February – July 2018
Feel Moved Music | Events | Café Bar | Exhibitions Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk 0845 40 24 001
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Welcome to St George’s Bristol. Yesterday, St George’s was a building that belonged to the past, standing on this site for nearly 200 years and, some might say, showing its age. Today it is poised to step forward into a new future, ready to celebrate its status as an original and creative space for music and ideas later this spring.
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longside the old building, close enough to touch but not disturb, a contemporary extension has risen. Its high glazed façade allows you to glimpse inside and to sense the energy and power of the activities planned. A new doorway invites you into a spacious café/bar where you’ll receive a warm welcome during the daytime as well as evening. It connects to exhibition spaces displaying the history of St George’s and music through the ages and screening highlights of past concert seasons. It’s all free to enter and you’ll be surprised by just how much there is to uncover.
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Welcome
Stairwells lead to a first floor where you will wander at leisure before concerts, looking down on Luke Jerram’s radiant ‘Apollo’ sculpture and crossing a glass bridge directly into the main auditorium. Alongside are two rooms that will soon be filled every day with performances, talks, workshops and activities that we’re currently dreaming up – so be sure to keep checking our website as new events appear! The one thing that hasn’t changed is the outstanding programme and the fact that St George’s remains one of the most beautiful and acoustically perfect halls anywhere. Wherever you sit in the hall you can feel the rush of being only a few steps away from the world’s greatest musicians. Whether it’s
Key dates 24 February Manu Delago, Ewan McLennan & Yola Carter
classical, jazz, blues, folk or world music, the thrill is the same: musicians at the top of their game, bearing their souls and touching your own with performances that both scorch and soothe. The difference is that now you can pull up a chair in our new rooms and rub shoulders with these same artists (and not just musicians but writers, scientists, philosophers and many others) as they share the stories behind their lives and music-making or the artistic ventures still in the pipeline. Join in the conversations, drop by for a pop-up event or just enjoy spending time in this pavilion of culture. From the start, this has been a very special project and, on behalf of St George’s Trustees and staff, I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us, either through donations, help in kind or one of the many messages of goodwill. Everything is so nearly ready and we’ll be here to welcome you and to help you explore. Suzanne Rolt Ch ie f Exe cut i ve
2 March Gala Concert 3 April Sir David Attenborough April New extension opens* * Please check website for details 3
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Lunchtime Concerts Mark Ashford
We exchange drills for trills as we see the return of our popular Lunchtime Concert series, which had to be put on hold during a period of noisy daytime construction. We promise the only hammers you’ll hear from now on will be those found under the lid of the piano…
Ishay Shaer
Thu 15 March | Mark Ashford Guitar Accomplished guitarist Mark Ashford launches our new lunchtime series with a scintillating programme of classical works by Granados, Albéniz, Scarlatti and guitarist/composer Roland Dyens. Thu 22 March | London Bridge Trio One of this country’s leading chamber ensembles, the London Bridge Trio presents the D minor piano trios of Fanny Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.
Thu 19 April | Ishay Shaer Piano Steadily gaining an enviable international reputation, Israeli pianist Ishay Shaer brings us a very special lunchtime of Beethoven, Liszt and Chopin.
Ivan Ilic
Thu 26 April | Ivan Ilić Piano A regular favourite in the St George’s lunchtime series, Ivan Ilic has crafted an inspired programme of Haydn, Beethoven and Antoine Reicha, including one of Beethoven’s most celebrated compositions, his ‘Pathetique’ Sonata.
All Concerts | 1pm Tickets £8, Free 8 – 25s 4
Lunchtime Concerts and Talks Jelena Makarova
Les Kapsbergirls
Jan Rautio
Liv-Marie Kodurand
Thu 3 May | Julian Perkins Harpsichord Described by the Sunday Times as ‘exuberantly stylish’, Julian Perkins plays a selection of the finest Baroque music by Handel, D Scarlatti, J S Bach, Frescobaldi, Froberger and Rameau. Thu 10 May | Joseph Tong Piano Award-winning British pianist Joseph Tong brings us two works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and Robert Schumann’s passionate and profound Fantasie. Thu 17 May | Les Kapsbergirls With one or two voices and accompanied by lute or gamba, Les Kapsbergirls bring to life works drawn from three centuries including music by Moulinié, Le Camus, Saggione and Pinel. Thu 24 May | Jelena Makarova Piano Russian-born Lithuanian pianist Jelena Makarova presents a delightful programme of classic works for piano, including Debussy’s mystical depiction of the ‘Legend of Ys’ – the submerged cathedral. Thu 31 May | Liv-Marie Kodurand Violin & Jan Rautio Piano This captivating duo returns with a programme of French romantic masterpieces by Cesar Franck and Camille Saint-Saens.
Talks As the season unfolds we'll be programming more talks, discussions and interviews, and inviting artists to open up about the creative process. Keep an eye on the website for further announcements. Sun 25 Mar | 4.30pm From Pergolesi to Pärt – The Evolution of Choral Music for Holy Week with Jonathan James £8, £5 for concert ticket holders Thu 19 Apr | 11am From Quills to Hammers – The Evolution of the Piano’s Sound with Jonathan James £8, £5 for concert ticket holders
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Saturday 24 February | 7pm Tickets: £16, £14, £5 Students*
Saturday 24 February | 9pm Tickets: £15, £13, £5 Students*
Manu Delago with Chamber Orchestra
Yola Carter and Ewan Mclennan
We kick-start our season launch triple bill with a brand new project by the composer, recording star, percussionist and virtuoso of the hang-drum, Manu Delago. Accompanied by his own ensemble of string players, Manu presents bold new arrangements of material from throughout his recording career, including last year’s acclaimed ‘Metromonk’. Expect a knock-out combination of sensitive electronic, classical and world music flavours with dressed-to-impress staging and sumptuous sound.
To continue the season opener we present two great Bristol-related artists with rising national and international reputations. The show resumes with the singer, songwriter and guitarist Ewan McLennan, a Bristol resident with Scottish folk roots whose latest project was a radical collaboration with the writer and activist George Monbiot, the Spell of Loneliness. Yola Carter, who closes the show with her band, is a fabulous singer, songwriter and producer with a host of local connections whose country, soul and gospelflavoured music has already established a formidable reputation in the USA, where she wowed Nashville’s AmericanaFest.
Running time 75 minutes / no interval
‘Amazing’
BJÖRK
Double bill ticket See both gigs | £25, £21 manudelago.com @manudelagomusic 6
yolacarter.com | @iamyolacarter ewanmclennan.co.uk | @ewanmclennan
February | March
Wednesday 28 February & Thursday 1 March | 7pm Tickets: £10, £5 Students/U18s
The Hall on the Hill Community Opera Mark Lawrence Composer Claire Williamson Writer Celebrating the life and times of St George’s – ‘history’s witness, standing strong in the winds of change’, The Hall on the Hill is a brand new community opera, commissioned by the venue and created by composer Mark Lawrence and writer Claire Williamson with the invaluable help of some of Bristol’s amazing school children!
This whistle-stop journey through the past 200 years takes in how the church came to be built, major local happenings in Queen Square (1831 Riots) and on Brandon Hill (1832 Reform Bill Celebration Dinner – which didn’t go quite to plan!), the building’s war-time use and the bomb that very nearly sealed a different fate, right up to St George’s rebirth as a home for music. The cast of 200 includes young singers from Begbrook and St George Primary Schools, St George’s own South Bristol Cosmos Children’s Community Choir, Music Box Children’s Opera Group, and a Community Choir including members of Bristol Man Chorus, Big Friendly Choir, St Mary Redcliffe & Temple School Choir and St George’s team of volunteers. Add to this a chamber group of professional and student players, experienced vocal soloists Esther Mallett and Martin Le Poidevin, all under the expert direction of Mark Lawrence (music), Rhian Hutchings (drama) and Sam Pine (designer), and it promises to be an exhilarating homage to our story so far! Running time 50 minutes without interval
manudelago.com @manudelagomusic 7
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 Alexander Sitkovetsky
Friday 2 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £45, £30, £25, £15
Jess Gillam
Ksenija Sidorova
St George’s Gala Concert An Evening of Brilliance Featuring: Miloš Karadaglić Guitar Jess Gillam Saxophone Alexander Sitkovetsky Violin Ksenija Sidorova Accordion Martin James Bartlett Piano Join us for a musical extravaganza to mark the final stages of St George’s ‘Building a Sound Future’ project, in this, the first classical event of the launch season. We are assembling on stage some of the brightest stars of the new generation of classical music artists for this special event. Expect virtuosic solos, duos and trios and some rip-roaring ensemble pieces as we venture through time and across continents in the company of Miloš Karadaglić, guitar; Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Ksenija Sidorova, accordion; Martin James Bartlett, piano; Jess Gillam, saxophone, and special guests.
‘Classical music's guitar hero’ B B C M USI C M AGA ZI N E Miloš Karadaglić
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March
Saturday 3 March | 7.45pm Tickets: £18, £15, £5 Students/JSA/Disabled, Free U18
Sunday 4 March | 8pm Tickets: £17, £15, £5 Students*
Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra
Spiro, Leveret + Three Cane Whale
Maxime Tortelier Conductor Veronika Ilinskaya Piano
The folk tradition meets minimalism and allpoints beyond as local legends Spiro (who close the show) are joined by their current tour partners Leveret plus old friends and relations Three Cane Whale (who open proceedings) in a three-way mash-up of instrumental music from the past to the future.
Wagner Siegfried Idyll Mozart Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor K491 Beethoven Symphony No 8 At the heart of this concert is a drama of contrasts, fully embodied in the darkly tragic, yet blissfully lyrical richness of Mozart’s C minor Piano Concerto, brought to life tonight by the astounding Russian pianist Veronika Ilinskaya. Whilst the tender romanticism of the Siegfried Idyll shows an unusually personal, intimate Wagner at work, the extroversion of Beethoven’s pocket-sized Eighth Symphony packs a punch, not least in the finale, where, by sleight of hand, the master symphonist conjures something colossal within a miniature footprint. BHCO, as ever, combining individual brilliance with impeccable ensemble, is delighted to welcome back charismatic maestro, Maxime Tortelier.
bhco.co.uk @BHCOrchestra
‘Spellbinding’ BBC RADIO 3
‘Classy players’ MOJO
spiromusic.com | @spiromusic leveretband.com | @LeveretBand threecanewhale.com | @3canewhale 9
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 TALK
Monday 5 March | 7pm Tickets: £5
Tuesday 6 March | 7pm Tickets: £5, Free students/U18s
Suffrage at St George’s with Lucienne Boyce
Young Artist Showcase / Tom Eveson Gala Concert
St George’s concert hall is in the middle of an area that saw an astonishing amount of activity during the campaign for votes for women. Bristol’s non-militant campaigners had their headquarters on Park Street, and the suffragettes were at the top of the hill on Queen’s Road. Join Lucienne Boyce (author The Bristol Suffragettes) for tales of colourful marches, demonstrations against royalty, riots and stone-throwing – all on St George’s doorstep!
