Saturday 30 June at 7:30 pm, St Mary’s Church, Church Street, Maldon CM9 5HW
Haydn Symphony No. 49 ‘La Passione’
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Boyce Symphony No. 4 in F
Grieg Holberg Suite
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A
Find out more: Maldon Festival
The Bristol Ensemble performs a concert of classical favourites as part of the tenth annual Maldon Festival, which provides music lovers with a feast of orchestras, choirs, musicians and more.
Friday 15 – Sunday 17 December, 2017 at Snape maltings in Suffolk
A weekend of festive activities and concerts for both children and adults, including The Snowman and Paddington Bear’s First Concert with live orchestra and fun family activities around the site including workshops, storytelling sessions and a trail. Plus start the month with the Co-op Juniors’ Christmas Spectacular in the Land of Oz.
Friday 15th December, 2017 at 7.30pm at Snape Maltings Concert Hall
Whether it has its roots in frost-covered English woods and fields, or the splendour of baroque Venice, all the music in this concert is animated by a shared sense of wonder, mystery and joy. Vaughan Williams’ and Finzi’s seasonal favourites draw deeply on the English folk tradition, and make an enchanting foil for Vivaldi’s great (and rightly popular) shout of celebration. Together they add up to a luminous Christmas concert from Snape Maltings’ own chorus, under its charismatic director Ben Parry.
Programme
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols 11’
Finzi In terra pax (Christmas scene) 15’
Vivaldi Gloria 30’
Performers
Aldeburgh Voices
The Suffolk Ensemble
Ben Parry conductor
Saturday December 16th, 2017 at 7.00pm – Tewkesbury Abbey
A performance of Handel’s Messiah with Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum, accompanied by the Bristol Ensemble, conducted by Simon Bell with soloists Kirsty Hopkins (soprano), Tom Lilburn (counter-tenor), Julian Stocker (tenor) and Julian Empett (bass).
22nd December 2017 at 7.30pm, St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
A feel-good festive evening of carols and Christmas music – come and sing all your festive favourites with members of City of Bristol Choir, accompanied by The Bristol Ensemble and led in entertaining style by David Ogden. Bring the family for a wonderful evening of singing.
Friday 26th January at 7.30pm, Colston Hall, Bristol
Bristol’s stand-out annual comedy celebration returns for a fourteenth edition at Colston Hall – a unique celebration of the best onscreen classic silent comedy, live music and guest appearances by living legends of British comedy.
The host for this year’s gala show is soon to be announced and the film programme is an incredible triple-bill of laugh-out-loud comedy classics all accompanied by world class live musical accompaniment.
Buster Keaton’s best loved and most innovative film Sherlock Jr (1924) joins Charlie Chaplin’s A Dog’s Life (1918) to headline the show with live music.
Sherlock Jr is accompanied by the world premiere of a new, semi-improvised score composed by Guenter A. Buchwald and performed by the renowned European Silent Screen Virtuosi and members of Bristol Ensemble. A Dog’s Life features Chaplin’s own composition for the film and will be performed by a 15-piece Bristol Ensemble conducted by maestro Guenter A. Buchwald.
Plus: Laurel & Hardy’s hilarious comedy short Angora Love (1929) and live performance from innovative, award-winning visual comedy performers The Kagools and with our exciting guest host this looks like being our finest and funniest Gala event to date!
£10.50 to £60.00 incl. booking fee
Gold Premium Ticket Package:
£60.00* (limited to 50)
Access to exclusive post-show VIP after show experience with complimentary drink
Gala merchandise souvenir
Commemorative VIP lanyard (for access to post-show drinks)
One premium ticket located in the stalls
Exclusive limited souvenir event poster (not for sale)
Souvenir mini-programme
*Including all booking fees
Monday 29th January 2018 at 7.30pm, St John’s Smith Square, London
Programme:
Harbison – Remembering Gatsby (Foxtrot for Orchestra)
Bernstein – Symphony No.1: Jeremiah
Copland – Old American Songs First Set
Barber – Symphony No.1 in One Movement
Part of St John’s Smith Square’s Americana ’18 programme.
John Harbison’s orchestral foxtrot begins with an impression of the faraway green light on the East Egg dock, Gatsby’s yearn for the American dream, that would be shattered by corruption and excess. A tune from twenties style party music sketched for his abandoned opera on Fitzgerald’s novel forms the main foxtrot, culminating in fleeting references to the telephone bell and car horns signifying Gatsby’s fate.
Leonard Bernstein, who famously said for great things you need a plan and not quite enough time, completed his first symphony to a tight competition deadline on 31st December 1942. The first movement represents Jeremiah’s pleas to the people of Jerusalem to root out corruption or disaster would befall them, the second the sacking of the city, and the finale settings of Jeremiah lamenting the desolation. Bernstein refused suggestions to add an optimistic ending, and over his career he worked on the theme of corruption and a crisis in faith, to a conclusion that for renewal dogma and orthodoxy must be stripped away in favour of a fundamental belief in common humanity, as expressed in his eclectic Mass of 1971.
