Songs and sunshine in Human Nature Garden

These relaxing summer afternoon concerts have attracted, in the first two years, almost 5,000 people and around 360 performers have graced the stage.

This year, the main event is an extravaganza of Music from Stage and Screen that will take place on Sunday, July 20.

The great line up of performers will be entertaining the audience with songs and music from memorable productions, including the ever popular Hello Dolly to the haunting Memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, as well as film scores.

The festival committee are delighted to have the international concert violinist Charlotte Rowan as their visiting guest star for 2014. Described as a “captivating and compelling artist” she has a reputation as a musician who delivers performances of power, poise and poignancy.

Charlotte performs frequently as a soloist throughout the UK and also in America.

Based near London, Charlotte is passionate about bringing the violin repertoire to as wide an audience as possible. Her programme for the festival will include the theme from Ladies in Lavender and the exhilarating Carmen fantasy by Sarasate.

Each year we like to change the line-up of performers, which keeps the festival fresh and encourages a broad range of the amazing musical talent to be found in Horsham and District. We are therefore delighted to welcome for the first time both the Horsham Borough Band and the Pleasure Singers.

Horsham Borough Band was formed in 1900 as the Horsham Recreation Silver Band and has been providing the sound of Brass in the town for 114 years. The band membership includes students and some members who have been in the band since the 1960s.

Their players travel from all over the South East to be part of the highest ranked band in Sussex.

The Pleasure Singers, a ladies choir based in Horsham, are led by musical director and pianist Mark Reeves. The choir perform regularly throughout the year in various venues around West Sussex and Surrey.

This year’s theme covers about 90 percent of The Pleasure Singers’ repertoire, and medleys of songs from popular musicals are the choir’s forte.

Our local Diva for this year is the vivacious Kaytie Harding with her backing group the Proseccobellas. Well known locally, Kaytie combines a number of roles as a voice coach, professional singer, coral director, song arranger and creative director of Voice From The Coal Shed.

She is passionate about helping adults and children alike find voices that might otherwise stay hidden.

With a great line-up and a number of songs for you all to join in, Sunday afternoon of July 20 promises to be a local experience not to be missed.

Tickets for this popular event are available online now at www.horshamgardenmusicfestival.co.uk and can also be obtained from two retail locations in Horsham: Cakes by D & M by the swans in Swan Walk and from the bar and restaurant B52’s in Piries Place.

There will also be an opportunity to buy tickets from the Horsham Garden Music Festival stand at Sparks in the Park.

Ticket prices

Adults £7, children (5-15) £5. Under 5s are free. Should any tickets be left they will be available on the gate at £12 and £9. Income from the ticketed event helps the festival committee remain true to the whole community ethos of the charity by putting on a number of free events.

These give amateur and semi-professional musicians and singers of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to perform live on stage and also to entertain you.

These events will run over two weekends with a Musicians Showcase on Saturday, July 19, followed by Jazz, Blues and Soul on Saturday, July 26, and concluding the festival with a Rock Concert on Sunday, July 27.