Dear Friends and Supporters,

Under a fortnight to go and the Proms has some truly unique treats lined up for you.

Much-acclaimed vocal group The Cardinall’s Musick are sold out for their BBC Proms concert on July 20 - but you can catch them first at St Jude’s. Tickets are still available for their performance on Friday June 26 when they’ll sing works by Allegri, Palestrina and John Tavener. The Times says they “could make music out of a John Prescott speech”. Come and see if it’s true.

LitFest patrons will get the first chance to talk with Stanley Johnson since voters returned son Boris to Parliament. If there’s one person more outspoken, challenging and amusing than David Cameron’s would-be successor, it’s possibly his dad. The one-time spy, politician, animal-rights crusader and conservationist will be talking to Sue MacGregor – and taking questions – about his second volume of memoirs, Stanley, I Resume.

Other LitFest names to look out for are former Labour Minister Alan Johnson, Vladimir Putin’s No1 enemy Bill Browder, maths wizard Alex Bellos, local thriller writer Michael Ridpath, novelist Gill Hornby, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Vita Sackville-West’s granddaughter Vanessa Nicolson.

Some tickets are still available for Nevill Holt Opera’s concert performance of Carmen and for the London première of Wonderland, with new music from classical to film and rock. Also not to be missed are violin virtuoso Charlie Siem and The Brodsky String Quartet, Clare Teal and her Mini Big Band and the London International Orchestra, which closes the Proms with a bang on Sunday June 28.

It’s still not too late to book but time’s running out!

See you soon.

The Proms Committee