Benjamin Britten asked Aaron Copland to arrange some American songs for him and Peter Pears for the 1950 Aldeburgh Festival. These were such a success Copland arranged another set and orchestrated them all in 1957. The original set includes ‘Simple Gifts’, that was used to great effect in Appalachian Spring, and a children’s song ‘I bought me a cat’ complete with sounds of the barnyard and its animals.
Samuel Barber’s Symphony in One Movement is more universally symphonic similar to Sibelius’ approach and less overtly American than Copland’s later style. Lyrical and dramatic, it was in 1937 the first American music to be performed at the Salzburg festival.
Sunday 18th February at Kings Place, London, 11.30am
Steven Devine director
Ciara Hendrick alto
James Way tenor
James Newby baritone
Professor Kishan Dholakia guest scientist
Seeing Life in a New Light
Marvel at our extraordinary universe and the music of Bach with our new Sunday morning series for inquiring and curious minds, with divine music, lively conversation and stimulating science.
For this morning’s session we’re joined by Professor Kishan Dholakia from the University of St Andrew’s enticingly-named Optical Manipulation Group. A world-expert in the physics of light, he’s fascinated by how the science of photonics can use imaging to help unravel the mysteries of the brain.
Alongside Professor Dholakia’s talk, we’ll be performing one of Bach’s most varied cantatas, BWV 83. Mixing joyful arias with funereal sounds, it’s a rollercoaster journey celebrating the glories of life as well as the sadness of death.
Our very own Sunday service is a place to bond with music lovers and revel in the wonders of science. There is no better way to start a Sunday morning.
In this concert we’ll be playing Bach’s cantata Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde (Joyful time in the new covenant).
In partnership with the Institute of Physics.
Thursday 15th March, St John’s, Waterloo at 6.00pm
Berlioz Cléopâtre
Schumann Symphony No.3 ‘Rhenish’
Jonathan Berman Conductor
This concert is free with no ticket required.
Schumann once wrote, admiringly, that Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique was ‘written with drops of blood’. Both composers were ardent Romantics, eager to transplant their very souls into music. Both were entranced by all Beethoven had achieved whilst eager to prove themselves and outstep his shadow. You sense this in these works.
One hears young Berlioz’s own longing for recognition in Cleopatra’s appeal to the Gods for exaltation. Meanwhile, Schumann embarks on his own pastoral symphony, all the while seeking to detour from the path first trodden by Beethoven.
Part of Free Rush Hour Concerts
Sunday 18th March at Kings Place, London, 11.30am
Steven Devine director
Ciara Hendrick alto
James Way tenor
James Newby baritone
Professor Kishan Dholakia guest scientist
Seeing Life in a New Light
Marvel at our extraordinary universe and the music of Bach with our new Sunday morning series for inquiring and curious minds, with divine music, lively conversation and stimulating science.
For this morning’s session we’re joined by Professor Kishan Dholakia from the University of St Andrew’s enticingly-named Optical Manipulation Group. A world-expert in the physics of light, he’s fascinated by how the science of photonics can use imaging to help unravel the mysteries of the brain.
Alongside Professor Dholakia’s talk, we’ll be performing one of Bach’s most varied cantatas, BWV 83. Mixing joyful arias with funereal sounds, it’s a rollercoaster journey celebrating the glories of life as well as the sadness of death.
Our very own Sunday service is a place to bond with music lovers and revel in the wonders of science. There is no better way to start a Sunday morning.
In this concert we’ll be playing Bach’s cantata Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde (Joyful time in the new covenant).
In partnership with the Institute of Physics.
Saturday 24th March, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 7.00pm
Symphony Hall, Symphony Hall, 8 Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2EA
Debussy (orch. Matthews) La cathédrale engloutie, 5′
Bach Organ solo, 10′
Messiaen O Sacrum Convivium, 5′
Messiaen Dieu parmi nous, 10′
Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane, 9′
Debussy Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien, 35′
“What rules do you follow?”
…asked Claude Debussy’s music teacher. “Pleasure,” he replied. But pleasure can unlock whole worlds. 100 years after his death, join Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the CBSO as they set out in search of the wonder, the power and the sheer beauty of music’s quietest revolutionary.
We’ll journey through sensual pleasures and sacred ecstasies, children’s games and bold new sounds, culminating in a concert performance of Debussy’s fairytale opera Pelléas et Mélisande. It’s an adventure that’ll involve our entire musical family, plus musical groups from across the whole city.