A celebratory evening of young musical talent, featuring performers from Bristol Cathedral Choir School and winners of the 'Churchill Young Musician of the Year 2018' competition, from Churchill Academy and Sixth Form.
Photo: Emmeline Pethick Lawrence, notable suffragist, born at 20 Charlotte Street
lucienneboyce.com @LucienneWrite 10
The evening also includes performances by flautist Ruth Harrison – a recipient of the 2017 Tom Eveson Bursary – and a South Glos Flute Consort, celebrating the career of Christine Wright, winner of the St George's Prize for Music 2017.
March
Thursday 8 March | 8pm Tickets: £15, £5 Students*
Women In Jazz Issie Barratt’s INTERCHANGE
For International Women’s Day and as a curtain raiser to Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival, St George’s presents a special two-part show by a fabulous new dectet of female performers led by the inspirational saxophonist, composer and educator Issie Barratt. The band, all of whom compose, features Brigitte Beraha on vocals, Yazz Ahmed on trumpet and electronics, Helena Kay, Tori Freestone and Issie Barratt on reeds; Carol Jarvis, trombone, Shirley Smart, cello, Karen Street, accordion, Katie Patterson, percussion and Charlie Pyne, bass. In the afternoon session the performers talk about their entry into music as well as rehearsing a number of pieces, while the evening concert includes the full band repertoire.
And don't miss...
Open Rehearsal – 1.30pm | £5
Wednesday 7 March | 7pm QEH Spring Concert Tickets: £6 (£4) See website for details
Free for concert ticket holders issiebarratt.co.uk @IssieBarratt 11
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Friday 9 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £30, £28, £24, £15, £5 Students*
Saturday 10 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £15 (£14), £12 (£11), £8 (£6), £5 U16s
Mark Padmore tenor & Julius Drake piano
Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra
Brahms Heine Lieder Mahler Ruckert Lieder Schumann Kerner Lieder
Karin Hendrickson Conductor Samara Ginsberg Cello
The Romantic poems of Heine, Ruckert and Kerner, with their heart-felt expressions of loss and longing, solitude, mystery, love and rapture, were the inspirational settings for profoundly beautiful Lieder from the quills of these master-composers. The internationally acclaimed duo partnership of Mark Padmore and Julius Drake breathe new life into this exceptional collection of Lieder. This concert is being recorded by BBC Radio 3
markpadmore.com juliusdrake.com | @juliusdrake 12
Shostakovich Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat David Ridley Ataraxia (World Premiere) Rimsky-Korsakov Symphony No 1 in E minor Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra is delighted to be playing under the baton of its new conductor, Karin Hendrickson. The orchestra welcomes soloist Samara Ginsberg in this technically challenging cello concerto, written by Shostakovich for Mstislav Rostropovich. The orchestra has commissioned Ataraxia from David Ridley, which receives its first performance at this concert. 'Ataraxia' is a term used by the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus to mean ‘an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul’. The concert ends with Rimsky Korsakov’s 1st Symphony. With themes from Russian folk culture, a contemporary critic described it as ‘the first Russian symphony’.
bristolmetropolitanorchestra.com @BMetOrchestra
March
Sunday 11 March | 3pm Tickets: £7.50 (£5)
Sunday 11 March | 8pm Tickets: £20, £18, £5 Students*
Bristol Suzuki Group 30th Anniversary Concert
Tom Arthurs Trio
The Bristol Suzuki group celebrates 30 years of teaching and sharing music with an extraordinary children’s concert featuring 150 students. All ages and levels perform a wide variety of repertoire, ending with the traditional mass rendition of the variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Bristol has become a major centre for Suzuki teaching with over 200 children now learning violin, flute, cello and piano. Otherwise known as the ‘mother tongue’ method, the basic principle is that all children can learn to play a musical instrument as easily and fluently as they learn to speak; starting at an early age, practising daily and learning in a loving and musical environment.
The Berlin-based English trumpeter and composer Tom Arthurs, described by Jazzwise as ‘a world class improviser’, is regarded as the natural heir to the lyrical jazz legacy of the great Kenny Wheeler, creating music of exquisite beauty, space and spirit. This very rare UK date presents the music from ‘One Year’, the brand new recording project from Tom’s international all-star trio featuring pianist Marc Schmolling and percussionist Markku Ounaskari, famed for his ECM recordings with Tomasz Stanko. The concert will be completely acoustic, without amplification. ‘Simple but perfect... a harmon-muted tone as vulnerable as Miles Davis at his fragile best’ ALL ABOUT JAZZ
bristolsuzukigroup.org.uk
tomarthurs.co.uk @tomarthursmusic 13
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Monday 12 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £10 (£6), £3 BUMS Members
Tuesday 13 March | 7pm Tickets: £12
Bristol University Music Society Chamber Choir & Orchestra
Going Beyond Pioneering Spirits
Ailsa Campbell & James Russel Conductors
The Going Beyond series of talks returns with two pioneering, record breaking, female adventurers.
Brahms Gesang der Parzen Mozart Symphony No 25 in G minor Haydn Nelson Mass in D minor Join Bristol University Music Society’s Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra for their pre-tour concert. The concert features Brahms’ Gesang der Parzen, Mozart’s 25 th Symphony in G minor (K.183) and Haydn’s eleventh mass – the Missa in Angustiis (Mass for troubled times), more commonly known as the Nelson Mass in D minor.
Amongst their achievements, Polar explorer Ann Daniels was the first woman to reach the North and South Poles as part of all women teams, whilst endurance swimmer Beth French was the first person to swim 26 miles from Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly, part of her Oceans 7 Challenge. For both adventurers these accomplishments have not been without personal challenge. Their resolve to go beyond preconceived boundaries and to challenge their limitations will inspire all. Supporting the Youth Adventure Trust.
bumsonline.org.uk @BUMusicSoc 14
youthadventuretrust.org.uk @youth_adventure
March
Wednesday 14 March | 7pm (Doors) Tickets: £22.50
Thursday 15 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £20, £18, £5 Students*
Turin Brakes Invisible Storm
Tommy Smith Quartet Embodying The Light
Turin Brakes don't hang about. The estimable London four-piece released their eighth studio album in January, and follow it with a major UK tour. After seven studio albums and a million records sold worldwide, Turin Brakes might've been excused a bit of downtime, however, 2016 saw them return to national radio playlists with all three singles from their previous album. Invisible Storm takes runs from the acoustic centre of the band's sound in tracks like 'Deep Sea Diver' and 'Don't Know Much', through to the indie-pop groove of 'Wait' and 'Life Forms' and far beyond into widescreen space with 'Would You be Mine and 'Other Side of the Sun’.
Star saxophonist Smith pays tribute to his hero John Coltrane with a new band playing both Coltrane compositions (‘Naima’, ‘Dear Lord’, ‘Resolution’) and original pieces written with Coltrane in mind. Peter Johnstone (a Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year-winner) plays piano; Calum Gourlay plays double bass, with Sebastian de Krom (famed for his work with Jamie Cullum), drums. The concert is performed acoustically.
Double bill ticket See this and Gary Crosby (9.30pm, over the page) | £35, £31
And don't miss... Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 15 March | 1pm Mark Ashford Guitar See p4 for details turinbrakes.com @turinbrakes
tommy-smith.co.uk
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Thursday 15 March | 9.30pm Tickets: £20, £18, £5 Students*
Gary Crosby Kind of Blue
Jazz Jamaica bassist Gary Crosby and his new sextet perform the most popular jazz album ever, Kind of Blue: Mark Kavuma, trumpet; Aleksandra Topczewska, alto sax; Denys Baptiste, tenor sax; Alex Ho, piano; Rod Youngs, drums. Wow! This concert will be performed acoustically.
Double bill ticket garycrosbybass.com
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See this and Tommy Smith Quartet (7.30pm, p15) | £35, £31 | £35, £31
March
FILMIC 2018
Friday 16 March | 8pm Tickets: £22, £20, £15, £5 Students*
Hidden Orchestra with Limbic Cinema Immersive sound and vision in a special St George’s show from the inspired pairing of Hidden – think dark and mysterious, ambiently-inclined and electronically-assisted soundscapes from composer Joe Acheson’s ‘imaginary orchestra’ – with Bristol collective Limbic, creators of beautiful and mindwarping visuals for a myriad of events and occasions. The show also launches this year’s Filmic, our annual film + music partnership with Watershed and Colston Hall.
hiddenorchestra.com / @HiddenOrchestra limbiccinema.com / @LimbicCinema 17
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Special Offer All tickets half price for Students/U18s
Saturday 17 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £15 (£13), £12 (£10), £8 (£6), £1 U18s
Sunday 18 March | 7.30pm Tickets £24, £20, £15,
Bristol Concert Orchestra / Ashley Wass
Exultate Singers MacMillan and Handel
Stefan Hofkes Conductor Ashley Wass Piano
David Ogden Conductor Exultate Chamber Orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov The Tsar’s Bride Overture Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1 Stravinsky Petrushka (1947)
James MacMillan Seven Last Words From The Cross Handel Dixit Dominus
They say all the good things come in threes, and tonight BCO has a veritable Russian doll of music by three of that country’s finest composers – Rimsky-Korsakov’s Overture to The Tsar’s Bride (the opera which tells a dark tale of love, jealousy and betrayal) might be the smallest of that bunch, but two true giants vie for the position of top doll: Stravinksy’s Petrushka (his vivacious depiction of the love triangle between three puppets magically brought to life), and Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto which immediately sets out its dramatic and intensely romantic intentions from the very opening thunderous chords.
