What's On at Leeds Town Hall January - August 2015 by Leeds International Concert Season

What’s On

Your guide for January – August 2015

Welcome to your What’s On at Leeds Town Hall brochure for January to August 2015, proudly sponsored by the Yorkshire Evening Post. The Spring/Summer season promises to entertain young and old alike, with a fantastic mix of worldclass orchestral concerts, hilarious comedians, film screenings and fascinating talks and tours. Leeds International Orchestral Season continues to feature outstanding orchestras from across the globe, including the Trondheim Soloists (14 Feb), St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (21 Feb) and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (18 April). Return visits from both the first and second prize-winners of the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition are eagerly anticipated with Federico Colli performing Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto (11 April) and Louis Schwizgebel presenting Ravel’s Concerto in G (30 May). Plus, the city’s two great choral societies, Leeds Philharmonic Chorus and Leeds Festival Chorus join forces to present Beethoven’s Choral Symphony with the Warsaw Philharmonic (9 May) and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast (30 May). If you enjoy the Leeds Best of Brass series you can catch brass bands in the fine setting of Leeds Town Hall with performances by Black Dyke at its annual Brass Festival (17 May), Rothwell Temperance Band (4 July) and from a little further afield,

Under 26? Hear great orchestral music for a fiver

Box Office: 0113 224 3801

For those who loved the Leeds International Film Festival and want to see more films at the Town Hall, we have a few treats for you this Spring, including Banff Mountain Film Festival (29 Jan) and a special screening of Blade Runner (3 April). Finally, some cracking comedians will be making their Leeds Town Hall debuts this season, Omid Djalili with his Iranalamadingdong tour (12 March), Stewart Lee, A Room with a Stew (20 March) and Dylan Moran, Off the Hook (21 April). Join us for your next night out!

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon Executive Member for Leisure & Skills

If you’re under 26 you can buy tickets to LICS orchestral concerts in rows 1 – 7 for just £5 in the seven days before the concert.

Romanian gypsy band Fanfare Ciocarlia brings its Balkan groove (19 March). For fans of folk, rock and pop, take your pick from Scottish indie group Belle and Sebastian (19 May) and iconic singer Marc Almond (24 April), or join us for a 90s revival as Ocean Colour Scene (12 Feb) and the Levellers (27 Feb) take to the stage. And if you’re looking for something completely different the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (12 June) certainly fits the bill – book now to avoid disappointment!

Register for Leeds International Concert Season’s monthly e-bulletin service at www.leedsconcertseason.com and be the first to hear about music events, news and competitions.

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Sat 3 January: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Simon Lindley at 6.45pm

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Charismatic showstopper John Wilson, famed for his work with the John Wilson Orchestra, joins forces with the world’s greatest orchestra of teenagers to put their distinctive youthful stamp on the first great British symphony. Grand in scope and luscious in texture, Elgar’s Symphony No 1 sets out to transport the listener ‘beyond a wide experience of human life... with love... and a massive hope in the future’. The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain brings its infectious energy and passionate creativity to this work, hailed by contemporaries as ‘the greatest symphony of modern times’, making it as fresh and powerful today as it was when it was first performed in 1908.

John Wilson conductor Bach (arr Elgar) Fantasia & Fugue Respighi Pines of Rome Elgar Symphony No 1

Accompanying this symphonic masterpiece, you’ll journey through Elgar’s arrangement of Bach’s richly imaginative Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, and savour the colourful sights and sounds of The Eternal City in Respighi’s Pines of Rome. With his growing international renown for performances of British music, John Wilson comes together with 163 of the UK’s brightest teenage musicians for this Winter concert that promises to be an explosive mixture of heritage, insight and raw musical passion. A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

www.leedstownhall.co.uk

Leeds Lunchtime Organ Music

Sat 17 January: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by George Kennaway at 6.45pm

Britten Sinfonia Jacqueline Shave leader/director Sarah Connolly mezzo soprano

Mondays at 1.05pm Presented by Dr Simon Lindley City Organist, with special guests

This Spring the Town Hall organ series features an eclectic mix of solo recitals from the likes of Thomas Trotter (12 Jan), Gordon Stewart (19 Jan) and John Scott Whiteley (26 Jan) alongside concerts where the organ accompanies special guest soloists, including cornet player Phillip McCann (5 Jan). 2015 marks the 150th birthdays of two great Northern organist-composers – Alfred Hollins from Hull, and Blackburn’s William Wolstenholme. Their music is performed by Simon Lindley (23 Feb and 9 March). Also celebrating a 150th anniversary is the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius whose Finlandia is performed by David Hill alongside works by Bach, Franck and Vierne (2 March). There is also an opportunity to learn more about our magnificent organ at our Meet the Town Hall Organ presentation on Saturday 21 February at 9.30am. See inside back cover for dates or visit www.leedsconcertseason.com. Call 0113 247 8336 for a leaflet with full details. 4

Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Carter Elegy for Strings Rodney Bennett A History of the Thé Dansant Copland Appalachian Spring Barber Adagio for Strings Copland Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson Appalachian Spring, first written for orchestra and then as a ballet, won Copland the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Written for Martha Graham’s dance company it was originally entitled Ballet for Martha until she suggested the final title. In 2004, listeners of the BBC’s Today programme voted Barber’s Adagio for Strings the saddest piece of classical music ever written. Indeed, it has been used for such occasions as the announcement of President Roosevelt’s death and the funeral of Einstein. The piece can also be heard on the soundtrack to the films Platoon and The Elephant Man and, more surprisingly, has been sampled by many DJs in various popular dance versions. It is possible that Martha Graham introduced Dickinson’s poems to Copland. He completed the ‘Twelve Poems’ in 1950 and later orchestrated eight of the poems in an attempt to reach a wider audience, a task which took 12 years! Listen out for the speech-like rhythms and wide vocal leaps of the melody – very demanding of the singer! A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

Holocaust Memorial Day

Sat 24 January: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Clive McClelland at 6.45pm

BBC Philharmonic Juanjo Mena conductor Javier Perianes piano Beethoven Overture: Fidelio Mozart Piano Concerto No 23 Bruckner Symphony No 4

Mozart wrote his Piano Concerto No 23 in 1786 aged 30, around the time that the Marriage of Figaro was premiered. As he died aged just 35, this piece was one of his later works, and characteristic of these final compositions is the key role of the woodwind which was finally given greater weighting rather than simply supplementing the strings. Listen out for the cheery opening of the first movement, in the second movement the large leaps in the piano and the clarinet solo in the third movement. Written nearly 100 years later, Bruckner’s fourth symphony was referred to as ‘the Romantic’ by the composer, referring to nature rather than romance in the modern sense. He wrote, “In the first movement of the ‘Romantic’ Fourth Symphony the intention is to depict the horn that proclaims the day from the town hall! Then life goes on; in the Gesangsperiode [the second subject] the theme is the song of the great tit [a bird] Zizipe. 2nd movement: song, prayer, serenade. 3rd: hunt and in the Trio how a barrelorgan plays during the midday meal in the forest.”

A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance for victims of the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and other genocides. 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Join us in commemoration at our Civic Remembrance event in Leeds Town Hall, and visit a special exhibition presented in partnership with University of Leeds.