Sunday 15 April 2018, Christ Church, Newmarket Road, Nailsworth at 3.00pm
Clara Schumann Piano Trio in G minor Op.17
Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. Op.49
As part of our Notes for Women project celebrating the music of female composers, April’s recital features Clara Schumann’s lyrical and elegant Piano Trio, together with Felix Mendelssohn’s well-loved first piano trio, one of his best-known works. Tickets £10 on the door.
Tuesday 12 June at 6.30pm, Bath Abbey, Bath
Bristol Ensemble
Jon Monie narrator
Shean Bowers conductor
Jools Scott and Sue Curtis When The War Came
Bath Abbey will be holding an enchanting evening of choral music sung by a massed children’s choir of 300 pupils drawn from different primary schools in Bath.
The children are all part of the Abbey’s Schools’ Singing Programme, which brings the joy of singing to thousands of school children in Bath and surrounding areas.
When the War Came tells the story of six young people from a small village whose lives are changed forever when the Great War comes to them. Words: Sue Curtis; Music: Jools Scott.
Sunday 1 July 2018, at 7.00pm, St Nicholas, North Walsham, Norfolk
Agnes (a pocket oratorio) by Sarah Rodgers receives its world premiere at St Nicholas, North Walsham, performed by Julia Doyle, the choirs of St Nicholas and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Commissioned by the Orchestra in partnership with Orchestras Live, Agnes uses the letters of Agnes Paston in helping to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Paston family correspondence.
The concert, titled Reliving History, includes music by Purcell, Handel, Holborne, Warlock and Mozart.
Sunday 8 July at 7.30pm, Cheltenham Town Hall
Haydn Symphony No. 94, Surprise
Haydn Piano Concerto No. 11
Haydn Harmoniemesse
Sir András Schiff conductor/piano
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
Charlotte Beament soprano
Helen Charlston alto
Nick Pritchard tenor
Dingle Yandell bass
Take a whirlwind tour of the music of Austrian master Joseph Haydn in the hands of one of the world’s greatest musicians, Sir András Schiff, as part of Cheltenham Music Festival.
This concert rounds off the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Visions, Illusions & Delusions season with a varied programme of music by Haydn, who as much as any other composer redefined what orchestral music came to be during the Enlightenment period.
Sunday 29 July at 5.30pm, Hovingham Hall, York
Haydn Symphony No. 26 Lamentatione
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1
JC Bach Symphony in G minor
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5
Rachel Podger director/ violin
There is more to Mozart than meets the eye.
His repertoire is full of surprises and deceptions.
Mozart was the ultimate musical genius – and the ultimate game player. He tore up the rulebook, and if you hear his music twice, you never have quite the same experience.
Join the OAE to explore the hidden secrets of Mozart’s familiar scores, led by the Orchestra’s longstanding collaborator, violinist Rachel Podger. She plays two of Mozart’s great violin concertos, which are both unique in their own ways.
Also enjoy an exhilarating but rarely performed symphony by Johann Christian Bach. The son of Johann Sebastian Bach, JC Bach was a celebrity in London in the 1770s. This Symphony in G Minor is his dramatic, standout work, full of twists and turns and dark passions.
Friday 10th August at 7.00pm, Birmingham Town Hall
Don’t miss the NCCGB 20th Anniversary Concert, which will be an opportunity to hear the choirs of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain sing a wide variety of works from classical to R&B. These will include pieces by Faure, Goodall and of course Bob Chilcott, President of NCCGB, each choir showing the range of music they have sung during the year.
The concert will end with the première of Everyday Wonders: the Girl from Aleppo, which was written by Cecilia McDowall to commemorate our anniversary year. Performed by current choir members and a group of alumni, Everyday Wonders follows the story of Nujeen Mustafa, who travelled as a child refugee from Syria to Germany, and celebrates her courage and perseverance.
Saturday, September 15, 2018 – Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 7:30pm, Peckham (London) Multi-Storey Car Park
are bringing a new opera programme to Peckham, beginning in 2018 with Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis, an opera about the need for humans to respect death. The megalomaniac Emperor has declared a war that will only end when there are no survivors left. Death, an old tramp, is outraged that a mortal should try to steal his job and goes on strike. The war begins but panic sets in as no one can die. The Living Dead walk the earth. The Emperor’s power weakens. He submits to the greater power of Death, and dies. Originally written in the concentration camp at Terezin in 1943 as a satire of the Nazi regime, this project proposes to re-read the piece as a prophecy for our time, presenting it within the context of current political debates about nuclear warfare, the migration crisis, climate change and the value of life in relation to power, always with a flavour of satire and clowning. The sound world of the opera is cartoonish and accessible, its collage style mixes jazz with chamber music and cabaret.
