Artistic director George Vass and chairwoman of the managing committee, the opera singer Helen Lawrence

THE Hampstead and Highgate Festival is a triumph of trend-bucking substance over style, according to its artistic director George Vass.
The festival, in its seventh year, kicks off tonight (Thursday) with a Hampstead Parish Church concert featuring cellist Ralph Kirshbaum, broadcast on Radio 3.
With many events close to selling out, Mr Vass says the programme is one of the most successful he has put together.
The opening night features a specially commissioned cello piece by resident composer David Matthews as well as music by Debussy, Shostakovich and Beethoven.
He said: “We do not have to dumb the festival down to sell it.
“It’s not highbrow, but we are supplying people with what they want. We don’t have to dress it up with leggy blondes, like record companies or people on the South Bank are doing to sell classical music.”
He believes the festival has filled a gap in the market. While its audiences are mainly made up of people who can walk from their homes to the events, tickets are being sold right across London.
He said: “There is a shortage of this quality of music.
“With the opening concert and the finale, the artistes could fill a 2,500-seater in the States – we’re fortunate to have them playing in Hampstead’s church.
“And it is not highbrow – could you get a good seat at Spurs or Arsenal for £16?”