Birmingham Conservatoire Concert Diary Autumn 2015 by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Concerts and Events Autumn 2015 Sep-Dec

Tasmin Little. Photo: Benjamin Ealovega

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

“Thank you for the excellent support we received at our workshop on Sunday. It was a tremendous success and gives me ideas for a similar event in 2015.”

Welcome

Julian Lloyd Webber

Welcome to another great season of performances at Birmingham Conservatoire! This is my first term as Principal of the Conservatoire and I am well aware how good past seasons have been and how many of the world’s greatest musicians have worked and performed here. This autumn’s programme continues that tradition.

One Unique Venue... Thousands of Unique Events

Offering flexible spaces in a unique environment, Birmingham Conservatoire is a stimulating alternative to other venues. Located in a prime position in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, the venue offers competitive prices and a first-rate, bespoke, personalised service from a team of experienced event managers. Available to hire from one hour upwards, facilities include two acoustically enhanced halls (520 and 154 seats), a range of lecture theatres, a light and spacious board room and over sixty other practice, rehearsal, meeting rooms and break out spaces. First-rate equipment and instruments, technical support, excellent catering, and in-house musicians make Birmingham Conservatoire an ideal choice for your event, whether that be a concert or recital, rehearsal or workshop, meeting, conference, exhibition, product launch or drinks reception. So why not contact us and find out how we can help to make your next event truly unique? To request our brochure or to discuss holding your event at Birmingham Conservatoire, please contact the Venues, Concerts and Events Office on 0121 331 5909 or email bhamcons.concerts@bcu.ac.uk

As usual our visiting musicians cover the spectrum of today’s music scene. Classical music is superbly represented by the likes of world-renowned violinist Tasmin Little (p31), legendary fortepianist Robert Levin (p13) and a complete series of all of Brahms's chamber works involving piano (p33). There is a bonanza for organists in Organfest (p9), and there are great days out for string players (p11), saxophonists (p17), guitarists (p24) and for all brass players (p29) when the London Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Trumpet, Philip Cobb pays us a visit.

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Credit John Millar

Tony Veal (Community Band Workshop)

Our percussion department also comes to the fore with a lunch-time performance of Steve Reich’s landmark composition, Drumming (p32). There is plenty of jazz, world and contemporary music, of course, our regular series of lunchtime recitals given by our most outstanding students. And let’s not forget the two marvellous programmes of British music by the Conservatoire’s Symphony Orchestra including a rare performance of Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Two Violins and Strings (p19). Truly there is something for everyone and I urge you to look closely at the programme for yourselves in case I have missed out your own particular favourite. Julian Lloyd Webber Principal Birmingham Conservatoire

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Autumn season highlights FRI 18 - SUN 20 SEP ORGANFEST - P9 Various Venues

TUE 6 OCT ROBERT LEVIN - P13 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door

THU 8 OCT MICHAEL JANISCH: PARADIGM SHIFT - P14 8pm Recital Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door

TUE 13 OCT TRADICIONAL CUBANO - P16 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door

THU 26 - SAT 28 NOV OPERA SCENES - P29 7pm Recital Hall £9 (£7) advance £10 (£8) on the door

FRI 4 & FRI 11 DEC THE COMPLETE CHAMBER WORKS WITH PIANO OF JOHANNES BRAHMS - P33 1pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) 4

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Finding your way through the concert season, our…

Lunchtime, Afternoon and Early Evening Concerts THE MONDAY SHOWCASE

28 Sep / 5 Oct / 12 Oct / 19 Oct / 26 Oct / 2 Nov / 9 Nov / 30 Nov / 7 Dec Beat away those Monday blues with this series of FREE weekly lunchtime concerts and hear a variety of exciting work that Conservatoire students are undertaking.

LUNCHTIMES AT BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

23 Oct / 27 Nov / 18 Dec Join us as we take the Conservatoire out into the City, for a series of lunchtime concerts in the elegant surroundings of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINARS

6 Oct / 20 Oct / 3 Nov / 10 Nov / 8 Dec Providing you with a stimulating insight into a variety of academic topics, our newly expanded programme of public research seminars feature alongside a number of other lectures, lecture-recitals and talks.

PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

29 Sep / 6 Oct / 13 Oct / 20 Oct / 27 Oct / 3 Nov / 10 Nov / 1 Dec / 8 Dec / 15 Dec FEATURING THE INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS MASTERCLASS SERIES ON 6 OCT / 13 OCT / 1 DEC Enjoy lunchtime concerts created and presented by leading musicians every Tuesday. Performances by our postgraduate students, ensembles-in-residence, junior fellows and tutors are interspersed by visits from leading professional and international artists throughout the year.

THE LIVE JAZZ BROADCAST

7 Oct / 21 Oct / 4 Nov / 2 Dec / 16 Dec Jazz up your lunch break with performances by the very best senior jazz students from Birmingham Conservatoire. Keep your eyes and ears on emerging talent from the Birmingham jazz scene, while being part of an exciting music making experience. A recording of the performance is made available for you shortly after the concert at www.bcu.ac.uk/ conservatoire

Tickets for the Performance Platform are FREE to audiences from the week’s Monday Showcase (just show your programme from Monday’s concert to gain free entry) - a little gift from us so that you can enjoy two concerts each week at no expense.

Performance Platform – Pei-Chun Liao

Live Jazz Broadcast © William Ellis

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Finding your way through the concert season, our…

Evening Concert Series:

12 Oct / 13 Oct / 9 Nov / 10 Nov / 12 Nov / 13 Nov / 8 Dec Hear the latest music and see new work performed in our Frontiers series. Our composition and music technology departments nurture some of the hottest talent on the British and European music stage and this is where it all starts. Featuring guest performers and composers, as well as our student performers and composers, this series explores the vast world of contemporary music both acoustically and electronically. THE JAZZ CLUB

8 Oct / 22 Oct / 3 Dec Birmingham Conservatoire is home to a stimulating Jazz Department, nurturing some of the very best new talent on the UK jazz scene. This series highlights the outstanding work being produced by the department and also plays an important role in the City’s flourishing jazz calendar. With gigs ranging from traditional to contemporary jazz, as well as visits by artists of international repute, there is something here for aficionados as well as those completely new to the scene.

THURSDAYS AT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

29 Oct / 5 Nov / 12 Nov / 10 Dec / 17 Dec These performances typify the wide variety of musical instruments, genres and styles on offer within our concert programme. From jazz, piano and contemporary music, to harp, recorder and saxophone ensembles, this concert series offers a sonic feast as you near the end of working week.

Special Events and Festivals

PRIZES AND COMPETITIONS

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BRASS MINIFEST

18-20 Sep

9-13 Nov

23 Nov

Feel the thrill and anticipation as our students compete to win a range of esteemed prizes and awards.

For a second year the Royal College of Organists is working in partnership with the Incorporated Association of Organists and British Institute of Organ Studies to present Organfest, for which the RCO Organ Forum forms the centre-piece.

Enjoy a special week of events centered around a residency from the remarkable Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist.

Birmingham Conservatoire Brass Department is delighted to welcome Philip Cobb, internationally acclaimed soloist and Principal Trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra to give a Celebrity Recital, Public Masterclass and judge our annual Alfred Corfield Trumpet Prize.

INSTRUMENT DAYS

Strings Day - 27 Sep Saxophone Day - 18 Oct Guitar Fest - 8 Nov Take part in masterclasses, workshops, improvisation classes, ensemble coaching and witness performances from staff and senior students in our series of instrument days. Players of all ages and abilities are welcome.

17 Oct / 23 Oct / 29 Oct / 19 Nov / 20 Nov / 21 Nov / 27 Nov / 4 Dec / 5 Dec / 18 Dec

OPERA SCENES

26-28 Nov Hear a selection of well-loved opera scenes performed by the hugely talented students of the vocal and operatic department.