Saturday 24th November, 7.30pm, St James’s Church, Piccadilly, London
Amici Chamber Choir, conductor Paul Jeanes
Rachmaninov – Bogoroditsye Dyevo
Bairstow – Let all mortal flesh keep silence
‘O Mysterium’ by Victoria
‘O Mysterium’ by Thompson
Gjeilo – Northern Lights; Serenity; Ubi Caritas
Randall Thompson – Alleluia
Dvořák – Mass in D
A richly rewarding evening of beguiling choral music sung with passion and commitment.
The Amici Chamber Choir was established in 1986 so that a group of experienced and enthusiastic amateur singers could enjoy performing music to a high standard. The choir celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2016.
The choir draws its members from across north/west London and consists of about 33 singers who are required to have good sight singing ability. We perform regular concerts in Harrow and central London, with occasional trips to other parts of the UK. The repertoire covers both sacred and secular works, from Renaissance church music and madrigals to music of the present day.
Sunday December 9th at 3.00pm, Christ Church, Newmarket Road, Nailsworth
Franz Schubert Quintet in C Major D. 956
Amy Beach Quartet for Strings Op. 89 [composer profile]
Bristol Ensemble’s popular series of Sunday afternoon tea-time chamber recitals continues with works for string ensemble.
Recognised as America’s leading woman composer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Amy Beach belonged to the Second New England School of composers. Her one-movement Quartet for Strings, completed in 1929, is a lean yet lyrical work of great originality, incorporating Alaskan Inuit melodies as thematic material.
Written just two months before the composer’s death, Schubert’s string quintet is regarded by many as his finest chamber work. The Adagio second movement is tranquilly sublime, and is so treasured that it has become one of the most requested pieces on Desert Island Discs.
Tickets £10 on the door.
Saturday 15th December, at 7.30pm, Clifton Cathedral, Bristol
Handel composed his most famous piece in 1741, continuing to work on it after its initial performance, to arrive at the version we know today in 1754. It tells the story of Jesus’s birth, life, death, resurrection and victory over sin and death, through impressive solo arias interspersed with compelling choruses.
Since the 1740s Messiah has been sung annually by many choirs and remains one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.
Thursday 20th December at 6.45pm, St Paul’s Cathedral, London
The British Red Cross is proud to host its Festive Concert in the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral in London to help raise vital funds for people in crisis across the UK.
There will be performances by the Kingdom Choir (of Royal Wedding fame), Nadine Benjamin and Toby Spence, and readings from British Red Cross celebrity supporter Joanna Lumley.
The concert will also feature the world premiere of a specially composed work by Sir Karl Jenkins. The evening promises to be a special one!
This wonderful celebration will bring people together, regardless of religion, to make connections over the holidays and get people into the festive spirit.
February 17, 2019, 3:00 pm at Christ Church, Newmarket Road, Nailsworth
Fauré Piano Quartet in No.1 C minor, Op.15
Franck Violin Sonata in A major
There’s a Gallic feel to February’s concert, with music from across the Channel. César Franck’s romantic work is regarded by many as the finest violin sonata in all French music. Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet was written at a time of emotional turmoil in the composer’s life, but is predominately positive and uplifting in mood. Tickets £10 on the door.
March 8, 2019, 7:30 pm at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 1DZ
Programme to include excerpts from In a Time Lapse, Devenire and Elements
The Bristol Ensemble performs some of the most famous pieces composed by Ludovico Einaudi to the backdrop of beautiful images of nature. Scored for piano and strings, the ethereal works create a meditative atmosphere, creating waves of emotion to engulf the listener.
Tickets £25 (half price for students and under 18s)
Saturday 13 April, 7.30pm at St Swithin’s Church, Bath
Bath Minerva Choir
Bristol Ensemble
Conducted by Gavin Carr
Mozart Vesperae solennes de Confessore, KV 339
Mozart Serenata notturna, K239
Haydn Missa in Angustiis (‘Nelson’ Mass)
Bath Minerva Choir presents two beautiful works to mark this spring – the Haydn Missa in Angustiis – also known as the Nelson Mass – is widely known and is happily contrasted with one of Mozart’s loveliest pieces – the Vesperae Solennes de Confessore. A beautiful programme of music from the classical era performed by the Bath Minerva Choir and Bristol Ensemble under the direction of Gavin Carr.
Thursday 16 May at 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London
Richard Wagner – Tannhäuser – Venusberg Music
Judith Weir – Forest
John Harle – Briggflatts(world premiere)
Gioachino Rossini – Othello Overture
Jean Sibelius – Spring Song, Op 16
Michael Torke – Green
Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Robin Hood Suite
The BBC Concert Orchestra and Principal Conductor Bramwell Tovey paint a musical portrait of the colour green.
Emeralds. Jealousy. Youth. Joy. Spring. Victory. Nature. We discover how green has been melodically interpreted through great classics and music of today.