Town Hall Civic Remembrance Event Sunday 25 January, 2pm Leeds Town Hall

Join the Lord Mayor of Leeds and hundreds of local people for an afternoon of commemoration in response to the international Holocaust Memorial Day theme of Keep the Memory Alive. This year’s event includes an exhibition from Pyramid of Arts, a theatre performance by young people, a keynote speech from Adam Strickson (Teaching Fellow, University of Leeds and Trustee of 6 million +), candle lighting, and a traditional Hebrew memorial prayer sung by the Chairman of Bradford Synagogue, Rudi Leavor. Free and open to all

Exhibition: Germany’s Confrontation with the Holocaust in a Global Context Mon 19 – Sun 25 January: 9am – 5pm Leeds Town Hall

Mon 26 January – Mon 2 February: 9am – 5pm University of Leeds

Parkinson Court, Woodhouse Lane, LS2 9HE

This touring exhibition considers how Germany has confronted the Holocaust from 1945 to the present day, with sideways glances to other historical events, in order to think about memory in a global context. Launching in both South Africa and the UK, this exhibition has been created by the University of Leeds’ German Department in partnership with the National Holocaust Centre (UK) and the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation. Free and open to all

(See page 34 for discounts)

www.leedstownhall.co.uk

Behind the Lions The hidden histories of the Town Hall come alive in our monthly tours, talks and exhibitions programme. For more information visit www.leedstownhall.co.uk.

Lunchtime Talks 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Town Hall Tours Explore the hidden secret side to the Town Hall. This is your chance to stand at the dock where prisoners once stood, sit at the judge’s bench in the Courtroom, see the Victorian prison cells and climb the 203 steps to the top of the clock tower to see the clock itself whilst taking in a view of Leeds unlike any other. Mondays at 2.30pm: 26 January, 23 February, 30 March, 27 April, 29 June and 27 July Saturdays at 10.30am: 31 January, 28 February, 28 March, 25 April, 30 May, 27 June and 25 July Tickets: £4.50 Advance booking essential

Private Tours We also offer private tours at a date/time to suit you (including Saturdays and evenings).

Join us at the Town Hall and Central Library for our free lunchtime talks delivered in partnership with Leeds University’s Brotherton Library. These talks will reveal some of the remarkable objects that form our cultural heritage which the Brotherton collects and makes accessible, for both the university and the public.

Thur 15 January

Leeds Central Library

Histories of theatre in Leeds and West Yorkshire: playbills, programmes and archives From 19th century playbills to the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds and West Yorkshire have a vibrant and fascinating theatrical heritage. Join us to explore the complementary collections in the University Library’s Special Collections and the Local and Family History Library.

Fri 13 February Leeds Town Hall

Dialect in the museum

The Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture (LAVC) in Special Collections is a unique and Tours are £115 and can take up to exciting collection of materials 25 people. relating to English dialect and folk Call 0113 247 6419 to enquire. life. Come along and hear how we Please note for those unable to ascend are breathing new life into this the clocktower stairs an audio-visual historical archive by teaming up guide presentation will be available with Yorkshire museums, enriching upon request. If the weather is their collections, and inviting particularly bad then we will not be visitors (locals and offcumdens able to take people onto the outside alike!) to help us dig for dialect. of the clock tower. 6

Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Thur 12 March

Leeds Central Library

The Lost Library of Kirkstall Abbey: understanding the presence of monks in medieval society Monks and nuns were an important part of medieval society, occupying a central role despite living apart from the world in self-imposed seclusion. Join us to explore the role that the monks of Kirkstall played in the medieval society. These talks are free, however donations are welcome. Email arts@leeds.gov.uk or call 0113 2476419 to reserve a place.

Sat 18 – Sat 25 July

Breeze Arts Festival The Breeze Arts Festival will be packed full of activities for 11–19 year olds, celebrating the creativity of young people across the city. For more details see www.leedstownhall.co.uk.

Sat 31 January: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Julian Rushton at 6.45pm

The Hallé Stanisław Skrowaczewski conductor Nicholas Trygstad cello Weber Overture: Der Freischütz Schumann Cello Concerto Brahms Symphony No 4

LOUISE FALLS: PHOTO BY KENNAN HARVEY

Thur 29 January: 7.30pm

Banff Mountain Film Festival From the world’s most prestigious mountain film festival comes an evening of extraordinary short films. Follow the expeditions of some of today’s most incredible adventurers, see incredible footage of adrenaline packed action sports and be inspired by thought-provoking pieces shot from the far flung corners of the globe. This is an inspiring evening of exhilarating film by the most talented adventure film makers of today. A festive event not to be missed with lots of free prize giveaways. Visit www.banff-uk.com for more details. For double the adventure visit the Carriageworks Theatre on Friday 30 January to experience a second and totally different collection of Banff Festival films. Tickets: £13.50 (concessions £11.50) Book for both Leeds Town Hall and The Carriageworks Theatre for £24 (£20 concessions). This offer is only available through the Box Office.

The Overture to Weber’s opera Der Freischütz (literally translated as ‘the Freeshooter’) was composed after the rest of the opera was completed and includes the opera’s main themes. Schumann took up the cello after incurring an injury to his left hand that ended his dream of being a professional pianist. Written in just two weeks whilst he was musical director of the Dusseldorf orchestra, Schumann’s Cello Concerto was not performed until after his death in a celebratory concert marking 50 years since his birth. The three short movements are linked to rule out the possibility of audience applauding in between – something Schumann detested! Listen out for the duet with the principal cello in the 2nd movement. Brahms Symphony No 4 was the last that he wrote. Before the premiere, Brahms performed in a version for two pianos. It is said that after this event, a critic who was page-turning commented on the first movement “For this whole movement I had the feeling that I was being given a beating by two incredibly intelligent people.” A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

www.leedstownhall.co.uk

Sat 14 February: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Peter Whitfield at 6.45pm

The Trondheim Soloists Øyvind Gimse artistic director Christian Ihle Hadland piano Bartók Divertimento for Strings Bach Piano Concerto No 4 Haydn Piano Concerto No 4 Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge

Thur 12 February: doors 7pm

Ocean Colour Scene

The 25th Anniversary Acoustic Tour

Having sold millions of records and headlined arenas around the world, Ocean Colour Scene have reached their landmark 25th anniversary. To celebrate, they will play a very special UK tour in concert halls accompanied by Q Strings. These shows are the latest chapter in a remarkable career that’s seen OCS rise from Breton shirtwearing Stone Roses disciples to one of Britpop’s biggest bands (their 1998 arena tour was the biggest by any UK group that year). In their 25 years together, they’ve enjoyed five Top 10 albums, six Top 10 singles and a mantelpiece full of awards. But behind all the swagger and the style were great songs, with words and melodies that found their way into your head and heart. The 25th Anniversary Acoustic Tour promises to be an unforgettable experience.

