The Composer’s Echo Friday 11 - Sunday 13 October 2013
FESTIVAL SAVER Book for 7 or more different paid events and receive a 10% discount
Box Office: 0113 222 3434 www.leedslieder.org.uk
The Composer’s Echo WELCOME to the Leeds Lieder Festival, a feast of song from the great Western European tradition which fuses poetry and music. Nearly all of our greatest composers have been inspired to write songs and yet the genre is still under-represented in today’s concert halls and not well known by the general music-loving public. Leeds has three wonderful chamber music halls with perfect acoustics for singers to communicate the intensity, drama, subtlety, fun and beauty of this most intimate and affecting repertoire and Leeds Lieder makes use of all of them. Graham Johnson, our Artistic Director, has chosen the most exceptional singers and devised programmes which are imaginative and entertaining. If you are unfamiliar with the song world, this is your opportunity to dip your toes into the stream of great art that you have been missing and join with audience and performers in the buzz of excitement which characterises this festival. Graham Johnson is revered as the doyen of song accompanists, his reputation based not only on his acclaimed performances with many of the world’s greatest singers but also on his scholarship and imaginative skills in 2
programming. The 100th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s birth provides a starting point for the programmes and Graham Johnson is well placed to explore Britten’s influences having, in his youth, worked closely with him and Peter Pears. Our opening and closing programmes are sung by outstanding young British singers. On Friday four of them explore Venice in music from Monteverdi to Gilbert and Sullivan and on Sunday the exceptional baritone Benedict Nelson will close the festival. Recognised as one of the most exciting singers of his generation, he has attracted comparisons with Simon Keenlyside and Gerald Finley and his superb recital of Dichterliebe in the Leeds Lieder Day of Song in 2012 enchanted the audience. We welcome him back with a programme to include the world première of one of our two new commissions. Leeds Lieder also brings international singers of great distinction, hand-picked by Graham Johnson, to the North of England for the first time. Canadian, Martha Guth’s programme on Saturday morning explores poems about the sufferings and passions of Goethe’s poor abducted Mignon and contrasts them with Britten’s great song
Jane Anthony
cycle On This Island interwoven with songs by one of his greatest influences, Henry Purcell. On Saturday evening the much celebrated Bavarian soprano Christiane Karg brings an exploration of the songs of Hugo Wolf. His post-Wagnerian music of great intensity can be complex and full of expressive chromaticism, but Christiane will also show us how varied and entertaining it can be. With programmes from emerging young artists too, the weekend also includes much that is familiar and well-loved – Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock and songs by Quilter, Cole Porter and Gershwin. Our Guest of Honour is the great mezzo soprano Ann Murray who will coach four young singers in a public masterclass. We continue to promote the composition of new song with works from Judith Bingham and Alec Roth and nine new songs from our Composers and Poets Forum.
And last, but certainly not least, we welcome back Njabulo Madlala, who brings a programme of songs from his native South Africa in the Xhosa language which includes more than one hundred clicks, each meaning something different - learn how to click sing at his workshop. Full details of all the songs in the concerts listed in this brochure can be found on our new website www.leedslieder.org.uk Our thanks go to the many Friends, Patrons and supporters whose generosity enables us to present this festival. There is a 10% reduction if you buy tickets for seven or more paid events – you can come to the whole weekend for around £140. If you’ve never been to a song concert before and would like advice about what to try first, please email me at jane@leedslieder.org.uk. Jane Anthony Founder and Festival Director
