Pontefract Music

 Festival

  A Potted History

Mr. Frank Hatchard founded Pontefract Music Festival in 1903, and a telephone caller in about 1995 suggested that a gentleman called Walter Hamilton-Fearnley was also involved in the very beginning. Never the less the founders’ objectives were to stimulate and foster the love and practice of music and drama in the district. This was to be by means of competitive classes before competent judges, whose criticisms and advice would be of exceptional educational value to all entrants.

The Festival was suspended during the 1914 war but was resumed afterwards, and managed to survive the depression of the 1930’s. Activities were once again suspended because of the 1939 war and were not revived until 1947. This resumption was made possible almost entirely by a grant from The Mayor’s Charity Fund, and help from the local authority and Wakefield Arts Association enabled the festival to keep going, supplemented by small events such as concerts and coffee mornings held by various committee members.

In 1951, Pontefract festival was considered sufficiently important to be used for a music class as part of the Festival of Britain, and the area semi-finals were held in Pontefract. Over the years, entries ranged between 300 and 800, with never less than 2000 competitors taking part. The Postal Strike took its toll one year and numbers were also affected by the teachers dispute in 1986. However the Festival went ahead in spite of these setbacks.

Pontefract Festival is the only one of its kind under the Local Authority and gives a great deal of pleasure to people of all ages, either in the audiences to enjoy the competitive performances or winners’ concerts, or as competitors gaining experience of public performance in their own particular specialities. They have the opportunity to gauge their own work with that of their contemporaries and the benefit of expert advice and comments from highly experienced professional adjudicators in both drama and music.

In 1996, some of the classes were held at Ackworth School. It was hoped that this would solve some of the problems of a town-centred venue, such as parking, and further restrictions on audience numbers because of fire regulations. Ackworth proved to be ideal for instrumental classes. 

In the same year the British Federation of Festivals joined in a national competition by putting forward two performers to the Festival of Festivals at the University of Warwick. Our representatives were Judith Carlyle, soprano, and Elizabeth Matthews, drama.