Swiss conductor Paul Sacher commissioned Bartók’s Divertimento for Strings, looking for a simple piece for 22 players. Bartók was invited to Sacher’s chalet where he set to work on the piece, completing it in just over two weeks. “Somehow I feel like a musician of the olden time; the invited guest of a patron of the arts. For here I am... entirely the guest of the Sachers; they see to everything – from a distance. In a word, I am living alone... They even had a piano brought from Berne for me...“ The work opens with a gypsyinspired, syncopated waltz. In contrast, the second movement is a slow, dark, almost atonal section, returning to dance for the quick final movement. Frank Bridge was Britten’s teacher and he wrote his Variations as a tribute to Bridge, with each of the ten movements representing a different aspect of Bridge’s character – Adagio (integrity), March (energy), Romance (charm), Aria Italiana (humour), Bourrée classique (tradition), Wiener Waltzer (enthusiasm), Moto Perpetuo (vitality), Funeral March (sympathy), Chant (reverence) and Fugue (skill). Britten found himself known internationally following the premiere of this piece. A £31.50

Tickets: £27.50 8

Box Office: 0113 224 3801

B £29

C £26.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

Sun 15 February: 3pm

LUUMS Join Leeds University Union Music Society for an entertaining afternoon as they explore music of the stage and screen! Expect to hear the ‘loverly’ lyrics of My Fair Lady right up to the soundtrack of the futuristic 2001: A Space Odyssey all in aid of the South Yorkshire-based music charity Lost Chord.

Sat 21 February: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by George Kennaway at 6.45pm

St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra Alexander Dmitriev conductor Alexander Sitkovetsky violin

With showcases from many of the University’s musical ensembles performing an eclectic range of music, there is guaranteed to be something for everyone!

Sibelius Suite: Karelia Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No 9

Tickets: £15, students/concessions £10 LUUMS Members/Friends of LUUMS £8 For info on group discounts please email luums.secretary@gmail.com

Written in just one month, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was rejected by the person for whom it was written, Leopold Auer, due to its complexity. Tchaikovsky wrote the piece whilst visiting Lake Geneva and recovering from a bout of depression following his failed marriage. It is thought that he wanted to dedicate the work to his pupil Losif Kotek, but he did not want to cause speculation about their relationship. Shostakovich composed his 9th symphony in 1945 at the end of the second world war “about the greatness of the Russian people, about our Red Army liberating our native land from the enemy”. He said “If the Seventh and the Eighth symphonies bore a tragic-heroic character, then in the Ninth a transparent, pellucid, and bright mood predominates.” Despite a positive reception from critics, the work was censored in 1946 for ‘ideological weakness’ and its failure to ‘reflect the true spirit of the people of the Soviet Union’ and later banned until 1955 after Stalin died.

A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

www.leedstownhall.co.uk

Sun 22 February: 11am – 3pm

Happy Chinese New Year 2015 The Leeds Chinese Community Association hosts a Chinese New Year Festival for the 2015 arrival of the ‘Year of the Sheep’. Featuring dance, music, Chinese calligraphy and tai chi, there will also be trade stands offering a variety of Chinese food, crafts and face painting.

Tickets: £3.50 (Tickets on sale from 10.30am and the workshops begin 11am)

Fri 27 February: 7.30pm

A Curious Life & Levellers Acoustic Watch Levellers documentary film A Curious Life followed by an acoustic performance by the band. Levellers released their Greatest Hits in September 2014. From the folk punk roots of Carry Me, through the anthemic One Way, Fifteen Years, Hope Street, Just The One and Beautiful Day to more recent tracks such as Truth Is and Cholera Well, all show the Levellers’ mix of scathing political comment and positive DIY attitude to life hasn’t dissipated with age.

Levellers phenomenal success between 1988 and 1998 before they disappeared for a time. Despite reaching their lowest ebb, the band never split up and after a few years in the wilderness they reinvented themselves as a self-managing collective with their own studio, label and Beautiful Days festival, and in the process became unexpected survivors of the UK’s famously fickle music industry.

Told through the unique perspective of Jeremy Cunningham, the band’s bass player and artist, and directed by former Chumbawamba frontman Dunstan Bruce, A Curious Life focuses on the

A Curious Life

10 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Running time 78 mins | Directed by Dunstan Bruce Produced by Dandy Films | Cert 15

Tickets: £23 & £20

Sat 28 February: 7.30pm

Leeds Festival Chorus Royal Northern Sinfonia

Simon Wright conductor Bibi Heal soprano Julia Doyle soprano Kathryn Rudge mezzo soprano Joshua Ellicott tenor Matthew Hargreaves baritone

Fri 6 March: 7.30pm Handel Dixit Dominus Mozart Symphony No 35 (Haffner) Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 1 Mozart Vesperae Solennes de Confessore Dixit Dominus shows Handel at his vivacious and dramatic best. Great choruses capture the imagination and gorgeous solos convey heartfelt emotion. The work closes with breathtaking virtuosity in an exultant fugue. The Dixit Dominus text also starts Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore but these Vespers are anything but solemn. Choir and soloists work together energetically as the composer explores a fascinating variety of stunning ideas and sounds. The Yorkshire Post said: “Leeds Festival Chorus have everything – blend, balance, flexibility and even good diction.” Concert independently promoted by Leeds Festival Chorus.

A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O n/a

£2.50 reduction for over 60s; half price for under 18s, full-time students and unwaged; £5 under 26s standby in week before; wheelchair users with companions two tickets for price of one.

Barbara Dickson Barbara Dickson, OBE, emerged from the Scottish Folk Revival of the 1960s and has become the biggest selling Scottish female album artiste of all time. Known to a wider audience in the 1970s and 1980s with hits including Answer Me, Another Suitcase in Another Hall, The Caravan Song and I Know Him So Well, she enjoyed ten years of chart success as a pop star. As an actress, she has appeared in the awardwinning theatre productions, John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert, Blood Brothers and Spend, Spend, Spend. She was the original Mrs Johnstone and Willy Russell’s muse. Barbara has returned to her roots once again, after a musical odyssey of 40 years creating music, playing guitar and piano, acting and songwriting and tonight is a culmination of her journey thus far. Asked what the highlight of her career has been, she says, ‘I don’t know. It hasn’t happened yet’. Tickets: £26 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 11

Sat 7 March: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Peter Whitfield at 6.45pm

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko conductor Nikolai Lugansky piano Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4

Tchaikovsky dedicated his Piano Concerto No 2 to Nikolai Rubenstein as he was so pleased with his performance of his First Piano Concerto. However, Tchaikovsky was concerned at the reception it would receive, “I tremble at the thought of the criticisms I may again hear from Nikolai... Still, even if once more he does criticise yet nevertheless goes on to perform it brilliantly as with the First Concerto, I won’t mind...“ As it happened, Rubenstein died in 1881 before the piece could be premiered and so it was first performed by Madeline Schiller. Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony was written during a period when his marriage was breaking down and he had tried to commit suicide. He is said to have been influenced by Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 and the ‘fate’ motif, saying of the opening movement to his symphony “All life is an unbroken alternation of hard reality with swiftly passing dreams and visions of happiness... No haven exists... Drift upon that sea until it engulfs and submerges you in its depths.” Nevertheless, this was a work of which he was most proud. A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

12 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

Thur 12 March: 8pm

He’s back on tour with a new show, following a sell-out four week West-End residency and a sold-out season at the Edinburgh Festival. firm favourite with his legendary A performances, Omid’s stand-up awards include; Time Out Award and EMMA Award for Best Stand-Up and nominated for the South Bank Award. Omid was the winner of the Best Actor Award for his lead performance in The Infidel at the Turin Film Festival (won the previous year by Bill Murray). The Infidel also picked up a Loaded LAFTA award for Funniest Film and Omid was short listed for Peter Sellers Award at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards.