Exultate Singers is joined by the Exultate Chamber Orchestra to perform two powerful and virtuosic works for choir and string orchestra. Widely admired as a masterpiece, James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words From The Cross follows Christ’s final utterances at the crucifixion, meditating on each to form a dramatic and emotional sequence. The vocal writing is at times dramatic and intense, at others plaintive and tender. One of the most exhilarating of all his choral works, Handel’s Dixit Dominus was written when the composer was just 22 years old.
bristolconcertorchestra.org.uk @bris_conc_orch
exultatesingers.org @ExultateSingers
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March
Monday 19 March | 8pm Tickets: £25, £23, £5 Students*
Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham
‘Transatlantic Sessions’ stars of TV and the international concert stage Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham present a bare bones, intimate duo performance. Separately, they’ve won just about every award going. Together, they are the most celebrated fiddle and accordion duo in all of folk music, whose mastery of the tradition is matched by an adventurous musical spirit reflected in work with James Taylor, Mark Knopfler and Roseanne Cash, among many others. The chance to see them as up-close and personal as this should not be missed.
And don't miss... philandaly.com @PhilandAly
Tuesday 20 March | 7pm Clifton High School in Concert Tickets: £8, £5 U18s See website for details 19
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 TOWARDS EASTER
Wednesday 21 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £40, £35, £30, £25, £15, £5 Students*
Thursday 22 March | 8pm Tickets £24, £22, £5 Students*
Florilegium Pergolesi ‘Stabat Mater’
The Handsome Family
Elin Manahan Thomas Soprano Robin Blaze Counter-tenor
What do you say? Strange yet beautiful poetic lyrics and country-meets-weird music from the inimitable husband and wife pairing of Brett and Rennie Sparks, plus drummer. Operating out of western Albuquerque via origins in art-world Chicago, the Handsomes are a total one-off: a genre of them and no one else.
Programme to include Pergolesi Stabat Mater Vivaldi Laudate Pueri Vivaldi Concerto ‘Il gran Mogol’ RV 431a Vivaldi Salve Regina Vivaldi Concerto Madrigalesco RV 129 The Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi only lived a short life – he died when he was 26 – but his Stabat Mater for two solo voices and strings has become one of the most beloved pieces of the baroque era – and a must-hear work in the period leading up to Easter. One of the world’s leading baroque ensembles, Florilegium, recorded the work to great acclaim in 2009 with the same celebrated singers in this performance, Elin Manahan Thomas and Robin Blaze. In this programme specially assembled for St George’s, they also sing solo works by Vivaldi alongside Florilegium’s performance of two contrasting concertos by Venice’s ‘Red Priest’. florilegium.org.uk @FlorilegiumUK 20
Tonight's gig is a pre-launch event for the River Town – Bristol Americana Weekend, presented in partnership with Colston Hall. The full July festival bill will be available on the night.
And don't miss... Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 22 March | 1pm London Bridge Trio See p4 for details handsomefamily.com @handsomefamily
March
Friday 23 March | 8pm Tickets: £20, £18, £5 Students*
Saturday 24 March | 7.30pm Tickets £17 (£15), £14 (£12), £12 (£10), £10 (£8)
Police Dog Hogan
Bristol Symphony Orchestra Brief Encounter
All-round festival favourites who offer both excellently crafted music and a guaranteed whooping good-time, Americana specialists Police Dog Hogan continue to get bigger (they’re now an eight-piece) and better through a devastating mix of pithy lyrics, country-rock with banjo-assisted licks, Guardian celebrity endorsements and must-buy tea-towel merchandise. Last year they played Glastonbury. See them again at St George’s before it’s too late.
William Goodchild Conductor Victoria Medland Guest Leader Nicholas Oliver Piano Rebecca Evans Soprano Charlie Lovell-Jones Violin Keith Tempest Cello
‘Wonderful!’ BBC RADIO 2
policedoghogan.com @policedoghogan
Wagner Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2 Lovell-Jones First Love Strauss Death and Transfiguration Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile Four outstanding soloists join Bristol Symphony for Brief Encounter, an evening of music exploring themes of love, life, death and transfiguration. Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto, featured in David Lean’s 1945 film Brief Encounter, is one of the composer’s most enduringly popular pieces. Tonight’s performance of Cariad Cyntaf (First Love) is a Bristol premiere. This concert is dedicated to the memory of cellist Sara Lovell: colleague, dear friend and orchestra family member.
bristolsymphonyorchestra.com @bristolsymphony 21
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 TOWARDS EASTER
Sunday 25 March | 10.15am & 12pm Tickets: £6, Family Ticket available
Sunday 25 March | 6.30pm Tickets: £40, £35, £30, £25, £15, £5 Students*
Minibeats Wonderful Woodwinds!
Aurora Orchestra & Tenebrae Arvo Pärt ‘St John Passion’
As the clocks go forward and summer time officially begins, join presenter Laura Tanner and marvellous musicians from the Bristol Ensemble for a whistle-stop tour of the woodwind section. Experience the beautiful bassoon, fluttering flute, piercing piccolo, ‘catlike’ clarinet and outstanding oboe, learn a little bit about how the instruments work, and best of all have a go at playing them for yourself! Not to be missed!
Members of Aurora Orchestra Nigel Short Conductor
10.15am For children aged 3 – 5 12pm For children aged 5 – 8 Ages are guidelines only. Running time 45 minutes without interval
Talk at 4.30pm From Pergolesi to Pärt – The Evolution of Choral Music for Holy Week. With Jonathan James. £8, £5 for concert ticket holders 22
Allegri Miserere Mei Lobo Versa est in luctum Victoria Tenebrae Responsories Pärt St John Passion Following their recent sell-out performance of Faure’s Requiem at St George’s, the stunningly high calibre musicians of Tenebrae and members of Aurora are reunited here for a performance of Arvo Pärt’s extraordinary setting of the St John Passion. Known widely as ‘Passio’ since its debut recording on ECM New Series in the 1980s, the Estonian master’s Passiontide work, setting chapters 18 and 19 from St John’s gospel, has an austere, solemn, monolithic beauty which has entranced many listeners since. The passion and precision of Tenebrae’s elite singers continue to shine in other beautifully solemn music from renaissance Spain, by Victoria and Lobo, and in Gregorio Allegri’s celebrated, soaring setting of Psalm 51. auroraorchestra.com / @AuroraOrchestra tenebrae-choir.com / @TenebraeChoir
March
Monday 26 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £20, £18, £15, £12, £5 Students*
Debashish Bhattacharya One of the world’s greatest slide guitarists, Debashish Bhattacharya brings universal appeal to his inventive fusion of classical Indian ragas and bluesy Western music. Embracing Hawaiian slide guitar from his childhood in the 1960s, Debashish has pioneered a unique style of Hindustani slide guitar and gained global recognition, mesmerising audiences and artists for over four decades.
Twice Grammy nominated, a Songlines and BBC award winner, Debashish has collaborated with many world-renowned musicians, including Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Jerry Douglas and Derek Trucks. Debashish has also invented his own hollow neck slide-guitars (the 24-string chaturangui, the 14 string gandharvi and the anandi, a four-string lap steel ukulele), which are unique to his compositions. Combining extreme virtuosity with graceful artistry, Debashish has won the heart of millions around the world. Come and immerse yourself in Indian music and food – with Indian tea, snacks and sweets also available. Presented in association with
‘Sinuous artistry… imbued with the spiritual and the sensual’ DA I LY TELEGR A PH
debashishbhattacharya.com
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
TOWARDS EASTER
Tuesday 27 March | 7pm Tickets: £30, £25, £20, £15, £5 Students*
Friday 30 March | 7.30pm Tickets: £28.50, £25.50
Voces8 & Rachel Podger Guardian Angels
Beth Nielsen Chapman
Programme includes: Gibbons Drop, drop, slow tears Biber Passacaglia in G minor Fauré Pie Jesu (arr. Barnaby Smith) Rachmaninov Bogoroditse Devo Tallis O nata lux James MacMillan Domine non secundum J S Bach Partita in A minor Monteverdi Adoramus te, Christe
Beth Nielsen Chapman’s new Americana release, Hearts Of Glass is a powerful collection of songs that dig deep into the place within us where vulnerability meets strength. Produced by Sam Ashworth, Hearts Of Glass is sparse and beautifully recorded. The songs, mostly written by Beth alone, include several new compositions, from the haunting ‘Epitaph For Love’ to the instant classic ‘You’re Still My Valentine’, to the infectious ‘Enough For Me’ written with Sam. The opening track, ‘Come To Mine’, the only other co-written song, was composed with the legendary Graham Gouldman and Kevin Montgomery at Chris Difford’s Songwriting retreat in Somerset, England. “My intention was to do an album of songs 100% written by me, and bring together those kinds of songs have that certain focus and vibe, but ‘Come To Mine’ just jumped out and insisted on leading the pack! It’s timely what with all that’s swirling around in the world right now.” The same is true for the closing track ‘Dancer To The Drum’ which provides the perfect bookend.
In this special collaboration for Holy Week, Rachel Podger – ‘Queen of the Baroque violin’ (Sunday Times) – joins with the impeccably slick a cappella octet Voces8 for their wide-ranging programme, Guardian Angels. Podger’s serene and beguiling virtuosity, in music by Biber and Bach, is the angelic guiding voice amidst choral masterpieces sung by Voces8. With a new commission for both artists by Owain Park, and Into thy Hands by Jonathan Dove, this meditative programme is designed to explore the space and acoustics of St George’s. ‘The slickest of the lot… fans of a cappella ought to hear this’ R ECO R D R E V I E W, B B C R A D I O voces8.com / @VOCES8 rachelpodger.com / @RachPodger 24
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bethnielsenchapman.com @bncmusic
April
Tuesday 3 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £45, £35, £25, £20 Restricted View £20 Students*
Sir David Attenborough In Conversation From the life of prehistoric sea dragons to the perils of plastic – the much-loved television icon is joined by friend and colleague Mike Gunton for a wide-ranging discussion of some of his most recent TV adventures. This is event is a fundraiser in support of St George’s Bristol
On general sale 5 March From Midday Join as a Friend to take advantage of advanced booking 25
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Thursday 5 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £25, £22
Sunday 8 April | 4pm Tickets: £25 (£23), £21 (£19)
London African Gospel Choir presents Graceland
‘Puttin’ On The Ritz’ with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra
Celebrating 30 years since its release, the London African Gospel Choir perform their own powerful twist on Paul Simon’s Grammywinning Graceland album, from start to finish. It's an uplifting and amazing show which sells out at every venue and receives rave reviews from the audiences. The richness and harmony of the Choir’s rhythmic, evocative and empowering voices have created an overwhelming experience.
