ESU headquarter's events http://www.esu.org The English-Speaking Union en-uk (c) 2011 ESU. All rights reserved. Mon, 21 May 2012 02:11:02 GMT 120 Young Alumni Reunion http://www.esu.org/events/2012/young-alumni-reunion http://www.esu.org/events/2012/young-alumni-reunion After the success of the inaugural Young Alumni Reunion last September, the ESU is again inviting all alumni under the age of 30 and their guests to reunite for another inspirational talk from a very special guest speaker. Save the date and watch this space!

The dress code for this event is Smart Casual.

Tickets are £20 to include canapés and a glass of wine. All profits go directly towards supporting our programme of charitable activities.

For further information, or to register your attendance, please contact Kate Bond 

]]> 27th Sep 2012 7:00pm Jubilee Concert Performance http://www.esu.org/events/2012/concert-performance http://www.esu.org/events/2012/concert-performance Join us at Dartmouth House for an evening of musical entertainment with special performances by the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and choir, as well as alumni of the ESU's Music Scholarship Programme, including world famous cellist, chamber musician and director, Robert Cohen.

With arrangements by Handel, Purcell, Dvorak, Haydn and Carroll, the event promises to be the perfect start to the May Fair.

Tickets: £15 to include a glass of wine and selection of nibbles. The concert will begin at 7.30 pm.

Dress code: smart casual 


]]> 22nd May 2012 7:00pm-9:00pm Scenes and Sonnets by Shakespeare Aloud! http://www.esu.org/events/2012/scenes-and-sonnets-an-evening-of-shakespeare http://www.esu.org/events/2012/scenes-and-sonnets-an-evening-of-shakespeare Join us at Dartmouth House for an evening of Shakespearian splendour with the first London performance ever given by Shakespeare Aloud!, the performing arm of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Before, during and after dinner, members of Shakespeare Aloud! will give pop-up performances of some of Shakespeare's best loved scenes and sonnets, bringing some of the bard's most popular characters to life.  

Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 alumni*, £50 guests, to include a two-course meal with wine. Dinner will be served at 7 pm.

*to include a voluntary donation of £5 and £10 respectively to support the charitable work of the ESU. 


]]> 23rd May 2012 6:30pm-9:00pm Insider Mayfair Walk and Afternoon G & Tea http://www.esu.org/events/2012/insider-mayfair-walk-and-afternoon-g-and-tea http://www.esu.org/events/2012/insider-mayfair-walk-and-afternoon-g-and-tea Spend a leisurely afternoon at the Dartmouth House "G & Tea Party", as part of the ESU's May Fair week. Enjoy finger sandwiches, home-made fruit and plain scones with cakes and fruit tartlets with a choice of tea or coffee. A selection of gins from local and national artisan distilleries will also be available to taste. 

Before the G & Tea Party, Richard Reddaway, City of London, Westminster, St Paul's Cathedral Guide and ESU life-member, will give a guided tour of "Insider Mayfair", highlighting some famous landmarks in and around the W1 area. The walk leaves Dartmouth House at 2.45 pm with tea to follow at 4.15 pm.

Tickets: £35 to include Insider Mayfair walk followed by afternoon tea and gin tasting.

Dress code: smart casual. Sensible walking shoes are recommended. 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> 24th May 2012 2:45pm The Dartmouth House SpeakEasy http://www.esu.org/events/2012/the-dartmouth-house-speakeasy http://www.esu.org/events/2012/the-dartmouth-house-speakeasy Hot on the heels of the "Afternoon G & Tea" parties, the ESU invites you to attend the "Dartmouth House Speak Easy", an evening of public speaking and performance organised by the College of Public Speaking, in support of ESU educational programmes. 

The event will feature speakers from some of London's most prestigious speaking fraternities, including Toastmasters and Central London Debating Society, all of whom have a wealth of experience in both business and in UK and international speech contests.  The theme of the event is "Education and Entertainment" and will feature speeches on metaphor and rhetoric, the art of connection, humour, inspiration to name but a few topics. There will be 5 short education speeches plus a 30 minute debate by competing teams from the ESU and the Central London Debating Society, followed by short entertaining speeches. Guests will also be invited to give impromtu speeches toward the end of the evening.

Tickets to this event are complimentary; however, we do ask for a minimal suggested donation of £5 per guest in order to support the cost of the evening. 

The first speech will commence at 7.30 pm. Guests are welcome from 7 pm.

Dress code: smart casual. 

