01/06/2026
Event: Simon Mayor & Hilary James
Saturday 27 June
Hill Memorial Hall
The Chesterfield Canal Trust is promoting two concerts at the newly restored Barrow Hill Memorial Hall. The proceeds will go towards the further restoration of the canal.
Across Britain from Shetland to Sark, and across the globe from Vancouver to Singapore, Simon Mayor and Hilary James have brought their special blend of dazzling musicianship.
If they have a speciality, it’s an ability to combine a truly diverse array of talents into a hugely entertaining stage show. There can’t be many performers who slide easily from a beautifully evocative Irish ballad into a mandolin and guitar version of Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and then have the audience singing one of their own notorious comic songs, but it’s this wry humour and an easy, informal stage manner that holds it all together.
In 2022 Simon and Hilary were delighted to accept invitations to be honorary directors of The Classical Mandolin Society of America.
They share a passionate interest in children’s music and have worked extensively with young people in theatres and schools, as well as writing and presenting music education programmes for BBC Radio and TV for six years. They have recorded five ‘Musical Mystery Tour’ children’s albums of original songs, ‘Lullabies with Mandolins’ (currently riding high on Apple Music), two rhyming picture story books for Top That!
Publications, and the ‘Musical Mystery Tour’ songbook, published by Faber Music.
To book, search for Chesterfield Canal Trust and follow the links or ring 01246 477569. Tickets cost £15. The concerts start at 7:30pm, and the bar will be open.
S41 Local Magazine
Destination Chesterfield
Independent Chesterfield