Frontiers – Adrian Moore

Chamber music also holds a special place within Birmingham Conservatoire and throughout our history we have had links with some of the finest musicians working in this field.

Jazz Composers’ Big Band 6

REHNQVIST IN BIRMINGHAM

14 Oct / 21 Oct / 3 Nov / 23 Nov

ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

The perfect way to relax and unwind at the end of the working week, these concerts provide a journey into large-scale repertoire. Featuring soloists who are recent graduates, those studying in their final year or our postgraduates, they often highlight a particular composer or theme.

ORGANFEST

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Instrument Days – String Day

Brass Minifest – Philip Cobb

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Finding your way through the concert season, our…

Special Events and Festivals cont. STEVE REICH’S DRUMMING

COMPLETELY BRAHMS

1 Dec

4 Dec / 11 Dec

Hear Reich’s iconic masterpiece, performed by incredible musicians from the Conservatoire’s Percussion Department.

A landmark series, introducing the newly appointed Head of Chamber Music with Piano, Daniel Tong. Working with students and colleagues across the Keyboard, String, Wind and Brass departments, this presents arguably the most diverse and ravishing body of chamber music.

CHRISTMAS EVENTS

4 Dec / 10 Dec / 14 Dec / 16 Dec / 17 Dec / 18 Dec Get into the seasonal spirit with our festive performances of carols and Christmas favourites.

ORGANFEST For a second year the Royal College of Organists is working in partnership with the Incorporated Association of Organists and British Institute of Organ Studies to present Organfest, for which the RCO Organ Forum forms the centre-piece. Tickets available from www.organfest.net

FRI 18 SEP ORGANFEST

CHORAL AND ORGAN CONCERT 7.45pm St Chad’s Cathedral £5 Steve Reich

Completely Brahms – Johannes Brahms

Christmas Events – Ashok Gupta

GUEST ARTISTS

12 Sep / 26 Sep / 7 Nov / 14 Nov / 29 Nov / 14 Dec We value our relationship with a varied range of artists and organisations, from across Birmingham and the UK and it is always a pleasure to welcome them for their concerts and events.

Credit: Tom White

Autumn Guest Artists

Schütz The heavens are telling Marcus Huxley Sanctus (Mass of St Henry & St Philip) Mozart Laudate Pueri Burgon Nunc dimittis S Wesley With my whole heart Organ interlude S Wesley Behold how good S Wesley Si iniquitates Mendelssohn For He shall give his angels Josquin des Prez Mirabiles elations maris Haydn Insanae et vanae curae Bairstow Let all mortal flesh keep silence Marcus Huxley Agnus (Mass of St Henry etc) Philip Moore Emmanuel Mendelssohn Lift thine eyes Dvořák Tu Trinitatis Vocal solo Arlen/Turner Over the Rainbow

Organfest

SAT 19 SEP ORGANFEST

SUN 20 SEP ORGANFEST

RCO ORGAN FORUM – MUSICA POETICA

CHORAL HIGH MASS: IN LIGHTER VEIN

10am-5pm Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music Building, University of Birmingham £39

3.30pm Fentham Hall, Hampton-in-Arden £7

Musica poetica is a celebration of music of Nicolaus Bruhns, presented by Henry Fairs, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Nicholas Wearne and Dr Thomas Wilkinson, and featuring the new Garnier organs in the Elgar Concert Hall.

Richard Hills plays the Compton organ at Fentham Hall, Hampton-in-Arden. Promoted with support from the Cinema Organ Society. Programme includes music by Sullivan, Coates and Gershwin.

Programme includes the complete organ works of Nicolaus Bruhns plus music by J S Bach, Buxtehude, Frescobaldi, Froberger, Muffat, Rossi and Weckmann.

BGSO 8

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Strings Day Ray Steadman-Allen

SAT 12 SEP

SAT 26 SEP

GUEST ARTISTS

RSA REMEMBERED…

A TOUCH OF BASIL

7pm Adrian Boult Hall £15 Tickets available from www.birmingham-box.co.uk

7pm Adrian Boult Hall £10 (£7 under 16s) advanced £11, (£8 under 16s) on the door 4 tickets for £32 Advance tickets available on 0121 747 5705

Conductor Dr Stephen Cobb Conductor Dorothy Nancekievill Compère William Himes OF The International Staff Band The International Staff Songsters The Music of Ray Steadman-Allen The International Staff Band and The International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army, together with guest compère William Himes OF, remember Salvation Army composer Lieut-Colonel Ray Steadman-Allen OF.

“The plans all ran very smoothly and it really was stress free for us teachers! Your staff were so helpful and made us very welcome. Thank you so much. We hope to come again next year.” Claire Walters Assistant Headteacher, Harborne Primary School

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Ex Cathedra Academies of Vocal Music Deirdre McCabe soprano (Ashleyan Opera Prize winner) Coventry Corps of Drums Conductor Myles Nottingham Xhosa Cole saxophone Chlöe Child vocalist & Nathan Bower actor (Philip Bates Performance Prize Winners) Tom Walker Trio Basil’s Bunch Georgina Bloomfield violin Stephen Davis tenor Susan Bates soprano Heart of England Singers Conductor Martin Bates Programme includes: Samuel Leith Taylor (Philip Bates Prize for Composers and Songwriters winner) Sop two, twice - cool air This annual celebration concert presented by the Philip Bates Trust includes a wide variety of musical styles and genres from classical through to rock music.

SUN 27 SEP 10am – 5pm Birmingham Conservatoire Free admission. Advance booking required via www.bcu.ac.uk/stringsday2015 Masterclasses given by: Pavel Fischer violin Nathaniel Vallois violin Louise Lansdown viola Alexander Baillie cello Julian Lloyd Webber cello Robin Ireland chamber music Julian Atkinson double bass Join us for a fantastic free day of masterclasses, performances and workshops for strings players of all ages and abilities. Everybody is welcome, from school age to conservatoire students, amateurs to experts. Witness solo and chamber performances by Birmingham Conservatoire staff and senior students and attend masterclasses and ensemble and string orchestra sessions. Displays and trade stands will also be run by renowned luthiers and string instrument specialists. The Conservatoire String Department is alive, thriving and growing and we would love for you to be a part of our celebration of all things strings!

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

MON 28 SEP

MON 5 OCT

MONDAY SHOWCASE

CHOPIN, DEBUSSY, MENDELSSOHN

HAYDN, BEETHOVEN

1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door

Arthur Bocaneanu piano Chopin Barcarolle, Op.60 Debussy Images I Darrel Chan piano Mendelssohn Sonata in B flat Op.106 A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

Chun-Chieh Yen cello I-Hsuan Peng piano Beethoven Cello Sonata Op.102, No.2 Sisi Jin piano Haydn Variations in F minor Hob.XVII No.6 Yang Tsao piano Beethoven Piano Sonata No.30 in E major, Op.109 A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

TUE 29 SEP PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

TUE 6 OCT

PEI-CHUN LIAO (PIANO)

PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINAR

1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com

CONSERVATOIRE DOCTORAL STUDENTS PRESENT RESEARCH-IN-PROGRESS

Pei-Chun Liao piano

3.30pm Arena Foyer £4 Tickets available on the door

Scarlatti Keyboard Sonata in G minor, K.31 Scarlatti Keyboard Sonata in B minor, K.87 Scarlatti Keyboard Sonata in G major, K.427 Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23 Chiang Hsun I wish (A Chinese poem recited by Pei-Chun Liao) Schumann Kreisleriana, Op.16

This new termly venture offers a window on the world of doctoral research. Students from varied subject backgrounds (including musicology, composition, performance and technology) give short presentations on topics which form part of their current research enquiries, followed by questions and discussion.

