Winter 2024. Photos from Bedfordshire Symphony Orchestra concert taken by Bonnie Lane (www.bonnielane.com)
Ensemble Eos - Christopher Weeks recording
July 2023. A date has now been set for the full recording of Christopher Weeks' Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra - Saturday 4th November. A workshop performance has been pencilled in for the evening of Friday 3rd November, though details are still to be confirmed.
The first public performance of the work will be given early in 2024; again details have yet to be finalised, though the concert programme will also feature Mozart's concerto for Flute and Harp, Gerald Finzi's Romance for String Orchestra, Opus 11 and Beethoven's sprightly First Symphony.
The soloist for the Violin Concerto is Robert Atchison, to whom the work is dedicated. Composed in three movements, the tantalising movement titles are 'ab initio', 'grimoire' and 'serenade: nocturne: alba'.
Swansea City Opera
March 2023. Dates for the second mini-tour of Swansea City Opera's new opera have just been confirmed. A total of seven extra performances will take place across Wales, with me at the helm for six of them. Full details can be found on the Diary page of this website, or at www.swanseacityopera.com .
Ensemble Eos. Sadly, the world premiere of the Christopher Weeks Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra has had to be postponed. The new date will be confirmed as soon as possible.
Ensemble Eos
December 2022. Ensemble Eos with Robert Atchison gave the world premier of Serenade: Nocturne: Alba - part of Chrisopher Weeks' concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra - back in April (2022). Chris has now finished writing the concerto, and the first complete performance will be given in April 2023, with Robert Atchison again as soloist (and me conducting). An informal performance on April 28th will be followed by a more formal one on the 29th, in a concert also to include works by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Beethoven.
Swansea City Opera
Also this month, rumours have started circulating that Swansea City Opera's new opera-cum-musical about Men's Sheds may be returning for more performances in autumn 2023 (details tbc). If you would like to sample the flavour of the show, then check out https://www.dropbox.com/s/lqmge81fsmngkue/PROMO_2.mp4?dl=0 or - for a shorter excerpt - try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJuHZUB9wY .