‘Right now, the Iranian Djalili is probably one of the most subversive, let alone funniest, comedians around’ The Guardian

‘To carve yourself out a career as the thinking person’s Iranian comedian in this political climate takes a fine brain and a masterful way with the audience. There is no question that Omid Djalili possesses both’ Sunday Times

Recommended for age 16+ Tickets: £23 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 13

Sat 14 March: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Mark Pallant at 6.45pm

BBC Philharmonic

Leeds Philharmonic Chorus David Hill conductor Sarah Tynan soprano Daniel Norman tenor William Dazeley baritone Dukas Sorcerer’s Apprentice Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Orff Carmina Burana Paul Dukas shot to fame after writing the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, inspired by a Goethe poem. Around 40 years later the piece featured in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia, where Micky Mouse, weary from carrying buckets of water, conjures a magic spell to make a broomstick carry the water instead. He then falls asleep only to wake amongst a massive flood. This was the first use of stereo sound in a film. Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra was commissioned in 1946 by the government as a soundtrack to an educational film. The piece begins by showcasing the orchestra as a whole and then the main theme is passed amongst each of the families of instruments – woodwind, brass, strings and percussion. Well known for the opening O Fortuna section, as heard on X Factor and many other TV programmes and films, Orff’s Carmina Burana is a secular work in three parts entitled Spring, In the Tavern and Love. Using mediaeval Latin poems, Orff put rhythm at the fore of his music, making this a dramatic and energetic piece. A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

(See page 34 for discounts)

14 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

E £16

O n/a

Sun 15 March: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Howard Goodall at 6.45pm

An Evening with

Howard Goodall The opening event of The Grammar School at Leeds’ Arts Festival, featuring GSAL’s Festival Orchestra and Choir, Bradford Festival Choral Society together with performers from Leeds College of Music, conducted by Howard Goodall. Programme to include a complete performance of Goodall’s oratorio Every purpose under the heaven. Howard Goodall is an award-winning composer of choral music, stage musicals, film and TV scores, is well known as a TV and radio broadcaster, and was England’s first ever National Ambassador for Singing. His best-known TV and film themes and scores include Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Q.I., Mr Bean and The Vicar of Dibley, some of which will be performed this evening. He was appointed CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to music education. This concert marks the opening of GSAL’s Creative and Performing Arts Festival which runs from 14 – 28 March 2015. For more details of what is happening during the Festival please visit www.gsal.org.uk. Please go to the following link to book tickets for this event: www.lcm.ac.uk/whats-on/Booking-information

A £20

B £18

C £15

D £10

E £8

U18s/full time students/unwaged 50% reduction £1.50 reduction for over 60s

O n/a

Thur 19 March: 7.30pm

Purveyors of unadulterated Gypsy brass, Fanfare Cioca˘rlia are titans of the Balkan music world. Fusing infectious, lightning-fast melodies, thunderous drums, unbridled brass and a mischievous, captivating stage presence, Fanfare Cioca˘rlia are unparalleled live performers. Described by The Times as “a heavy, heavy monster of sound”, Fanfare Cioca˘rlia have taken their eerie Balkan groove into venues, festivals and dance clubs across the planet. Fanfare Cioca˘rlia appeal to punks and headbangers, jazz and funk fans, world music aficionados and those who simply love music that sounds absolutely unique. Their breakneck speed, technical chops, ripping rhythms and sweet and sour horns is quite different from any other brass band on earth.

Everyone who has heard Fanfare Cioca˘rlia agrees – no brass band has ever played as fast as this before and no brass band had ever sounded like this before! Their radical reinterpretations of popular Western standards – including the James Bond Theme and Duke Ellington’s Caravan – show how the Romanian orchestra effortlessly ‘Gypsify’ any music they get their horns on. Fanfare Ciocarlia were commissioned by Sacha Baron Cohen to cut biker anthem Born To Be Wild for the Borat soundtrack. Their music can be heard on adverts by Ikea and The Guinness Arthur’s Day Campaign and they have been sampled and covered, championed and emulated by countless DJs, bands and Gypsy orchestras.

‘Fanfare Cioca˘rlia must be the best live band in the world’ The Evening Standard

‘Fanfare Cioca˘rlia are extraordinary... it’s the furious brass work and the intriguing, playful blend of European and Asian themes with jazz or rock that makes them special!’ The Guardian

Tickets: £20, £18, Students £16 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 15

Sat 21 March: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Catherine Tackley 6.45pm

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons conductor Stephen Hough piano Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3 Rachmaninov Symphony No 2

Friday 20 March: 8pm David Johnson & John Mackay present

Stewart Lee

A Room With A Stew A brand new live show with fresh material in preparation for Stewart’s next BBC2 series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle.

‘Remains one of the best stand-ups in the country’ Metro

‘Best comedian in Britain’ Mirror

More skilful and playful than ever’ Guardian

‘If Lee had a shred of insight into the working lives of others, he’d realise that those who give up an evening to see him deserve his thanks, not his toxic scorn’ Telegraph

‘Utter disgrace. Totally evil propaganda. Offensive, biased, untrue and unfunny’

Stephen Hough performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3, which Beethoven himself performed at the premiere, after which his page-turner said: “I saw almost nothing but empty pages; at the most, on one page or another a few Egyptian hieroglyphs wholly unintelligible to me were scribbled down to serve as clues for him; for he played nearly all the solo part from memory since, as was so often the case, he had not had time to set it all down on paper.” Rachmaninov was living in Germany when he composed his second symphony – a move he made from Russia in order to focus more on his composition and less on conducting. Following great criticism of his first symphony Rachmaninov had suffered from depression and a lack of confidence. However, this work was a great success, restoring his faith in himself and winning him a Glinka Award.

‘Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music’ Rachmaninov

Patricia Culligan, UKIP Age guidance: 14+ Tickets: £21

16 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

Sat 28 March: 7.30pm

City of Leeds Youth Orchestra The City of Leeds Youth Orchestra’s performances in recent years are one of the great success stories of music making in the region. The orchestra now numbers nearly 100 young musicians and this programme is perfect to show off these wonderful young talents.

Dougie Scarfe conductor Richard Uttley piano Shostakovich Festive Overture Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis Vaughan Williams Symphony No 6

Two classics of the Russian repertoire make up the first half; after Shostakovich’s most celebratory overture the orchestra is joined by Yorkshire born up and coming star Richard Uttley for Rachmaninov’s famous variations. Vaughan Williams Symphony No 6 is a profoundly moving work, an outpouring of emotion following the horrors of the Second World War and a complete contrast to the sublime Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, one of the most popular works in all classical music.

‘...a glimpse into our musical future – and the future looks bright’ Yorkshire Post Tickets: £10 (£5 for under 18s, students and jobseekers, £1.50 off for over 60s) www.leedstownhall.co.uk 17

Tue 31 March: 7.30pm

Psychic Sally International psychic and star of hit TV show Psychic Sally: On The Road, Sally Morgan returns with her phenomenal interactive stage show. An ordinary woman with an extraordinary gift, her ability to pass on messages from spirit with incredible accuracy leaves audiences completely astounded. Her work with high-profile celebrities and royalty earned her the name ‘psychic to the stars’, most notably reading for the inspirational Princess Diana. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a world-renowned psychic in action!* * Sally Morgan is investigational and the show is for the purpose of entertainment.