]]> 24th May 2012 7:00pm-10:30pm Dartmouth House Lunch: Robert Lacey http://www.esu.org/events/2012/dartmouth-house-lunch-robert-lacey http://www.esu.org/events/2012/dartmouth-house-lunch-robert-lacey Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to - and often living alongside - his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers. After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert, Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert wrote Majesty, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977, Majesty remains acknowledged as the definitive study of British monarchy - a subject on which the author continues to write and lecture around the world, appearing regularly on ABC's Good Morning America and on CNN's Larry's King Live.   

Join us at this Diamond Jubilee themed Lunch as Robert talks about his new publication A Brief Life of the Queen, copies of which will be on sale at Dartmouth House.

Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 alumni*, £50 guests*, to include a two-course lunch with wine and talk by Robert.

*to include a voluntary donation of £5 and £10 respectively to support the charitable work of the ESU 

 Dress code: business casual.

]]> 25th May 2012 12:30pm-2:30pm Courtyard Country Dancing http://www.esu.org/events/2012/courtyard-country-dancing http://www.esu.org/events/2012/courtyard-country-dancing Join us at the ESU for Maypole and other traditional English country dances performed by the students of William Patten School, Stoke Newington, in the picturesque surroundings of the Dartmouth House Courtyard.

The students will give two performances commencing at 12.30 and 2.15 pm; each lasting around 30 minutes. 

Tickets to both performances are complimentary; however, a suggested minimum donation of £5 will be welcome in order to support both the cost of the event and ESU educational programmes. 

Please ensure to register your attendance with Susan Conway should you wish to attend either or both peformances.

Dress code: smart casual. 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> 24th May 2012 12:30pm IPSC Diamond Jubilee Winner of Winners Competition and drinks reception http://www.esu.org/events/2012/ipsc-diamond-jubilee-winner-of-winners-competition http://www.esu.org/events/2012/ipsc-diamond-jubilee-winner-of-winners-competition

From its humble beginnings as an international tournament between England and Australia, the ESU International Public Speaking Competition is currently in its 31st year, reaching over 40,000 young people in around 50 countries across the globe and showcasing the very highest standard of public speaking.

As part of the ESU May Fair, the ESU will host the Diamond Jubilee IPSC Winner of Winners Competition, hosted by ESU alumna and former BBC Arts Correspondent, Rosie Millard. Six previous winners of the IPSC from as far and wide as the US, Australia, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Romania and Ghana battle it out to win this prestigious award as they speak on English as a Golden Thread, a quote from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A drinks reception will follow the competition.

Guests are invited to watch this event at Dartmouth House, which will take place from 3 - 5 pm. Tickets to the event are complimentary; however, a suggested minimum donation of £5 is welcome to support both the cost of the event and ESU educational programmes.

To register your attendance, please contact Susan Conway.

Dress code: smart casual.

 

This event is supported by the HSBC Global Education Trust. 

 

 



 

 

 

 

]]> 25th May 2012 3:00pm-5:00pm Book Launch - Moira Bennett: A Personal History of the Britten-Pears School http://www.esu.org/events/2012/book-launch-moira-bennett-a-personal-history-of-the-britten-pears-school http://www.esu.org/events/2012/book-launch-moira-bennett-a-personal-history-of-the-britten-pears-school Moira Bennett worked at the Britten–Pears School in its hectic heyday in the 1980s. In her newly released publication, she charts its forty-year history, embodying its founders’ initial vision of a bridge between conservatory and career for gifted young musicians, from ad hoc classes in a grainstore at Snape, to an annual calendar of non-stop courses for singers, string players and ensembles in its own building and fully staged operas in the Maltings, to its current incarnation as the Aldeburgh Young Artist Programme.

Some of the most eminent teachers from Europe, the United States and beyond have come to teach at Snape. These include Elly Ameling, Joan Sutherland, Galina Vishnevskaya, Jacqueline du Pré, Mstislav Rostropovich, Mitsuko Uchida, Ton Koopman, Simon Rattle and members of the Amadeus Quartet. This authoritative and anecdotal historical survey of the work of the School is generously illustrated and studded with quotations from many faculty members and former students.

Tickets: £15 to include a glass of wine and a selection of nibbles. Moira’s talk will begin at 6.45 pm.

Copies of A Personal History of the Britten-Pears School will be available to purchase at the event.
]]> 28th May 2012 6:30pm-8:00pm International At Home http://www.esu.org/events/2012/international-at-home http://www.esu.org/events/2012/international-at-home

Enjoy a mid-morning coffee at June’s International At Home, an event that brings together members of the ESU and the international community, with the Spanish Ambassador to the Court of St. James as guest of honour. The event will also provide an opportunity to tour Dartmouth House, the Grade II* listed mansion which serves as the international headquarters of the English-Speaking Union.