Taiwanese pianist Pei-Chun Liao was selected as ‘2009 Young Star of National Concert Hall’ in Taiwan. She performs internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician and has made appearances at prestigious venues around the world including her UK debut at Symphony Hall where her recital received a special mention.

Pei-Chun Liao

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TUE 6 OCT PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

ROBERT LEVIN (FORTEPIANO) Recital: 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Masterclass: 3pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Joint ticket for masterclass and recital £9 (£5) advance £10 (£6) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Robert Levin fortepiano Mozart Four Preludes, K.284a Mozart Sonata in B flat, K.333 Mozart Sonata in E flat, K.282 Mozart Sonata in C, K.330 One of music’s great polymaths, Robert Levin, joins us direct from Wigmore Hall with a specialist programme highlighting Mozart’s improvisatory Preludes, and alternating these with some of the greatest Sonatas. He champions and composes contemporary music, but has also famously reconstructed Mozart choruses from sketches, including the Amen fugue in the Requiem. He has taught at The Curtis Institute, as the Piano Professor in Freiburg 1986-93, as Humanitas Visiting Professor in Cambridge 2012, and is currently Professor of Music Emeritus at Harvard.

Join her this afternoon for a concert that focuses on wishes hidden in composers’ music and the recital of a special Chinese poem.

Robert Levin

Enjoy a special lunchtime concert, followed by a filmed masterclass with some of the Conservatoire’s finest young pianists, an event which promises to be of landmark significance. Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

MON 12 OCT

TUE 13 OCT

BROADCAST I

LEGACIES IN TECHNOLOGY XIV.I

LEGACIES IN TECHNOLOGY XIV.III

1.05pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door

A series of concerts featuring new electroacoustic and electronic music alongside classic works from the repertory diffused via the Recital Hall’s 24 channel loudspeaker system

6.45pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advance £5 (£3) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk

Director Simon Hall With special guest composer Adrian Moore.

Works from students and staff of Birmingham Conservatoire to include:

WED 7 OCT THE LIVE JAZZ BROADCAST

Join us for a live recording from some of our best senior jazz students.

THU 8 OCT THE JAZZ CLUB

MICHAEL JANISCH: PARADIGM SHIFT Live Jazz Broadcast © William Ellis

8pm Recital Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk Michael Janisch double and electric basses Jason Yarde soprano saxophone Paul Booth tenor saxophone Alex Bonney electronics and trumpet Cédric Hanriot piano, keys and synths Colin Stranahan drums Composer and bassist Michael Janisch is known for his distinct virtuosity and a penchant for thematic material, attention to groove and a reverence for his past musical experiences. This performance, in support of his latest album, Paradigm Shift, sees Janisch and his exceptional band propel his music into new sonic terrain conceptually, harmonically, and rhythmically.

6.30pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advance £5 (£3) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk

Simon Hall New Work Howard Skempton Indian Summer Matthew O’Malley Name That Tune

New works from students and staff of Birmingham Conservatoire

LEGACIES IN TECHNOLOGY XIV.II 8pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advance £5 (£3) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk or both of this evening’s concerts for £6 (£3) advance via www.eventbrite.co.uk Horacio Vaggione Points critiques Stephane Roy Crystal Music François Bayle Tremblement de terre tres doux

LEGACIES IN TECHNOLOGY XIV.IV 8.15pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advance £5 (£3) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk or both of this evening’s concerts for £6 (£4) advance via www.eventbrite.co.uk Mixed works curated and diffused by Adrian Moore Featuring Sarah Farmer violin Moore Fields of Darkness and Light for violin and triggers Stansbie Twin Cities Moore The Battle Moore Counterattack

‘Janisch seizes the instrument with a blend of speed and energy as if he wants to be melody, harmony and rhythm all at once.’ The Telegraph

MON 12 OCT MONDAY SHOWCASE

JAZZ 1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Featuring Josh Tagg and the Josh Schofield Quintet Michael Janisch 14

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A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

Adrian Moore

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Saxophone Day TUE 13 OCT

WED 14 OCT

PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

SAT 17 OCT

COMPETITIONS AND PRIZES

TRADICIONAL CUBANO Recital: 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Masterclass: 4.45pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Joint ticket for masterclass and recital £9 (£5) advance £10 (£6) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com The legendary Javier Zalba, former member of Irakere, Cubanismo and the Buena Vista Social Club Orchestra, joins Tradicional Cubano to bring together the most vibrant and iconic musical sounds from Cuba. Javier’s son and Tradicional Cubano founder, Jose Zalba-Smith, is strongly committed to continuing his father’s legacy.

THE BERYL CHEMPIN BEETHOVEN PRIZE FOR PIANISTS 7pm Recital Hall £4 Tickets available on the door Prepare to be astounded by the skill and virtuosity our students display, as they perform a programme consisting entirely of works by the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven. This is a highlight in our School of Keyboard Studies calendar and an important competition for our students as the winner of this prize will go forward to compete in the prestigious Inter Collegiate Beethoven Competition which is promoted by the Beethoven Society of London.

ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

MALCOLM ARNOLD FESTIVAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2pm St Matthew’s Church, Northampton Full festival programme and further information at www.malcolmarnoldfestival.com Conductor Stacey Watton Birmingham Conservatoire String Orchestra City of London Choir Yu-Mien Sun violin Wai Lam violin

SUN 18 OCT 9.30am - 6.30pm £20, £15 concessions, under 18s and CASS members Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com The ever-evolving Saxophone Department at Birmingham Conservatoire is one of the most vibrant and creative in the UK. We are throwing open the doors and inviting saxophone students, teachers and enthusiasts to take part in masterclasses, workshops, improvisation classes, ensemble coaching, quartet side-by-side sessions and much more. Improve your ensemble skills, learn rehearsal techniques, pick up playing tips, check out new gear and discover new music, sharing the pleasure of playing the saxophone with like-minded enthusiasts.

The day is open to saxophonists of all abilities, however an approximate level of grade 5 and above is advisable to get the most out of the event. Your saxophone experts for the day will be the Conservatoire’s Head of Saxophone, Naomi Sullivan alongside Conservatoire tutors Andy Tweed and Anna Brooks. Our special guest is Kyle Horch, visiting saxophone consultant and Professor of Saxophone at the Royal College of Music who will present a lunchtime performance with his critically acclaimed ensemble, Flotilla.

Arnold Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra, Op.77 Arnold John Clare Cantata The 10th Malcolm Arnold Festival celebrates Sir Malcolm’s great music across many of his most popular genres, including music from the movies, ballet, music for children, ensemble and a special focus this year on his concertos. Arnold delightfully described music as a ‘gesture of friendship’ so it is in that spirit that a we join the Festival for the first time not only to perform the Double Violin Concerto but also the rarely heard John Clare Cantata.

Tradicional Cubano 16

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Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

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MON 19 OCT

WED 21 OCT

MONDAY SHOWCASE

THU 22 OCT

THE LIVE JAZZ BROADCAST

RACHMANINOV, COPLAND AND BEETHOVEN 1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Liang Shan piano Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No.2 Copland (trans. Bernstein) El Salón México Yuyan Wang piano Beethoven Piano Sonata No.8, Op.13 Plus the winner of the 2015 Winifred Micklam Prize, James Gribble (baritone). A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

TUE 20 OCT PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

YEN-TING WANG (PIANO) 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Yen-Ting Wang piano Naoko Senda violin Ruri Kuroda cello Händel Chaconne for harpsichord in G major, HWV 435 Messiaen Vingt Regards - X. Regard de l’Esprit de joie Granados Goyesca Brahms Piano Trio, No.3, Op.101, C minor

THE JAZZ CLUB

BROADCAST II

JOHN TAYLOR TRIBUTE AND CELEBRATION

1.05pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door

7.45pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

Join us for a live recording from some of our best senior jazz students.