Duncan Galloway Band leader Since 1969 the Pasadena Roof Orchestra has been faithfully re-creating the glories of popular music from the 1920s and 1930s. The fun-packed show features timeless classics from the great American song book – those wonderful songs that miraculously lifted people’s spirits during the depression era, and which made household names of singers such as Bing Crosby, Al Bowlly, and Fred Astaire. The musicians master the arrangements and sound of the fabled American orchestras such as Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson, whilst also paying tribute to the great British dance bands like Ray Noble or Ambrose.
‘The most uplifting, energising evening I’ve had in years!’ AU D I EN CE M EM B ER
thelagc.com @thelagchoir 26
pasadena.co.uk @PasadenaOrch
April
Monday 9 April | 7pm Tickets: £8 (£5)
Tuesday 10 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £28.50
South-West Open Youth Orchestra
Tom Paxton & The DonJuans
The South-West Open Youth Orchestra (SWOYO) is the UK’s only disabled-led regional youth orchestra. Blending acoustic and electronic instruments, using accessible EyeGaze technology, and uniting both disabled and non-disabled young musicians, SWOYO represents a completely new take on what an orchestra can be.
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and US folk icon, Tom Paxton, returns to St George’s with very special guests, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter duo The DonJuans – Don Henry and Jon Vezner.
This is SWOYO's debut performance at St George's, and their final performance before relaunching as the National Open Youth Orchestra in September 2018. The South-West Open Youth Orchestra is delivered by OpenUp Music in partnership with Bristol Music Trust, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the British Paraorchestra.
Collectively, their songs have been covered by: Harry Belafonte, John Mellencamp, Miranda Lambert, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, Nancy Griffith, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, John Denver, Faith Hill, B.J. Thomas, Blake Shelton, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Bob Dylan… just to name a few! Within days of writing and playing together, they knew they were onto something. Now they’re taking it on the road! ‘Thirty years ago Tom Paxton taught a generation of traditional folk singers that it was noble to write your own songs, and, like a good guitar, he just gets better with age’ G U Y C L A R K Presented by Chas Cole for CMP Entertainment
openupmusic.org / @openupmusic noyo.org.uk / @theNOYO
tompaxton.com thedonjuans.com 27
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Wednesday 11 April | 7pm Tickets: £30, £28, £20, £15, £5 Students*
Chineke! Orchestra
Programme includes: Beethoven Symphony No 4 in B flat Coleridge-Taylor Romance for Violin and Orchestra
‘Chineke! brings new perspectives and new audiences... and long may it continue to do so’ S TR I N GS M AGA ZI N E
chineke.org @Chineke4Change 28
The Chineke! Orchestra makes a welcome return to St George’s after its two sell-out concerts in 2017 and inspiring learning and participation projects around Bristol. The programme includes Beethoven’s effervescent Symphony No 4 in B flat and the beautiful Romance for Violin and Orchestra by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
April
Thursday 12 April | 8pm Tickets: £22, £20, £5 Students*
Friday 13 & Saturday 14 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £18 (£16), £16 (£14), £14 (£12), £12 (£10)
Remembered For A While The Music of Nick Drake
X: 10 Years of Sing Out Bristol
St George’s have commissioned John Parish to put together an evening of Nick Drake’s music to commemorate what would have been Nick’s 70th year. John is joined by friends including Beirut-born, London-based singer Nadine Khouri, guitar player Jeremy Hogg, singer songwriter Aldous Harding and The Lochrian String Quartet. Original string arrangements have been written by Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey, Marianne Faithful) and Enrico Gabrielli (PJ Harvey, Calibro 35). More guests to be announced.
Join Sing Out Bristol, the South West’s award-winning LGBT choir, as they return to St George’s to celebrate their 10th anniversary. This two-night extravaganza features the best of their repertoire from the past decade of song. Expect to see the usual mix of beautiful choral singing and their trademark dance moves. Joining Sing Out Bristol on Friday will be Vibe, a pop/rock choir from Portishead and on Saturday, The South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus. Both evenings will be signed by a BSL interpreter.
Special Offer See this and Nick Drake's Black-Eyed Dog (19 Apr, p30) for £35 john-parish.com @JohnParish50
singoutbristol.com @SingOutBristol 29
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Monday 16 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £20 (£15)
Thursday 19 April | 8pm Tickets: £22, £20, £5 Students*
5x15 Bristol
Nick Smart’s Black Eyed Dog Remembering Nick Drake
Following previous sell-out shows in Bristol, 5x15 comes to St George’s for another unmissable night. Five brilliant speakers, 15 minutes each, no scripts! Past line-ups have included Michael Eavis, Tim Dowling, Viv Groskop, Nimco Ali, Clive Stafford Smith, Hollie McNish, David Olusoga and Lord John Bird. Expect an eclectic and interesting evening for curious minds, in an atmosphere more saloon than salon. The full line-up will be announced on our website.
As part of our commemoration of the late singer-songwriter and composer/guitarist Nick Drake’s 70th anniversary, we present a specially-commissioned update of trumpeter and composer/arranger Nick Smart’s landmark project Black Eyed Dog, which was first performed at St George’s ten years ago when its album of Nick Drake songs was originally released. Appearing in this new all-star line-up, and augmented by the Lochrian String Quartet, are pianist Kit Downes, guitarist John Parricelli, saxophonists James Allsopp and James Gardner-Bateman, vocalists Emily Wright and Alex Taylor, bassist Will Harris and drummer Tim Giles, with Nick Smart on trumpet and further guests to be announced.
And don't miss...
Special Offer
Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 19 April | 1pm Ishay Shaer Piano See p4 for details
See this and Remembered for a While (12 Apr, p28) for £35!
bristol.5x15.com @5x15Bristol 30
nicksmart.co.uk
April BRISTOL NEW MUSIC
Friday 20 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £30, £25, £20, £15, Free 8 – 25s
Friday 20 April | 10pm | Glass Studio Tickets: £10
Trevor Pinnock & Friends
Evan Parker Trance Map
Sophie Gent & Matthew Truscott Violins Jonathan Manson Viola da gamba Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
Trance Map is the name that Evan Parker and Matt Wright gave to their studio recording for psi in 2011. The interaction between Parker's soprano saxophone and Wright's laptop and turntable generated music with live sampling – long loops of gradually changing patterns – became an approach that they have used subsequently in a series of concerts. When the group is augmented with other players it is called Trance Map +.
C Hacquart Harmonia Parnassia Sonatorum, Op 2 No 3 in D minor for two violins, viola da gamba and continuo J J Froberger Suite No 12 in C for harpsichord J S Bach Sonata in G for violin and continuo J G Goldberg Sonata in C for two violins and continuo D Buxtehude Sonata for violin, viola da gamba and continuo Op 2 No 3 in G minor J S Bach Two preludes and fugues from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier G F Handel Sonata in B flat for two violins and continuo Op 2 No 3 A glittering programme featuring works by J S Bach and Handel, performed by the legendary harpsichordist and some very special guests.
trevorpinnock.com
Percussionist Toma Gouband's lithophones were sampled for the studio recording and he became their first guest to play live, percussionist Mark Nauseef, trumpeter Peter Evans, cellist Hannah Marshall, bassist Adam Linson and DJs Spring Heeled Jack have all collaborated to this point. For this concert they have invited cellist Hannah Marshall to join them again to make a trio.
evanparker.com
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 BRISTOL NEW MUSIC
Saturday 21 April | 7.30pm | Glass Studio Tickets: £7.50
Saturday 21 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £15 (£14), £12.50 (£11.50), £10 (£9)
Sarah Angliss Aether Music and Oramics
Bristol Phoenix Choir and Orchestra
Using theremin, robotic carillon and other instruments, Sarah Angliss performs highlights from Ealing Feeder, her steely and unsettled love letter to the city which explores London folklore past and present. Tom Richards demonstrates his Mini Oramics machine, a drawn-sound synthesiser designed by electronic pioneer and BBC Radiophonic workshop co-founder Daphne Oram (1925 – 2003). Through his research into Oram and her machines, Richards has built this unique and previously unfinished synthesiser from Oram’s original notes and diagrams. Tom and Sarah will both perform their own graphic scores composed for this device, and will also present a special session at 5pm for all ages to get up close to the Mini Oramics machine and try their hands at the Theremin.
Paul Walton Conductor Jessica Cole Soprano Jenna Brown Alto Iain Macleod-Jones Tenor Alexander Learmouth Bass Handel Birthday Ode for Queen Anne Mozart Solemn Vespers Haydn Creation Mass ‘Schöpfungsmesse’ Bristol Phoenix Choir returns to St George’s in a sumptuous programme of Baroque and Classical favourites, with Handel’s beautiful birthday ode Eternal Source of Light Divine and Mozart’s sublime Solemn Vespers. One of Haydn’s late, great masses, the ‘Creation Mass’, so called because it quotes briefly from the famous oratorio, provides a thrilling finale.
Show and tell, 5pm £2.50, Free to concert ticket holders sarahangliss.com @sarah_angliss 32
bristolphoenixchoir.org.uk @brphoenixchoir
Tuesday 24 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £30, £25, £20, £15, £5 Students*
April
Benjamin Grosvenor Piano J S Bach French Suite No 5 in G, BWV 816 Brahms Four Pieces Op 119 Brett Dean Hommage à Brahms Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Berg Sonata Op 1 Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit Since his success, at the remarkably young age of 11, in the 2004 BBC Young Musician competition, Benjamin Grosvenor has matured into a pianist of exceptional artistry and virtuosity. He performed at the First Night of the Proms at the age of 19, and at the Last Night four years later. His four recordings to date for Decca have been widely acclaimed, his latest praised in BBC Music Magazine for ‘showing off his fluid virtuosity, musical sensitivity and fearless approach’. To witness one of his recitals is to be in the midst of an extraordinarily powerful musical presence.
‘He commands the stage with aristocratic ease… Mr Grosvenor makes you sigh with joy… A temperament rare in yesteryear, let alone now’ TH E N E W YO R K TI M ES
benjamingrosvenor.co.uk @grosvenorpiano 33
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Wednesday 25 April | 7pm (Doors) Tickets: £20
Thursday 26 April | 8pm Tickets: £20, £18, £5 Students*
Joan As Policewoman Damned Devotion Tour
Martin Speake Quartet ft. Ethan Iverson
Already acknowledged as a thrilling live performer and starkly honest lyricist, new album Damned Devotion finds Joan Wasser at her rawest. While her 2014 album The Classic was a soulful celebration of life and her 2011 album The Deep Field a lush moody expansion, this new release sees her stripping her compositions back to the core, the bare-all lyricism and timeless melodies harking back to her accolade-winning album To Survive (2008) and the universally-acclaimed debut album Real Life (2006). Joan: “My maxim is: if it feels scary to say it, it’s the thing you must say”. And on Damned Devotion the thoughtful lyricism is married to Joan’s most accessible music to date.
