Published on: Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Artists from the Festival event "Blow !" will provide Abellio Greater Anglia staff with some music lessons before a new orchestra performs a Festival fanfare on Norwich station concourse at 11.00 this Thursday (8 May), as a curtain raiser to this year's Norfolk & Norwich festival, which begins on Friday 9 May. As well as conventional wind instruments such as trumpets and flutes, there will be kazoos and whistles enabling employees of all musical abilities to take part. In addition to providing an eye-catching performance for passengers, the occasion also marks the key partnership between Abellio Greater Anglia and the Festival. Abellio Greater Anglia is the Principal Travel Partner for the major regional arts event, extending a relationship between the Festival and the region's train operator which stretches back 24 years to 1990.
One of the powerful Class 90 locomotives which power Abellio Greater Anglia's intercity services between Norwich and London is called "Norfolk and Norwich Festival" and the brochures and posters promoting this year's Festival programme have been on display at a number of Greater Anglia stations. The two organisations' marketing teams have also been working together to promote the Festival and Abellio Greater Anglia is sponsoring two concerts during the event - the Philharmonia Orchestra's opening concert on 9 May (with another Festival partner - Archant media group) and the Madeleine Peyroux concert at Norwich Theatre Royal on 20 May (with NW Brown Group). Abellio Greater Anglia has late night trains back to Cambridge, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Ipswich, whilst weekend travel on the Great Eastern Main Line to London is free of the disruptive engineering work of recent years, so there's an opportunity to attract Festival-goers from further afield for Saturday and Sunday events as well as weekday performances.
Commenting on the partnership between Abellio Greater Anglia and the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs for Abellio Greater Anglia said:
"At Abellio Greater Anglia, we're delighted to be the Principal Travel Partner for this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival. By working together we help bring a fantastic mix of performers to the region, for an event which is not only enjoyed by the local community, but also supports the local economy and promotes Norwich at a national level. Our partnership enables the wider community in Norwich and Norfolk to enjoy a more diverse, exciting and entertaining programme of arts events during the Festival, with something for all the family. Performed by Holly Bodmer, “Blow!" enables Festival-goers to sample playing an instrument and participate in an event that promises to be one of the highlights of this year's Festival, so we thought a Festival fanfare at the station would be an ideal way of providing a "curtain raiser" to the exciting 2014 programme, with Abellio Greater Anglia employees and members of Norwich Arts Centre’s [Live] Art Club (who are taking part in the "Blow !" events) getting everyone in the mood for one of the region's annual cultural celebrations. We hope everyone will support this year’s Festival and, wherever practical, use our train services to travel to/from the events."