University of Birmingham, Music, Spring 2016

University Music SocietyDepartment of Music Barber Concerts

Ian Bostridge

Percy Pursglove

Callum Smart

Aisha Orazbayeva

jan-mar 2016

Bartók Rumanian DancesDebussy Sonata

FauréSonata in ACrossCurrents Festival 5-11

Birmingham International Piano Festival 14-16Summer Term highlights 25How to Book 26Getting Here 27

Friday 15 January 1.10pmBarber Lunchtime Concert

Savitri Greer violin Richard Uttley piano

We start the New Year concert season with a duo recital from two of the UK’s leading young concert artists. Whilst pianist Richard Uttley makes a welcome return to the Barber Concert Hall, violinist Savitri Greer makes her Barber debut. Born in 1992, Savitri read Music at Oxford and is currently undertaking a Masters at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Her engagements this season include performances at Carnegie’s Weill Hall (New York) and with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Barber Concert HallAdmission: Free

Our Music brochure includes all public events and performances presented in association with the Department

of Music – this includes the regular concert series in the Barber Institute, University Music concerts presented by University Music Society and the Department of Music, and a number of special events and stellar festivals. In the Barber Evening Concert series we welcome Ian Bostridge and Joseph Middleton who bid farewell to the winter with Schubert’s Winterreise, and the outstanding young violinist Callum Smart performs with award-winning pianist Richard Uttley. February sees the launch of a brand new festival, CrossCurrents. In this nine day extravaganza we present new music alongside jazz and folk-inspired works, and hear no fewer than fifteen world premieres performed by leading professionals and student musicians.

Birmingham International Piano Festival returns in early March with six concerts, including recitals, family and jazz events, and a performance from Martin Roscoe with the BBC Philharmonic. University Music highlights include an orchestral weekend by the Symphony and Philharmonic orchestras, whilst the University Chorus join forces with Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Choir to present Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in Symphony Hall on 6th March. In our busiest ever concert season there too many fantastic concerts to mention here so enjoy seeing what is on offer; we hope you will join us for a fantastic few months of concerts and music-making.

Jo SweetHead of University Music and Concerts

Friday 22 and 29 January 1.10pmBarber Lunchtime Concert

Musical Portraits: Lecture-Recitals

Kenneth Hamilton piano

ChopinBarcarolleLisztThe Fountains of the Villa d’Este

IrelandChelsea ReachDebussyL’Isle Joyeuse

Friday 22 1.10pm

Friday 29 1.10pm

LisztSt Francis of Assisi Preaching to the BirdsSt Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves Ravel Jeux d’eauMerrick/StevensonHebridean Seascape

Considered to be one of the finest tenors in the world, Ian Bostridge has an enviable career both as a recitalist and an opera singer. With an international recital career that takes him to the foremost concert halls of Europe, Japan and North America, and lead roles in opera houses including Covent Garden, Munich, and Vienna, this is a rare opportunity to hear him in an intimate venue with his duo partner Joseph Middleton. Together they perform Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise (‘Winter’s Journey’), a set of 24 songs based on the poetry of Wilhelm Müller.

Barber Concert HallAdmission: £18, £15 concessions, £12 Barber Friends, £5 studentsAvailable from the Barber Institute reception on 0121 414 7333 or via barber.org.uk

Charismatic concert pianist and Professor of Music at Cardiff University Kenneth Hamilton returns to the Barber to present his popular annual lecture-recitals.


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Wednesday 3 February 7.30pmBarber Evening Concert

Ian Bostridge tenor Joseph Middleton piano

Schubert Winterreise, D. 911

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"Without doubt the most extraordinary, riveting, performance of Schubert’s great song-cycle Winterreise I have ever witnessed."The Telegraph on Ian Bostridge at The Barbican

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Friday 5 February 1.10pmBarber Lunchtime Concert

Rachel Lee Priday violin Michael Dussek piano

American violinist Rachel Lee Priday is joined by Michael Dussek in the Barber Lunchtime series as part of a UK tour. Violinist Rachel has appeared as a soloist with the Chicago, St Louis, Houston, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, the Boston Pops, and the Berlin Staatskapelle. Critics have praised her ‘dazzling, forceful technique’, ‘rich, mellifluous sound’ and ‘silvery fluidity’. Michael Dussek is a renowned chamber musician and accompanist, and is a member of the Dussek Piano Trio and the Endymion and Primavera chamber ensembles.


Sunday 7 February 3pmUniversity Music

University Chamber Orchestra and Early Modern Vocal Ensemble

Andrew Kirkman chamber orchestra conductorAmy Brosius vocal ensemble director

SchubertFantasy RavelSonata No. 2

SarasateZigeunerweisen

At the same time that Haydn and Mozart were building their towering legacy in Vienna there was also a brilliant – and much lesser known – school of composers working in Flanders and the Netherlands. The Chamber Orchestra and Early Modern Vocal Ensemble performance features Symphony in G minor by ‘the Flemish Mozart’, Pierre van Maldere, elegant works for orchestra and vocal ensemble, plus orchestral music by Charles-Joseph van Helmont and Petrus Hercules Brehy: not yet household names, but certainly worthy to become so!

Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music BuildingTickets: £8, £6 concessions, £3 studentsAvailable via the online shop (see page 26) or on the door

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New music, folk, and jazz converge in a nine-day festival at the University of Birmingham. This new festival brings together internationally acclaimed musicians and student performers, as well as some of the UK’s most respected composers. CrossCurrents presents concerts, free performances, talks and workshops, culminating in a performance by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group of a newly commissioned song cycle featuring the works of no fewer than ten composers.