Part of the BBC Concert Orchestra’s new, occasional series of concerts inspired by colours, this performance features the world premiere of John Harle’s piece written for young saxophonist of the moment, Jess Gillam.
Presented by Lachlan Goudie, artist, documentary presenter and judge on BBC One’s Big Painting Challenge.
Part of BBC Concert Orchestra 2018-19 Southbank Centre SeasonColour Series
Sunday 13 October to Tuesday 15 October
The Barn, Banchory, Aberdeenshire
For ages 14-19
Create your own piece of music with professional composers, Ailie Robertson and Linda Buckley, and musicians from Red Note Ensemble who will premiere your piece in a concert at the end of the course. You will also receive a recording of your piece after the course.
Timetable:
Sun 13 Oct 2 – 8pm
Mon 14 Oct 10am – 5pm
Tue 15 Oct 10am – 5pm & performance at 6pm
Venue: The Barn, Banchory, Aberdeenshire
Friday October 18, 2019, 7:30 pm at Malmesbury Abbey, Gloucester Road, Malmesbury SN16 9BA
Bristol Ensemble
Director/ Soloist – Roger Huckle
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Delius Two Aquarelles
Haydn Symphony No.83 ‘The Hen’
A concert of English and nature inspired music with master works by Elgar and Vaughan Williams alongside the wonderful ‘The Hen’ Symphony by Haydn. The Lark Ascending forms the centre of this programme and remains one of the UK’s most popular classical piece. Elgar’s Serenade for Strings is a timeless masterpiece and the Two Aquarelles by Delius are perfect for an Autumn serenade.
Tickets £18 for adults, £5 under 18s available to buy online, over the counter at the Malmesbury Abbey shop, or by phone on 07766 105491.
Wednesday November 13, 2019 at 7:30 pm, St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
Bristol Ensemble
Adrian Chandler violin soloist and director
Johann Christian Bach Quintet in G Op.11 No. 2
Francesco Geminiani Concerto Grosso in G minor after Corelli
Nicola Matteis Ground After the Scotch Humour
Nicola Matteis the younger Trio Sonata in G minor
Antonio Vivaldi Concerto Alla Rustica RV151
Antonio Vivaldi Autumn from The Four Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in D RV210
The Bristol Ensemble unveils its Baroque specialist ensemble for the first time, under the directorship of Adrian Chandler.
Adrian will be familiar to St George’s audiences from his performances with La Serenissima and takes over the leadership of Bristol Ensemble Baroque in what will be a vibrant, energetic and thoroughly engaging performance exploring some known and less familiar composers of the Baroque period.
The programme will include works by Johann Christian Bach, Francesco Geminiani, Nicola Matteis and violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi performed by Adrian Chandler.
Tickets £25, £22, £18, £14, available HERE
Sunday 12 January, 10.30am and 12.00pm at Royal Festival Hall, London
The Patient Horse and the Dutiful Donkey
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s interactive music-making session for ages two to five introduces Telemann’s noble steed.
A master of musical storytelling, Telemann guides us through Don Quichotte’s wild and wacky escapades.
On this adventure, the Orchestra creates a high-brow horse and a common donkey. Come and listen to what they sound like!
These interactive OAE Tots concerts have lots of action and activity to captivate the youngest music-lovers.
You can also meet the players and the instruments in the foyer after the performance.
Saturday, 25 January, 2020, 7:30pm at Trinity-Henleaaze URC Waterford Road, Henleaze, Bristol BS9 4BT
Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence Op.70
Mozart String Quintet in G minor K.516
Pre-concert talk with David Bednall at 6.45pm
Tchaikovsky’s string sextet Souvenir de Florence was written following a trip to Italy, during which the composer visited the historic city and sketched one of the work’s principal themes there.
The music exhibits an abundance of Russian passion and fervour, combined with Italian lyricism and brilliance. Scored for two violins, two violas and two cellos, it is symphonic in its sonority and texture, with plenty of opportunity to display the players’ virtuosity. Mozart’s String Quintet is written in his ‘tragic’ key of G minor and is scored for string quartet plus a second viola, giving a rich and melancholic quality to the texture.
Tuesday 25 February, 8.00pm at The Stables, Wavendon
After their recent foray into the world of gypsy music with their classical-chart-topping Baroque Bohemians project, Red Priest return to theirorigins with a stunning concert of baroque classics, arranged and performed with their trademark energy, virtuosity and (in the best baroque sense) madness!
The programme includes works by Bach, Vivaldi and Albinoni.
