PAST EVENTS

October 2008
Welwick & University of Hull

Hull Sinfonietta Young Artists Programme

Authentic Chinese music performed by Meng Wang, Hull Sinfonietta’s Young International Artist of the Year.

Meng Wang (guzheng)

October 2008
University of Hull

Hull Sinfonietta Young Artists Programme II
in association with Excellence Hub
STRINGS DAY: The Tchaikovsky Serenade

A day for year 7-13 string students (Grade 8 / very able Grade 7)

Students/schools should apply directly to the Excellence Hub CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

FREE Information session for parents/carers

"Encouraging Young String Players – A Psychological Perspective" by Dr Elaine King
A talk directed at parents by Hull University’s specialist in the psychology of music performance.

FREE Concert

June 2008
University of Hull

THE BEAR
An Extravaganza in One Act

Music by William Walton
Libretto by Anton Chekhov
Lyrics by Paul Dehn

Amy Black (mezzo-soprano) as Popova
Andrew Slater (baritone) as Smirnov
Richard Wiegold (bass) as Luka

with

Lee Tsang (conductor)

A comic tale of love and betrayal.

March 2008
Patrington & University of Hull

Lee Tsang (baritone)
Sarah Beth Briggs (piano)
Heath Quartet with Pietro Lusvardi (double bass)

Settings of poetry by Ursula Vaughan Williams and George Herbert, with texts drawing on Greek mythology and tales of Eastertide.

November 2007

Hull University Orchestra, Lee Tsang (conductor)
in association with

Rachael Drury (violin)
Rod Skipp (cello)
Pete Smith (piano)

Mendelssohn Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Beethoven Triple Concerto, Op.56

In this collaborative event, a trio of Hull Sinfonietta soloists joins students from Hull University in a performance of Beethoven’s most delicately scored masterwork.

June 2007

Vivaldi. The Four Seasons (Soloist: David Greed)
Copland. Appalachian Spring (original version)
J. Strauss II-Schoenberg. Kaiserwalzer

This ever-popular programme also featured the public premiere of Matthew Lee Knowles' _Instances_', the winning entry of the Hull Sinfonietta Most Promising Young Composer Award 2006.

'thoroughly enjoyable'  'a wonderfully diverse programme' (Audience feedback)

Hull Sinfonietta Most Promising Young Composer Award 2006

As a result of the nationwide Hull Sinfonietta Composition Competition and Workshop held at the University of Hull, the panel is pleased to announce that 20-year old Matthew Lee Knowles from Scunthorpe has been granted the Most Promising Young Composer Award 2006.

As well as receiving a cash prize, Matthew had his piece 'Instances' for flute, harpsichord and three cellos performed by the Hull Sinfonietta in a concert in June 2007.

Supported by PRS Foundation for New Music, Hull City Arts, Hull University.

March 2006: Hull Sinfonietta Composition Competition and Workshop

Four new works were selected by competition:

Lester Hough (North Ferriby) - Looking for 'N'
Matthew Lee Knowles (Scunthorpe) - Instances
Geoff Cummings-Knight (Doncaster) - La Primavera
Edmunt Hunt (Matlock) - Airs and Dances.

During the workshop the works were rehearsed and recorded at the Middleton Hall, Hull University.

Supported by PRS Foundation for New Music, Hull City Arts, Hull University .

May 2007: Wilberforce celebration concert

'A wonderful concert … It was an experience I won't forget in a hurry. The programme was beautifully balanced and so well performed'
Gertrud Aub-Buscher (Hull Chamber Music Club)

This major educational project saw the Hull Sinfonietta working closely with Hull University Orchestra, Hull University Choir, local schools (in association with Creative Partnerships) and refugees.  The performance was a musical ‘finale’ to Hull University's WISE Conference on Slavery and Emancipation.

Elgar. Introduction and Allegro
Tippett. A Child of Our Time
Borthwick. Equiano's Lament (new commission)
Traditional. King Mansa Musa

In addition to Elgar’s glorious ‘concerto grosso’ for strings and Tippett's much-loved masterwork, the performance featured the premiere of Borthwick's tribute to William Wilberforce (recorded live), and djembe and African harp ensembles led by Seikou Susso (kora) in an African musical tale.

Soloists: Maureen Brathwaite (soprano), Margaret McDonald (mezzo-soprano), Bernard Abervandana (tenor), Andrew Slater (bass-baritone) and Ross Tomlinson (boy soprano).

June 2006
Dead - a play with live music. (first public UK performance).

Set in the Alps of 1913 and told in six scenes, Dead is a poignant, ultimately spiritually uplifting tale of one couple’s struggle to deal with the death of their son.

Text and music by Anton von Webern (translation by Anthony Meech).

In addition to the live performance in the Gulbenkian Centre, the production and music was recorded onto DVD for limited library distribution:

Tsang, L & Meech, A. [filmed/recorded June 2006; DVD produced August 2007] Musicology on Film: Vol. 1. Stream TV: Hull. Total running time c.140 mins.

Tsang, L. (executive producer, writer, presenter), ‘Webern’s Dead: Music and Musicality in the Stage-Play’. Includes the premiere performance of the unpublished ‘Four Orchestral Pieces, Opus 6' by Hull Sinfonietta. (c. 70’)

Meech, A (translator, director), Tsang, L (executive producer, conductor), ‘Webern’s Dead - Six Pictures for the Stage’ (world stage premiere). Includes a performance of Webern’s Five Orchestral Pieces, Opus 10 and the orchestral song ‘O sanftes Glühn der Berge’ by Hull Sinfonietta (with Margaret McDonald, mezzo soprano). (c. 30’)

The project was funded by Arts Council of England (Yorkshire), Kingston upon Hull City Council, PRS Foundation for New Music, Stream TV and Hull University.

June 2005

'Exquisite ...' '... sensational musicians...' 'Excellent preparation and delivery'
(Audience feedback)

The Sinfonietta performed in the Middleton Hall, University of Hull (26 June), as part of the Humber Mouth Festival 2005 . The event featured Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes, Benno Sachs' arrangement of Debussy's Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, David Matthews' arrangement of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Alastair Borthwick's The Dong with a Luminous Nose (the sequel to The Jumblies). We were joined by children from Chiltern Primary School, Anna Myatt (star of Black Hair) and world-class soprano Sarah Leonard. Sarah is perhaps most famous for being the voice of the RTS award winning theme from the hit TV series Silent Witness (to hear a clip of 'Silencium', click here) and also Peter Greenaway's critically acclaimed film Prospero's Books.

Our guest leader for this concert was award-winning contemporary music specialist Mieko Kanno.

Funded by Humber Mouth Special Commissions 2005, Geo. Houltons & Sons Ltd, Hull University, Arts Council England (Yorkshire), Hull City City Arts.