A collaborative festival, CrossCurrents 2016 fosters emerging talent, merges genres, and celebrates the work of leading composers. We welcome artists and ensembles including the Hermes Ensemble (Belgium), Joel Sachs (USA), Sarah Nicolls (UK), Fidelio Trio (UK), BCMG (UK), David Ogborn (Canada) and Percy Pursglove (UK), alongside the University of Birmingham New Music Ensemble, Jazz Collective, Gamelan Ensemble, and BEAST (BirminghamElectroAcouticSoundTheatre). Featured composers include Judith Weir, Cage, Feldman and Berio.

CrossCurrents is produced by the Department of Music at the University of Birmingham, with support from the Hinrichsen Foundation and the Henry Barber Trust. 5

Sarah Nicolls

Aisha O

razbayeva

Judith Weir CBE

Michael Zev Gordon

Fidelio Trio

Percy Pursglove

Anthony Robb fluteJack McNeill clarinetJeremy Clay workshop leader

Join Jeremy Clay and two professional musicians in the Barber Gallery to create new musical interpretations of works of art by Dahl, Strozzi and Auerbach. Our musicians will explore sounds and techniques to help participants create their own music with graphic interpretations of art that will then be performed in a Sound Tour around the gallery. This workshop includes the lunchtime concert given by the Hermes Ensemble, which also features flute and clarinet, to help spark your imaginations. No musical or artist knowledge is required. Open to adults only. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Please bring your own lunch. To book a place please email [email protected] or call 0121 414 2261.


Karin de Fleyt flutePeter Merckx clarinetJacob Fichert piano

Wim Henderickx On the Road Rolf Gehlhaar A Grand Unified Theory of Everything Pierre Boulez Sonatine Daniel Fardon New workArvo Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel

Belgian contemporary music group, Hermes Ensemble, present the opening concert in CrossCurrents. The programme includes two modern classics by composers who rarely share the same programme, Boulez and Pärt, as well as a new work by University of Birmingham postgraduate composer Daniel Fardon.


Friday 12 February 9.30am-4.30pm

Daniele Rosina directorPercy Pursglove trumpet/flugel horn*Lydia Haynes, Holly Singlehurst, Amy Farnell vocalists+

Berio Folk Songs+ Daria Kwiatkowska trickling water, gentle bells Gil Evans Sketches of Spain*

New music, jazz and folk intertwine as versatile jazz musician Percy Pursglove, conductor Daniele Rosina, talented vocalists and the University’s New Music Ensemble present Gil Evans’s Sketches of Spain, Berio’s Folk Songs, and University of Birmingham composer, Daria Kwiatkowska’s trickling water, gentle bells. Berio’s 1964 Folk Songs set the tone for this eclectic programme dominated by the 40-minute Sketches of Spain. The unrivalled combination of jazz legend Miles Davies and composer/arranger Gil Evans ensured that this jazz masterpiece has remained one of the most popular of all of Davies’s albums and continues to captivate audiences in concert. Sketches of Spain features a re-voiced version of the second movement of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, traditional Spanish melodies, original themes by Evans, and music by Manual de Falla.


Friday 12 February 1.10-2pm

Friday 12 February 7.30-9.45pm

New Music Ensemble

Hermes EnsembleFree event

Visualising Sound 1: Art & Music Workshop Day

Free event

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BEAST and SOUNDkitchen present: BEASTdome Pantry Sessions

BEAST and SOUNDkitchen continue their collaboration, joining forces to present two evenings of eclectic electronic music bringing together local, national and international artists.

Saturday 13 7pmDispatches from the FieldLondon-based composer and winner of the 2012 Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, Jo Thomas performs live, filling the BEASTdome with her large landscapes of composed sounds. Local artist Justin Wiggan will perform Dead Song Disco as part of his Dead Songs project in which exhumed vinyl records that have been buried will be given one last chance to reveal their swan song. SOUNDkitchen duo Annie Mahtani and Iain Armstrong perform a new live work developed for the BEASTdome utilising field recordings collected in and around Birmingham.

Sunday 14 5pm Sufi-sonicAn event featuring Sufi infused electronic music opens with Eliot Bates’s music for Turkish oud and live electronics, presented over the soaring BEASTdome sound system. We then hear from the Qawwali Research Unit’s evolving audiovisual palimpsest on the music and recordings of the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with particular emphasis on his breakout performance at the Luxor cinema in Balsall Heath in 1980. This work is a sonic collaboration between Tasawar Bashir, Charlie Lockwood, Helene Hedsund, Emma Margetson and Scott Wilson.

Sunday 14 7pmDigital HyperbolesComposer and performer Michael Edwards presents a new version of his algorithmic work hyperboles 5 (‘the seven stars go squawking’) performed by cellist and Music Department alumna, Ellen Fallowfield. BEAST composer Tsun Winston Yeung performs his piece (un)touched for Leap Motion and computer. Canadian sound artist, hacker and coder David Ogborn performs his new work Sinfonia, a large-scale live-coding+ work for soloist programmer and unspecified performer.

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 February

The Dome, 3rd Floor, Bramall Music BuildingPlease purchase tickets in advance via beast.bham.ac.uk or via the online shop (see page 26)

Tickets forindividual concerts: £10, £7 concessions, £3 studentsSat/Sun bundle: £16, £12 concessions, £5 students

The Music Society’s Gamelan Ensemble presents the traditional music of Indonesia in this lunchtime concert. This student ensemble perform its first stand-alone concert as part of the CrossCurrents festival, having worked with leading gamelan specialist Dr Andy Channing.

The Dome, Bramall Music BuildingAdmission: Free

Tuesday 16 February 1-2.15pm Tuesday 16 February 5-6.15pm

Cage Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano

Julliard Professor, conductor and concert pianist Joel Sachs performs John Cage’s 70-minute masterpiece for prepared piano. Sonatas and Interludes is a collection of twenty short piece written between 1946 and 1948, taking inspiration from the eight elements of the Rasa (heroism, eroticism, wonder, mirth, sorrow, fear, anger, and tranquillity) and reflects the composer's newfound interest in Indian philosophy. Cage’s development of the prepared piano - the use of foreign objects in and attached to the pianos strings and hammers - enabled him to create new colours and textures never before heard from one instrument.