President: Patricia, Countess of Harewood Honorary Patron: Elly Ameling
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FRIDAY
Friday 11 October 8.15pm The Venue, Leeds College of Music
OPENING CONCERT: EINE NACHT IN VENEDIG – A SERENADE TO SERENISSIMA
Friday 11 October 6.00pm to 7.00pm Recital Room 219 Leeds College of Music
WELCOME PARTY! Graham Johnson and Jane Anthony invite you to join them In Conversation about the themes to be explored during the weekend, the ideas which have driven the artistic choices and to raise a glass to celebrate the opening of the 2013 Festival. Graham Johnson: ‘… song pianist and curator supreme…’ The Times Tickets: FREE
Graham Johnson
Martha Guth soprano Anna Huntley mezzo soprano Benjamin Hulett tenor Marcus Farnsworth baritone Graham Johnson piano The opening concert of the Festival is a celebration of the seductively mysterious city of Venice in a pot pourri of songs and ensembles by composers from Monteverdi to Britten and Poulenc via Schubert, Schumann, Rossini, Johann Strauss, Stravinsky, Vaughan Williams and more. Marcus Farnsworth ‘….has an instinctive musicality that never makes the vocal line sound over-studied or phoney. He must have a great career ahead of him’ DailyTelegraph Benjamin Hulett: ‘the beauty of his singing takes the breath away…’ The Independent Tickets: £22.50 £20.50 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s/Full-time students Martha Guth
Anna Huntley
Benjamin Hulett
Marcus Farnsworth
Friday 11 October 7.15pm – 8.00pm Room 416, Leeds College of Music
PRE-CONCERT TALK Speaker: Graham Johnson Tickets: FREE
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SATURDAY
Composers and Poets 2011 Festival
Saturday 12 October 10.15am - 10.45am Room 416 Leeds College of Music
PRE-CONCERT TALK Speaker: Prof Terence Cave Tickets: FREE
Saturday 12 October 11.00am – 5.00pm Recital Room 219 Leeds College of Music
COMPOSERS & POETS FORUM This day-long forum is the culmination of work initiated in June when student composers from the national conservatoires met locally recruited poets in a creative venture to encourage the composition of new art songs. Today they return to perform and discuss these new works. We welcome other aspiring composers and poets to take part in the discussions from the floor. Supported by The Fidelio Charitable Trust Tickets: FREE but please book in advance
Saturday 12 October 11.00am – 1.00pm The Venue Leeds College of Music
MIGNON AND HER SISTERS AND ON THIS FAIREST ISLE Martha Guth soprano Graham Johnson piano Canadian soprano Martha Guth and Graham Johnson perform songs inspired by Goethe’s frail, enigmatic heroine, Mignon, followed by a celebration of Britain in some of Britten’s arrangements of songs by Purcell and his own settings of W H Auden’s On This Island. Martha Guth: ‘…thrilling top range, rare breath control and an awesome legato’ Toronto Globe and Mail Tickets: £15.00 £13.00 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s/Full-time students
Martha Guth
Composers and Poets 2009 Festival 5
SATURDAY
Saturday 12 October 2.30pm – 3.30pm Howard Assembly Room Leeds Grand Theatre
IN CONVERSATION WITH ANN MURRAY DBE Ann Murray DBE, one of the most cherished mezzo sopranos of her generation, renowned for her wit and warmth, talks to her friend, tenor Paul Nilon, about her life and plays some favourite music. Tickets: £11.00 £9.00 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s/Full-time students
Saturday 12 October 4.15pm – 5.15pm Howard Assembly Room Leeds Grand Theatre
ANNA HUNTLEY MEZZO SOPRANO AND JAMES BAILLIEU PIANO Anna Huntley and James Baillieu celebrate Benjamin Britten and his influences in a programme including some best-loved Lieder by Schubert and Mahler and English songs by Quilter, Frank Bridge and Britten. The immortal Joyce Grenfell and Flanders and Swann add a flash of wit! The concert also features the world première of Alec Roth’s Four Garden Songs (Words by Amy Lowell), the first of two commissions for this Festival. In memory of Noelle Barker OBE Supported by Elizabeth Arnold and the Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust
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Ann Murray DBE
