Almost 500 people came through the oak doors of Prescot’s Jacobean parish church for the opening weekend of the town’s annual festival.
Lancashire’s number-one ranking brass band, Leyland Band, initiated the proceedings on Friday night, receiving a standing ovation after their encore of Strauss’s Radetzky March.
On Saturday, a magnificent performance by the Prescot Festival Chorus was followed by the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Girl Choristers, in a stunning festival debut.
The internationally renowned organist Professor Dr Ian Tracey rounded off the weekend’s concerts on Sunday afternoon. Now Organist to the City of Liverpool, Organist Titulaire of Liverpool Cathedral, and Chorusmaster to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, Ian began his musical career at St Mary’s Prescot over four decades ago.
Elsewhere in the town, crowds flocked to the Prescot Carnival to enjoy funfair rides and live entertainment in blazing sunshine and soaring temperatures.
The programme continues throughout the week with jazz, acoustic music and film before a finale weekend featuring songs from the shows with Phoenix Concert Orchestra, traditional choral evensong with Prescot Parish Church Choir, and a Proms-style closing concert with the Band of the Yorkshire Regiment.
“Once again we’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer quality of musical skill and talent,” said Artistic Director Dr Robert Howard, “and it only heightens our eager anticipation of the closing weekend.”
The 13th Annual Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts runs till Sunday 25 June in the historic Lancashire town of Prescot, Merseyside. Tickets are on sale online at www.prescotfestival.co.uk or in person at Poco Coffee, 30 Eccleston Street, Prescot, L34 5QJ.
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