Wednesday 25 March, 7.30pm at The Ceilidh House, Arnisdale, IV40 8JH
Thursday 26 March, 7.30pm at Poolewe Village Hall, Poolewe, IV22 2LD
Friday 27 March, 7.30pm at SEALL, Ostaig House, Sleat, Isle of Skye, IV44 8RQ
Music and Verse from the Atlantic and beyond
Celebrating Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, Red Note string players Jackie Shave (violin) and Robert Irvine (cello) blend their styles with Eliza Marshall on flutes and whistles and iconic Indian tabla player/composer Kuljit Bhamra to explore the theme of ‘Oceans and Journeys’.
The musicians are joined by actor Crawford Logan in a concert integrating poetry and music of great power and beauty, performing specially written works by members of the ensemble and others.
The ensemble will tour the Highlands and Islands in Scotland, interleaving poetry from local and international poets celebrating and exploring the passions of the Oceans.
The programme will include:
Jackie Shave ‘Sea Fever’
Kuljit Bhamra ‘Indigo Sunrise’
Eliza Marshall ‘Fear A’Bhàta
Robert Irvine ‘The Fable of the Mermaid and the Drunks’ (Neruda)
Jackie Shave ‘Machair to Myrrh’
Irvine/Bhamra ‘Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner’
Marshall ‘Lord Franklin’s Lament’
Bhamra/Marshall ‘Billy Bhangra’s voyage’ (drowning and reincarnation)
Poems and text from Mackay-Brown, Elliot, Neruda and Scottish writers
TICKETS available locally.
Wednesday 1 April, 7.30pm at Church of All Saints, Pembroke Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3ED
Bristol Brass Consort
Paul Harris and Tom Deakin – Trumpets
Paul Tomlinson – horn
John Cornick – Trombone
Simon Derrick – Tuba
Bristol Brass Consort has been entertaining diverse audiences for over 30 years. Their music covers a wide spectrum: folk music, fanfares, show tunes, seasonal and sacred music, jazz and classical music spanning six centuries. They have played at festivals throughout the UK and Europe, and on BBC television and radio. Over the years they have commissioned new works from many living composers.
Their concert on 1st April is a collaboration with Severnside Composers Alliance featuring world premieres by leading West-country composers alongside vibrant and showy pieces from BBC’s regular repertoire such as Anthony DiLorenzo’s “Firedance”. It all adds up to a programme that is fascinating in its range of musical styles. Fanfares by Liz Lane and Arthur Keegan-Bole set a celebratory mood. Jonathan Palmer and David Greenhorne highlight the consort’s well-known interest in renaissance and early music. Jolyon Laycock showcases the virtuoso brilliance of the piccolo trumpet. A slow-moving sombre “Elegy” by Kostis Tsioulakis contrasts with James D’Angelo’s fast-moving “Scherzo”, and Frank Harvey dishes up a jokey take on action movie sound tracks.
Thursday 22 October at 8.00pm, Barbican Hall London and live streamed
Performers
Isata Kanneh-Mason piano
Braimah Kanneh-Mason violin
Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello
Konya Kanneh-Mason violin/piano
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason cello/piano
Aminata Kanneh-Mason violin
Mariatu Kanneh-Mason cello
Programme
Dmitri Shostakovich Piano Trio No 1 in C minor, Op 8
Franz Schubert Impromptu No 4 in A-flat major, D899
Impromptu No 4 in F minor, D935
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Mélodie, Op 42 No 3
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Trio in B-flat major, K502 Mvt III
Samuel Barber Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op 6 Mvt I
George Gershwin Three Preludes
Eric Whitacre The Seal Lullaby
Jerry Bock, arr Kanneh-Masons Fiddler on the Roof medley
Sunday 8 November, 3.00pm at Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 4SR
A theatrical work conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer C.F. Ramuz, A Soldier’s Tale is a parable of a soldier who trades his violin to the devil in return for a fortune, later deliberately losing at cards to win it back. But the Devil is not so easily beaten…
Actor Tama Matheson narrates this Faustian story, while rhythms of ragtime, tango, waltz and a march jostle for position in the highly original and positively primal score, performed by an LMP septet of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet/trumpet(?), trombone and percussion. Written at the end of the First World War, The Soldier’s Tale is a lesson for all cultures and times. This Classical Club performance will be broadcast first on Remembrance Sunday from the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and the concert will end with The Last Post. Enjoy the whole 8-concert series online via LMP’s Classical Club, tickets just £12 each or £50 for the full 8-concert series if you book before 31 October (£60 thereafter).
21 March 2021 at 3.00pm
Are you missing singing with your choir? In partnership with the VOCES8 Digital Academy, you’re invited to join VOCES8 and Paul Smith for a concert packed full of participative music-making.
Repertoire will include music from the Renaissance to contemporary choral compositions, and sheet music and online coaching will be provided as part of your £5.00 contribution towards this event. Singers of all ages and abilities are welcome so please join us, Singing to London (and the world), as we gather together to share the joy of community and song.
