The 2017 Programme for The Manx Music, Speech and Dance Festival, in association with award-winning developer Dandara, is available now.

The Festival, better known as The Guild, celebrates its 125th anniversary from 21st to 29th April at the Villa Marina, Douglas, and has a new-look programme cover to mark the occasion.

The programme is eagerly awaited by Guild competitors and followers and contains full details of all classes, test pieces, competitors and venues; it is a ‘must-buy’ for anyone competing, attending or simply interested in the Festival.

Chairman of the Festival Sarah Kelly said: ‘We want to mark the 125th Festival as a special occasion and one way of doing that is the introduction of a new programme cover which celebrates our heritage while looking ahead to a very bright future for the Guild.

‘We are indebted to the Dandara Group, the Festival’s title sponsor, for its assistance with our new design. While we have a striking new look for the anniversary year, we will return to the traditional and much-loved cover style next year; tradition is also very important at the Guild.’

At the back of the 2017 programme there is a complete version of W H Gill’s Manx National Anthem in both Manx and English. The anthem was first performed at the Guild in 1907, having been written for the Composition Class that year. It wasn’t until 2003 that it was officially adopted as the Manx National Anthem.

Sarah added: ‘At the end of each day at the Festival, the first verse is sung in the Royal Hall as a Guild tradition. However, on Cleveland Night more verses are sung and it is always a very emotional moment to hear many of the Island’s finest singers in full voice singing our anthem with such pride, particularly as the anthem is a part of the Guild history.’

The programme, costing ?4.00, is available from outlets Island-wide.

A season ticket for the Manx Music Festival is now available from the Box Office at a cost of ?30 for all sessions during the week, with the exception of the Festival’s Finest concert which will cost ?8 admission. General admission for sessions will be ?4 and is free for under 18s.

Trophies should be returned to Peter Norris Music, Bucks Road, Douglas by 1st April.

Photo - The new-look programme cover to mark the 125th anniversary of The Guild.