Dates For Your Diary
Coming next year...
The Tony 'Olivier' Awards
2nd - 4th December 2027
Save the Date!
2nd - 25th May 2026 : Oxfordshire Artweeks
Peter Ritson exhibits Views of Blewbury
Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
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Peter paints a broad range of subjects in acrylics, generally on stretched canvas and using colour to bring out the vibrancy of the composition. This exhibition will focus on Views of Blewbury where Peter has lived since 2004. We are delighted and very grateful that Peter will be donating a proportion of his sales profit from this exhibition to the Trust. Do go and take a look. Peter is exhibiting some 80 paintings!
Latest News
Greetings Cards On Sale
These super greetings cards from paintings of Blewbury by Peter Ritson are on sale at Savages and the Post Office in Blewbury.
All profits will go to The Tony Loy Trust. Thank you so much Peter.
Simeon Conducts His Own 60-piece Orchestra
The Trust has supported Simeon for sometime. Now a second year student at Leeds Conservatoire, he always keeps us up-to-date with his progress.
We were blown away by this recent news. Congratulations Simeon, what an achievement.
For the last nine months, while putting on gigs as a jazz saxophonist, getting in the studio to record for different artists and dipping into wedding bands, I have slowly brought a new project to the fore. On Friday 6th February my very own Bezalel Orchestra of 60 musicians took to the stage for the first time. We used twenty Coldplay songs and then crazed up the arrangements, incorporating moments of big band jazz, Hans Zimmer like intros, funeral marches, rap, classical string interludes and just about anything else myself and the arranging team felt inclined to do. I had the privilege of conducting and introducing each tune and our ten singers. The evening was wild and precious, bringing much of the room to tears by the end with an overarching message of what unconditional love looks like.
Looking forward, we have naturally started brainstorming for Bezalel's next project given the high audience turnout and even more creatives wanting to join. However, in the mean time I have a new jazz fusion project brewing for an 8-piece band led by myself on saxophone. This will be playing original music of mine on the theme of how do we find space to grow as people in a world that doesn't always give us any. For this endeavour I have carefully chosen friends who hold close relation to this message and to each other. There have been so many projects this academic year for myself, and every single time I come away so thankful for all the people on them. Yes what we created, whether choral music with saxophone, horn arrangements for a pop EP release or jazz versions of well known operas, but also how we each contribute to the lives of one another simply by being present.
Linnet Theatre's new play opens at The Brockley Jack Theatre
The Trust was delighted to hear that George's company Linnet Theatre are to open at The Brockley Jack Theatre with their new play The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret.
I just wanted to give you an update and a massive thank you for the support you have given me.
We are two weeks away from our opening night of 'The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret' and it's safe to say that the rehearsal period and final product have been massively improved by the help you gave, being able to afford the rehearsal space needed for the show to come to life.
Putting on this production has been a massive learning curve and has really allowed me to hone my skills in producing theatre, operating stage lighting, and developing my writing skills, not to mention acting and directing. The goal is to make this production the springboard to move on to bigger and better things. We have heard back from many reviewers who are coming to watch, and we hope the feedback will be positive, making it easier for us to take the next step in the industry.
I have attached some photos we took during rehearsals the other day. Hopefully, they give you some insight into the show and how important your help has been to us. Once again, a massive thank you!
American Dance School heads to Dance World Cup in Dublin
American Dance School is based in Wantage and offers classes for those aged 4-18 in Creative Movement, Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Pointe.
The dancers work tirelessly, learning new techniques and routines, always striving to push themselves forward on their own dance journey. It is because of their commitment, passion, and talent, that they have been successfully selected to represent Team England in the Dance World Cup 2026 this summer in Dublin. The Dance World Cup is the world’s largest all-genre international dance competition, often called the “Olympics of Dance”. It features over 120,000 children and young adults from over 60 countries. 10,000 acts entered auditions at the end of last year to represent England, so to have several routines qualify and be selected is an amazing achievement. They will be representing England with 11 dances, including 5 solos, duets, trios, small groups and large group pieces in a variety of genres.​
The Trust has been able to help fund some of the expenses of this exciting opportunity in July. Good luck everyone!