18-23 June, Kirkwall, KW15 1HP
The 2021 Festival
An inspiring mix of live and prerecorded performance and film: sit back and take in the sights, sounds and poetry of the Festival and Orkney from the comfort of your own home and tune in to invididual films or buy a Rover ticket to experience all of our online films. You’ll also find a range of free films on this website, many of them celebrating the 100th birthday of George Mackay Brown. If you’re in Orkney, then you can join us in person at our ‘live’ events. Drive-in movies, live music, newly composed music and inspiring, outdoor venues will make these rather special.
Tour 2021 – Preludes and Encores – starts 28 August
Johann Sebastian Bach – Cello Suite no.1 in G major, BWV 1007: Prelude
Astor Piazzolla – Libertango
Robert Oetomo – Over the Rainbow (arr. for Marimba)
Steven Moore enters his first Tour of 2021 performing some breathtaking music on Marimba. Repertoire will include Cello Suite No.1 by Bach, Piazzola’s Verano Porteno and a beautiful arrangement of ‘Over the rainbow’ from Roberto Oetomo.
Concerts will be on a ‘Pay as you feel’ basis so a great opportunity to try something new.
October 10, 2021, 7:30 pm at St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
Haydn The Creation
Bristol Bach Choir
Bristol Ensemble
Roger Huckle leader
Sarah Power soprano
William Wallace tenor
Edward Grint bass-baritone
Christopher Finch conductor
Joe Price lighting and projection design
Postponed from Autumn 2020
Bristol Bach Choir presents an immersive performance of Haydn’s Creation, in which the vivid score will be enhanced by atmospheric image projection and creative lighting design. This unforgettable performance, which promises to enchant and beguile, will be a feast for the senses and the soul. With text from the Book of Genesis and Milton’s Paradise Lost, The Creation is filled with soaring melodies, blockbuster choruses and vibrant orchestral writing. Inspired by his trips to England, where he first heard Handel’s oratorios, The Creation is widely considered Haydn’s crowning masterpiece.
Sunday 14 November, 3.00pm at Christ Church, Newmarket Road, Nailsworth GL6 0DQ
The musicians of the Bristol Ensemble bring the colourful and evocative tango-inspired music of Ástor Piazzolla to Christ Church in Nailsworth as part of the tea-time series of concerts. Tickets £10 on the door.
Saturday 11 December, Wigmore Hall at 5.00pm
Admission: One Shilling
Dame Patricia Routledge as Dame Myra Hess, Piers Lane (piano)
Admission One Shilling, devised by Dame Myra Hess’s composer great-nephew Nigel Hess, tells the story, in words, music and images, of the series of morale-boosting lunchtime concerts that Dame Myra organised at the National Gallery during the Second World War. It draws on press interviews she gave and comments she made during BBC broadcasts. She is represented by the much loved Patricia Routledge. The pianist Piers Lane performs music Myra Hess played in these concerts, by Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Beethoven and Bach – including her celebrated transcription of Jesu, joy of man’s desiring.
Saturday 18 December, Tewkesbury Abbey at 7.00pm
Bristol Ensemble joins the choristers of Dean Close School’s Schola Cantorum for their annual performance of Handel’s Messiah under the baton of conductor Simon Bell.
Tuesday December 28, 2021 at 19:30, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
London Octave
Lorraine McAslan (violin)
Norbert Blume (viola)
Neil Brough (trumpet)
Dietrich Bethge (cello/director)
Brandenburg Concerto No 1 in F – Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No 2 in F – Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G – Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No 4 in G – Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D – Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No 6 in B flat – Johann Sebastian Bach
Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos are among his most popular compositions. London Octave’s performance at Christmas each year attracts a sell-out audience at St Martin’s. Each concerto is unique and played by different solo instruments. Marvellously varied and lively musicmaking by Britain’s finest instrumentalists.
Saturday 19 March 2022, 7.30pm at Trinity-Henleaze URC, Waterford Road, Henleaze, Bristol BS9 4BT
Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat K.452
Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin arranged by Mason Jones
Shostakovich Valse No.2
Malcom Arnold Sea Shanties
Pre-concert talk with David Bednall at 6.45pm
Celebrating the coming of spring, this concert features virtuosic music for wind ensemble from across the centuries. At the heart of the programme is Mozart’s three-movement Quintet, scored for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Shortly after the premiere, Mozart wrote to his father that “I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life.” 130 years later, Ravel wrote his homage to friends lost in the First World War, with each of the six movements dedicated to a different person. The programme is completed with Shostakovich’s famous Waltz and Malcolm Arnold’s imaginative and colourful Sea Shanties.