Tickets: £23.50

Wed 1 April: 6pm

Leeds Young Filmmakers

Golden Owl Awards 2015 The fourth Leeds Young Filmmakers Golden Owl Awards will open Leeds Young Film Festival on Wednesday 1 April 2015 in the stunning Leeds Town Hall at a ceremony hosted by a celebrity guest. This red carpet event will celebrate the up and coming filmmaking talent from across the city and showcase the best short films made by Leeds young people in the last twelve months. With entertainment, music and awards throughout the evening, this special event is not to be missed! Entries are accepted from individuals and groups of friends, schools and colleges and community groups with prizes in lots of different age categories. The deadline for entries is 6 February 2015 – to enter or for more information please visit www.breezeleeds.org. This is a private event but if you are interested in attending please contact City Centre Box Office on 0113 224 3801.

18 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Friday 3 April: 8pm

Leeds Film

Blade Runner The Final Cut

Dir. Ridley Scott, 117 mins, 1982/2007, Cert 15

The ultimate version of one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time on the giant screen in the magnificent setting of Leeds Town Hall. Adapted from Philip K Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ridley Scott’s iconic dystopian classic stars Harrison Ford as the worldweary detective hunting down intelligent but murderous replicants in a neon-lit, rain-spattered future Los Angeles. Tickets: £10 (£8 concessions)

Wed 8 April: 7.30pm

Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® Adios Tour

Featuring Omara Portuondo, Guajiro Mirabal, Barbarito Torres and Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos After 16 years thrilling audiences around the world, the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® is set to bid ‘Adios’ with a farewell world tour, which includes a return for the group to the iconic Royal Albert Hall. The group, which has been touring the globe in different forms, guises and combinations since 1997, grew out of the release of the Grammy Award-winning best-selling album Buena Vista Social Club™, and its line-up continues to include a number of the original artists featured on the landmark recording and film. The Adios Tour represents the distillation of more than a thousand shows over 16 years involving more than forty musicians. During that time the group has evolved into a customised, dynamic, multi-generational big band in which veterans and younger performers have combined to celebrate Cuban musical tradition with flair and élan. Tickets: £37.50 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 19

Sat 11 April: 7.30pm

Sat 18 April: 7.30pm

Free pre-concert talk by Catherine Tackley at 6.45pm

Free pre-concert talk by Brian Newbould at 6.45pm

Orchestra of Opera North

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Kees Bakels conductor Federico Colli piano

Jirˇí Be˘lohlávek conductor Josef Spacek violin

Gershwin An American in Paris Shostakovich Piano Concerto No 1 Ravel Suite: Mother Goose Stravinsky Suite: Firebird

Dvorˇák Two Slavonic Dances Bruch Violin Concerto Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending Dvorˇák Symphony No 7

Gershwin’s jazz-influenced An American in Paris was written in 1928 following two trips to the city to study composition. He said, “My purpose here is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere.” The blues section represents the American’s brief homesickness. Listen out for an unusual instrument in the orchestra – the car horn! Mother Goose was originally a set of piano duets composed in 1910 for Ravel’s friends’ two young children. A year later he orchestrated the work and then expanded it into a ballet. The work is based on five children’s tales including Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast and Tom Thumb. Influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky based his ballet, The Firebird, on a Russian fairy tale in which the firebird helps a prince to rescue his princess but then falls in love with her and wins her heart.

A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

(See page 34 for discounts)

20 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

E £16

O £12.50

Dvorˇák shot to fame following the composition of his Two Slavonic Dances. He originally wrote the 16 pieces for two pianos using the typical rhythms of Slavic folk dances, including the furiant, polka and dumka. He then arranged the works for orchestra, becoming so popular that he produced a second set eight years later. Bruch wrote three violin concertos in total but his first is most respected and well known. Dedicated to the violinist Joseph Joachim, this composition is viewed as a major work in the standard violin repertoire and is something of a showpiece for violinists. Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending was inspired by George Meredith’s poem of the same name. Composing at the start of the first world war, Vaughan Williams was briefly arrested when he was seen noting down ideas which were mistaken as secret code. Due to the war, the work was not completed until 1920. In 2011 it was voted Britain’s Desert Island Disc. A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

(See page 34 for discounts)

D £21

E £16

O £12.50

Sun 19 April: 8pm

Tue 21 April: 8pm

Noah Stewart

Dylan Moran

Noah Stewart, the dashing young Harlem tenor, is one of international opera’s most talked about singers. Noah’s meteoric career has recently seen sensational debuts in Spain, Russia and Atlanta as well as returns to Lisbon, New York and London in repertoire including Faust, Rodolfo (La Boheme) and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly).

Off the Hook

Dylan Moran, star of Black Books, Shaun of the Dead and Calvary is back with his new stand-up show.

He has previously toured as special guest with The John Wilson Orchestra. Noah toured the UK in 2012 to sell-out audiences and returns to his ‘home from home’ with a sensational new show that includes some of opera’s best-loved arias as well as hand-picked West End and big screen favourites, sung in Noah’s incomparable style.

‘Noah’s tenor has a clarion edge to it reminiscent of Pavarotti in his glory days’ Tickets: £30, £25

‘Jokes as sharp as barbed wire and a comedy brain quicker than a steel trap... Rarely have the rafters of the Playhouse shook so dangerously to the sound of laughter’ The Scotsman

‘A supremely confident performer, his timing for delivering punchlines is something special’ The Telegraph

‘It didn’t falter for a moment. This is stand-up comedy of the first order... there’s scarcely a word wasted... seriously good fun’ The Times

Tickets: £25 (concessions £23) www.leedstownhall.co.uk 21

Fri 24 April: doors 7pm

Marc Almond Iconic singer and performer Marc Almond tours the UK in April 2015 to follow the release of his much awaited new record, The Velvet Trail, on 2 March. Almond, who released a four track EP in 2014 with collaborations including Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) and Carl Barat (The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things), will perform a mix of old and new material. The tour will end at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire, where Marc hosted sold out shows for his 50th and 55th birthdays. The eclectic artist, last year’s recipient of the Ivor Novello Inspiration Award, is currently touring with Jools Holland, following 2013’s triumph of his award-winning Ten Plagues song cycle performances and subsequent album release.

Tickets: £37.50, £27.50, £19.50 (restricted view)

Sat 25 April: 4pm

Inspiration and the Orchestra of Opera North

This Is The Day

The massed voices of Inspiration and the Orchestra of Opera North present This Is The Day featuring music for royal occasions. The title track (Rutter), Zadok the Priest, Hallelujah Chorus and Ode To Joy will rub alongside Delilah and Our House (from the jubilee concerts). Who else can put Zadok next to Tom Jones? Land of Hope And Glory, I Vow to Thee My Country, Gary Barlow’s Sing, and a very special arrangement of the National Anthem will all help to make up a truly eclectic concert. Tickets: £20, £15, £10 (concessions available)

Plus – Sun 26 July

Cinema Paradiso A concert featuring epic film scores from the likes of John Williams and Ennio Morricone, as well as hits from Sunshine on Leith and Jersey Boys. Will you Walk 500 Miles to see it? www.inspirationuk.com 22 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Sat 9 May: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Judy Blezzard at 6.45pm

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra Leeds Festival Chorus Leeds Philharmonic Chorus

Beethoven’s ninth symphony was the last that he wrote and uses the largest orchestra he ever scored for plus chorus and solo voices. It was the first major example of a composer using voices in a symphony. Appearing in the final movement, the choral text is based on Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy. The work has since been adapted for use as the European Anthem and the famous finale was used in the Die Hard films and A Clockwork Orange.