Please note that there is no interval in this concert and latecomers will not be admitted. Due to the nature of the piece being performed we ask that those attending the concert stay for the duration of the performance.

The Dome, Bramall Music BuildingAdmission: £5, £3 concessions/studentsAvailable via the online shop (see page 26) or on the door

Feldman For John Cage

In 1982 Morton Feldman wrote For John Cage, a gradually evolving 70-minute world of sounds, rich in tone colour, the hallmark by which Feldman has come to be known. Cage and Feldman became lifelong friends after a chance meeting in the lobby outside a New York Philharmonic concert in 1950 (they had both left after being disappointed by the audience response to Webern’s Symphony, Op. 21). Cage encouraged Feldman to move away from his earlier use of serial technique and was influential throughout Feldman’s career.

Between them, Aisha Orazbayeva and Joseph Houston have played venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Aldeburgh and Latitude festivals, St John's Smith Square, and Wigmore Hall and are established duo partners.

Please note that there is no interval in this concert and latecomers will not be admitted. Due to the nature of the piece being performed we ask that those attending the concert stay for the duration of the performance.


Aisha Orazbayeva violin Joseph Houston piano

Joel Sachs piano

Gamelan Ensemble

Free event

Monday 15 February 1-2pm

Free event

Aisha Orazbayeva

Joseph Houston

Joel Sachs

Cage

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Wednesday 17 February 11.30am-2.30pm

11.30am-12.30pmErik Nyström curates a miniBEAST session with electronic music projected over the BEASTdome multichannel system. The programme, which features new work by Bjarni Gunnarsson, Erik Nyström, and more artists to be announced, explores sonic and spatial aesthetics beyond received electroacoustic and computer music traditions.

1-2.30pmThe concert is followed by a seminar in which Erik Nyström discusses the theme of spatial texture topology, relevant to his current research at the University of Birmingham. Approaches to the texturing of space and time will be presented, along with possible ways in which this may inform the aesthetic conception, technical production, and performance of a computer music work.


Wednesday 17 February 7.30-9.45pm

Mary Dullea pianoAdi Tal celloDarragh Morgan violin

Alasdair Nicolson Half Told TalesJudith Weir Piano Trio TwoLuke Bedford Chiaroscuro Scott Wilson head-neck-chest-four-five-six-thing (world premiere)Michael Zev Gordon In the Middle of Things

The Fidelio Trio are no strangers to contemporary performance, having commissioned works from composers such as Michael Nyman, Gerald Barry and Beat Furrer. In this programme, Alasdair Nicolson’s Half Told Tales and Judith Weir’s Piano Trio Two bring Scottish and Chinese folk tale narratives, whilst Luke Bedford’s Chiaroscuro

explores the contrasts between light and dark in painting. After the interval the trio performs the world premiere of Gamelan-inspired head-neck-chest-four-five-six-thing by Scott Wilson (Director of BEAST/Reader in Composition) and In the Middle of Things by Michael Zev Gordon (CrossCurrents Artistic Director/Professor of Composition), a work which opens a dialogue on the living tradition of the piano trio as a form. Join the Fidelio Trio for a gripping evening of new music from some of today's most influential British composers.


Free event

miniBEAST featuring Erik Nyström

Fidelio Trio

miniBEAST9

Sarah Nicolls Inside-Out Piano Interactive Installation (created with the assistance of Ten Hertz)

A vertical grand piano swings perpetually from side to side, like a giant clock. Whilst this monumental instrument shows the passing of time visually, an acoustic sonic sculpture is created, "wryly referencing the giant internal ticking we feel as we approach the age of 40 and wonder when we might get round to having children…".


Pianist, inventor and performer Sarah Nicolls developed her unique ‘Inside-Out Piano’ to explore the belly of the instrument and to coax out some of its hidden sounds. In this solo show, she explores the extraordinary unexpected characteristics of the instrument, moving it around the stage gradually to reveal her parallel journey into motherhood. See this monumental piano in surprising motion, hear the beautiful melodies and textures of Sarah’s piano-songs mixed with stories of creativity, and contemplate the moments of life where everything seems to stand still. Commissioned by Brighton Dome as part of earsthetic 2014.


Thursday 18 February 2.30-5pm

BODY CLOCKInteractive InstallationFree event

Friday 19 February 1.10-2pm

Moments of WeightlessnessFree event

The Music Society’s Jazz Collective take over the Bramall Foyer for some early evening jazz as we go back to basics with one of the CrossCurrents themes and student small bands perform the music that influences them most. The bands also perform arrangements created by students on the Department of Music’s Introduction to Jazz module, a class that encourages students to explore the harmonic and textural intricacies of jazz composition and arranging.

Bramall Foyer, Bramall Music BuildingAdmission: Free

Thursday 18 February 5-6.30pm

Jazz CollectiveFree event

Sarah Nicolls

Jazz Collective

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Friday 19 February 3-4pm

Judith Weir CBE, awarded the title Master of the Queen's Music in 2014, talks to Professor Michael Zev Gordon about her career and influences.