Saturday 10 April, 7.30, at St George’s, Bristol
Bristol Ensemble Baroque ushers in Easter with a performance of Bach’s glorious setting of the St John Passion. Bach’s interpretation of the Passion of Christ is one of the most moving and emotive set to music. The Choir of Royal Holloway joins the period instruments of the Bristol Ensemble Baroque for what promises to be a moving rendition of this great Baroque masterpiece. The performance will be given against a backdrop of wonderful period paintings depicting the scenes of the St John Passion.
Saturday 30 April, 7.00pm, at Bath Abbey
J.S. Bach Mass in B minor
Bath Choral Society
Bristol Ensemble
Ruth Provost soprano
Gwen Martin mezzo soprano
Hugh Cutting countertenor
Nick Pritchard tenor
Darren Jeffery bass
Shean Bowers conductor
Bach’s Mass in B Minor is the high point of his musical art. It combines dramatic choruses in four to eight parts and full orchestration with subtle solos where the voice is accompanied by complementary instruments.
Sunday 1 May from 10.00am, Wiltshire Music Centre, Ashley Road, Bradford-on-Avon, BA15 1DZ
Bournemouth Symphony Orcherstra’s ever-popular Rusty and Not So Rusty Musicians returns to Wiltshire for a Symphony in a Day project.
“Rusties” benefit from specialist coaching from musicians from BSO, professional instruction from one of our conductors, and the chance to meet and play alongside like-minded people in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
Musicians will work through in sectionals in the morning, before an afternoon rehearsal and informal sharing to friends and family at the end of the day.
Saturday 14 May, 7.30pm at Trinity-Henleaze URC, Waterford Road, Bristol BS9 4BT
Pre-concert talk with David Bednall at 6.45pm
Barber Adagio for String Quartet
Gershwin Concerto in F
Mozart Piano Concerto No.11 in F, K413
Viv McLean piano
Featuring virtuoso pianist Viv McLean, a firm favourite in Henleaze Concert Society’s seasons of concerts. In this programme, postponed from 2020, he’ll be performing Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, a jazzy, optimistic, richly-textured work packed full of fabulous tunes and toe-tapping rhythms. It was commissioned by Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra, the day after he had heard the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue. By contrast, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.11 in F is as delicate, elegant and heartrendingly beautiful as you’d expect. Completing the American connection is Barber’s passionate Adagio, in its original version for string quartet.
Thursday 16 and Friday 17 June, 7.30pm at Bath Abbey
Jools Scott and Sue Curtis Stardust Oratorio
Directed by Francis Faux
Jon Monie presenter
Following the hugely successful 2021 premiere of Stardust, Voices for Life returns to take you on this musical journey through space written by Jools Scott and Sue Curtis.
200 local primary school children will perform accompanied by the Bristol Ensemble, narrated by Jon Monie and directed by Francis Faux.
The concert will include the premiere of We Are Every Child, a new Voices for Life commission written by Francis Faux and Jamila Gavin in celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee.
“The musical arrangement was excellent – first class. We were delighted to be able to support this event. To see the children take part in such a wonderful concert in such a great venue must have been a real treat for all. Well done on a great job!” The Roper Family Trust, 2021
Friday 15 July, 7.30pm at Royal Albert Hall, London.
First Night of the BBC Proms
Verdi Requiem
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasba (soprano)
Jennifer Johnston (mezzo-soprano)
Freddie De Tommaso (tenor)
Kihwan Sim (bass-baritone)
BBC Symphony Chorus
Crouch End Festival Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo
August 15, 2022, at 10:00 am
St Peter’s Church, Ridingleaze, Lawrence Weston, Bristol, BS11 0QE
Preludes Summer Holiday Clubs are full of fun music, games, making new friends and creating your own music to perform to family and friends.
8 – 11 August, 10am to 2pm
St Nicholas Of Tolentine Rc School, Pennywell Road, BS5 0TJ
15 – 17 August, 10am to 2pm
St Peter’s Church, Ridingleaze, Lawrence Weston BS11 0QE
22 – 24 August, 10am to 2pm
Ilminster Avenue E-Act Academy, Illminster Avenue, BS4 1BX
To book a place, email charlotte.preludes@gmail.com or pennyrawlings53@gmail.com
26 August, Belcombe Court, Bradford-on-Avon
La rondine (The Swallow) is a moving tale of young love and heartbreak – and what else, you may ask, is opera about? Arguably Puccini’s most modern opera, La rondine was premiered in Monte Carlo in 1917, and includes one of Puccini’s most gorgeous creations, the quartet, ‘Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso’ (I drink to your beautiful smile).
Venue: Belcombe Court, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. BA15 1LZ
5pm Gates open for picnics
7pm Performance starts
9:30pm Approx. end
There will be an interval of half an hour
Tickets:
£40.00 – £90.00 Members ticket pricing
£45.00 – £95.00 Non-members ticket pricing
Under 18’s go free – enquire at box office
Children welcome aged 7 and above
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