The award-winning alto and soprano saxophonist and composer Martin Speake – a true inheritor of the lyrical, coolschool approach exemplified by improvisers such as Lee Konitz or Warne Marsh, yet with the rhythmic intensity of Ornette Coleman or Steve Coleman – unveils a new AngloAmerican quartet featuring pianist Ethan Iverson (of The Bad Plus), bassist Fred Thomas and drummer James Maddren. Ethan Iverson’s most recent high-profile project was as the composer/arranger of ‘Pepperland’, the Mark Morris Dance Group’s 50th anniversary celebration of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album.
And don't miss... Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 26 April | 1pm Ivan Ilić Piano See p4 for details joanaspolicewoman.com @joanpolicewoman 34
martinspeake.com
April
Special Offer All tickets half price for Students/U18s
Saturday 28 April | 7.30pm Tickets: £20, £15, £12
Sunday 29 April | 7pm Tickets: £8, £6 Concessions
Notes For Women The Early Years
Bristol Youth Orchestra
Women of the Choir of Royal Holloway Rupert Gough Conductor Mariana Flores Soprano Bristol Ensemble Rachel Gough Violin Roger Huckle Director
Sophie Porter-Gillespie Flute Max MacMillan Piano Eiron Bailey Conductor
Hildegard von Bingen O Vis Aeternitatis (Responsorium); Ave Maria, O Auctrix Vite (Responsorium) Barbara Strozzi Che si può fare; Sino alla morte; Begli Occhi; Lagrime mie Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet De La Guerre Prelude from Cembalo Francesca Caccini Ciaconna Isabella Leonarda Sonate duodecima Maddalena Laura Sirmen Violin Concerto No 3 in A
Sibelius Karelia Suite Chaminade Concertino Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No 2 (1st movement) Sibelius Symphony No 2 Bristol Youth Orchestra is the city’s flagship instrumental ensemble, featuring over 70 of the most talented young musicians in Bristol. They perform their final concert of 2018, in which they showcase the incredible talent of their own musicians with tonight’s two soloists.
Marking the centenary of women being granted the vote in Britain, this concert illustrates the history of women composers before 1800 with a selection of works from the medieval to Baroque periods.
bristolensemble.com | @bristolensemble chapelchoir.co.uk | @RHULChapelChoir 35
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 FILMIC 2018
Thursday 3 May | 8pm Tickets: £24, £22, £5 Students*
Andy Sheppard & Eivind Aarset
Andy Sheppard and his regular quartet partner, Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aaarset, have created a special duo to ‘play the building’ in an evening of immersive sound and music. Andy Sheppard needs no introduction, but suffice to say he is on blinding form at the moment. Eivind Aarset, a regular collaborator with Arve Henriksen among many others, is one of Europe’s most celebrated instrumentalists: a world-class improviser who has succeeded in creating his own distinctive and personal ‘voice’ on the guitar.
And don't miss... andysheppard.co.uk @AndySheppardSax 36
Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 3 May | 1pm Julian Perkins Harpsichord See p5 for details
May
Friday 4 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £25
Sunday 6 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £18 (£14), £15 (£10)
Eric Bibb
Bristol Classical Players
There is no doubting Eric’s status as an acoustic blues legend. Since his first album in 1972 Eric has released 35 further albums and enjoyed a non-stop touring career spanning five decades. This has made Eric one of the leading bluesmen of his generation and allowed him to draw together a faithful and multinational ‘tribe’ of musicians with whom he has recorded and performed on stage, including such luminaries as Pops and Mavis Staples, Guy Davis, Bonnie Raitt, Toumani Diabate, and Jerry Douglas.
Tom Gauterin Conductor Libby Burgess Piano
A progressive preservationist and a fiery singer with true soul, gospel and folk roots, it is an honour to welcome Eric Bibb to the St George’s stage as part of his spring 2018 tour. ‘…what the blues in the new century should be about’
Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique Tonight’s concert pairs masterpieces inspired by passion and devotion. Schumann’s concerto is one of the high points of the entire Romantic movement, an outpouring of heartfelt melody in which Schumann channelled his longing for Clara Wieck, whose father at first refused him permission to marry her. This much-loved work is followed by Berlioz’s wild and still-extraordinary Symphonie Fantastique; a series of beautiful and macabre visions haunted by the image of the actress Harriet Smithson, with whom Berlioz was infatuated. They married three years after the work’s first performance.
ELWO O D B LU E S (A K A DA N AY K R OY D)
‘Warm, sensitive pianism’
ericbibb.com @EricBibb
bristolclassicalplayers.co.uk @bristolclass
O B S ER V ER (O N L I B BY B U R G E S S )
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Wednesday 9 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £40, £35, £30, £25, £15, £5 Students*
English Symphony Orchestra & Sheku Kanneh-Mason Elgar ‘Cello Concerto’
English Symphony Orchestra Sheku Kanneh-Mason Cello Kenneth Woods Conductor Elgar (arr. Donald Fraser) Piano Quintet David Matthews Symphony No 9 (World Premiere) Elgar Cello Concerto Describing itself as ‘the international orchestra of Elgar country’, it is fitting that this programme by the English Symphony Orchestra is bookended by two beloved works by Elgar. Alongside the enticing prospect of hearing Sheku Kanneh-Mason as soloist in the Cello Concerto, there is the chance to experience an acclaimed new orchestral rendering of the Piano Quintet. Elgar himself wrote of this work, composed a century ago in 1918, that it ‘runs gigantically and in a large mood’. So it is perhaps unsurprising how well it works in what a recent Gramophone 38
review describes as ‘a richly upholstered orchestration’ – whilst also managing to be ‘astutely appreciative of the simmering passion and sense of loss that permeate this wistful creation’ . Complementing these quintessentially English works is the world premiere of a new symphony by another composer with a distinctively English sensibility, David Matthews.
Talk at 6pm Pre-concert talk with Kenneth Woods, David Matthews and Donald Fraser Free for concert ticket-holders eso.co.uk | @EnglishSymphon kannehmasons.com | @ShekuKM
May
Thursday 17 May | 8pm Tickets: £18, £16, £5 Students*
Human Cargo with Matthew Crampton & Jeff Warner
‘Matthew Crampton has taken a fresh look at the worlds of slavery and emigration’ C ER YS M AT T H E W S
Adapted from Matthew Crampton’s recent book ‘Human Cargo: Stories & Songs of Emigration, Slavery and Transportation’, singer and storyteller Crampton, whose previous show ‘The Transports’ won a fivestar review in The Guardian, joins forces with acclaimed song collector and musician/ singer Jeff Warner, a legend of old-time traditional music who has been called ‘the best folk singer in America’, for an epic night focusing on the history of human migration. Linking the past to the present, and the universal to the local and particular through specially researched case studies from Bristol and beyond, this will be a deeply moving and intense exploration of one of the most important subjects in all history, and an essential background to any understanding of the contemporary refugee crisis.
And don't miss... Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 10 May | 1pm Joseph Tong Piano See p4 for details Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 17 May | 1pm Les Kapsbergirls See p5 for details humancargo.co.uk jeffwarner.com matthewcrampton.com 39
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Special Offer All tickets half price for Students/U18s
Friday 18 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £40, £35, £30, £25, £15, £5 Students*
Saturday 19 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £26, £23, £19, £11
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Rosenkavalier
City of Bristol Choir English Choral Masterpieces
Thomas Kemp Conductor Strauss Der Rosenkavalier (salon score)
David Ogden Conductor The Lochrian Ensemble Esther Mallett Soprano
The OAE goes to the cinema with a historically-informed recreation of a remarkable cinema event that first took place in 1926. Enjoy the big screen adaptation of Richard Strauss’ great comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, accompanied by a live orchestra playing the music Strauss himself wrote to accompany the film. Once thought lost, but since painstakingly restored, the silent film captures the subtleties of the opera’s comedy of manners. Thomas Kemp conducts the chamber orchestra – as Strauss himself did at the Tivoli Theatre on The Strand at the film’s London premiere. Hear and see Strauss’s operatic masterpiece in a totally different way.
oae.co.uk
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Vaughan Williams Benedicite; Toward the Unknown Region Finzi Magnificat David Bednall Nunc Dimittis Holst Hymn of Jesus Howells A Maid Peerless A feast of exuberant and stirring English music performed by an 80-strong choir and full orchestra. Two choral gems by Vaughan Williams take centre stage: his youthful setting of inspirational and uplifting words by Walt Whitman in Toward The Unknown Region and his rarely-performed work Benedicite. In 2016, the Bristol-based composer David Bednall was commissioned to write a setting of the Nunc Dimittis to complement Finzi’s Magnificat. While Holst's intensely moving and mystical Hymn of Jesus completes the programme.
cityofbristolchoir.org.uk / @bristolchoir lochrianensemble.co.uk / @lochrian
May
Sunday 20 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £10 (£7)
Tuesday 22 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £27.50
Sisters with Voices II
Tommy Emmanuel The Intimate Sound Tour
Following the success of 2016’s moving performance, Sisters With Voices returns by popular demand. Once again an all-female line up of singers, DJs, spoken word artists and local activists take to the stage in honour of sisterhood, with an event presented by the award-winning Ujima Community Radio and funded by Arts Council England. It celebrates women today, and is inspired by Bristol’s legendary community activists from the past including Princess Campbell, Leotta Goodridge and Carmen Beckford, who fought tirelessly for racial equality. They have inspired generations of community activists who continue to celebrate and promote female equality and empowerment.
Plus special guest Frank Vignola Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel, whose five-decade career has garnered hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide, will be bringing his passionate and infectious live show to Bristol. Tommy is one of Australia’s most respected guitarists, has a repertoire that spans pop, jazz, blues, gospel, classical, flamenco, and aboriginal styles, winning him hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide.
Presented in association with Ujima Radio
ujimaradio.com @ujimaradio
tommyemmanuel.com @tommyemmanuel 41
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001 FILMIC 2018
Wednesday 23 May | 7.30pm Tickets: £35, £30, £25, £20, £15, £5 Students*
Thursday 24 May | 8pm Tickets: £20, £18, £5 Students*
Solomon’s Knot ‘Mass in B Minor’ From Memory
Mammal Hands plus Eyebrow
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor is one of the crowning achievements of western civilisation. To witness a performance is a life-affirming, soul-enriching experience. The ‘baroque collective’ Solomon’s Knot takes this all a stage further, with all the singers performing this extraordinary canvas of solos, duets and choruses from memory. This brings them all closer to the music and, crucially, closer to the audience.