Jacek Kaspszyk conductor Claire Meghnagi soprano Hannah Pedley mezzo soprano Andrew Rees tenor Paul Carey Jones baritone Schubert Symphony No 3 Beethoven Symphony No 9 (Choral)

At the premiere, Beethoven was so deaf that he carried on conducting for several bars after the orchestra had finished and the audience gave five standing ovations, much to the displeasure of the royalty in attendance who received three! Later composers were daunted to reach their ninth symphony for fear it would not be as great as Beethoven’s masterpiece. The piece has even gone on to influence today’s technology. When the CD was being invented Phillips insisted it must be big enough to play the whole of Symphony No 9, dictating the size of the disc. A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O n/a

(See page 34 for discounts)

www.leedstownhall.co.uk 23

Tue 12 May: 7.30pm

Mary Black embarks on her last ever tour of the UK. The much loved Irish singer has decided to hang up her ‘touring boots’. In a New Year’s message on her website Mary said: “Music has been so good to me, I’ve loved touring the world for the last 30 years... I have made so many friends and have countless fond memories from different corners of the globe. So to my fans everywhere I’d like to thank you and let you know that I hope to get back again to all my favourite places for one last tour – The Last Call.”

For over a quarter-century, Mary Black has been a dominant presence in Irish music, both at home and abroad. Mary has released 11 studio albums all of which achieved platinum sales status and spawned countless hits. Her enduring success has proven that her depth of talent and her love of singing transcend the generations, as well as national and musical boundaries too. She is indeed a real Irish treasure and her talent a gift from this small island to a grateful world. Tickets: £29.50, £27.50

24 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Wed 13 May: 8pm

Sun 17 May: 3pm

Al Stewart

Black Dyke Brass Festival 2015

Classical Album Concert – Year of the Cat

The world’s most famous brass band and current British Open and National Champion returns to Leeds Town Hall for a gala concert featuring Black Dyke Band and guests including Yorkshire Youth, Armthorpe Elmfield, Tewit Youth, Blackley, Delph, Kirton and Trentham Bands.

Tonight Al Stewart will perform an acoustic version of his classic album Year of the Cat in its entirety. The album, first released in September 1976 was the commercial breakthrough for Al in both Europe and the United States. The show will also feature Al with his long-time collaborator Dave Nachmanoff, playing acoustic versions from his musical back pages.

Music for everyone including: the golden swing of Black Dyke including Volga Boatman, What a Wonderful World and Sing Sing Sing, a soloists’ showcase featuring Richard Marshall, Gary Curtin, Katrina Marzella, Miss Blue Bonnet, Carnival of Venice and Be My Love. Plus a grand finale with over 200 musicians performing Respighi’s March from Pines of Rome and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance! Tickets: £14, £12, £11, £10 More information from Festival Administrator, Alison Childs – alison4horn@btinternet.com

Programme to include: Year of the Cat; Lord Grenville; On the Border; Midas Shadow; Sand in Your Shoes; If it Doesn’t Come Naturally Leave It; Flying Sorcery; Broadway Hotel and One Stage Before. Al Stewart came to stardom as part of the legendary British folk revival in the sixties and seventies, and developed his own unique style of combining folkrock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history. Al released nineteen studio albums between Bedsitter Images in 1967 and Sparks of Ancient Light in 2008 and continues to tour extensively around the US and Europe. His most recent release, 2009’s Uncorked with Dave Nachmanoff contains unplugged versions of his eclectic catalogue. He is perhaps best known for Year of the Cat and the platinum follow up album Time Passages, but his career spans four decades as a key figure in British music. He played at the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970, worked with Yoko Ono pre-Lennon and shared a London apartment with a young Paul Simon. Tickets: £32.50, £28.50 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 25

Tue 19 May: doors 7pm

Belle and Sebastian welcome the summer with a thirteen-date UK tour. Of the tour, Stuart Murdoch said, “The people’s republic of Belle and Sebastian is on the move again, taking its message of responsible pop music in a revolutionary age to lands far and near. A little bit older, but no wiser, maturing like a fine wine ought to, our love for music, and the chance to lay it on your tender ear, is not diminished. We will pop you.” Tickets: £25

26 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Sat 30 May: 7.30pm Free pre-concert talk by Julian Rushton at 6.45pm

BBC Philharmonic

Leeds Festival Chorus • Leeds Philharmonic Chorus

Simon Wright conductor Louis Schwizgebel piano David Wilson-Johnson baritone Ravel Boléro Ravel Piano Concerto in G Walton Belshazzar’s Feast

A Bolero is a popular Spanish dance or song and the first piece in the programme is well known as the soundtrack which took Torvill and Dean to Olympic gold in 1984. During composition Ravel said to a friend “Don’t you think this theme has an insistent quality? I’m going to try and repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra...” Listen for the repeated rhythm of the snare drum as the orchestra builds throughout the piece. Ravel’s jazz-inspired Piano Concerto in G was written after a trip to America when jazz was at the height of its popularity. Back home in Paris the trend was also catching on at cafes across the city. Whilst the work still uses a classical structure the harmonies and rhythms are clearly taken from jazz. Listen out for the opening whip crack and drum roll. Commissioned for and first performed at the 1931 Leeds Festival, Walton’s energetic oratorio Belshazzar’s Feast highlights the city’s two great choirs. A £31.50

B £29

C £26.50

D £21

E £16

O n/a

(See page 34 for discounts)

www.leedstownhall.co.uk 27

Fri 12 June: 7.30pm

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain™ 30 Plucking Years

Eight Ukuleles, Sixteen Hands, Thirty Two Strings, Sixteen Million Minutes, One Billion Seconds, Thirty Years. In June 2015 the Orchestra will have clocked up Sixteen Million Minutes of ukulele action. By September 2016 the Orchestra will have been active for One Billion Seconds. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, the irresistible entertainment juggernaut is developing even further with new tours, new audio and new video releases. Celebrate the anniversaries over the next year as ‘the Ukes’ continue touring to great acclaim, from sold out houses and happy, stomping, laughing audiences. They play ukuleles, they sing, they say funny things, they whistle, but they bring a lot more to the table than that. ‘Pure entertainment’, ‘Magisterial’, ‘The best musical entertainment in the country’, ‘A much loved National Institution’, are some of the things audience members and reviewers have said in attempting to encapsulate the indefinable magic and atmosphere of all round good humour, light heartedness, well-being and joy which permeate the live concerts.

