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Paul Parsons
Dart Music Festival Classical Director
T
he 2019 Dart Music Festival promises to bring us a dazzling line up of jazz, swing, folk and country performances this month. Also on
offer is an impressive array of classical events with soprano soloists, orchestras and quartets a plenty. This year the festival has a brand new Classical Di- rector, Paul Parsons, who’s making it his mission to raise the profile of classical music - Steph Woolvin had a chat with him… 54-year-old Paul Parsons has always had a passion
for classical music ever since he heard a Beethoven piano concerto on his Dad’s reel-to-reel tape recorder. “I came from Bolton and you weren’t exactly popular if you admitted you liked classical music - so I didn’t broadcast the fact, but I took to it from a very young age.” As well as playing the violin, Paul works professionally as a dealer and restorer of fine violins and has done so for the past 35 years. It is this, and his general enthusiasm for music, which prompted the Dart Music Festival committee to ask him to jump on board and head up their classical music section. Paul has spent the past year preparing for the
“I really want to get more people interested in
should perform and then sorting out all the logistics; like choosing appropriate venues and times. In this year’s line up, we’ll be treated to a classical singer from Dartmoor who can perform in eight different languages, a violinist who has been a member of the English Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and in the English Symphony Orchestra. Dartmouth Orchestra will also make an appearance. “As well as introducing new faces at the festival, I think it’s important to showcase local talent and promote the fantastic music that is on our doorstep,” Paul explains. As time goes on, the classical team
classical music and show them the variety and choice that is out there.”
hope to grow and improve their section. Paul wants to open up the genre to everyone and to dispel the myth that classical music is the preserve of cultured, older people – only enjoyed by those with sophisticated tastes: “I really want to get more people interested in classical music and show them the
2019 event. His first job was to get a knowledgeable team around him: “I noticed we had a few new people coming to the meetings so I grabbed them and now we have a brilliant band of dedicated people, each with key skills. One is great at admin, another is good at project management and they all love classical music! I have to give them a mention – there’s Beatrice Gay, Jenny Hayley, Jess Hayward and Jan Knott. For two years Jan did this more or less alone and did it fabulously.” As this is the first festival Paul has helped organise, he says he’s relying heavily on the blueprint that’s he inherited from his predecessor and he assures us his programme will continue to provide a perfect eclectic mix of music, instruments and artists. The team have spent the past few months deciding which acts
variety and choice that is out there. I am also hoping to get more young musicians involved. The festival is a great platform for them. I have worked with many students and know that talented young soloists and ensembles often don’t have a springboard to promote themselves, especially after graduating.” Paul has been involved with music in one way or another since he was a child. After leaving school he went on to study music and developed a particular fas- cination with how instruments are made and restored, especially violins. When he was 19 he approached a violin specialist in Manchester called David E Vernon who taught him all about restoration, taking over the company in 1989. The company, established in 1964, dealt with instruments for students of Chetham’s School of Music, The Royal Northern College of Music and members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and most of the North West’s principal orchestras, which he continued to build upon. “Restorers look at
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