Tickets: £12.50 £10.50 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s Full-time Students
Saturday 12 October 6.00pm – 7.00pm The Venue Leeds College of Music
COMPOSERS & POETS SHOWCASE An unpredictable and fascinating concert of the new works from the Composers & Poets Forum, which may well point out new directions for art song. Supported by The Fidelio Charitable Trust Tickets: £6.00 £4.00 Unwaged/Disabled FREE Under 26s/Full-time students
Anna Huntley
James Baillieu
SATURDAY
Saturday 12 October 7.15pm – 8.00pm Room 416 Leeds College of Music
PRE-CONCERT TALK Speaker: George Kennaway Tickets: FREE
Saturday 12 October 8.15pm The Venue Leeds College of Music
CELEBRITY RECITAL Christiane Karg soprano Graham Johnson piano Bavarian soprano Christiane Karg, named Young Performer of the Year in 2009 by Opernwelt magazine and awarded the prestigious Echo Klassik prize in 2010 for her first Lied CD, joins Graham Johnson for an evening of poignancy, romance and Mediterranean sunshine. A sumptuous programme probes the depths of human emotions through songs from Wolf’s Italienisches and Spanisches Liederbuchen, Falla’s Siete Canciones populares Españolas, Ravel’s Cinq Mélodies populaires grecques and Duparc’s heady L’invitation au voyage. Christiane Karg: ‘Her tone is warm; sweet as honey and pure as fresh water with a crystal clear quality…’ Seen & Heard International
2011 Festival
Saturday 12 October 10.30pm The Venue Bar Leeds College of Music
SPONSORS AND PATRONS RECEPTION An opportunity for our Sponsors and Gold and Silver Patrons to meet our guest artists over a relaxing drink. By invitation only
Christiane Karg
Graham Johnson
Supported by the Friends of Leeds Lieder Tickets: £24.00 £22.00 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s/Full-time Students
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SUNDAY
Sunday 13 October 10.00am – 12.30pm
Sunday 13 October 1.00pm – 1.45pm
Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall University of Leeds
Recital Room Leeds College of Music
MASTERCLASS: Ann Murray DBE
SOUTH AFRICAN CLICK SINGING WORKSHOP
During a long and distinguished career Ann Murray DBE has established herself as one of the great interpreters of song, equally at home and greatly in demand as both a recitalist and opera singer. Here she shares her love of singing, interpretative insights and gift for communication in our public masterclass with some prodigiously talented student singers and pianists from the UK conservatoires.
Njabulo Madlala baritone William Vann piano
Tickets: £14.00 £12.00 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s/Full-time students
Ann Murray DBE
Learn how to click sing! South African baritone Njabulo Madlala and young British pianist William Vann introduce the South African Xhosa folk song tradition in an interactive workshop. Tickets: £5.00 £4.00 Unwaged/Disabled FREE Under 26s/Full-time students
Sunday 13 October 2.00pm – 2.45pm Recital Room Leeds College of Music
SOUTH AFRICAN CLICK SINGING CONCERT Njabulo Madlala baritone William Vann piano
Sunday 13 October 10.30am – 12.00pm Meet at Leeds Bridge, bottom of Briggate
HISTORIC LEEDS WALK Dr Kevin Grady, Director of the Leeds Civic Trust, leads a stroll around some of the fascinating streets and buildings of the historic city of Leeds. Tickets: FREE
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First prize winner of the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Award in 2010, baritone Njabulo Madlala and pianist William Vann continue the Leeds Lieder Festival tradition of featuring the song of other cultures with a programme of unique and beautiful South African Xhosa folk songs. Tickets: £8.00 £6.00 Unwaged/Disabled FREE Under 26s/Full-time students
SUNDAY
Sunday 13 October 2.15pm – 2.45pm
Sunday 13 October 4.15pm – 5.00pm
Room 416 Leeds College of Music
Recital Room Leeds College of Music
PRE-CONCERT TALK
FRINGE CONCERT
Speaker: David Hoult
As more student singer and pianist duos are nominated than can be accommodated in the limited time available for the Masterclass, here is the perfect opportunity to enjoy the exceptionally gifted young musicians who could not be included perform a wonderful array of songs of their own choice in an informal Fringe recital.