Judith Weir C

BE

Saturday 20 February 7.30-9.45pmPre-concert talk: 6.30-7pm

Richard Baker conductorLucy Schaufer* mezzo soprano Christopher Yates+ viola

Berio Erdenklavier WasserklavierTansy Davies grind show (BCMG Integra commission)Judith Weir Distance and EnchantmentOn Buying a Horse*Blackbirds and Thrushes*Feldman The Viola in My Life II+

Richard Baker crankMichael Zev Gordon Seize the Day (world premiere/BCMG Sound Investment commission)Various composers# CrossCurrents* (world premiere)

#Judith Weir, Richard Baker, Charlotte Bray, Joe Cutler, Howard Skempton, Ed Bennett, Michael Zev Gordon, Scott Wilson, Daria Kwiatkowska, Federico Favali, Patrick Giguere

The UK’s leading contemporary music ensemble BCMG closes the inaugural CrossCurrents festival with a multifaceted programme featuring no fewer than twelve world premieres. The New Music Ensemble presented Berio’s Folk Songs on the first day of CrossCurrents, BCMG closes the festival with the performance of a new set of specially commissioned songs by eleven composers, including compositional staff at the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Conservatoire. Along with Charlotte Bray, Judith Weir, Richard Baker and postgraduates from each organisation, these composers have been invited to write their own folk songs inspired by Berio’s 1964 original. The programme also includes BCMG Sound Investments commission Seize the Day, and the music of Tansy Davies, Judith Weir, Morton Feltman and Richard Baker.

Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music BuildingAdmission: £14, £10, £5 students, £1 under 16sAvailable via the online shop (see page 26) or on the door

Composers in ConversationFree event Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

Pre-concert panel discussion 6.30pm – 7pm:

Join the composers of the CrossCurrents song-cycle as they discuss their varying approaching to writing a song for this new work.

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Michael Z

ev Gordon

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Friday 19 February 7.30pmConcert Gala

Friday Night Classics: Rodgers & Hammerstein

Monday 22 February 1pmUniversity Music

Harmonieband

Benjamin Farrar conductor

Mozart Serenade in B flat, ‘Gran Partita’

Final year conducting student Benjamin Farrar directs Harmonieband, one of many ensembles from the Centre of Early Music Performance and Research.


Rodgers &

Hammerstein

University of Birmingham VoicesCity of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraMartin Yates conductor

Programme includes

Oh! What A Beautiful Morning June Is Bustin’ Out All Over You’ll Never Walk AloneSome Enchanted Evening A Wonderful Guy There Is Nothing Like A DameShall We Dance? Getting To Know You My Favourite Things Sixteen Going On Seventeen Climb Every Mountain

The University of Birmingham Voices team up with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for a gala concert of popular songs and choruses from the much-loved musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Expect show-stoppers from Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music.

Symphony HallAdmission: £12 - £47 plus transaction fee thsh.co.uk or call 0121 345 0600

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February Saturday 27 February 7.30pmMusic Society

Chamber Music Night

Featuring Flute Choir and Clarinet Choir

The Music Society draws musicians from across the University and encourages them to come together for a wide variety of music-making opportunities. In this concert we hear performances from a selection of the smaller ensembles on campus – duos, trios, and quartets – alongside the Music Society’s evergrowing flute and clarinet choirs.

Barber Concert HallTickets: £8, £6 concessions, £3 studentsAvailable via the online shop (see page 26) or on the door

Monday 29 February 1pmUniversity Music

Performance Practice RecitalStudents taking the Department of Music’s Studies in Performance Practice class as part of their degree give a performance of chamber music originating from 17th Century Italy to 19th Century Germany.


Thursday 3 March 12-1.30pmDepartment of Music

Final Year Recitalists

Oly Sourbut tenor hornNikolaj Schubert trumpetAmelia Evans violin

Final year recitalists perform a selection of music in preparation for their end-of-year performance assessments.

With interval.


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Friday 26 February 1.10pmBarber Lunchtime Concert

Christopher Orton recorders Tomoko Matsuoka harpsichord

J S Bach Sonata for flute and keyboard in E, BWV1035Sonata for flute and keyboard in A, BWV1032Telemann Partita No. 5 for recorder and keyboard in E minor, TWV41:e1Fantasia for solo flute, No. 7, TWV40Froberger Partita VI for solo keyboard, FbWV612

Head of Recorder Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Christopher Orton has an enviable career on the concert platform, as an educator, and conductor. For this recital he is joined by his duo partner, prize-winning harpsichordist, Tomoko Matsuoka.


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2016

Tickets: birminghampianofestival.com

HaydnVariations in F minor, Hob. XVII. 6 (un piccolo divertimento, variations)RavelNoctuelles (Miroirs) LisztSonata in B minor

Born in 1991 in London, award-winning pianist Alexander Ullman is a leading light in a new generation of concert artists. We are delighted to present this outstansing young musician as he gives this, the first concert in the 2016 Festival.

‘His performance will live in my mind’s ear for ever: every nuance perfectly judged, poised and placed... his sound is unique.’ Seen and Heard International

Admission: Free/no advance bookingBarber Concert Hall

Friday 4 March, 1.10pm Alexander Ullman piano

David Rees-Williams pianoNeil Francis bass guitarPhil Laslett drums

The David Rees-Williams Trio was formed in 1988 and has released many popular recordings, and worked with some of the UK's finest jazz artists. In demand at jazz festivals across the country, the trio specialise in the fusion of classical and jazz genres, creating captivating programmes with mass appeal.

Admission: £15, £10 Barber Friends, £5 studentsBarber Concert Hall

Friday 4 March, 7.30pm David Rees-Williams Trio

In its second year Birmingham International Piano Festival brings some of the world’s finest pianists to the city of Birmingham.

'The David Rees-Williams Trio have just got better and better... their new recording of jazz forays into the classical repertoire is just magical.' The Guardian

Classical Ticket Offer Book for Angela Hewitt and BBC Philharmonic/Martin Roscoe concerts together and receive a reduced rate combined Festival ticket:

£40 Full price (save £9.50)£32 Barber Friends (save £5)£11 students (save £2)

£1.25 transaction fee applies for online sales

From fables and Greek myths to tales of the extraordinary and the everyday, songs have always been a supremely powerful way to tell stories. Pianist and presenter Dominic Harlan is joined by two singers for a stunningly original concert that includes music by Schubert, Rachmaninov, Brahms and Ives.