Tickets: £22 (£2 off for senior citizens and under 18s) 10% discount for bookings of 10 or more

28 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Sat 27 & Tue 30 June: 7.30pm

The Flying Dutchman

Dramatic performance for the Concert Hall Orchestra of Opera North Richard Farnes conductor Having performed the Ring cycle in successive years, Opera North continues its Wagnerian voyage with the work that the composer himself regarded as the true beginning of his career as a musical dramatist. Based on the myth of the Dutchman, doomed to wander the seas eternally unless he finds redemption through a woman’s faithful love, Wagner constructed a thrillingly taut, gripping music drama. Like Opera North’s highly acclaimed Ring, The Flying Dutchman will be presented in a concert staging by Peter Mumford, and conducted by the Company’s Music Director Richard Farnes. Sung in German with English titles Financially supported by the Opera North Future Fund

Tickets: £53 – £15 Book at Leeds Grand Theatre Box Office 0844 848 2720 • www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

Fri 3 July: 8pm

Jimmy Carr brings his brand new stand-up show to Leeds Town Hall.

Multiple choice... Jimmy Carr’s Funny Business will be: a. packed with jokes b. rude and offensive* c. a great night out d. £25 a ticket** If you answered a, b, c or d, you were right! * If you are easily offended. ** The show is not suitable for anyone who hasn’t bought a ticket.

Tickets: £25 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 29

Sat 4 July: 7.30pm

Rothwell Temperance Band The Leeds Summer Proms

The Rothwell Temperance Band, under the leadership of David Roberts, presents a summer proms concert in aid of local charities. The band will be joined on stage by Nicola Rutherford, star of the West End Musical Phantom of the Opera and also 200 children from local school choirs. The programme will include music by William Walton and Edward Elgar along with other proms favourites. Rothwell Temperance is a championship brass band which was formed as a junior band in 1984 but rose to the heights of the championship section in 1999 when it performed for the first time at the National Finals in the Royal Albert Hall. The band regularly performs at concerts and competitions around the country. Tickets: £12, £10

Wed 15 July: 10.30am & 1.30pm

Schools Concerts Devised and presented by Alasdair Malloy In association with the Orchestra of Opera North Awesome Al, the cabin boy of our Pirate Ship welcomes you aboard this suitably swashbuckling seafaring adventure. From the stirring sounds of Leroy Anderson’s Pirate March to the spectacular finale where everyone learns The Sailor’s Hornpipe, this is an unforgettable voyage through uncharted waters in search of a treasure trove of musical gems. Step aboard The Flying Dutchman and head off Over the Waves to the Caribbean where we’ll sing about the Jamaican Rumba. Encounter Cap’n Jack Sparrow in music from Pirates of the Caribbean and test your nautical knowledge in our quiz.

Tickets: £3 per child, Teachers and classroom assistants free 30 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

This concert for primary school groups introduces children to live orchestral music in the atmospheric setting of the Victoria Hall. A supporting education pack linked to Key Stage 2 will be available to participating schools. To book or request information contact Katie Pearce – 0113 395 1244/katie.pearce@leeds.gov.uk.

Sat 15 August: 7pm

National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain Under 13 Orchestra

Roger Clarkson conductor Join the UK’s most talented young musicians as they present a stunning programme of classical favourites. The NCO’s Under 13 Orchestra comprises over one hundred young musicians who are no older than 13, yet their age is belied by their passion, precision and professionalism.

‘I must admit that I was expecting a high standard of performance, but I was totally blown away by the You are guaranteed to be captivated by the fantastic professionalism and maturity of their playing. I had to keep reminding myself sound produced by these youngsters and kept on the edge of your seats with an equally thrilling of just how young these children were!’ programme.

Elaine Annable, Yorkshire Times

Tickets: £18, £15, £10 (concessions £2 off) Under 16s £5, LICS subscribers £5 off (excluding under 16s and concessions) Family ticket for 2 adults and up to 3 children £40/£35

Why not host your event at Leeds Town Hall? Iconic, historic and refurbished, Leeds Town Hall is the ideal destination for all kinds of events, great and small. The Victoria Hall offers one of the largest spaces available for hire in Leeds, perfect for a presentation to an audience of up to 1200 people or a banquet for 400 people. With seating removed, the hall can be used for a wide variety of events, including dinners, conferences, exhibitions or dances. Flexible meeting room spaces are also available with a choice of eleven meeting rooms. For further information please contact a member of the Commercial Team on 0113 247 7988 or email leedstownhall@leeds.gov.uk. www.leedstownhall.co.uk 31

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Little Howard’s Big Show for Kids

Tuesday 14 April

Tuesday 26 May

Main Auditorium: 2pm Tickets: £9.50 (£8.50 concession), £6 (no concession) Family ticket: £34 Age 2+

Main Auditorium: 2pm Tickets: £9.50 (£8.50 concessions) Family ticket: £34 Age 6+

Carriageworks Theatre, The Electric Press, Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD (next to Leeds Town Hall)

Now on sale for Autumn 2015... Thur 24 September, 7.30pm

Wed 14 October, 8pm

Italy and The Four Seasons Tour

Lost in Translation

Nicola Benedetti

Trevor Noah

Tickets: £32.50 – £15 (discounts available)

Tickets: £18

Fri 25 September, 7.30pm

Tue 20 October, 7.30pm

Yes Yes Yes!

Acolyte to Wolflight with a Sprinkling of Genesis

Mnozil Brass

Tickets £25. Early Bird £21.50. Under 16s £16 Groups 10+: £21.50

Book now: 0113 224 3801 www.leedstownhall.co.uk 32

Steve Hackett

Tickets £29.50, £27.50

Access

A58(M

)

LEEDS GENERAL INFIRMARY

TOWN HALL

THE LIGHT

ST JOHN’S CENTRE

ROW

PARK ROW

2 QU

MERRION ST

LEEDS CATHEDRAL

THE HEAD

EAST PA RADE

WESTGATE

STREET

COOKRIDGE

OXFORD

CROWN COURT

GREAT GEORGE

ALBION ST

MAG COURT

STREET

CALVERLEY

STRE

Travel

The venue is equipped with a closed loop system for the hard of hearing.

WELLIN

GTON ST

REET

CITY SQUARE

1 LL

ITE

There is full wheelchair access to Leeds Town Hall and wheelchair-accessible toilet facilities on all floors. A number of spaces in the seating area are reserved for wheelchair users. Please let us know when booking of any special access requirements you may have.

CITY STATION

BOAR

LANE

A number of free parking spaces are reserved at the front of the Town Hall for blue badge-holders.

Car Park The nearest secure parking is available at The Light (accessible via Great George Street). Price: £7 between 6pm – 9am 24 hour, 7 days a week parking available at Woodhouse Lane car park. Price: £2 for 2 hours, £4 for 4 hours, £5.50 for 12 hours On street parking is charged at £2 after 6pm.

Concert Bus

This brochure and our concert programmes are available in alternative formats – please call us on 0113 247 8336 for more details, or visit www.leedsconcertseason.com. Support dogs are welcome.

A coach service is available for orchestral attenders*, picking up from Addingham, Ilkley, Ben Rhydding, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Menston, Guiseley, Yeadon, Rawdon and Horsforth. Ticket price: £5 return journey (£4 from Yeadon) For booking information please contact the Box Office on 0113 224 3801 or boxoffice@leeds.gov.uk. Please note that seats are only guaranteed if reserved by the Wednesday before the concert. * Please note there is no service for the choral concerts on 14 March, 9 May and 30 May 2015.

www.leedstownhall.co.uk 33

Town Hall seating plan

By telephone

0113 224 3801

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A larger version of this seating plan is available from the Box Office or at www.leedstownhall.co.uk where you can also view the stage from various seats in the hall.

