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Vocal & multi-instrumental quartet |
Since our last newsletter, Dragonsfire has had a good year. Inevitably, major catastrophic international events such as the Iraq war had a knock-on effect, affecting tourism, the hotel industry and corporate confidence, all of which affect different areas of our work. However people still get married, celebrate special occasions and go to concerts, so despite the difficulties, we have found that the number of our engagements has held up well. We are also in the very happy position of continuing to work in some of the most lovely venues in the country, such as Hever Castle in Kent, Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, Queen's College, Cambridge and most recently in the Domus at Beaulieu in the New Forest.
We still tend to be engaged as Tudor minstrels as our primary theme, but this year we have also performed as British folk singers for a group of American visitors, medieval, Georgian and Victorian musicians for various weddings and events, and as musicians for a number of masked balls. We have just produced a new leaflet, which will be sent to all our agents and regular clients in the next couple of weeks, showing a number of the different costumes that we have available to complement these different themes. If you have not received one and you would like a copy, do contact us and ask for the Dragonsfire themed events leaflet.
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| Nigel & Jon in our 'British' costumes | Dragonsfire trio at Venetian masked ball |
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Dragonsfire continues to work closely with a large team of other entertainers such as jesters, jugglers, stiltwalkers, fire-eaters, fighting knights for medieval fayres and banquets, family fun days and corporate events. The picture on the right shows Stuart Fell, (otherwise known as Taro the Jester), as the master of ceremonies at a masked ball. Renaissance and country dancing is becoming very popular at weddings, especially when the reception is in a period venue, in preference to a modern disco. These dances are great fun and very easy to learn. |
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Dragonsfire remains committed to educational work, taking our instruments into schools and colleges to give concerts, lecture-recitals and workshops. This is especially popular when a school year is studying the Tudors, Victorians, GCSE music or even A-level, when our music and instruments are so closely related to the course of study. We are currently working on production of a special Educational Leaflet, giving details about the work that we can offer schools and the partnership that we can offer to teachers. It is interesting that in some schools, the staff have used a visit by Dragonsfire for much more than a musical experience. Because of the huge range of instruments we have, and the different shapes, sizes and therefore sounds that they make, teachers have managed to use our visits to illustrate lessons in History and Science as much as Music. Don't forget to browse the rest of our website which includes full details of
Dragonsfire, the work we do, the instruments we play and what we can offer to
different clients, and a page of 'Concert dates & details' which we update
from time to time, as new concert dates & public events come in. We will try
to give as much information as we can including ticket prices and box office
numbers. If you would like to receive our newsletter, please click here
to sign up to our free mailing list. |
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Those who have heard Dragonsfire in concert will know that we use a huge collection of musical instruments, which is constantly growing. The picture on the left taken at the Tower of London shows Hilary playing the bandora, a type of steel strung lute from the Tudor period, which we had made last year. To his great delight, Nigel's most recent acquisition is a beautiful ebony Moeck tenor recorder, which matches his other recorders. |
NEW DOMAIN NAME!
We have recently changed our domain name to dragonsfire.uk.com
New website address: www.dragonsfire.uk.com New e-mail address: music@dragonsfire.uk.com
The old address will still work for the foreseeable future. The majority of our current engagements tend to be private functions, but do check the page of 'Concert dates & details' which we update from time to time, as new concert dates & public events come in. We will try to give as much information as we can including ticket prices and box office numbers. Don't forget to look at the rest of our website which includes full details of Dragonsfire, the work we do, the instruments we play and what we can offer to different clients.
Don't forget to browse the rest of our website which includes full details of Dragonsfire, the work we do, the instruments we play and what we can offer to different clients, and a page of 'Concert / Events dates & details' which we update from time to time, as new concert dates & public events come in. We will try to give as much information as we can including ticket prices and box office numbers. If you would like to receive our newsletter, please click here to sign up to our free mailing list.
Nigel Perona-Wright.