By turns hilarious, horrifying, moving and profound, this sixty minute concert guides novices into the world of each song while challenging connoisseurs to find new and unexpected twists in familiar repertoire.

When Yesterday we Met... is a thrilling, hands-on show that pays homage to classical music’s most notoriously under-represented genre, the Art song.

Admission: £5, £3 students/under 16sBarber Concert Hall

March

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Saturday 5 March, 2pm When Yesterday we Met... Storytelling through song

Goodman-Miller Tribute OrchestraPeter Long director

A year after Benny’s triumphant Carnegie Hall 1938 debut, the King of Swing returned and this time with the new kid on the block, Glenn Miller. Both bands were out to impress, and the result was one of the hardest hitting nights in Swing history. Which band came out on top? Come along and decide for yourself! Programme includes In the Mood, Sing Sing Sing, T’Ain’t what you do, One O’Clock Jump and Little Brown Jug.

Admission: £23, £16 Barber Friends, £8 studentsElgar Concert Hall Bramall Music Building

Saturday 5 March, 7.30pm Benny Goodman & Glenn Miller at Carnegie Hall 1939

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PROFOUND

FAMILY CONCERT

Free drop-in craft session 12.30-1.45pmBring Greek myths and fables to life in this pre-concert session in the Barber foyer. (Concert ticket holders only)

"Terrifically engaging! " the singer magazine

01782 206 000 In person Tickets can be purchased from the Festival desk in the Barber foyer immediately following Barber Concerts.

Wednesday 9 March, 7.30pmAngela Hewitt piano

Admission: £22, £17 Barber Friends, £5 students Barber Concert Hall

Friday 11 March, 7.30pm BBC Philharmonic Ben Gurnon conductor Martin Roscoe piano

ElgarSerenade for StringsBeethovenPiano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Op. 19SibeliusThe Swan of TuonelaSymphony No. 5 in E flat, Op. 82

Tickets: 01782 206 000

One of the world’s leading pianists, Angela Hewitt regularly appears in recitals and with major orchestras throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. We are delighted to welcome Angela to give an intimate recital in the Barber Concert Hall for the 2016 Festival.

SchubertMoments musicaux, D. 780BeethovenSonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, ‘Tempest’HaydnFantasia in C, Hob. XVII:4, Op. 58

ScarlattiSelection of sonatas AlbénizSelection from Suite EspagnolFallaFantasia Baetica (1919)

In a rousing finale to the 2016 Birmingham International Piano Festival, one of the UK’s finest young conductors, Ben Gurnon, directs the BBC Philharmonic with guest pianist Martin Roscoe to present works by Sibelius, Beethoven and Elgar.

Admission: £27.50, £20 Barber Friends, £8 studentsElgar Concert Hall Bramall Music Building

In person tickets can be purchased from the Festival desk in the Barber foyer immediately following Barber Concerts

Mahler8

Early music

March

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Monday 7 March 1pmDepartment of Music

CEMPR Small Ensembles

Christine Whiffen CEMPR director

Students who receive lessons and coaching through the Music Department’s Centre for Early Music Performance and Research present music for viol consort, voices, baroque flutes and strings, wind band and early keyboards.

The Dome Bramall Music BuildingAdmission: Free

Mahler Symphony No. 8, 'Symphony of a thousand'

The University Chorus join forces with City of Birmingham Choir and Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra to perform Mahler’s choral and symphonic masterpiece, Symphony No. 8 in E flat. More commonly referred to as the ‘Symphony of a thousand’, the work requires huge forces, both vocally and instrumentally, and features eight solo voices, and a children's choir from the Choir of St Peter’s Collegiate Church (Wolverhampton) and Wolverhampton Grammar School.

Symphony Hall Admission: £20/£15, £16/£12 concessions, £8/£5 students and children Plus transaction fee Available from THSH box office thsh.co.uk or 0121 345 0603

Sunday 6 March 3pmMusic Society

University Chorus and City of Birmingham Choir with Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra

Mike Lloyd conductorJulian Wilkins chorus masterElisabeth Meister, Stephanie Corley, Alison Roddy sopranoHannah Pedley, Wendy Dawn Thompson mezzo-sopranoJeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Morgan Pearse tenor Jeremy White bass

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Friday 11 March 9.30am-4.30pmWorkshop Day

Visualising Sound 2: Workshop Day

Suzie Purkis mezzo-sopranoJack McNeill clarinetJeremy Clay workshop leader

Join Jeremy Clay and two professional musicians in the Barber Gallery to create new musical interpretations of abstracts works of art from the exhibition, Chance, order, change: Abstract Paintings 1939-1989. Our musicians will explore sounds and techniques to help participants create their own music with graphic interpretations of art that will then be performed in a Sound Tour around the gallery. This workshop includes the lunchtime concert given by Jack McNeill and the Gildas Quartet to help spark your imaginations. No musical or artist knowledge is required. Open to adults only.Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Please bring your own lunch.

The Barber Institute of Fine ArtsAdmission: Free. To book a place please email [email protected] or call 0121 414 2261.

Friday 11 March 1.10pmBarber Lunchtime Concert

Gildas Quartet Jack McNeill clarinet

David BruceGumboots, quintet for clarinet/bass clarinet and string quartetPendereckiQuartet for clarinet and string trio

The Gildas Quartet is joined by clarinettist Jack McNeill to perform Penderecki’s Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio and David Bruce’s Gumboots. A work that pays homage to the black miners in apartheid era South Africa, Gumboots tells the story of the human spirit at times of adversity. The work contrasts the lively ‘Gumboot Dance’ style that was developed by the miners with a tender and evocative opening section that is both moving and captivating.