With the release of their third album, Shadow Work, immersive instrumental trio Mammal Hands (Jordan Smart – sax, Nick Smart – piano, Jesse Barrett – drums/percussion) have ascended to a whole new level, creating hypnotically captivating and intensely beautiful musical patterns from an unusual array of influences that includes north Indian classical traditions, pianistic minimalism and electronic dance music. Their exciting live shows enhance the experience with extended improvisations incorporating field recordings, prepared piano and custom-made visuals. This special commission for Filmic 2018 is an audio-visual show with live vision mixing. Local heroes Eyebrow (Paul Wigens – drums, violin; Pete Judge – trumpet, electronics) open with a special AV set featuring visuals by Kathy Hinde.
‘Despite all the perfection of modern baroque performance, there can often be something missing – Solomon’s Knot have perhaps found the answer’ T H E O B S ER V ER
And don't miss... Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 24 May | 1pm Jelena Makarova Piano See p5 for details solomonsknotcollective.com @solomonsknot 42
mammalhands.com | @MammalHands eyebrowmusic.com
June
Wednesday 30 May | 11.45am Tickets: £6, Family Ticket available
Wild Words Vivaldi’s Dream Michael Loader Storywriter/storyteller/ trumpet Tom Veck & James Watts Drums, guitar, oboe, electronics, voice Anna Colette & Robert Short Singers Sandro Gromen-Hayes Filmmaker
Wild Words’ new and thought-provoking family show sees a young girl called Vivaldi discover the true power of her imagination in a world where ‘real’ dreams and ‘live’ music have been taken over by the all-consuming world of technology… A story of adventure, courage and compassion, complete with live music from Classical to Jazz, original compositions and songs, electronic wizardry and film, and including arrangements of music by the great Antonio Vivaldi! Playshop 10.30am (30 mins) Sing with our singers, make a ‘dreaming butterfly’ and learn about the wizardry of musical electronica. Free to ticket holders, pre-booking required Recommended Age: 7+
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Wednesday 30 May | 8pm Tickets: £18, £15, £5 Students*
Friday 1 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £35, £30, £25, £20, £15, £5 Students*
Lisa Knapp + Dead Rat Orchestra
Paul Lewis (Piano) Haydn, Beethoven & Brahms I
One of the most inventive and creative artists around, Lisa Knapp pushes boundaries with her radiant interpretation of traditional folk music. Her vocals reel you in, ‘cool and pure like iced water, edged with a menace and strength’ (The Guardian). Her most recent album Till April is Dead gathered many fivestar reviews.
Beethoven Eleven Bagatelles Op 119 Haydn Piano Sonata in E flat Hob XVI/49 Haydn Piano Sonata in B minor Hob XVI/32 Brahms 4 Klavierstücke Op 119
Raw, elemental and poignant with a love of idiosyncratic folk traditions and antiquated technology, Dead Rat Orchestra see themselves as adrift in a sea of sound and possibility. They pluck textures and melodies to craft their vision of what music can be.
Originality, passion and raw emotion are on display once again in the first of Paul’s new four-part series, which sees him taking the audience through the keyboard masterworks of three composing titans. The series continues on Thursday 21 June, see p51 for details
And don't miss... Lunchtime Concert | Thursday 31 May | 1pm Liv-Marie Kodurand & Jan Rautio See p5 for details lisaknapp.co.uk @LisaKnappMusic 44
paullewispiano.co.uk @paullewispiano
June
Saturday 2 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £28.50, £25.50
Sunday 3 June | 8pm Tickets: £25, £22, £5 Students*
Gretchen Peters
Tigran
For two decades, Gretchen Peters has been one of Nashville’s most beloved and respected artists. Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014 by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, who called her ‘both a songwriter and a poet (who) sings as beautifully as she writes’, and said her song ‘The Matador’, ‘moved me so greatly, I cried from the soles of my feet’, Peters has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Her 2015 album, Blackbirds, debuted at #1 on the UK Country chart and in the top 40 UK pop chart, and was awarded International Album of the Year and Song of the Year. In 2015, The Telegraph named her one of the greatest 60 female singer-songwriters of all time. Her new album was released in May.
Recently called ‘the hottest pianist in jazz’ by The Guardian, Armenian born, US-educated Tigran Hamasyan has been a worldwide star since winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk prize at the age of 16. After establishing a recording career with Verve, ECM and Nonesuch, and collaborating with the biggest names in both US and European jazz, Tigran returned to Armenia and immersed himself in the folk traditions of his native country for the acclaimed choral work, ‘Luys i Luso’ (ECM). This rare solo performance, linked to a headlining date at London’s Barbican, will showcase Tigran’s incredible talents as pianist, vocalist and composer. His St George’s debut six years ago was a magical event that left the audience almost dizzy with the evidence of his genius.
gretchenpeters.com @gretchenpeters
tigranhamasyan.com @tigranmusic 45
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Thursday 7 June | 8pm Tickets: £22, £20, £5 Students*
Sona Jobarteh
The Kora, or west African harp is traditionally played by male griots, or hereditary musicians, and never by women. Sona Jobarteh decided to change the rules… She stands as she plays, demonstrating elegant and intricate musicianship; she is also a fine singer, with a cool, laid-back style, fronting a seasoned, four-man Afro Beat Group. Her grandfather, Amadu Bansang Joberteh was a Master Griot and remains a leading icon in Gambia’s cultural and musical history. Her cousin Toumani Diabaté is also known worldwide for his mastery of the Kora. Taught to play at the age of four by her elder brother Tunde Jegede, Sona started her musical journey at a very young age; later further developing her expertise under the tutorship of her father Sanjally Jobarteh.
Earlybird Offer A limited number of £18 tickets are available sonajobarteh.com @SonaJobarteh 46
June
Special Offer All tickets half price for Students/U18s
Friday 8 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £20, £16, £12 Concessions
Saturday 9 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £24, £20, £15
Project Zulu Tour Finale Concert
A Sense Of The Divine Pictures at a Concert Hall
The University of the West of England presents the Project Zulu choir comprising children from two primary schools in the Madadeni Township, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Three weeks of performing and fundraising across the UK culminates in one final performance at St George’s. An opportunity to enjoy Project Zulu’s only solo concert in Bristol this year. Experience the wonderful harmonies and vibrant Zulu singing and dancing up-close and personal in this intimate setting. You will not have experienced a children’s choir this good!
David Ogden Conductor Exultate Singers Dr Beth Williamson Presenter
All profits from this concert will be used to improve facilities at their schools. ‘It’s such a beautiful sound... They’re just inspirational. Every performance just has so much energy!’ A L I VOW L E S , B B C P O I N T S W E S T
projectzulu.org @Project_Zulu
Guillaume Dufay Nuper Rosarum Flores Gregorio Allegri Miserere Francis Poulenc Excerpts from Figure humaine John Tavener The Lamb; Hymn to the Mother of God Giovanni Gabrieli Omnes gentes Lili Boulanger Hymne au Soleil Pablo Casals O vos omnes Gustav Holst Come to me in the silence of the night ‘All art constantly aspires to the condition of music’, said the art critic Walter Pater. In this unique concert, Exultate Singers explores the relationship between paintings and music. Dr Beth Williamson, Reader in History of Art at the University of Bristol, introduces paintings from around the world and across the centuries. A feast for the eyes as well as the ears.
exultatesingers.org @ExultateSingers 47
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Sunday 10 June | 10.15am, 12pm & 2pm Tickets: £6, Family Ticket available
Monday 11 June | 7pm (Doors) Tickets: £29.50
Minibeats Super Strings!
Lamont Dozier
What could be more summery than the sweet sounds of super strings? From the highest notes of the violins, to the darkly delicious tones of the viola and cello, explore the world of bows, bridges, frogs, spikes and GUTS – would you believe it! Intrigued? Join presenter Laura Tanner and marvellous musicians from the Bristol Ensemble and all will be revealed!
With Jo Harman Support
10.15am For children aged 3 – 5 12pm For children aged 5 – 8 2pm Relaxed Performance (suitable for children and young people of all ages) Ages are guidelines only. Running time 45 minutes without interval
Lamont Dozier has written over fifty #1 hits for artists such as Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Four Tops and more as part of the songwriting team Holland/ Dozier Holland. On this tour Lamont and his band, featuring acclaimed musician/producer/arranger Fred Mollin, perform his classic hits in support of a new album, scheduled for a 2018 release, which ‘re-imagines’ these iconic songs in a more intimate, more ‘unplugged’ format. Lamont will also, no doubt, share many of the stories behind the songs. Presented by AGMP
lamontdozier.com
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June
Thursday 14 June | 8pm £15, £12, £5 Students*
Moscow Drug Club + Tango Calor
A curious musical place where certain elements of 1930s Berlin Cabaret, Hot Club de France, Nuevo Tango and Gypsy Campfire meet, have a few to drink and stagger arm in arm into the darkness of some eastern European cobbled street on a mission to find the bar where Django Reinhardt and Tom Waits are having an after-hours jam with the local Tziganes. Combining their original material with songs by the likes of Jaques Brel, Leornard Cohen, Tom Waits and Bertolt Brecht, Moscow Drug Club provide an intoxicating and intimate musical experience. You are cordially invited to share a wry smile with us as you enter the darkly comic world of Moscow Drug Club... this way please and mind the stairs! Support supplied by the sensational Trio Calor – bandoneonist Mirek Salmon, pianist Daan Temmink and Cuban vocal wonder Indira Roman.
moscowdrugclub.com | @moscowdrugclub
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Friday 15 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £25, £20, £15, £12, £5 Students*
Saturday 16 June | 7.45pm Tickets: £18, £15, £5 Students/JSA/Disabled Free U18s
Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments Sound House
Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra
Jon Banks Santouri, gothic harp, percussion Jean Kelly Gothic bray harp, triple harp Alison McGillivray Violone, viola bastarda Jon Nicholls Sound designer and composer Clare Salaman Tromba marina, nyckelharpa Terence Wilton Narrator
Andrew Shulman Conductor Thomas Bowes Violin
Although Francis Bacon, 17 century philosopher, statesman and visionary, is widely regarded as the father of modern science, his investigations into the nature of sound are little known. He was intrigued by seemingly magical effects like echoes and sympathetic vibration and sought to explain them through a series of experiments in, and observations of, sound. th
Combining modern sound technology with ancient instruments, The Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments explore the aural illusions that so intrigued Francis Bacon and our forbears with fresh interpretations of 17th century music linked to each other by newly-composed pieces.