Tickets: FREE
Njabulo Madlala
Tickets: FREE
Bibi Heal
Sunday 13 October 3.00pm – 4.00pm The Venue Leeds College of Music
Joshua Ellicott
MADE IN YORKSHIRE Bibi Heal soprano Joshua Ellicott tenor Colin Honour clarinet Anthony Kraus piano In a celebration of home-grown talent, four fine artists with strong Yorkshire connections present an enticing teatime programme including Schubert’s joyous The Shepherd on the Rock, Vaughan Williams’s evocative Songs of Travel and some favourite songs by Quilter, all rounded off with a sophisticated dash of Gershwin and Cole Porter. Tickets: £12.50 £10.50 Unwaged/Disabled £5 Under 26s/Full-time students
Colin Honour
Anthony Kraus
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SUNDAY
Benedict Nelson Sunday 13 October 5.15pm – 5.45pm Room 416 Leeds College of Music
PRE-CONCERT TALK Speakers: Judith Bingham, Alec Roth and Graham Hearn Tickets: FREE
Sunday 13 October 6.00pm The Venue Leeds College of Music
CELEBRITY RECITAL Benedict Nelson baritone Graham Johnson piano Young British baritone, Benedict Nelson, consistently attracts great critical acclaim for his performances on the concert platform and the operatic stage. He joins Graham Johnson to bring our 2013 Festival to a close with a programme chosen from the great heritage of European song. Schubert Looking North is a group of the composer’s settings of poems with a North-orientated theme by British and German poets, including Sir Walter Scott. We travel to France for second half of the evening, which includes Le Travail du Peintre, Poulenc’s 1956 song cycle setting Paul Éluard’s poems reflecting on seven celebrated painters; well-loved songs by Duparc; and the world première of the second of the works commissioned for the Festival: My Heart Laid Bare, settings by Judith Bingham of texts from Baudelaire’s Journaux intimes. 10
Benedict Nelson: ‘… a hugely talented baritone with a smoothly elegant mahogany timbre, complemented by an intense and reflective musicality.’ Daily Telegraph Graham Johnson: “I can think of no other figure in the international music world who has done so much for the promotion of Lieder’ John Gilhooly, Director, Wigmore Hall Judith Bingham:‘It’s very important to me to keep the art of song alive and regenerated.’ Supported by The Leche Trust and the RVW Trust Tickets: £25.00 £23.00 Unwaged/Disabled £5.00 Under 26s/Full-time students
Sunday 13 October 8.00pm One Bar Inn Leeds College of Music
POST-FESTIVAL RECEPTION We invite Sponsors, Patrons, Friends and Festival Saver ticket holders to raise a glass to toast the end of the Festival.
OTHER LEEDS LIEDER EVENTS In addition to the Festival itself, there is lots more to enjoy with Leeds Lieder in coming months, so do keep an eye on our new website www.leedslieder.org.uk for full details of future events. Highlights include:
FAMILY LIEDER CONCERT – HEROES AND VILLAINS!
LEEDS LIEDER TROUBADOURS
Sunday 6 October 2013 3.00pm
If you are a member of the Friends of Leeds Lieder and an amateur singer or pianist, why not join the Troubadours? Informal Sunday afternoon performances take place several times a year at the north Leeds home of Liz Arnold, Vice Chairman of Leeds Lieder. All abilities are very welcome. If you would like to know more, please contact the Festival Office on 0113 234 6956.
The Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall, University of Leeds Aimee Toshney soprano Philip Wilcox baritone Ewan Gilford piano Join young artists Philip, Aimee and Ewan as they open the doors to the wonderful world of art song. This concert for all ages will introduce some of the stories, places Philip Wilcox and colourful characters that have inspired composers through the centuries, with an energetic and interactive presentation style that will ensure that no audience member is left behind! Songs to include Schubert’s terrifying Elf-King and Jonathan Dove’s electrifying Full Fathom Five, plus a lighter turn which will include Copland’s The Dodger, Britten’s Oliver Cromwell and perhaps even a brand new song to be composed on the spot - please bring your voice, your imagination and your sense of adventure! Tickets: Adults £5.00; Under 16s and Full-time Students FREE
LOVE YOUR LIEDER Watch out for details of our Autumn/Winter series of talks and lecture recitals on song-related topics. Sessions this year have included lecture recitals on composers from Schumann to Sondheim and an evening with music writer and critic David Denton, and we have planned an equally varied programme for the next series.
