Press Release | Friday 10 July
The LIFEM team has made the positive decision to move its November 2020 festival to a virtual platform, thus creating LIFEM: Digital. While this is a major change for our regular audience, customers, and also our loyal exhibitors, it is an exciting new venture and one which we hope will give you every opportunity to get involved and explore what we have to offer through concerts, workshops, makers’ demonstrations, Q&As, as well as a virtual exhibitors’ hall.
LIFEM: Digital will run for longer than our usual festival, with a whole seven days available to you, from Thursday 5 to Wednesday 11 November. All events will be streamed through our festival website – lifem.org – and our exhibitors’ hall will be available throughout the week, 24 hours a day. Concerts will be streamed as live from St Michael & All Angels Church, Blackheath.
LIFEM Chairman, Chris Butler, says:
“The unprecedented events of this year have challenged organisations worldwide, but we are determined to present a festival to the best of our ability. I want to say a huge thank you to colleagues, artists and exhibitors for their enthusiasm and flexibility in enabling LIFEM: Digital to happen in 2020 and I look forward welcoming you all back to Blackheath in 2021.”
LIFEM: Digital | 5-11 November 2020
LIFEM: Digital will be accessed via lifem.org, with a mixture of free and paid-for content, and an extensive array of instruments and accessories from leading makers around the world.
Our 2020 concert artists include renowned harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, winner of The Society of Recorder Players/Moeck International Solo Recorder Competition 2019, Tabea Debus, and celebrated viol consort Fretwork, who will be giving the world premiere of a new work by John Paul Jones, prolific performer, composer and founding bassist of Led Zeppelin.
The 2020 festival also sees the latest edition of the biennial Early Music Young Ensemble Competition, generously sponsored for the first time by the Rolex Institute, in which three finalists will compete before a distinguished panel of judges comprising Margaret Faultless, Elin Manahan Thomas and Gill Graham. Opening and closing dates for the competition are Monday 13 July and Monday 31 August, and the winner will be announced during festival week in November. In addition to a £2,000 cash prize, the winning ensemble will be invited to perform in the 2021 festival.
LIFEM | further information
The full schedule of performances, events and exhibitors will be announced over the coming weeks, and we will keep you updated with information through our website and across our social media platforms.