over the last years (e.g. Mahler Symphony No 1) and their programme on this occasion is exciting and varied (see over for details).

AND there is an extra incentive to go! The prices for BBC Phil concerts are cheaper than the norm, and therefore we have been able to reserve top-quality seats in the middle of the stalls (as opposed to the rear stalls), with a group discount, for only about £16 each. This means that we can offer the trip for only £38 to include admission and coach travel. A bargain not to be missed - a tenner cheaper than the previous offer!

So that we can allow time to socialise and to eat (and allowing for traffic hold ups!) , the coach will depart from The Sands Centre at 1.30 p.m.(calling at Penrith at 1.55 p.m.), having a break at a service station, and then getting to Bridgewater Hall by 5 p.m. This allows plenty of time for a meal and/or a walk. The restaurant and café at Bridgewater Hall are open before the concert, as are some local restaurants. The coach will leave after the concert and get back to Carlisle soon after midnight. We hope these timings appeal to you – as will the programme of music to be performed. SEE BELOW FOR PROGRAMME DETAILS

As before, the Sands will help with publicity, but the actual booking is being organised by the Friends. If you wish to come on this exciting trip please complete the slip below and send it with your cheque to Jan Coxon, the Treasurer, by FRIDAY 4^th OCTOBER at the latest, Cheques will not be cashed until we confirm during October that the trip is going ahead.

We shall then send further details out to all attendees (e.g. about restaurant options).

Best wishes

David Ferriby

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