Saturday 12 March 7.30pmUniversity Music

University Women’s Choir and Birmingham University Singers

Simon Halsey conductorMatthew Hayden baritone*

Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs*Howells Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis ‘Collegium Regale’Fauré Requiem

workshop + concert

Gumboots

faure/howells/ vaughan Williams

Saturday 12 March 7.30pmUniversity Music

University Women’s Choir and Birmingham University Singers

Simon Halsey conductorMatthew Hayden baritone*

Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs*Howells Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis ‘Collegium Regale’Fauré Requiem

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Sunday 13 March 3pmUniversity Music

Birmingham Symphonic Brass

Stephen Roberts conductor

The University’s finest brass players present an afternoon concert in the format of four trumpets, one horn, four trombones and tuba – instrumentation made popular by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble in the 1970s. The group perform a selection of music arranged by their conductor Stephen Roberts, a doyen in the world of brass ensembles. Stephen was a founder member of the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble – a group that bought brass chamber music to the masses – and has recently composed music for the finals of nationwide brass band competitions.


Monday 14 March 12-1.45pmDepartment of Music


Edgar Divver saxophoneAimee Wood fluteSarah Carbis saxophoneKathy Hang guzheng


With interval.

The Dome Bramall Music BuildingAdmission: Free S

tudentrecitals

March

With Easter around the corner, Birmingham University Singers and University Women’s Choir turn their attention to liturgical choral music. The concert features the music of Howells, Fauré, and Vaughan Williams with works that feature talented student soloists alongside these two award-winning choirs. Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs is a setting of four poems by seventeenth-century Welsh-born English poet and Anglican priest, George Herbert, and is performed with third year student Matthew Hayden as baritone soloist.


Simon Halsey CBE

Wednesday 16 March 7.30pmBarber Evening Concert

Callum Smart violin Richard Uttley piano

Tuesday 15 March 5-7pmArts and Science Festival

On Memory: Recital and Conversation

Joseph Houston pianoMichael Zev Gordon composer

As part of the Arts and Science Festival 2016, Professor of Composition Michael Zev Gordon explores the theme of Memory and Forgetting with award winning pianist Joseph Houston. The event includes a discussion between the composer and pianist exploring the relationship between memory and music, followed by a performance of the 40-minute work for piano, On Memory.


Mozart Sonata in B flat, K378 Poulenc Sonata, FP119 J S Bach Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 R Strauss Violin Sonata in E flat, Op. 18

Callum Smart attracted wide public attention in 2010 at the age of thirteen having won the strings category of the BBC Young Musician competition and the top European prize-winner in the Menuhin Competition in Oslo. He has since appeared at festivals, in concert and with major orchestras across Europe, and released his first recording in 2014. He is joined by acclaimed pianist, Richard Uttley. Richard has given concerts in the Barber Lunchtime series and makes his debut in the Evening series at this concert.


“…the sincerity of Smart’s singing line is cause for celebration, and the recital is quite outstanding in its unique sequence and profile of a superb young player.” International Record Review

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Abigail Fiddik sopranoElisabeth Munns sopranoAnthea Ma sopranoOlivia Grant soprano


With interval.


Thursday 17 March 7.30pmArts and Science Festival

BEER: Dark MatterIn collaboration with the Art@CMS project at CERN in Switzerland, the Birmingham Ensemble for Electroacoustic Research (BEER) presents this performance involving the sonification of data streams from the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most complex particle accelerator. Experimental data containing clues towards possible ‘new physics’ becomes the raw material for improvised music and visualisations programmed in real time by the ensemble with an aim to creating a result that while beautiful, is both musically and scientifically meaningful. As part of this event, Nomad, Birmingham Open Media's cutting edge restaurant partner, will offer an innovative physics-inspired menu. (Further details will be made available at http://foodbynomad.com)

BOM (Birmingham Open Media)1 Dudley StreetBirmingham B5 4EG Admission: Free

Student

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A UNIQUE COLLABORATION BETWEEN CERN AND BEER INVOLVING THE SONIFICATION OF DATA STREAMS FROM THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER.

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The Music Society orchestras and their conductor Daniele Rosina present a weekend of concerts in the Bramall Music Building. The concerts feature popular orchestral works alongside soloists and the world premiere performance of postgraduate composer Oliver Frost’s new orchestral work, drawn onward.

Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music Building

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Friday 18 March 7.30pmMusic Society

Chamber Choirs and Brass Band

Stuart Birnie brass band directorJack Apperley, James Naylorchoir conductors

Programme includes

Join three of the Music Society’s student ensembles as they present an evening of traditional choral music and brass band repertoire. Taking inspiration from the Salvation Army, an organisation renowned for its brass bands and choirs, the finale to the concert is a performance of Major Leslie Condon’s popular march for band and choir, Celebration.


CondonCelebration ParryI know my soul hath powerLandinoEcco la primavera

Monteverdi Venite venitePeter GrahamGaelforce

22Paintings on opposite page by Viktor Hartmann.

Friday 18 March 1.10pmBarber Lunchtime Concert

Chetham’s School of MusicStudents from Chetham’s School of Music give their annual concert in the Barber Institute. One of the UK’s most respected music school, Chetham’s supports future generations of musicians and composers. Come along to spot the stars of the future!


Plan for a C

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Sketch for the ballet Trilby

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Monday 21 March 12-1.45pmDepartment of Music


Esther Yong pianoEmma Foulger pianoRuo Xi Lim pianoElliot Hinton piano


With interval.