strangeandancientinstruments.com @SSAI13 50
Beethoven Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No 10 Los Angeles-based conductor Andrew Shulman returns to St George’s to direct this double bill. Shostakovich’s 10 th Symphony, considered by many to be his greatest work, is a monumental creation containing some of the composer’s most personal utterances juxtaposed with some of his most brutal and ironic musical statements. Autobiographical in nature, occasionally light-hearted, more often troubled and inconsolably sad, the symphony ends in a radiant affirmation of life. Beethoven’s violin concerto, its solo part so rooted in the symphonic discourse of the whole ensemble, is a lyric delight, for which BHCO welcomes back long-term collaborator, Thomas Bowes.
bhco.co.uk @bhcorchestra
June
Thursday 21 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £32, £26, £20, £15, £5 Students*
Paul Lewis (Piano) Haydn, Beethoven & Brahms II Haydn Sonata in C Hob XVI: 50 Beethoven 6 Bagatelles Op 126 Brahms 6 pieces Op 118 Haydn Sonata in G Hob XVI: 40 In the second of his new four-part series, Paul Lewis, one of the leading musicians of his generation, continues his journey through the piano music of Haydn, Brahms and Beethoven. Expect moments of startling originality, wild passion and raw emotion – balanced by a generous dose of quirkish humour as Haydn surprises, shocks and pokes fun at the listener! Please note this concert was rescheduled from December 2017
paullewispiano.co.uk @paullewispiano 51
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Saturday 23 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £15 (£14), £12 (£11), £8 (£6), £5 U16s
Sunday 24 June | 7pm Tickets: £11 (£9), £9 (£7), £7 (£6)
Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra
City Voices Bristol Home and Away
Karin Hendrickson Conductor
Ben Pinnow Director Sandie Middleton Accompanist
Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra is returning to St George's for the second time under their new conductor Karin Hendrickson, and with its usual skill and enthusiasm. Full programme details for this concert will be published on our website soon.
City Voices Bristol present music from ‘home and away’ for our summer concert. Not to be confused with the Australian television programme, although there may be songs from Australasia but inspired by the recent travels of the choir, a selection of songs from anywhere! Come and join City Voices Bristol for a musical jaunt around the world, without leaving Bristol. This year the choir is supporting the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. This charity provides help to those seriously ill or injured across the region.
bristolmetropolitanorchestra.com @BMetOrchestra 52
cityvoicesbristol.com @CVBristol
June
Tuesday 26 June | 7pm Tickets: £8, £3 U18s
Wednesday 27 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £8, £3 U18s
Bristol Youth Choir Juniors Summer Concert
Bristol Youth Choir Seniors Summer Concert
David Ogden, Martin Le Poidevin, Elinor Cooper Conductors Bristol Youth Choir Juniors and Intermediates
David Ogden, Martin Le Poidevin, Elinor Cooper Conductors Dorian Chamber Orchestra
The talented young singers from Bristol Youth Choir Junior and Intermediate sections present a summer concert of songs and choral pieces from around the world. Come and enjoy an entertaining evening of classical and jazz, with songs from the shows, world music, and folk songs.
bristolyouthchoir.org.uk @brisyouthchoir
Haydn Nelson Mass The choir has performed at the BBC Proms and with the Bournemouth Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as on TV and radio and are well known for their vibrant and stylish performances including settings of classical anthems, folk songs and jazz standards.
bristolyouthchoir.org.uk @brisyouthchoir 53
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Friday 29 June | 7.30pm Tickets: £30, £25, £20, £15, Free 8-15s
Thursday 5 July | 7pm Tickets: £20, £16, £12 Concessions
Julian Bliss Clarinet and the Carducci Quartet
Toto La Momposina & AMJ Collective
Haydn String Quartet Op 20 No 4 David Bruce Gumboots for clarinet and strings Brahms Clarinet Quintet Op 115
May Park Primary School and Astar Artes present an evening of music and dance featuring legendary Colombian singer Totó la Momposina and the reggae collective AMJ. A project celebrating heritage and diversity in collaboration with school children from Bristol and Bath. Latin and Caribbean music with African influences – from soulful acapella to firey percussion this promises to be an extraordinary event.
One of his final compositions, Brahms' Clarinet Quintet is a profound chamber work of immense colour, full of melancholy yet highly rhapsodic. Here it is paired with David Bruce's thrilling Gumboots, performed by the acclaimed clarinettist Julian Bliss and the Carducci Quartet. This concert is being recorded by BBC Radio 3
julianbliss.com | @Julian_Bliss carducciquartet.com | @CarducciQuartet 54
Supported by the WOMAD Foundation and Bristol Vineyard.
July
Saturday 7 July | 7.30pm Tickets: £10, £5 U18s
Sunday 15 July | 2.30pm & 7pm Tickets: £10 (£7), £3 U18s
Footnotes to The Great War
Riff Raff Paint the Town Red... and Pink... and Orange
Gurt Lush Choir and Bristol Man Chorus commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War with a musical tour that dares to tread the discomfort of the era’s social, political and emotional excess – from a stampede of shameless triumphalism to the cold despair of the trenches. Ruthless recruitment marches, sardonic soldier laments, war poetry and other musical curiosities of the age mingle with courage, death, loss and resistance.
The colourful Riff Raff Choir are back at St George’s this summer with two different performances (matinee and evening). Singing a kaleidoscope of pop and rock songs from across the decades... to paint the town red (and pink, and orange!). There’s something for everyone from '70s funk to power ballads in glorious a cappella harmony, including many original arrangements of popular songs being heard for the first time. Come to one performance, or both, and be entertained and enchanted by the amazing Riff Raff Choir.
Special Offer Buy full price tickets for both performances and get 25% off gurtlushchoir.com | @gurtlushchoir bristolmanchorus.com | @manchorus
RiffRaffChoir.co.uk @RiffRaffChoir 55
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Venue Hire We are now taking bookings for 2018 and beyond!
O
ur elegant grand hall and sophisticated, new multi-purpose spaces are available to hire for weddings, parties, gala dinners, award ceremonies, and conferences. Not only this, but our exciting smaller spaces are perfect for meetings, workshops, talks, networking, and corporate hospitality. St George’s Bristol offers both contemporary style and regency elegance, so whatever your needs, and whatever inspires you, get in touch to discuss your event. Our talented team will work closely with you to ensure delivery of topclass service and a truly memorable occasion. Please contact the events team, for further details on 0117 929 4929 or email events@stgeorgesbristol.co.uk stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/venue-hire
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Heritage
Our Story… For the first time in our history, we are sharing the story of St George’s in a permanent display located in the crypt. Open daily, and free to enter, the exhibition features key moments from our Grade II* listed building’s past, from its inception in 1820 as a Chapel of Ease to its rebirth in the 1970s as a space for the performance and recording of music. Through colourful interactive displays, music, and speciallycommissioned film footage, you’ll learn how we came to be, what has changed over the decades and experience what we’re most famous for. Opening times (from April)* The exhibition opens daily from 10am, staying open into the evening on concert days, otherwise closing at 6pm. *Please check the website for the latest information about opening times.
Tours / School Groups Look out for details of public tours and group packages, coming soon. If you are interested in bringing a school group, or would like to receive information about our curriculumfriendly learning materials, please contact education@stgeorgesbristol.co.uk
Canon Percy Gay
1977 Programme Flyer
The Reredos
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Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Feel part of the future Become a supporter today and help to secure a bright future for St George's Supporters play a major role in the life of St George’s. They contribute vital funds to all areas of our work from the acclaimed programme of contemporary and classical performance to education projects across the city. They safeguard our future; enabling the team to care for the beautiful Grade II* building, to attract internationally acclaimed artists and inspire new generations of music lovers and makers. Each year we must raise over a third of our income from individuals and charitable sources. We would love you to help us in this challenge. There are many ways to get involved, with membership starting at just £40.
Membership – £40 Play an active role in St George's Bristol and receive benefits including updates, promotions and special events, while helping St George's to achieve its charitable goals. • Priority booking ahead of the public • Personal mailing of new season brochures ahead of distribution • Regular newsletters and exclusive promotions Join today: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/support-us/ 0845 40 24 001
Benefactors, Patrons and Star Circle membership is for philanthropic individuals who care deeply about St George’s and its future development.
Benefactor – from £250 (£62.50 Qtr) The support provided by Benefactors helps to sustain and grow our education work with communities across Bristol. Benefits of a Member, plus: • Advanced notice of season highlights, advance mailing of season brochures and priority booking. • 48 hour ticket return facility. • Invitations to special events including regular pre-performance receptions. Join today: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/support-us/ 0845 40 24 001
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Join
Patron – from £1,000 (£250 Qtr)
Star Circle – from £2,000 (£500 Qtr)
Enjoy special insight into the life of St George’s through bespoke musical events and behind the scenes experiences.
Taking the beautiful star above the stage as its inspiration, the Star Circle is our programme for major donors. The Star Circle is vital to the future growth and ambition of the organisation and enables the team to confidently plan for the future. Circle members enjoy opportunities to meet artists through an exclusive programme of events; including visits to cultural destinations and an annual supper with the Chief Executive, giving special insights into the organisation.
Through regular events we offer Patrons a unique opportunity to explore the artistic programme from new perspectives, with artists, musicians and the St George’s team as guides. Join today: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/support-us/ or call the development team on 0117 929 4929
A note on Gift Aid Supporter programmes include a commercial value comprising the cost of benefits supporters may receive, plus a donation. Benefits can be purchased separately at this price, and any amounts given over and above this benefits value are given freely as a donation and are eligible for Gift Aid. The programmes are designed to encourage philanthropic engagement with St George’s. See stgeorgesbristol.co.uk for further details.