Tickets are complimentary, but please ensure to register your attendance with Susan Conway no later than 12 June.

]]> 13th Jun 2012 10:30am Dartmouth House Lunch - Matt and Martin Rogan: Britain and the Olympic Games http://www.esu.org/events/2012/dartmouth-house-lunch-matt-and-martin-rogan-britain-and-the-olympic-games http://www.esu.org/events/2012/dartmouth-house-lunch-matt-and-martin-rogan-britain-and-the-olympic-games

Britain and the Olympic Games traces the history of Britain’s love affair with the Olympic Games and shows exactly why the Olympic movement was re-born here. It looks at how London 1948 re-kindled the Olympic flame and demonstrated that the Games could drive social change in Britain. London 1948 created the economic model for the Olympic movement for the twentieth century. More importantly, it taught us that sport matters to society. 

As the Olympic Games returns to Britain in 2012, the parallels in context with 1948 are stark. For the Berlin airlift, read Afghanistan and Iraq. For political manipulation in Berlin 1936, read Beijing. Domestically, financial recession, public debt and questions of infrastructure legacy challenge the 2012 Organising Committee in the same way they were challenged in 1948. 

Join us for lunch at Dartmouth House followed by a compelling talk by Matt and Martin Rogan.

Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 alumni*, £50 guests, to include a two-course lunch with wine. Lunch will be served at 1 pm.

Dress Code: business casual

*to include a suggested donation of £5 and £10 respectively to support the charitable work of the ESU.
]]> 27th Jun 2012 12:30pm-2:30pm House of Lords Tea Party http://www.esu.org/events/2012/house-of-lords-tea-party http://www.esu.org/events/2012/house-of-lords-tea-party

The House of Lords Tea Party is a flagship event in the ESU’s annual events calendar and is the perfect start to the summer with a traditional afternoon tea served on the picturesque Lords’ terrace, overlooking the River Thames.

This year’s Tea Party will be hosted by ESU Governor and member, The Rt Hon The Lord Boateng.

Tickets are now on sale. Contact Susan Conway for more details.
]]> 5th Jul 2012 3:30pm-5:00pm Performing Shakespeare Competition http://www.esu.org/events/2012/performing-shakespeare-competition http://www.esu.org/events/2012/performing-shakespeare-competition Open to schools in all of London’s 32 boroughs, the Performing Shakespeare Competition was launched by the ESU to give young students the chance to engage in the works of Shakespeare and develop their performance skills.

Following an afternoon of workshops led by the Globe Theatre, the competition final will take place from 2 pm, where short-listed candidates will perform either a Shakespearean monologue or duologue in front of an audience and judges.

Tickets are complimentary to this event; however, please ensure to register your attendance with Susan Conway. 

 

]]> 23rd May 2012 2:00pm-3:00pm Robert Cohen: Performing Confidence http://www.esu.org/events/2012/robert-cohen-performing-confidence http://www.esu.org/events/2012/robert-cohen-performing-confidence Robert Cohen made his concerto debut at the age of twelve at the Royal Festival Hall London and throughout the following forty years of his distinguished international career, has been hailed as one of the foremost cellists of our time. “It is easy to hear what the fuss is about, he plays like a God” (New York Stereo Review), 

Prior to performing in the Jubilee Concert, featuring the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra, Robert, will give a lecture entitled "Performing Confidence", where he will discuss the key to successful, confident performances on the world-wide stage and the secret to handling nerves, in front of an audience of thousands.

Tickets are complimentary to this event; however a suggested minimum donation of £10 will be welcome in order to support ESU educational programmes.


 

 

 

 

 

]]> 22nd May 2012 5:00pm-5:45pm World Members' Conference http://www.esu.org/events/2012/world-members-conference http://www.esu.org/events/2012/world-members-conference

The World Members’ Conference brings together members, friends and alumni of the ESU from all over the ESU’s international network to listen to keynote speakers, to participate in panel discussions and workshops and to enjoy social and cultural events.

This will be the first time the World Members’ Conference has been held in a non-native English speaking country. Traditionally ESU USA, ESU Australia and ESU England & Wales host this conference; to recognise the rapid international expansion of the ESU in recent years, ESU Turkey, one of our newest ESUs will be hosting the 2012 conference in the stunning setting of Istanbul.

The World Members’ Conference is an opportunity to renew old friendships from across the ESU family worldwide and to make new ones. The WMC 2012 will also have a special programme for young members and alumni exclusively organised for them by the young members committee of ESU Turkey.

Further information will be released as more details are confirmed but please put the date in your diary and join us for a week of networking and discussion.

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