Saturday 19 March 7.30pmMusic Society

Symphony Orchestra

Daniele Rosina conductorLucy Haggerwood-Bullen violin*

MascagniIntermezzo from Cavalleria RusticanaPucciniIntermezzo from Suor AngelicaBizetSelection from CarmenBeethovenViolin Concerto in D, Op. 61

Sunday 20 March 3pmMusic Society

Philharmonic Orchestra

Daniele Rosina conductorRichard Jenkinson cello

Philharmonic Orchestra performs Maurice Ravel’s 1922 orchestration of Mussorgsky’s popular suite Pictures at an Exhibition. Based on the paintings of Viktor Hartmann, the orchestral suite is a triumph of colour and texture, evoking scenes of great Russian architecture and folklore. The idea of colour is further explored in two short antiphonal fanfares for brass, Signals from Heaven, by Japanese composers Toru Takemitsu, and in Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. In addition, cellist Richard Jenkinson (CBSO principal cellist and Dante Quartet), joins the Orchestra for a captivating performance of Barber’s Cello Concerto.

March

Studentpiano

recitals

23*Winner of the Music Society's annual Solo Competition

Takemitsu Signals from HeavenBarber Adagio for StringsBarber Cello Concerto

Oliver Frostdrawn onward(world premiere)Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

Paris catacoombs

A clock in the form of the hut of Baba-Yaga

Individual concert tickets: £10, £8 concessions, £3 studentsWeekend ticket: £16, £12 concessions, £5 students. Available via the online shop (see page 26) or on the door

Tuesday 22 March 7.30pmMusic Society

Big Band

Jonathan Silk director

The Music Society’s Big Band and their director Jonathan Silk present an evening of big band and jazz orchestra compositions, with focus on the music of American jazz legends Maria Schneider and Bob Brookmeyer. You can also join members of the Music Society’s Jazz Collective from 6.30pm in the Bramall Foyer as they perform some of their favourite music for small bands.


Monday 21 March 5.30pm-8pmUniversity Music

University Camerata

Sarah Fox, Samuel Kjellberg, Tucker Moore, Johannes Wolff conductors

Programme includes



Jane Chua baroque fluteRiva Grant sopranoWilliam Tuckwell electric guitarStuart Emmerson piano


With interval.


James MacMillan O Radiant DawnDuruflé Ubi CaritasMendelssohn WeihnachtenByrd Mass for Five Voices

Britten Hymn to the VirginMonteverdi Cantate DominoParry My Soul, there is a countryReger Nachtlied

This year’s postgraduate choral conducting students direct the University Camerata in two recitals. Their individual recital programmes offer an evening of diverse music for chamber choir.

Elgar Concert HallAdmission: Free

5.30-6.30pm 7-8pm

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Jonathan Silk

+ JAZZ COLLECTIVE

6.30PM IN THE FOYER

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Thursday 24 March 7.30pmMusic Society

University Wind Band and Saxophone Choir

Lee Chapman and Harry Hextallwind band conductorsEdgar Divver and Gerry Brazellsaxophone choir conductorsSarah Carbis and Hannah Coutts saxophone duo

Programme includes

Talented woodwind, brass and percussion players present the final concert of the Spring term. The Saxophone Choir feature two student soloists – joint winners of the Music Society’s Soloist Competition, and Wind Band's performance includes an arrangement of John Adams’s pulse-raising Short Ride in a Fast Machine.


Wednesday 18 MayBarber Evening Concert

Academy of Ancient Music: Vivaldi in Dresden

Richard Egarr director & harpsichord

J S Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.1Vivaldi Concerto in G minor, RV577Telemann Concerto for three oboes and three violinsVivaldi Concerto in D major, RV562J S Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4

The Academy of Ancient Music return to the Barber Institute with a popular programme directed by Richard Egarr.

Barber Concert HallAdmission: £18, £15 concessions, £12 Barber Friends, £5 studentsAvailable from the Barber Institute reception on 0121 414 7333 or viabarber.org.uk

April 28-30Department of Music

BEAST FEaST 2016: Real/UnrealTogether, electronic music and field recording have the potential to confront us with worlds ranging from hyper-realistic soundscapes to the most abstract and impressionistic realms of the imaginary. Join us as we explore this terrain between the Real and Unreal in BEAST FEaST 2016, our annual festival of music and ideas. Featured artists include World Soundscape Project director and granular synthesis pioneer Barry Truax, Mexican composer Sergio Luque, whose extended non-standard synthesis approaches have established him as the heir apparent to Xenakis’ stochastic sound generation techniques, and BEAST founder Jonty Harrison, who returns to bring us his latest extended opus based on field recordings from around the world.

For more information about these events, visit the BEAST website: beast.bham.ac.uk

Summer Term highlights Summer Term highlights Summer Term highlights

Philip Sparke Four Norfolk DancesMartin Ellerby The Cries of London

John Adams Short Ride in a Fast MachineJacob de Hann Kraftwerk

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How to bookUniversity Music concerts Barber Evening Concerts

Concessions Concessionary rates are offered to the disabled, the unwaged, and patrons aged sixty years and above.

Barber Friends Friends of The Barber are entitled to purchase tickets for Barber Evening Concerts at specially discounted Barber Friends’ rates.

Students Student rates include children aged 16 and under unless otherwise stated.

Disabled patrons Limited blue badge holder parking is available. Please speak to staff when booking your tickets.

Please note: We reserve the right to halt ticket sales five minutes before performances begin in order to ensure a prompt start. Late-comers will be admitted at a suitable point in the programme at the Venue Manager’s discretion. We reserve the right to substitute artists or vary programmes in unavoidable circumstances.

On the door

University online shop

Tickets may be purchased on the door for any University Music concert subject to availability. Cash only.

shop.bham.ac.uk

Barber box office

0121 414 7333You can purchase tickets for any Barber Evening Concert at the reception desk in The Barber Institute of Fine Arts during normal opening hours or by calling the number above. Monday to Friday: 10am-12.30pm, 2.30pm-4.30pm. Saturday and Sunday: 11am-4.30pm. On days when there is an evening performance the Barber box office remains open until 7.25pm.

Barber Concertsonline ticketing

www.barber.org.uk/concerts

General bookinginformation

Our concerts are either hosted by University Music or The Barber Institute. Please check below for the correct route to booking.