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34 Box Office: 0113 224 3801

Designed and produced by: Design It: studio@designit-uk.com Printed by: LCC Print Management

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If you have any questions or comments about Leeds Town Hall events please email music@leeds.gov.uk or write to: Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AD

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Talk To Us!

Discounts are available on LICS presentations for groups of 10 or more. Please contact the Box Office for details.

Group bookings

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The following discounts are available for LICS orchestral concerts, identified by the LICS logo. Please call the Box Office for information on discounts for other concerts and events. Over 60s: £1.50 reduction. Under 18s, full-time students and unwaged: 50% reduction. Patrons with disabilities: Patrons with disabilities and their essential carers may obtain two tickets for the price of one.

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Discounts

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The Carriageworks, The Electric Press, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD Email: boxoffice@leeds.gov.uk The Box Office is open to personal callers from 10am – 6pm Monday to Saturday.

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City Centre Box Office

Please note: a booking fee of £1 per ticket applies to music and comedy events and 50p for films.

In person

www.leedstownhall.co.uk

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Online

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The Booking Line is open from 10am – 6pm Monday to Saturday. Please note: a fee of £2.50 will apply per transaction for all events except film screenings and tours where the fee will be £1 per transaction.

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How to book

At a glance JANUARY

Saturday 3 Monday 5 Monday 12 Thursday 15 Saturday 17 Monday 19 Monday 19 – Sunday 25 Saturday 24 Sunday 25 Monday 26 Thursday 29 Saturday 31

FEBRUARY

Monday 2 Monday 9 Thursday 12 Friday 13 Saturday 14 Sunday 15 Monday 16 Saturday 21 Sunday 22 Monday 23 Friday 27 Saturday 28

MARCH

Monday 2 Friday 6 Saturday 7 Monday 9 Thursday 12 Saturday 14 Sunday 15 Monday 16 Thursday 19 Friday 20 Saturday 21 Monday 23 Saturday 28 Monday 30

APRIL

Tuesday 31 Wednesday 1 Friday 3 Wednesday 8 Saturday 11 Monday 13 Saturday 18 Sunday 19 Monday 20 Tuesday 21 Friday 24 Saturday 25 Monday 27

MAY

Saturday 9 Tuesday 12 Wednesday 13 Sunday 17 Tuesday 19 Saturday 30

JUNE

Friday 12 Saturday 27

JULY

Monday 29 Tuesday 30

Friday 3 Saturday 4 Wednesday 15 Saturday 18 – Saturday 25 Saturday 25 Sunday 26 Monday 27

AUGUST

Saturday 15

MUSIC FILM EDUCATION COMEDY

CHILDREN MULTI-ARTFORM OTHER

7.30pm 1.05pm 1.05pm 12.30pm 7.30pm 1.05pm 9am – 5pm 7.30pm 2pm 1.05pm 2.30pm 7.30pm 10.30am 7.30pm

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN ORGAN RECITAL: Phillip McCann & Simon Lindley ORGAN RECITAL: Thomas Trotter LUNCHTIME TALK (Leeds Central Library) BRITTEN SINFONIA ORGAN RECITAL: Gordon Stewart EXHIBITION: Germany’s Confrontation with the Holocaust in a Global Context BBC PHILHARMONIC HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY ORGAN RECITAL: John Scott Whiteley TOWN HALL TOUR BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL TOWN HALL TOUR THE HALLÉ

1.05pm 1.05pm 7pm 12.30pm 7.30pm 3pm 1.05pm 9.30am 7.30pm 11am – 3pm 1.05pm 2.30pm 7.30pm 10.30am 7.30pm

ORGAN RECITAL: Simon Lindley ORGAN RECITAL: University of Huddersfield Brass Band OCEAN COLOUR SCENE LUNCHTIME TALK THE TRONDHEIM SOLOISTS LUUMS ORGAN RECITAL: St Peter’s Singers MEET THE TOWN HALL ORGAN ST PETERSBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2015 ORGAN RECITAL: Simon Lindley TOWN HALL TOUR A CURIOUS LIFE & LEVELLERS ACOUSTIC TOWN HALL TOUR LEEDS FESTIVAL CHORUS & ROYAL NORTHERN SINFONIA

1.05pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 1.05pm 12.30pm 8pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 1.05pm 7.30pm 8pm 7.30pm 1.05pm 10.30am 7.30pm 1.05pm 2.30pm 7.30pm

ORGAN RECITAL: David Hill BARBARA DICKSON ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ORGAN RECITAL: David Greed & Simon Lindley LUNCHTIME TALK OMID DJALILI: Iranalamadingdong BBC PHILHARMONIC & LEEDS PHILHARMONIC CHORUS AN EVENING WITH HOWARD GOODALL ORGAN RECITAL: Leeds University School of Music Choir FANFARE CIOCARLIA STEWART LEE: A Room With A Stew CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ORGAN RECITAL: Professor Ian Tracey TOWN HALL TOUR CITY OF LEEDS YOUTH ORCHESTRA ORGAN RECITAL: Simon Lindley & The Choir of Leeds Minster TOWN HALL TOUR PSYCHIC SALLY

6pm 8pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 1.05pm 7.30pm 8pm 1.05pm 8pm 7pm 10.30am 4pm 1.05pm 2.30pm

GOLDEN OWL AWARDS 2015 BLADE RUNNER: The Final Cut ORQUESTA BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: Adios Tour ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH ORGAN RECITAL: Nigel Ogden CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA NOAH STEWART ORGAN RECITAL: Professor Philip Meaden DYLAN MORAN: Off the Hook MARC ALMOND TOWN HALL TOUR INSPIRATION & ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH: This is the Day ORGAN RECITAL: Simon Lindley TOWN HALL TOUR

7.30pm 7.30pm 8pm 3pm 7pm 10.30am 7.30pm

WARSAW PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, LEEDS FESTIVAL CHORUS & LEEDS PHILHARMONIC CHORUS MARY BLACK: The Last Call AL STEWART: Classical Album Concert – Year of the Cat BLACK DYKE BRASS FESTIVAL 2015 BELLE & SEBASTIAN TOWN HALL TOUR BBC PHILHARMONIC, LEEDS FESTIVAL CHORUS & LEEDS PHILHARMONIC CHORUS

7.30pm 10.30am 7.30pm 2.30pm 7.30pm

THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN: 30 Plucking Years TOWN HALL TOUR THE FLYING DUTCHMAN TOWN HALL TOUR THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

8pm 7.30pm 10.30am & 1.30pm – 10.30am 4pm 2.30pm

JIMMY CARR: Funny Business ROTHWELL TEMPERANCE BAND: The Leeds Summer Proms SCHOOLS CONCERTS BREEZE ARTS FESTIVAL TOWN HALL TOUR INSPIRATION & ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH: Cinema Paradiso TOWN HALL TOUR

7pm

NATIONAL CHILDREN’S ORCHESTRAS OF GREAT BRITAIN: Under 13 Orchestra

www.leedstownhall.co.uk 35

If undelivered, please return to: Arts Planning, Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AD

Talk To Us! If you have any questions or comments about events at Leeds Town Hall please e-mail music@leeds.gov.uk or write to Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AD Designed and produced by: design it: studio@designit-uk.com Printed by: LCC Print Management Printed on paper sourced from sustainable forests