Internationally renowned British pianist John Taylor passed away in July this year. He was a Conservatoire Jazz Department Visiting Artist for over four years and gave huge inspiration to staff and students alike.

WED 21 OCT

TUE 20 OCT

Join us tonight to celebrate his incredible artistic output as a jazz musician and a generous life as performer and teacher.

COMPETITIONS AND PRIZES

PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINAR

CHERUBINI’S MÉDÉE: ‘A SUBLIME ENCHANTRESS’ 3.30pm Arena Foyer £4 Tickets available on the door The idea of being ‘overwhelmed’ is a recurrent theme in the critical reception of Cherubini’s operas in the 1790s. But by 1797, the sublime – or the equivalence of art with the power and grandeur of nature – had come to be understood as residing not in the music or the visual effects, but in the performance of the singer, who appropriated the authority of the spectacle, incarnating its splendour.

THE CECIL DREW ORATORIO PRIZE 7pm Recital Hall £4 Tickets available on the door

Student and alumni bands will play his music and that which he is associated with and there will also be contributions from various jazz department staff including Liam Noble, Mark Hodgson, Hans Koller, Andrew Bain, John Turville and Richard Iles.

If you love opera, then this will be a night to remember. Demonstrating vocal prowess and impressive talent, our students are sure to provide you with a memorable evening full of emotion and passion.

FRI 23 OCT LUNCHTIMES AT BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

The Cecil Drew Oratorio Prize sees vocal students who have completed their first year of study compete for this highly-esteemed prize.

THE CASSIA STRING QUARTET 12.30pm The Round Room, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Free admission Tickets available on the door

Dr Sarah Hibberd, from the University of Nottingham, examines the final scene of Médée and its critical reception, situating it in the political context of the Directoire, in order to reveal a historically specific understanding of the sublime in France.

Schubert Quartet in E flat major D87 Dvořák String Quartet No.12, ‘American’ Op.96 The Cassia String Quartet, formed in 2010, was born out of a passion for the string quartet repertoire. Recipients of the 2013 Musiciens entre Guerre et Paix Award from the International Académie Ravel they have performed in such venues as the Wigmore Hall, and as part of the Salisbury International Arts Festival and Leeds International Concert Series. Until recently they were mentored by former Lindsay Quartet leader Peter Cropper.

Advanced Performance Diploma student YenTing Wang is a highly motivated individual with extraordinary musical talent. She has participated in masterclasses by renowned pianists including Fabio Bidini, Andrei Gavrilov, Peter Donohoe, Jon Nakamatsu (1997 Van Cliburn Gold Medal Award), Russell Sherman, Mikhail Kazakevich and Vitaly Berzon. Yen-Ting has performed at multiple music festivals across the world including the 2009 Aspen Music Festival, the 2009 Eastern Music Festival in the USA and the 2011 Lee University Piano Festival. Yen-Ting Wang 18

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John Taylor

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

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FRI 23 OCT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – BRITISH COMPOSERS PART 1 7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Yu-Mien Sun violin Wai Lam violin

The Conservatoire’s 2015-16 orchestral season continues with the first of two concerts dedicated to the music of British composers. Walton’s first symphony is a volcanic eruption of passion and the perfect vehicle for the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra to flex its musical muscles at the start of a new academic year. Intense and emotional this promises to be an explosive and dramatic performance of a work intended to make a significant mark on the musical landscape of its time. By contrast, Malcolm Arnold’s Double Violin Concerto is lively, tuneful and immediately enjoyable, and provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase two of our talented soloists Yu-Mien Sun and Wai Lam in Birmingham, following on from their appearance at the Malcolm Arnold Festival.

JAZZ

ANDREW WEST AND RONALD WOODLEY: MUSIC FOR TWO PIANOS

1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door

1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com

Featuring the Nathan England-Jones Quartet A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

Liz Johnson Wild Man Dances (first performance) Ravel Suite: Ma mère l’oye (version for two pianos by Gaston Choisnel) Rachmaninov Fantaisie (Tableaux), p.5 (Suite No.1) Take an opportunity to hear the first performance of a new work for two pianos, Wild Man Dances, by Liz Johnson, composition tutor at the Conservatoire, written for Andrew West and Ron Woodley and completed earlier this year. The programme also includes the remarkable, early Fantaisie (Tableaux) of 1893 by Rachmaninov, performed much less often than his later Second Suite, as well as the two-piano version by Gaston Choisnel of the suite from Ravel’s crystalline score for his ballet Mother Goose.

THU 29 OCT THURSDAYS AT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

VIVA L’ITALIA!

MON 26 OCT

7.30pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

MONDAY SHOWCASE

MENDELSSOHN 1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Shi Ling Chin violin Mark Walkem cello Tingting Yao piano Mendelssohn Trio in D minor A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

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MONDAY SHOWCASE

PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

Andrew West and Ronald Woodley two pianos

Arnold Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra, Op.77 Walton Symphony No.1

MON 2 NOV

TUE 27 OCT

ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

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Birmingham Conservatoire Recorder Department Consort music, canzonas and sonatas from late renaissance and baroque Italy with works by Bassano, Merulo, Castello, Barsanti and Vivaldi. Recorder students explore instrumental music from the glorious era of late renaissance and baroque Italy, exploring the ‘old and new’ styles and the emergence of a truly virtuosic solo idiom.

THU 29 OCT ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – BRITISH COMPOSERS PART 2 6.15pm Symphony Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Conductor Michael Seal Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra Vaughan Williams The Wasps: Overture Elgar The Wand of Youth: Suite No.1 Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes

Timothy Ridout

Continuing our survey of orchestral music by British composers, the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra takes to the Symphony Hall stage for a programme rich in colour and variety.

TUE 3 NOV

Vaughan Williams’s spirited and much-loved Wasps overture is complemented by Elgar’s Wand of Youth – an enchanting realisation of a work first conceived in childhood. Britten’s evocative Sea Interludes captures the varying moods of the ocean. This short sequence of ‘tone-poems’ are guaranteed to transport you far from the city to the barren seascape of the East coast.

1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com

PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

TIMOTHY RIDOUT (VIOLA)

The first winner of the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition, Timothy Ridout returns to Birmingham Conservatoire for what promises to be an inspiring performance of viola repertoire. Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

TUE 3 NOV

MON 9 NOV

COMPETITIONS AND PRIZES

MONDAY SHOWCASE

PHILIP BATES PRIZE FOR COMPOSERS AND SONGWRITERS

SCHUBERT, SCHUMANN, SAINT-SAËNS 1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door

7.30pm Recital Hall £4 Tickets available on the door Emily Van Evera

TUE 3 NOV PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINAR

MARTIN PERKINS AND EMILY VAN EVERA – LECTURE-RECITAL: CHARLOTTE BRIDGEMAN’S MUSIC COLLECTION 3.30pm Arena Foyer £4 Tickets available on the door Like all daughters of landed families in the eighteenth century, Charlotte Bridgeman eldest daughter of the first Baron Bradford of Weston Park, was taught music – one of the essential skills of eligible young ladies. She sang and played the harpsichord, made music with her family and collected sheet music of the day, which survives in the Weston Park Archives. Martin Perkins (harpsichord) is joined by renowned interpreter of early vocal music Emily Van Evera in a lecture-recital exploring Charlotte’s music collections, dating from her childhood to her married years, to give an intimate portrait of music-making in a country house.

2014 Philip Bates Prize winners Patrick Ellis and William Coles 22

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Chitravina N Ravikiran

Join us for this exciting final presented by Birmingham Conservatoire Composition Department and the Philip Bates Trust.