Family Lieder Concert 2009 Festival
www.leeds.ac.uk/music/concerts
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GENERAL INFORMATION VISITING THE LEEDS LIEDER FESTIVAL To find The Venue at Leeds College of Music, follow the Leeds City Centre LOOP road which goes clockwise around the centre. Take the brown signs for the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Leeds College of Music is nearby, next door to the BBC building.
PARKING For all events at Leeds College of Music, we suggest you use Quarry Hill Pay and Display or Boar Lane NCP. At Quarry Hill, Friday and Saturday charges apply before 5.30pm; Disabled: Free. After 5.30pm Free. Sunday: Free all day. Please allow plenty of time to park.
RESTAURANTS The Leeds College of Music's café bar, will be open during the Festival weekend for meals and preconcert and interval drinks. All food is prepared to order, so we strongly advise ordering in advance. Please pre-order interval drinks in either the café bar or The Venue Bar. There are several places to eat in the immediate vicinity or within a short walk. Visit www.sugarvine.com for extensive information about eating out in Leeds and the surrounding area.
ACCOMMODATION For information about hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions look at Visit Leeds www.visitleeds.co.uk T: 0113 242 5242 Email: tourinfo@leeds.gov.uk
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FINDING OTHER VENUES CLOTHWORKERS’ CENTENARY CONCERT HALL Leeds University, LS2 9JT: (30 minute walk from Leeds College of Music) Parking available close by. Drive out of Leeds on A660 (Woodhouse Lane), turn left immediately before the main University building (large, white building) and follow road round left into parking areas. Saturday & Sunday: Free
THE HOWARD ASSEMBLY ROOM AT OPERA NORTH Grand Theatre, 46 New Briggate, Leeds LS1 6NU: 10 minute walk from The Venue or use the St Johns Centre multistorey car park on Merrion Street (access via The Loop). Charges apply. There are Pay and Display open air car parks on Edward Street and Templar Street behind Vicar Lane, but both are extremely busy on Saturdays.
LEEDS LIEDER GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF: PRINCIPAL PARTNER
TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Baily Thomas Charitable Fund The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The Emerald Foundation
OTHER PARTNERS
Ernest Cook Trust
Artforms Music Service
The Fidelio Charitable Trust
Daisy Chain Leeds
The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
The Grammar School at Leeds The Kathleen Ferrier Awards Leeds Civic Trust Leeds Music Education Partnership Northern Orchestral Enterprises Ltd Opera North Pyramid of Arts The University of Leeds
The Jean Meikle Music Trust The Leche Trust The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society The Linden Charitable Trust The Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust The Olav Arnold Charitable Trust The Radcliffe Trust The RTR Foundation The RVW Trust
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Elizabeth Arnold Olav Arnold Martin Staniforth The Patrons and Friends of Leeds Lieder
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LEEDS LIEDER FESTIVAL 2013 POSTAL BOOKING FORM
Date Friday 11 October Saturday 12 October
11.00am
10.15am
8.15pm
7.15pm
In Conversation: Ann Murray
Martha Guth & Graham Johnson
Composers & Poets Forum
Pre-concert Talk
Eine Nacht in Venedig
Pre-concert Talk
£12.50
£11.00
£15.00
£4.00
£10.50
£9.00
£13.00
£5.00
FREE
£5.00
£5.00
£5.00
Under 26s/ Full-time Students
11.00am Anna Huntley & James Baillieu
£6.00
£22.00
£5.00
Unwaged/ Disabled
2.30pm Composers & Poets Showcase
£24.00
FREE
Full Price
4.15pm Pre-concert Talk
£12.00
FREE
C
6.00pm
Christiane Karg & Graham Johnson
£14.00
£4.00
B
7.15pm Masterclass: Ann Murray
£6.00
FREE – reserve your place
8.15pm Historic Leeds Walk
£5.00
A
10.00am
Click Singing Workshop
£8.00
Welcome Party!
