In Conversation – Professor Stephen Davismoon (Angel Field Festival Director)

At Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus in Everton, the Angel Field Festival brings a vibrant blend of international and local artistry to life. Building on the esteemed Cornerstone Festival, Angel Field offers a rich tapestry of music, theatre, dance, film, and visual art. Beyond the campus, the festival weaves its way through Liverpool, partnering with cultural institutions to share its diverse program.

With a warm welcome, Angel Field strives to make exceptional arts accessible to everyone. Liverpool Noise caught up with Festival Director Professor Stephen DavisMoon to discuss this year’s festival in depth…

Liverpool Noise: With such a diverse lineup, ranging from electronic music pioneers like The Utopia Strong to historical jazz and classical performances, what is the unifying thread or theme that connects all the acts at the Angel Field Festival?

Stephen Davismoon: So, yes you’re right the line-up for the Angel Field Festival is diverse. This continues to be a conscious decision for me for a few reasons. Many university festivals tend to focus upon the experimental, which of course is important, but it can lead to levels of inaccessibility. I’m a passionate believer in artistic excellence for all – for me that means as much as is practicable for everybody. The origins of the word festival probably derive from feasting. So I do think of our festival as offering many types of plates to our friends and neighbours. If there is a unifying thread then it is that of human stories. Stories from all over the world.

Liverpool Noise: Steve Davis’s involvement with The Utopia Strong is quite unique and novel. How did the festival decide to include them, and what do you think their presence brings to the event?

SD: In terms of inviting Steve Davis and The Utopia Strong to our festival this is quite easy to answer. Neil Campbell of the Capstone Theatre and I have long admired the work of the group and we felt that it would complement the aims of our festival very well. I served Steve Davis many years ago at the height of his fame as a snooker champion in a record store (we grew up in a similar area); I knew then that he was nuts about music and still is; as am I; music is storytelling of the emotions.

Liverpool Noise: The Savoy Jazzmen have a rich local history. How important is it to the festival to showcase and preserve the heritage of Liverpool’s music scene?

SD: Although I’m not from Liverpool, I am all too conscious of this city’s incredible music heritage. Of course one perhaps immediately thinks here of the enormous impact of The Beatles, but it runs much further back and deeper than them. Liverpool has had significant classical, jazz, music traditions that stretch back further than probably any other UK city. I am truly delighted to be featuring a Liverpool music institution in the Savoy Jazzmen.

Liverpool Noise: The classical performances, like the Mozart showcase and the reflective Satie/Cage/Revill concert, offer a contrast to the more contemporary acts. How do you balance these different genres to appeal to a wide audience?

SD: Always my hope with our festival is that if someone comes along and tries something on the programme that they’re used to and that they like, they might just come and try something a little more unusual for them like perhaps a classical concert. The classical music offerings are quite different. The best way to enjoy Mozart is as if the music were composed yesterday, not to approach it strictly as a museum experience and I believe that in the seldom-heard pieces of Mozart that are being presented this might just be possible. The other classical concerts do present works by composers new and old and from all over the world.

Liverpool Noise: The East Meets West programme featuring Hua Lin’s compositions and Lei Cai’s performance seems particularly intriguing. How did the festival develop this cross-cultural collaboration?

SD: The East Meets West programme is a real case in point here in that it contains pieces of music old and new and from many corners of our world. This programme came about due to a long- standing partnership between Liverpool Hope University and Ouachita Baptist University where the pianists Lei Cai and Hee-Kyung Juhn are based. But also I’ve had a passion for music, orchestral or electronic, from China, Korea and Japan for many years. I like the way that it is often understated and invites very careful contemplative listening.

Liverpool Noise: The Dife Youth Ensemble and Waterside performances explore cultural heritage through dance and theatre. How does the festival support and showcase emerging artists and diverse cultural narratives?

SD: The Angel Field Festival has always and will continue to support emerging artists locally and from around the globe. I like to think of our Festival as bringing a slice of the world to Everton.

Liverpool Noise: Stages of Youth highlights the work of local drama societies. What role does the festival play in fostering and supporting the development of young artists in Liverpool?

SD: It is vital that our festival supports local work otherwise it will have nothing to do with the development of culture. This sense of supporting local work has always been core to the Angel Field Festival.

Liverpool Noise: The art exhibition (a contemporary) phantasmagoria (2) and the artist talk provide a visual arts component. How does the festival integrate visual art into its broader programming?

SD: We all have a variety of ways of communicating stories sometimes through pictures; sometimes through sounds, sometimes through movement. In this spirit the Angel Field Festival always programmes a variety of artistic interventions – again with the hope of whetting the appetite of a broader audience.

Liverpool Noise: The Hairy Girl brings a Scandinavian fairy tale to the stage. What considerations were made when choosing a theatrical piece, and what age range is the production aimed towards?

SD: We all like a good fairy tale I think – and when we hear ones from different parts of the world it makes us perhaps realise how connected we all are at a fundamental level. Again, the presentation of fairy tales is nothing new for the Angel Field Festival; this performance is aimed at pre-teen to early teenage years and of course those much older, with the hope that families might come together.

Liverpool Noise: With the inclusion of Moutya, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage performance, how does the Angel Field Festival hope to educate and engage audiences with cultures beyond their immediate experience?

SD: Our festival has always had a profoundly international outlook. I wouldn’t say it is to educate our audiences, but more to amaze and beguile from a part of the world that they may not necessarily be acquainted with!

Stephen Davismoon was in conversation with Steve Kinrade.

Liverpool Hope University Angel Field Festival 2025
20 – 27 March 2025
More Info & Tickets