SAT 7 NOV

Tonight’s concert features performances of the short listed works by UK composers aged 16–25. Three prizes will be awarded, including one voted for by the audience.

BRITISH CARNATIC CHOIR GRAND PREMIÈRE

GUEST ARTISTS

Come along and choose your favourite piece!

6pm Adrian Boult Hall £18 (adults) £14 (children above 5 years) £12 (participants under 16) Tickets available on the door

WED 4 NOV

Music director Chitravina N Ravikiran

THE LIVE JAZZ BROADCAST

BROADCAST III 1.05pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door Join us for a live recording from some of our best senior jazz students.

LIEDERABEND 7.30pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

The British Carnatic Choir aims to take this genre of music across the UK to diverse communities and encourage community cohesion.

Enjoy an evening of song in our regular Liederabend series, focusing on the works of a particular poet or composer.

The première will feature a concert by children and young adults and music professionals from across the country. The event will also feature performances by aspiring and also established vocalists, dancers and percussionists from diverse communities in the UK.

THU 5 NOV THURSDAYS AT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

TUE 10 NOV PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

ShruthiUK celebrates 10 successful years of serving various communities in Britain through Indian Classical Music and Dance. It is a South Asian Art organisation based in Birmingham committed to enrich the exposure and appreciation of Indian performing arts in the West Midlands. ShruthiUK proudly launches the British Carnatic Choir Grand Première; the brainchild of UK based Carnatic vocalist Dr. Chithra Ramakrishnan. It aims to provide talented musicians and students of all age groups a platform to explore choral singing in Carnatic (South Indian Classical) Music and showcase the similarities between Carnatic, Western and other systems of World Music.

Hannah Slavin and Kathryn Whitmarsh piano duo Schubert Variations in A flat, D813 I-Hsuan Peng piano Schumann Fantasiestücke Op.12 Ching-Hui Lin and Yun-Ying Cheng piano duo Saint-Saëns Danse macabre, Op.40

THE ARCHDUKE TRIO 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Ashok Gupta piano Yu-Mien Sun violin Ulrich Heinen cello Beethoven Piano Trio Op. 97 in B major, ‘The Archduke’ Two talented students from the Conservatoire are joined by Ulrich Heinen, teacher at the Conservatoire and former co-principal cellist of the CBSO, for a performance of Beethoven’s glorious Piano Trio masterpiece, The Archduke.

Please visit www.shruthiuk.com and www.britishcarnaticchoir.com for more info. For all enquiries, contact chithraramakrishnan@shruthiuk.com Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Guitar Fest SUN 8 NOV 1pm – 10pm Birmingham Conservatoire Free admission www.bcu.ac.uk/guitarfest2015 A mini guitar fest crammed into one day! Highlights of the day include recitals by the Junior & Senior Conservatoire, former students Dan Bovey & Julian Vickers and the dynamic Vida Guitar Quartet. Brian Whitehouse (Birmingham Guitar Centre) and the fabulous guitar maker Oren Myers will be giving talks along with informal masterclasses by our own Head of Guitar Mark Ashford and from the Junior Conservatoire Andrew Gough. If you have any interest in the classical guitar this will be an event not to be missed.

*1pm - Lunchtime Recital by the Junior & Senior Conservatoire 2.30pm - Talk by Brian Whitehouse - Tárrega-Leckie Manuscripts. 3.30pm - Masterclass with Mark Ashford & Andrew Gough 5pm - Talk and demonstration on guitar building by Oren Myers 8pm - Recital by the Vickers Bovey Guitar Duo and the Vida Guitar Quartet *all times subject to change

WED 11 NOV SPECIAL EVENTS Kevin Dawe

THE SUN KING - CHAMBER CHOIR CONCERT 7.30pm St Alban’s, Highgate Retiring collection

TUE 10 NOV PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINAR

Conductor Jeffrey Skidmore Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir

PROFESSOR KEVIN DAWE – COULD A GUITAR CHANGE THE WORLD? GUITAR MAKING AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES

A 300th anniversary celebration of the life of Europe’s longest serving monarch, Louis XIV (1638-1715), with music by Michel-Richard le Lalande.

3.30pm Arena Foyer £4 Tickets available on the door Guitar maker Jay Duncan poses the question of whether a guitar could change the world as he goes out to his Uganda-based workshop, where the local community has access to several Africa-based sources of wood, including mahogany, mugavu and ebony. If a guitar could change the world, could it also play a role in saving it? What, then, should we make of guitar maker Mark Bailey, based in Scotland, who claims that all his acoustic guitars are handmade in the UK using only renewable energy sources? In the case studies for this research seminar, Professor Kevin Dawe, from the University of Kent, discusses how those materials-cuminstruments are enmeshed in complex networks, and infrastructures of ecological, socio-cultural, political and economic relations and significance.

Jeffrey Skidmore photo: Neil Pugh

THU 12 NOV THURSDAYS AT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

A RECITAL WITH JEAN-CHARLES RICHARD 7.30pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Jean-Charles Richard saxophone A musical adventurer, Jean-Charles Richard followed a dual programme at the CNSM in Paris, where he was unanimously awarded first prize for classical saxophone and also obtained a higher diploma in jazz. The holder of a Certificate of Aptitude (CA) in classical and jazz and a DEM state diploma in musical analysis, he teaches at the Conservatory of Paris’s 13th arrondissement, and coordinates the course for the specialised jazz and improvised music cycle at the CNR in Paris. Hear him perform original compositions for saxophone in this special recital.

Jean-Charles Richard 24

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Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

REHNQVIST IN BIRMINGHAM

TUE 10 NOV

THU 12 NOV

FRI 13 NOV

Frontiers welcomes you to a special week of events centered around a residency from the remarkable Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist.

DECIBEL

TO THE ANGEL WITH THE FIERY HANDS

7pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advance £5 (£3) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com

6pm St Paul’s Church, Jewellery Quarter Retiring collection Tickets available on the door

PUBLIC MASTERCLASS WITH KARIN REHNQVIST

Rehnqvist is one of Scandinavia’s most well-known contemporary composers, whose work is regularly performed all over the world. Her powerfully unforgettable music incorporates elements of folk music such as the vocal technique of Kulning, and she has worked in every medium ranging from orchestral work and operas through to ensembles made of instruments made from ice. Other highlights of the week include a portrait concert of Conservatoire-based Irish composer Ed Bennett performed by the viscerally charged Decibel, and a Composers', Platform featuring a host of world premières from our dynamic composition department.

MON 9 NOV

Artistic director / electronics Ed Bennett Conductor Daniele Rosina Barbara Lueneburg violin Neil McGovern saxophones Michelle Holloway recorders Jack McNeill clarinets Martyn Sanderson trombone Paul Norman electric guitar Sebastiano Dessanay bass Eliza McCarthy piano Damien Harron percussion For tonight’s programme Decibel presents a high energy concert of the music of Ed Bennett including a substantial, immersive new commission written especially for this tour.

10am-12pm Adrian Boult Hall £4 Tickets available on the door

Conductor Daniel Galbreath Via Nova

Le Page Ensemble: David Le Page violin Catherine Leech violin Rose Redgrave viola Clare O’Connell cello

Karin Rehnqvist Sånger ur jorden Lars Johan Werle Canzone 126 di Francesca Petrarca Chloe Knibbs New work Knut Nystedt The Path of the Just Karin Rehnqvist I Himmelen Arvo Pärt Magnificat Antiphons Karin Rehnqvist Till Ängeln med de brinnande händerna

New works by Patrick Giguère, Ignatius Sokol and Paul Zaba In this public masterclass with Karin Rehnqvist, Le Page Ensemble performs new works by Birmingham Conservatoire composers.