Select: Product Catalogue then select: Non-Academic Departmentsthen select: University Music Concerts

Please note that there is a link on each concert listing on the Barber website that will redirect you to the relevant page of the University online shop to complete your purchase.

Birmingham InternationalPiano Festival 2016For Birmingham International Piano Festival tickets please got to:

birminghampianofestival.com

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How to find usFor maps and information about getting to the University please visit about.bham.ac.uk/maps

By Train Local trains operated by London Midland run from Birmingham New Street to University Station, a ten-minute walk from the Barber Institute and the Bramall Music Building. Check train times at www.londonmidland.com

By Bus There are frequent buses (61, 63 and X64) operated by National Express West Midlands from the city centre to the bottom of Edgbaston Park Road, where you should alight.

Pay and Display ParkingNorth East Car Park, 52 Pritchatts Road Satnav: B15 2SANorth Car Park, North Gate, Pritchatts Road Satnav: B15 2SB

Both car parks are within a ten-minute walk of the performance venues.

Blue Badge HoldersParking is available on campus beyond the security barriers.

Free ParkingFree parking is available adjacent to the Barber Institute via the East Gate on performance nights from 4.30pm, no permit required.

Pritchatts Rd

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Barber Institute of Fine ArtsBramall Music BuildingWinterbourne House & Gardens

Getting hereThe University of Birmingham is located approximately 3 miles from the city centre.

Mailing ListWant to receive this publication by post?

If you would like to join our mailing list please send the following details to Sophia Scott (Concerts and Marketing Administrator) via email: [email protected] or complete our mailing list form which is available from the Barber Institute.

Name Full postal address Email Contact telephone number Personal details will not be shared with any third parties and all data will be stored securely.

barber.org.uk/concertsbirmingham.ac.uk/eventsBrochure design: Antony Antoniou www.designbyantony.com

January15 1.10pm Savitri Greer - violin, Richard Uttley - piano Barber Institute Free22 & 29 1.10pm Musical Portraits: Kenneth Hamilton Lecture-Recitals Barber Institute Free

February3 7.30pm Ian Bostridge - tenor, Joseph Middleton - piano Barber Institute £5-185 1.10pm Rachel Lee Priday - violin, Michael Dussek - piano Barber Institute Free7 3pm Chamber Orchestra and Early Modern Vocal Ensemble Bramall Music Building £3-812 9.30am Visualising Sound 1: Art and Music workshop day Barber Institute Free12 1.10pm Hermes Ensemble Barber Institute Free12 7.30pm New Music Ensemble Bramall Music Building £3-1013 & 14 see p7 BEASTdome Pantry Sessions Bramall Music Building £3-1615 1pm Gamelan Ensemble Bramall Music Building Free16 1pm Aisha Orazbayeva - violin, Joseph Houston - piano Barber Institute Free16 5pm Joel Sachs Bramall Music Building £3-517 see p9 miniBEAST featuring Erik Nyström Bramall Music Building Free17 7.30pm Fidelio Trio Barber Institute £5-1818 2.30pm BODYCLOCK Interactive Installation Barber Institute Free18 5pm Jazz Collective Bramall Music Building Free19 1.10pm Moments of Weightlessness Barber Institute Free19 3pm Composers in Conversation Bramall Music Building Free19 7.30pm Friday Night Classics: Rodgers & Hammerstein Symphony Hall £12-4720 7.30pm Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Bramall Music Building £1-1422 1pm Harmonieband Bramall Music Building Free26 1.10pm Christopher Orton - recorder, Tomoko Matsuoka - harpsichord Barber Institute Free27 7.30pm Chamber Music Night Barber Institute £3-829 1pm Performance Practice Recital Bramall Music Building Free

March3 12pm Final Year Recitalists Bramall Music Building Free4 1.10pm Alexander Ullman - piano Barber Institute Free4 7.30pm David Rees-Williams Trio Barber Institute £5-155 2pm When Yesterday we Met... Storytelling through song Barber Institute £3-55 7.30pm Benny Goodman & Glenn Miller at Carnegie Hall 1939 Bramall Music Building £8-236 3pm Mahler ‘Symphony of a thousand’ Symphony Hall £5-207 1pm CEMPR Small Ensembles Bramall Music Building Free9 7.30pm Angela Hewitt - piano Barber Institute £5-2211 9.30am Visualising Sound 2: workshop day Barber Institute Free11 1.10pm Gildas Quartet, Jack McNeill - clarinet Barber Institute Free11 7.30pm BBC Philharmonic with Martin Roscoe - piano Bramall Music Building £8-27.5012 7.30pm University Women’s Choir, Birmingham University Singers Bramall Music Building £3-813 3pm Birmingham Symphonic Brass Barber Institute Free14 12pm Final Year Recitalists Bramall Music Building Free15 5pm Joseph Houston - piano, Michael Zev Gordon - composer Bramall Music Building Free16 7.30pm Callum Smart - violin, Richard Uttley - piano Barber Institute £5-1817 12pm Final Year Recitalists Bramall Music Building Free17 7.30pm BEER: Dark Matter Birmingham Open Media Free18 1.10pm Chetham’s School of Music Barber Institute Free18 7.30pm Chamber Choirs and Brass Band Bramall Music Building £3-819 7.30pm Symphony Orchestra Bramall Music Building £3-1020 3pm Philharmonic Orchestra Bramall Music Building £3-1021 12pm Final Year Recitalists Bramall Music Building Free21 5.30pm University Camerata Bramall Music Building Free22 7.30pm Big Band Bramall Music Building £3-824 12pm Final Year Recitalists Bramall Music Building Free24 7.30pm University Wind Band and Saxophone Choir Bramall Music Building £3-8

January-March 2016

CrossCurrents FestivalBirmingham International Piano Festival

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University of Birmingham, Music, Spring 2016

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