10.30am
Click Singing Concert
Event
1.00pm
Pre-concert talk
6.00pm
2.00pm
Made in Yorkshire
Time
2.15pm
Fringe Concert
£10.50
£23.00
£5.00
£5.00
A
C
Free
No of Tickets
B
Total
Sub Total
If you’d like tickets mailed to you in advance – please add 50p
If you book for 7 or more different paid events, deduct 10% from your overall total
£25.00
FREE – reserve your place
FREE – reserve your place
£12.50
FREE – reserve your place
FREE – reserve your place
FREE – reserve your place
FREE – reserve your place
FREE – reserve your place
£5.00
3.00pm
£20.50
4.15pm
Benedict Nelson & Graham Johnson
Pre-concert talk
FREE – reserve your place
5.15pm
£22.50
6.00pm
Postcode
TOTAL TO PAY
TOTAL £
Please send your completed form, together with a cheque payable to ‘Leeds College of Music’ to: Box Office, Leeds College of Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD
Telephone
Address
Name
Sunday 13 October
HOW TO BOOK The Leeds College of Music Box Office is the Festival Box Office. Tickets for the 2013 Leeds Lieder Festival can be booked on-line at www.leedslieder.org.uk, by phone on 0113 222 3434 or by sending the booking form in this brochure to: Leeds College of Music, Box Office, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD. Please note that an online booking fee of £1.00 per ticket applies. You can also book in person Monday to Friday between 10.00am till 5.00pm and until 8.00pm on the day of a concert. At weekends the Box Office is open one hour before the beginning of a concert.
FESTIVAL SAVER Book for 7 or more different paid events and receive a 10% discount. To book a saver ticket, ring 0113 222 3434 or complete the booking form in this brochure.
Jane Anthony (left), Festival Director with Elly Ameling (right), Leeds Lieder Honorary Patron
JOIN OUR FRIENDS! The Friends of Leeds Lieder are the heart of the Festival. Without their financial support – membership subscriptions, donations and Gift Aid – we simply would not be able to fill the city with song. Their ambassadorship is equally valuable, helping to spread the word about Leeds Lieder and spurring us on to even greater things. Join today and access a range of benefits including priority booking, invitations to special events and advanced information. Please go to www.leedlieder.org.uk/friends for full details and a downloadable application form. You can also ring the Festival Office on 0113 234 6956 or email info@leedslieder.org.uk to request a form, or pick one up in The Venue foyer during the Festival.
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LEEDS LIEDER FESTIVAL DIARY 2013 Friday 11 October
Saturday 12 October
Sunday 13 October
Leeds Lieder Festival Office Leeds College of Music 3 Quarry Hill Leeds LS2 7PD
Welcome Party!
6.00pm
Pre-concert Talk
7.15pm
Opening Concert
8.15pm
Pre-concert talk
10.15am
Composers & Poets Forum
11.00am
Martha Guth and Graham Johnson
11.00am
In Conversation with Ann Murray DBE
2.30pm
Anna Huntley and James Baillieu
4.15pm
Composers & Poets Showcase
6.00pm
Pre-concert talk
7.15pm
Christiane Karg and Graham Johnson
8.15pm
Sponsors and Patrons Reception
10.30pm
Masterclass: Ann Murray DBE
10.00am
Historic Leeds Walk
10.30am
South African Click Singing Workshop
1.00pm
Njabulo Madlala and William Vann
2.00pm
Pre-concert Talk
2.15pm
Made in Yorkshire
3.00pm
Fringe Concert
4.15pm
Pre-concert Talk
5.15pm
Benedict Nelson and Graham Johnson
6.00pm
Friends Reception
8.00pm
Tel: 0113 234 6956 Email: info@leedslieder.org.uk Web: www.leedslieder.org.uk
Registered charity number 1105803 Please note: The information in this brochure is published in good faith and is correct at the time of printing, but changes may occasionally be necessary in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Leeds Lieder reserves the right to change the performers or performance.