St Michael and All Angels Church, Bedford Park

The 2008 Bedford Park Festival - June 7th-22nd

Festival Charities

Juritz at No 10This year's Festival was raising funds, among other good causes, for Musequality, the local charity set up last year by violinist David Juritz, leader of the London Mozart Players. Musequality aims to change young lives in the developing world by funding community music projects, with choirs, orchestras and bands.

David - who lives in Bedford Park - made headlines round the world when he busked "Round the world and Bach" to launch the charity.

David began his world tour last June on Green Days weekend, busking on the Bandstand before boarding the tube at Turnham Green to catch the Eurostar. He finished it in Downing Street (right).

On Green Days, there was a raffle at the Musequality stall and these were the winners:

  1. Mrs C Williamson (green 866): two tickets for the London Symphony Orchestra, Barbican Hall (Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 and Walton Oratoria Belshazzar’s Feast) with a drink and chat about life as a musician with the LSO before the performance with Lennox Mackenzie, chairman of the LSO (tickets donated by Lennox Mackenzie)
  2. Tess Powell (pink 92): two tickets for Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, Phoenix Theatre (tickets donated by Bill Kenwright Limited)
  3. Frances Tate (green 438): two tickets for the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall (Bartok Suite, The Miraculous Mandarin; Prokofiev Violin Concerto No 2; Stravinsky Oedipus Rex) (tickets donated by Paul Edmund-Davies)
  4. Winsome Gillette-Fussell (green 287): two tickets for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Cadogan Hall (Mussorgsky Night on the Bare Mountain, Bruch Violin Concerto No 1, Dvorak Symphony No 9 From the New World) (tickets donated by the RPO)
  5. Mr and Mrs T Kyle (yellow 30): two tickets for the English Chamber Orchestra, Cadogan Hall (an evening of Mozart) (tickets donated by the English Chamber Orchestra)
  6. Maria Ketley (green 353): two tickets for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall (an evening of Elgar with Christopher Warren-Green, conductor, and Julian Lloyd Webber, cello) (tickets donated by Raymond Gubbay Ltd)

Musequality's work

Musequality already supports the Tender Talents Magnet School in Kampala, Uganda, and this year there are plans to launch a music project in Goa, India.

More information can be found on the Musequality website, which also tells the story of David's global tour, including the media coverage it attracted around the world.

As well as Musequality, it was raising funds for: the Upper Room, which helps the needy in Shepherd's Bush; and for refurbishment projects and the trust fund at St Michael & All Angels Church, which organises the Festival with the help of dozens of local people.