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 likes to use 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, many for sale!
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 taking place in July. Good luck everyone!
More from Alex and Owen
We have taken over two girls teams at Oxford City football club, an U10 girls team & an U13 girls junior premier league side. The latter have not lost a game this season winning 7 games & drawing 1, with an outstanding 50 goals scored and only 1 conceded.
The girls in the U13 junior premier league side also had a very good cup competition run. Winning their first game in the round of 64 moved them into the round of 32 where they played Watford FC in a very tight game winning on penalties to go through to the quarter final where they played West Ham United. Despite battling hard throughout the game they unfortunately lost 2-0 at the final whistle.
Blewbury Skatepark
The Trust fully supports the replacement of the existing, much-loved halfpipe on Tickers Folly Field.
The tender process for a new skatepark has been concluded with Bendcrete Leisure Ltd winning the Parish Council's tender bidding process. They have created an organic, flowing skatepark design with the potential to be used by a whole range of skill levels and wheel types. There are street and ramp features which have been designed with a modern, progressive attitude to form and have been carefully positioned to achieve a good flow with minimum potential for collisions. Flow is key in any skatepark.
The project co-ordinators are now working to complete the fundraising, to which The Tony Loy Trust has pledged an amount. The cost of the skatepark and the landscaping will be £110,000. To date £65,500 has been raised and further applications are being made to secure the rest of the funds. The aim is to complete the build by August 2026.
