Campaign Against River Pollution’s (CARP) column for the Standard.
‘AN IMPORTANT event with the river at its heart’ was just one of the responses from among the 130 people who attended this ‘We Sing the River’s Voice’ performance.
It marked the beginning of Bewdley’s first River Festival at St Anne’s Church, Bewdley on June 7 and was also a headline event for SustFest.
The performance celebrated the River Severn and all the life it supports through sound, words, movement and song with young people from Bewdley Primary School, the Academy of Vocal Music, vocal improvisers from Malvern lead by Ruana Xerri-West, performance poet (Sipho Eric Ndlovu), opera singer (Martin Robson) and a pop-up local community choir.
The vocal installation was divided into three parts.
Welcome to the River – a series of songs about the life and energy of the river with the deepest part of the river being represented by The Thalweg (Martin Robson with his deep bass voice),
What have we lost? – a section that highlighted the damage and pollution we have witnessed and our sorrow because of this.
The final part focused on our future actions and how we all need to become River Guardians to protect our river. The lyrics and music captured a whole range of feelings and emotions about the river with some very light-hearted and fun songs and also some deeply moving and sombre lamentations.
The composer, Liz Dilnot Johnson, reflecting on the day, said: “So many voices. So many messages – of concern for the river and of of appreciation for the river.
“Messages about how we relate to the river and our responsibilities towards her.
“Hopes for a healthier future for the river and more awareness of how we can make changes to support her.”
Giving the youth a voice
There were specific messages from children imagining the questions of the growing things, the flying things and the swimming things connected with the river.
Water crowfoot – ‘Can you help save the river? The river is our home.’
Kingfisher – ‘Where have the fish gone?’
Minnows ‘Why do you use the river as a litter bin?’
One spectator described the performance as ‘a joyful inter generational singing, in a welcoming church to raise awareness about the plight of our river’.
St Anne’s Church was decorated with CARP’s bunting and river banners and Arts etc, an inclusive community group provided a beautiful backdrop of river images in their art exhibited specially for the performance.
Diane Ricci, from Arts etc, said: “We feel passionate about the health of our dear River Severn, so it was a privilege to have been a part of what was the start of Bewdley River Festival. “
More events for the River Festival
The festival continues with a range of events. June events to look out for are:
June 15 – River Banners on the outside of St Anne’s Church.
June 20 – Carnival head-dress making
June 20 – Beaver Talk
June 27 – CARP’s walking float for Bewdley Carnival and River flotilla.
Visit: severncarp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Bewdley-River-Festival-Programme.pdf for the full programme.