Via Nova presents a programme of contemporary choral music from Scandinavia and the Baltics with a special emphasis on the works of Karin Rehnqvist.

FRI 13 NOV

Rehnqvist’s choral works are extraordinary for their power and intelligence. Her distinctive voice, brilliantly mingling unearthly folk material with striking avant-garde techniques, is one of many coming from Scandinavia and the Baltics, a vital hub of contemporary choral music.

COMPOSERS’ PLATFORM 7pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advance £5 (£3) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com

THALLEIN 7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Conductor Richard Baker The Conservatoire’s acclaimed Thallein Ensemble present a programme of music by Karin Rehnqvist including Raven Chant plus new pieces by Conservatoire students, James AlexandropoulosMcEwan, Apostolis Alysandratos and Anthony Leung.

Join us for the first showcase of the year for our home-grown composers. Expect a wide range of styles, experimentation and music that you wouldn’t find anywhere else, written and performed by students at the Conservatoire.

‘Ed Bennett’s ensemble Decibel works across contemporary music fields, from the postminimal amplified music popular in the Netherlands and New York, to the noisy and skronky improvisation that skulks loudly in hidden corners across the world, to the shards of various experimental electronic/spectral/notated musics currently itinerant between concert hall and laptop.’ Stephen Graham, The Quietus 2013 Decibel Ensemble 26

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Karin Rehnqvist

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

SAT 14 NOV

FRI 20 NOV

GUEST ARTISTS

ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

WALTER HAWKINS CHOIR CELEBRATION – OH HAPPY DAY

BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE STRING ORCHESTRA

7pm Adrian Boult Hall £15 advanced (plus booking fee) £20 on the door Tickets available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk

6pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

Enjoy an uplifting tribute to the late Walter Hawkins, pioneer of contemporary 20th Century gospel style. The composer was pivotal in creating a new reverent, jazzy, authentic gospel sound. Renowned UK Gospel Choir Director, Audrey Lawrence-Mattis, returns to her 'alma mater' as producer and musical director with mass choir and band, taking you through a thrilling evening of spiritual music.

THU 19 NOV ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

COMPOSERS’ ORCHESTRA 6pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

Elgar Introduction and Allegro Op.47 Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik K. 525 Tippett Concerto for Double String Orchestra This programme explores three of the most enduring pieces for String Orchestra in the repertoire. Both the Elgar and Tippett find distinctive and innovative ways of revisiting a baroque style Concerto-Grosso and pay homage to Handel in particular. However, characteristically Elgar finds ample opportunity to weave sumptuous English folk-like melodies throughout his work and Tippett even manages a nod to Beethoven within his intricate and well-knit textures. The Mozart, of course, needs little introduction and metaphorically greets us here as a familiar, welcome and jocular old friend.

New works by students of the Composition Department

Join us as we eavesdrop on the first performances of a selection of new orchestral works and experience the excitement of this unique creative environment.

Junior Conservatoire Chamber Ensembles

SAT 21 NOV ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

JUNIOR DEPARTMENT CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT 7pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Junior Conservatoire Chamber Ensembles and Soloists Hear a programme of chamber music given by the students of the Junior Conservatoire.

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MON 23 NOV BRASS MINIFEST

PUBLIC MASTERCLASS & CELEBRITY RECITAL BY PHILIP COBB Masterclass: 2.30pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Recital: 7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Joint ticket for masterclass and recital £9 (£5) advance £10 (£6) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com An unmissable opportunity to hear one of the world’s finest young brass players working with Conservatoire Brass students supported by the Buffet Group.

Conductor Edwin Roxburgh

The Composition Department of the Conservatoire is one of the most innovative and highly regarded of any in the country. In this event we are invited to join a team of young composers as they conclude an intense week of workshops, discussion and experimentation.

Philip Cobb

Conductor William Conway

THE ALFRED CORFIELD TRUMPET PRIZE 8.15pm Adrian Boult Hall £4 Tickets available on the door Adjudicator Philip Cobb Joanne Sealey piano See the Conservatoire’s finest trumpet students compete for this coveted annual prize.

Opera Scenes

THU 26 NOV – SAT 28 NOV SPECIAL EVENTS

OPERA SCENES 7pm Recital Hall £9 (£7) advance £10 (£8) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk Musical Director Paul Wingfield Director Jamie Hayes Students from the Vocal and Operatic Department A welcome return of Paul Wingfield and Jamie Hayes who created such successful scenes last year, directing a selection of opera scenes performed by the students of the Vocal and Operatic Department. Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

FRI 27 NOV

BGSO. Photo: Tom White

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

FRI 27 NOV

LUNCHTIMES AT BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

THE STELLA STRING QUARTET

A LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE

12.30pm The Round Room, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Free admission Tickets available on the door

7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

Mozart Quartet in C major, K 465 ‘The Dissonance’ Mendelssohn Quartet in A minor Op 13 Members of the Stella Quartet graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, having followed a classical training. Since its conception in 2012 the quartet has received coaching from many great musicians including the Wihan Quartet, the Emperor Quartet, the Carducci Quartet, Hartmut Rohde, Jo Cole, Yuko Inoue and Jon Thorne.

Conductors Captain Darryl Powell RM and Chris Houlding The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland Birmingham Conservatoire Wind Orchestra Arnold arr. McDermott Fanfare for a Festival Dunn The Captain General Zehle Wellington March Ellerby Amphibiosity Whitacre Lux Arumque Holst Suite in E flat Arr. Liston Barbara Streisand Medley Blundell/Lee/Silk Evolution II Jenkins/Graham Abide with Me Green Sunset Arr. Woodfield Rule Britannia Russell A Life on the Ocean Wave The massed bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland and Birmingham Conservatoire Wind Orchestra present a feast of martial music with a traditional maritime theme. From timeless favourites to a brand new work by a Conservatoire composition student James Oldham, join us for a spectacular evening with Fanfares, the Corps of Drums and the undeniable entertainment and versatility of these ensembles.

SUN 29 NOV GUEST ARTISTS

BGSO AT THE MOVIES 3pm Adrian Boult Hall £10 (£8), £5 students advance £12 (£10) on the door £30 family ticket (up to 2 adults, 3 children) Tickets available from www.birmingham-box.co.uk Conductor Jack Lovell Programme includes: Music from blockbusters including Jaws, The Lord of the Rings, E.T., James Bond, The Magnificent Seven and many more… The big screen takes over the big stage in full orchestral glory as BGSO performs all your favourite film scores. Grab the popcorn!

MON 30 NOV PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINAR

1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Stephan Elvin piano Grieg selection Dohnyáni Cappriccio in C major (l/b) and works for Brass Ensemble A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

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TUE 1 DEC PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

TASMIN LITTLE (VIOLIN)

GRIEG, DOHNÁNYI

Captain Darryl Powell RM

Tasmin Little Photo: Benjamin Ealovega

Recital: 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Masterclass: 5.30-7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Joint ticket for masterclass and recital £9 (£5) advance £10 (£6) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Tasmin Little violin Piers Lane piano Join multi award-winning violinist Tasmin Little for a delightful concert featuring the acclaimed pianist Piers Lane, followed by a masterclass with students from the Conservatoire. Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

FRI 4 DEC & FRI 11 DEC COMPLETELY BRAHMS

THE COMPLETE CHAMBER WORKS WITH PIANO OF JOHANNES BRAHMS 1pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door Nafis Umerkulova

Tingting Yao

WED 2 DEC ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

PIANO SHOWCASE 6.15pm Symphony Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Steve Reich

TUE 1 DEC SPECIAL EVENTS

STEVE REICH’S DRUMMING

Tingting Yao piano Nafis Umerkulova piano Witness two exceptional pianists from our Professional Performance Programme on Birmingham’s world famous Symphony Hall stage.

6pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

THU 3 DEC

Birmingham Conservatoire Percussion Department

JAZZ COMPOSERS’ BIG BAND

Hear Reich’s iconic masterpiece, Drumming as performed by the Conservatoire’s Percussion Department. Inspired by Reich’s studies in Ghana, it is a transcendent and dramatic tapestry of pounding bongos, mesmerising marimbas, glassy glockenspiels and female voices, with an irresistible sense of momentum.

THE LIVE JAZZ BROADCAST

BROADCAST IV 1.05pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door Join us for a live recording from some of our best senior jazz students. 32

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4 Dec The Cello Sonatas 11 Dec The Piano Quartets This is a landmark series, introducing the newly appointed Head of Chamber Music with Piano, Daniel Tong. Working with students and colleagues across the Keyboard, String, Wind and Brass departments, this presents arguably the most diverse and ravishing body of chamber music. Further dates will follow in the spring and summer seasons, and full details of the Completely Brahms series will be available, along with performers, in October. Check www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts for more information.

Johannes Brahms

THE JAZZ CLUB

7.45pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door The long-standing, newly incarnated Jazz Composers' Big Band appears in a special concert, playing original music and arrangements by its current members as well as music by former members. Tonight’s concert will feature a selection of arrangements of tunes by Thelonious Monk and George Russell, as well as premières of new compositions.

WED 2 DEC

Directors John Thwaites and Daniel Tong

Come and see the creative writing talent of the Conservatoire’s jazz department.

FRI 4 DEC ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

‘TWAS THE BARD BEFORE CHRISTMAS (MUCH ADO ABOUT BRASS) 7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Conductors Andrew Stone-Fewings and Ian Porthouse Birmingham Conservatoire Symphonic Brass Ensemble Birmingham Conservatoire Brass Band Narrators from the Royal Shakespeare Company Alwyn Green A Christmas Fanfare Edward Watson Middleham Fayre premières Walton arr. Watson Suite from Henry V

Also featuring incidental music from recent Royal Shakespeare Company productions and a selection of seasonal confections for Brass Band and Symphonic Brass Ensemble. As a curtain raiser to the forthcoming year of events to mark the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Birmingham Conservatoire Brass Department in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company presents a seasonal concert of music inspired by the Bard together with an enjoyable and entertaining collection of Yuletide favourites.

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

SAT 5 DEC ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

JUNIOR DEPARTMENT END OF TERM CONCERT 7pm Adrian Boult Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Junior Conservatoire Choirs and Orchestras Enjoy a programme of choral and ensemble music given by the fine students of the Junior Conservatoire.

MON 7 DEC MONDAY SHOWCASE

JAZZ 1pm Recital Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door Featuring the Olly Chalk Quartet A free weekly showcase of performances by Conservatoire students.

TUE 8 DEC PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

LIANG SHAN (PIANO) 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Liang Shan piano Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op.36 Poulenc Improvisations Copland (trans. Bernstein) El Salón México Liang Shan, a pianist on our esteemed Professional Performance Programme, combines the expressive romanticism of Rachmaninov’s second sonata with Poulenc’s charming and witty Improvisations. Bernstein’s transcription of Aaron Copland’s El Salón México brings the recital to an explosive conclusion. 34

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Jamie Bullock

TUE 8 DEC PUBLIC RESEARCH SEMINAR

DR JAMIE BULLOCK MUSIC-CENTRED DESIGN 3.30pm Arena Foyer £4 Tickets available on the door Digital technology occupies a niche position within the European concert music tradition. It is rarely taught as part of instrumental curricula and its presence in the music-making process is often a source of anxiety and frustration, raising questions of purpose, validity, integrity and authenticity. This talk will explore these issues through a series of practical examples with particular attention to the competing requirements of easeof-use and musical expressiveness. Bringing together ideas from Activity-Centred Design, psychological theories of ‘flow’ and Small’s concept of Musicking, Music-Centred Design will be presented as a transformative approach to enhancing musical experience through technology.

TUE 8 DEC

THU 10 DEC CHRISTMAS EVENTS

COMPOSERS’ PLATFORM

UNIVERSITY CAROL SERVICE

7pm Recital Hall £4 (£2) advanced £6 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com

3pm St Philip’s Cathedral Retiring collection

The festive edition and second concert of the year with works by our very own composers. Expect another evening of eclectic music, experimentation and a wide range of styles.

THU 10 DEC THURSDAYS AT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

GUITAR CHAMBER CONCERT 8pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door Directors Mark Ashford and Mark Eden

Enjoy a traditional service of readings and congregational carols, and carols performed by Conservatoire Camerata. Followed by mince pies and wine.

FRI 11 DEC COMPLETELY BRAHMS

THE COMPLETE CHAMBER WORKS WITH PIANO OF JOHANNES BRAHMS 1pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door See page 33 for details.

Hear music both new and old including student compositions and arrangements for guitar ensemble.

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

TUE 15 DEC

MON 14 DEC CAROL CONCERT 1pm Adrian Boult Hall Free admission Tickets available on the door To celebrate the festive season we welcome you to join us for our popular annual carol concert. With carols and festive favourites led by the Conservatoire’s Chorus, audience participation is encouraged.

MON 14 DEC GUEST ARTISTS

MELODY MUSIC BIRMINGHAM 6.30pm New Lecture Theatre Free admission Tickets available on the door Melody Music Birmingham Come and enjoy the festive season with MMB! Melody Music Birmingham is a music group for children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN), and this concert will showcase the talents of the students. There will be songs and pieces celebrating Christmas as well as other seasonal favourites. It promises to be a wonderful conclusion to the term, so why not come and support our fantastic students? MMB was set up by Melody, a charity that strives to provide individuals with ASN opportunities for instrumental music making. MMB has been based at the Conservatoire since its conception, and is run by past and present students of the college. 36

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WED 16 DEC

PERFORMANCE PLATFORM

CHRISTMAS EVENTS

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THE LIVE JAZZ BROADCAST

ASHOK GUPTA: BRAHMS AND THE SECOND VIENNESE SCHOOL 1.05pm Adrian Boult Hall £6 (£3.50) advance £6.50 (£4) on the door Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com Ashok Gupta piano Berg Sonata Op.1 Webern Variations Op.27 Brahms Sonata No.2, Op.2

THU 17 DEC THURSDAYS AT BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

BROADCAST V

AN EARLY (MUSIC) CHRISTMAS

1.05pm Recital Hall £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door

8pm Recital Hall £6.50 (£4) Tickets available on the door

Join us for a live recording from some of our best senior jazz students.

Martin Perkins is joined by director of the acclaimed Dufay Collective and musical director of the Globe Theatre, William Lyons, in a programme of seasonal music from the medieval to baroque periods.

WED 16 DEC CHRISTMAS EVENTS

Schoenberg, whose creative influence spawned the Second Viennese School, held Brahms in high regard, placing great emphasis on the analysis of Brahms’s music in his composition teaching. With this programme, Ashok Gupta, a student on the Conservatoire’s flagship Professional Performance programme, explores and articulates the influence of Brahms’s distinctive style upon two of Schoenberg’s most outstanding pupils - Berg and Webern.

ST CHAD’S ORGAN DEPARTMENT CHRISTMAS RECITAL

FRI 18 DEC

7.30pm St Chad’s Cathedral £5 (£3) Tickets available on the door

THE LIGETI STRING QUARTET

Enjoy a programme of organ music for Advent and Christmas by JS Bach.

