AS the Maldon Festival continues this week, there are some great events in store for the coming weekend - including an event for children and an open air evening opera, among others.

Festival director Colin Baldy said: The opening weekend of the Maldon Festival was a huge triumph.

"International recitalist, Daniel Moult, gave the opening recital on the new organ to a capacity (within current audience restrictions) audience. He gave a mixed programme which really showed the instrument off to advantage. He described the organ as "thrilling" and the audience certainly seemed to agree.

"Saturday night's audience was treated to a wonderful programme of music from Broadway to the West End, given by Micheal Dore and Jacqueline Barron.

"There were two lunchtime recitals and the weekend closed with a wonderful concert for violin and piano, given by Krassimira Jeliazkova and Elizabeth Mucha. St Mary's Church is particularly well-suited to chamber music and the violin soared.

"It was wonderful to be able to listen to live music-making again after such a long absence. Audience and performers alike declared themselves overjoyed to be able to participate in the Maldon Festival again. Five concerts in two days was a pretty good way to kick things off.

"There is plenty more to come."

There will be more to follow as the festival runs and includes 11 July. Here are the details of what's on at The Maldon Festival this weekend:

Friday, 2 July at 7.30pm - Venue: St Mary's Church, Maldon

Silent Movie Night – 'City Lights'

Festival favourite Jonathan Eyre will improvise the musical accompaniment to Charlie Chaplin's most celebrated movie. The silent movie night recaptures the magic of the time when movies were accompanied by an improvised soundtrack played on the organ or piano. This year, Jonathan Eyre will again create the atmosphere of cinema's golden age, creating the soundtrack for Charlie Chaplin's iconic movie 'City Lights' which is ranked by the American Film Institute as the 11th best American film ever made.

More information is available on the Maldon Festival website and tickets (£15 to £18) are available on eventbrite - you can find them at the link here.

Saturday, 3 July at midday (12pm) - Venue: St Mary's Church, Maldon

'Children's Concert' Piping Up – an introduction to the Organ

The mysteries and magic of St Mary's new organ will be revealed by Richard Cook, assistant director of music at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. From pulling all the stops out to putting the pedal to the metal, this brilliant introduction to the 'King of Instruments' promises to lift the lid on organ music and blow the rafters in St Mary's clean of cobwebs.

Free (with retiring collection) - more information is available on the Maldon Festival website and tickets are available on eventbrite - you can find them at the link here.

Saturday, 3July at 6pm - Venue: St Mary's Churchyard

Open Air Opera Gala for a Summer's Evening

Bring a picnic and prepare to enjoy an evening of open-air opera in St Mary's Churchyard.

Hand Made Opera presents a selection of operatic favourites performed to the backdrop of the Blackwater estuary on a mid-summer's evening. The concert is dedicated to a regular performer at the Festival, Vince Lawlor, who died in December 2020 and it will feature some of his favourite works from Gilbert and Sullivan. Enjoy Puccini, Bizet and Donizetti as the evening sunlight illuminates the stage.

This event will be moved indoors in the event of bad weather.

More information is available on the Maldon Festival website and tickets (£15 to £18) are available on eventbrite - you can find them at the link here.

Sunday, 4 July at 1pm - Venue: St Mary's Church

Lunchtime Recital: James Housego, Piano

Programme:

Scarlatti: Sonata in E major K. 380

Beethoven: Piano Sonata Op. 57

Rachmaninov: Prelude Op. 23 No. 4

Chopin: Ballade Op. 23

Performer: James Housego

James Housego has been organ scholar at St Mary's Maldon since 2018. With St Mary's Choir he has performed in Coventry and Carlisle Cathedrals, and has toured to Germany. Since 2020 he has been lucky enough to study piano with international pianist, Daniel Grimwood. In September this year, James will start a BMus course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he has also been awarded a generous scholarship.

Free (with retiring collection) - more information is available on the Maldon Festival website and tickets are available on eventbrite - you can find them at the link here.

Sunday, 4 July at 6pm - Venue: St Mary's Church

Festival Choral Evensong

The Choirs of St Mary's Maldon and Richmond Parish Church join together to celebrate evensong. This particularly English tradition of choral evensong evokes great peace and calm, providing solace and uplift in equal measure. The programme includes the setting of the Evening Canticles by George Dyson in the key of D. The anthem will be Draw us in the Spirit's tether by the American composer Harold Friedell to mark American Independence Day.

Free (with retiring collection) - more information is available on the Maldon Festival website and tickets are available on eventbrite - you can find them at the link here.

Three festival art exhibitions are also running throughout the whole period. Full details can be found at The Maldon Festival website at the link here.