LUNCHTIMES AT BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

12.30pm The Round Room, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Free admission Tickets available on the door Stravinsky 3 Pieces for String Quartet Arvo Pärt Fratres Schnittke String Quartet No.3 The Ligeti Quartet is dedicated to performing modern and contemporary music, commissioning new works, and engaging a diverse audience. Comprising graduates from the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and the University of Oxford, the quartet has established a reputation as leading exponents of new music.

Ashok Gupta

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Booking Information EXCHANGES AND REFUNDS

Tickets for Conservatoire events are individually priced (as shown in the event listings) and available to purchase in a variety of ways:

Birmingham Conservatoire does not offer refunds on tickets after purchase. Where purchased in advance, and subject to availability, tickets can be exchanged for an alternative performance within the current concert season, provided tickets are returned to the Venue, Concert and Events Office no less than 48 hours before the event start time.

BOOK ONLINE

Where stated in the event listings, tickets can be booked online at www.eventbrite.co.uk.

ON THE DOOR

Where indicated in the event listings, tickets for Conservatoire events are available to purchase from Birmingham Conservatoire Box Office from up to 45 minutes prior to the event start time.

Tickets for events presented by external artists and organisations within Birmingham Conservatoire are subject to the refund and exchange policy of the organisation.

ADVANCE RESERVATION

ADVERTISED PROGRAMME

Where tickets are available on the door, you can guarantee your ticket by telephoning the Venues, Concerts and Events Office on 0121 331 5909 to reserve your ticket in advance. Telephone lines are open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm. Your ticket will then be available for you to pay for at the Conservatoire Box Office from up to 45 minutes prior to the event start time.

FRI 18 DEC ORCHESTRAS, ENSEMBLES AND CHAMBER MUSIC

REPERTOIRE ORCHESTRA END OF TERM CONCERT 7pm Adrian Boult Hall £9 (£7) advance Tickets available from www.eventbrite.co.uk £10 (£8) on the door Conductor Daniele Rosina Birmingham Conservatoire Repertoire Orchestra Blanka Stachelek (Student Composer) New Work* (World Première) Grieg Selections from Peer Gynt Suites No.1 & 2 Sibelius Symphony No.2 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius whose seven symphonies have become core repertoire of any orchestral programme. The Conservatoire Repertoire Orchestra celebrates this important anniversary with a performance of his 2nd symphony. 38

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Every effort is made to ensure that all information included within the Concert and Events Diary is correct at the time of going to print. However the Conservatoire reserves the right to change the programme or replace artists due to unforeseen circumstances.

USE OF MOBILE PHONES

Visa, Delta, Connect, Mastercard and Switch cards can be used. Cheques should be made payable to Birmingham City University. When purchasing tickets credit and debit card bookings incur a £1 fee per transaction and all cash payments are fee free.

To avoid disruption to performers and other audience members, Birmingham Conservatoire requests that you do not use mobile phones or other electronic devices during our concerts and events.

CONCESSIONS This enduring work was once described by its composer as “a struggle between death and salvation” and it takes the listener on a bold and compelling journey from its fragmentary beginning to a warm and ultimately majestic finale.

Unless otherwise stated, concession prices apply to children (16 and under or in full-time education), students, over 60s, disabled and unwaged customers. Please note that we may ask to see identification when admitting people carrying concession tickets.

Five extracts from Grieg’s ever-popular Peer Gynt suites complete the programme and promise to close the term’s music-making in familiar and indulgent style.

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

The Conservatoire coffee bar is open throughout the day from 9am to 5pm.

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Wheelchair users are entitled to concessionary price tickets with a complimentary companion IRISH seat ticket available on request if required. Guide QUARTER dogs are welcome at all venues. If you are bringing a guide dog, please let the Venues, Concerts and Events Office know in advance by telephoning 0121 331 5909, so that we can allocate a space for him or her.

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There are three car parking spaces for disabled visitors outside of the Conservatoire. Access to these spaces is via the Council House barrier at the edge of Margaret Street. Spaces are available on a first-come-first-served basis and display of the relevant badge is essential. There is no other parking available at the Conservatoire but there are several pay and display car parks located close by.

AHIGHGATE copy of this brochure is available in large print by PARK contacting the Venues, Concerts and Events Office on 0121 331 5909.

LATECOMERS

To minimise disruption to performers and other audience members, latecomers will only be admitted to the Halls during a suitable break in the performance. This may be at the interval of the event.

Alternatively please email bhamcons.concerts@bcu.ac.uk or telephone 0121 331 5909. Your details will be stored on a secure electronic database and will not be passed onto any third parties. The Venues, Concerts and Events team are always interested to hear your comments and suggestions about our concert programme, suggestions for future programming, our venue and our services.

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Mailing List, Venues Concerts and Events Office, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG.

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All of the Conservatoire’s venues and spaces are accessible by wheelchair. Accessible toilet facilities are also available. There are designated DIGBETH ST wheelchair E spaces in both the Adrian Boult Hall AT G D and Recital Hall. Accompanying companion seats O O Digbeth FL DIG B E T High Street are available by requesting these in advance H from Custard the Venues, Concerts and Events Office Birmingham H I G Factory H Coach Station S Ton 0121 331 5909. DERITEN BO

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For evening and weekend events the coffee and licensedCitybar is open from one hour before and Birmingham University City during the interval of events selling teas and Centre Campus ST ON University C U R Zcoffees, soft drinks, a range of alcoholic beverages House and a range of snacks. Ice cream is on sale during EASTSIDE the interval of most events in the Adrian Boult Hall. EASTSIDE CITY PARK Interval drinks can be ordered in advance from the F A Z E coffee and licensed bar from up to one hour before LEY ST the event start time. TYPHOO

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Birmingham Conservatoire is located in the centre of Birmingham in Chamberlain Square, to the left of Paradise Forum, and just behind Town Hall. We can be easily reached by all transport routes.

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HOW TO FIND US

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The O2 Academy

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Martineau Place

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Five Ways

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Bull Street/Priory A Y Queensway Interchange

The Square

of Fraser

New Street Station

City South Campus

M T E House

Birmingham Hippodrome

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New Street Interchange

New Alexandra Theatre

PEACE GARDENS

Law Courts

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Holloway Circus HE

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Old Square

Great W R O Western Arcade RE O

Cathedral Square

Lancaster Circus

Birmingham Dental Hospital

Colmore Circus Queensway

L M Birmingham Cathedral

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Aston University Main Building

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The Mailbox

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Victoria Square

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Council House

Paradise Circus Interchange I

Snow Hill Interchange

Town Hall

Children’s Birmingham A&E Children’s Hospital

Snow Hill Station

Paradise Circus

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Margaret Street building

GAS STREET BASIN G A S ST

COLMORE Birmingham BUSINESS Museum & Art Gallery DISTRICT

of Birmingham ST

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ICC & Symphony Centenary Hall The Library Square Ikon Gallery

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Station entrance open 7am – 7pm

D OA B R Five Ways Leisure Centre

Five Ways

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Broad Street ND

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CITY CENTRE ST GARDENS I D G E BR C AM The REP

Brindleyplace

National Sea Life Centre

St Paul’s Square

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One square represents approximately 3 minutes walk

Dartmouth Circus

City North Campus

ST GEORGES PARK

You can write to the Head of Venues, Concerts and Events, Emily Bartlett, Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place Birmingham B3 3HG.

PARADISE CIRCUS REDEVELOPMENT - Open for business as usual We are pleased to confirm that during the Paradise Circus Redevelopment, Birmingham Conservatoire is open for business as usual. However, we do advise that you leave extra time for your journey if you are traveling by road.

For more information on how surrounding areas may be affected, or for advice on your journey to the city centre, please visit www.birmingham. gov.uk/connected or contact the Conservatoire on 0121 331 5909 where a member of staff will be pleased to help you.

Venues, Concerts & Events Office: 0121 331 5909

www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

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