Join today: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/support-us/ or call the development team on 0117 929 4929
Thank you We remain incredibly grateful to our communities of support – from members and patrons, to donors and corporate partners. 59
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Thank you to Our Supporters We remain grateful for the support of:
We would like to thank our Donors, Patrons, Benefactors, Friends, Volunteers and the following organisations that support our artistic and education programmes: Spielman Charitable Trust
Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation
Gibbs Charitable Trust
Paragon Music Trust
Launch Season Supporters:
Premier Sponsors:
With thanks to the individuals and organisations that have supported 'Building a Sound Future', St George's Bristol's Capital Campaign:
Denman Charitable Trust
The Nisbet Family Charitable Trust
The JM Britton Charitable Trust
Brian Maguire Charitable Trust
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
And the following 'Apollo Club' Corporate Members:
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The Society of Merchant Venturers
Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement
The Batchworth Trust
Harry Crook Foundation
The Martin Smith Foundation
Information
General Info Amplification Some events at St George’s are amplified. If this causes any concern, please check with the box office when booking.
Guide dogs Guide dogs are admitted to all parts of St George’s Bristol.
Facilities for those with additional needs St George’s welcomes visitors with additional needs. The venue is fully accessible from Charlotte Street. Please mention your particular needs to the Box Office when booking and all assistance will be given. Limited parking is available, but must be reserved in advance. Toilet facilities are located in the crypt and accessible by lift. St George’s Bristol is equipped with a hearing system.
Family-friendly St George’s welcomes children and we programme a variety of family-friendly concerts, including Relaxed Performances. Some concerts may not be suitable for children. Please check the event pages on our website for recommended age guidance. Our acoustic is extremely sensitive and sound carries so regretfully babies and young children cannot be admitted to the auditorium for ticketed events unless otherwise stated. All children must be issued with a ticket.
Please note improved accessibility work is due to reach completion in April 2018.
The information given in this brochure was correct at the time of going to print. 61
Book now: stgeorgesbristol.co.uk | 0845 40 24 001
Booking Information How to book Online Book online 24 hours a day at stgeorgesbristol.co.uk Telephone 0845 40 24 001. All major credit cards (except American Express), Maestro and Delta cards are accepted. During box office hours. In person The Box Office will be closed until 24 February 2018
Opening hours Until 24 Feb 2018: The building is closed. From 24 Feb to April (date TBC – subject to completion of build works): The building, including Box Office, is open 1.5 hours before concerts and events. The Box Office closes at the end of the interval. From April (date TBC – please check the website): Box Office Monday – Saturday, 10am to 6pm* Sunday, Midday-4pm* Café Bar Monday – Saturday, 10am – 9pm* Sunday, Midday – 6pm* *Both the Box Office and Café Bar will open later on concert/event nights. Postage fee £1 Tickets can be posted if requested; the cost covers postage and materials. Concessions (where they apply) Prices are indicated in brackets. These apply to those in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance or benefits, disabled people, senior citizens, under-18s and full-time students (unless otherwise stated). Proof of eligibility required.
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Carers Free carer tickets are available for each full-paying ticket holder who requires someone to assist them with their visit. Students *A limited number of £5 students tickets are available for certain concerts. CAVATINA Free tickets for 8 – 25 year olds for certain chamber concerts. Look out for the and quote CAVATINA when booking tickets. Visit cavatina.net for details. Group offer One ticket free in every group of ten for all events programmed by St George’s Bristol. Family ticket One child goes free in a family party of four or more. Refunds Tickets are non-transferable and refunds can only be offered on events which are sold out (and where there is demand) up to 48 hours before an event. Physical tickets must be returned. Latecomers and readmission Admission will be offered at the first suitable break but admission and readmission cannot be guaranteed. The management reserves the right to refuse admission if necessary. Data protection When you book a ticket your details are stored on the St George’s computer database. This information will only be used to send you details from St George’s and at other arts organistions with your permission – Data Protection Act registration number: PZ5013390.
How to find us / Credits
How to find us
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By bike Racks are by the Great George Street entrance.
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By bus See firstgroup.com for bus routes.
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Bristol Old Vic
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On foot St George’s is just off Park Street (accessible via Great George Street and Charlotte Street).
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On-street parking is strictly controlled with the nearest car parks on Trenchard Street, Jacobs Wells Road/ Berkeley Place (West End), and College Street. See travelwest.info for roadworks and travel updates.
THE G RO VE Arnolfini
Credits Design Charles Watkins and Mr B & Friends Print Zenith Media Registered Office Great George St, Bristol BS1 5RR Administration 0117 929 4929 Email administration@stgeorgesbristol.co.uk Chief Executive Suzanne Rolt St George’s Bristol No 2053843 Registered Charity No 295178 VAT No 821968115
Image credits Cover (Miloš Karadaglić) Lars Borges/Mercury Classics p2-3 Concepts Patel Taylor Architects p7 Sam Pine p22 & 48 Illustrations Laura Tanner p57 (Portrait) Courtesy of Harriet Gay, (Reredos) Philip Vile p58 Justin Yockney p59 John Johnson 63 p61 Simon Camper
At a Glance FEB RUARY Sat 24 | 7pm Sat 24 | 9pm Wed 28 | 7pm
Manu Delago with Chamber Orchestra Yola Carter and Ewan McLennan The Hall On The Hill
MARCH Thu 1 | 7pm The Hall On The Hill Fri 2 | 7.30pm St George's Gala Concert Sat 3 | 7.45pm Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra Sun 4 | 8pm Spiro, Leveret + Three Cane Whale Mon 5 | 7pm Suffrage at St George’s with Lucienne Boyce Tue 6 | 7pm Young Artist Showcase / Tom Eveson Gala Concert Wed 7 | 7pm QEH Spring Concert Thu 8 | 1.30pm INTERCHANGE Open Rehearsal Thu 8 | 8pm Women in Jazz Issie Barratt’s INTERCHANGE Fri 9 | 7.30pm Mark Padmore Tenor & Julius Drake Piano Sat 10 | 7.30pm Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra Sun 11 | 3pm Bristol Suzuki Group 30th Anniversary Concert Sun 11 | 8pm Tom Arthurs Trio Mon 12 | 7.30pm Bristol University Music Society Chamber Choir & Orchestra Tue 13 | 7pm Going Beyond 2018 Pioneering Spirits Wed 14 | 7pm (Doors) Turin Brakes Thu 15 | 1pm Mark Ashford Guitar Thu 15 | 7.30pm Tommy Smith Quartet Embodying the Light Thu 15 | 9.30pm Gary Crosby Kind of Blue Fri 16 | 8pm Hidden Orchestra with Limbic Cinema Sat 17 | 7.30pm Bristol Concert Orchestra / Ashley Wass Sun 18 | 7.30pm Exultate Singers MacMillan and Handel Mon 19 | 8pm Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham Tue 20 | 7pm Clifton High School in Concert Wed 21 | 7.30pm Florilegium Pergolesi ‘Stabat Mater’ Thu 22 | 1pm London Bridge Trio Thu 22 | 8pm The Handsome Family Fri 23 | 8pm Police Dog Hogan Sat 24 | 7.30pm Bristol Symphony Orchestra Brief Encounter Sun 25 | 10.15am & 12pm MiniBeats Wonderful Woodwinds! Sun 25 | 4.30pm From Pergolesi to Pärt The Evolution of Choral Music for Holy Week Sun 25 | 6.30pm Aurora Orchestra & Tenebrae Pärt ‘St John Passion’ Mon 26 | 7.30pm Debashish Bhattacharya Tue 27 | 7pm Voces8 & Rachel Podger Guardian Angels Fri 30 | 7.30pm Beth Nielsen Chapman
APR IL Tue 3 | 7.30pm Sir David Attenborough In Conversation Thu 5 | 7.30pm London African Gospel Choir presents Graceland Sun 8 | 4pm ‘Puttin On The Ritz’ with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra Mon 9 | 7pm South-West Open Youth Orchestra Tue 10 | 7.30pm Tom Paxton & The DonJuans Wed 11 | 7pm Chineke! Orchestra Thu 12 | 8pm Remembered for a While The Music of Nick Drake Fri 13 & Sat 14 | 7.30pm X: 10 Years of Sing Out Bristol Mon 16 | 7.30pm 5x15 Bristol Thu 19 | 11am From Quills to Hammers The Evolution of the Piano’s Sound Thu 19 | 1pm Ishay Shaer Piano Thu 19 | 8pm Nick Smart’s Black-Eyed Dog Remembering Nick Drake Fri 20 | 7.30pm Trevor Pinnock & Friends Fri 20 | 10pm Evan Parker Sat 21 | 7.30pm Bristol Phoenix Choir and Orchestra Sat 21 | 7.30pm Sarah Angliss Tue 24 | 7.30pm Benjamin Grosvenor Piano
APR IL (co nt.) Wed 25 | 7pm (Doors) Thu 26 | 1pm Thu 26 | 8pm Sat 28 | 7.30pm Sun 29 | 7pm
Joan As Policewoman Ivan Ilić (piano) Martin Speake Quartet ft. Ethan Iverson Notes for Women The Early Years Bristol Youth Orchestra
MAY Thu 3 | 1pm Julian Perkins Harpsichord Thu 3 | 8pm Andy Sheppard & Eivind Aarset Fri 4 | 7.30pm Eric Bibb Sun 6 | 7.30pm Bristol Classical Players Wed 9 | 7.30pm English Symphony Orchestra & Sheku Kanneh-Mason Elgar ‘Cello Concerto’ Thu 10 | 1pm Joseph Tong Piano Thu 17 | 1pm Les Kapsbergirls Thu 17 | 8pm Human Cargo with Matthew Crampton & Jeff Warner Fri 18 | 7.30pm OAE Rosenkavalier Sat 19 | 7.30pm City of Bristol Choir Sun 20 | 7.30pm Sisters With Voices II Tue 22 | 7.30pm Tommy Emmanuel Wed 23 | 7.30pm Solomon’s Knot ‘Mass in B Minor’ From Memory Thu 24 | 1pm Jelena Makarova (piano) Thu 24 | 8pm Mammal Hands plus Eyebrow Wed 30 | 11.45am Wild Words Vivaldi’s Dream Wed 30 | 8pm Lisa Knapp + Dead Rat Orchestra Thu 31 | 1pm Liv-Marie Kodurand (violin) & Jan Rautio (piano)
JUNE Fri 1 | 7.30pm Paul Lewis Piano Haydn, Beethoven & Brahms I Sat 2 | 7.30pm Gretchen Peters Sun 3 | 8pm Tigran Thu 7 | 8pm Sona Jobarteh Fri 8 | 7.30pm Project Zulu Tour Finale Concert Sat 9 | 7.30pm Exultate Singers A Sense of the Divine Sun 10 | 10.15am, 12pm & 2pm MiniBeats Super Strings! Mon 11 | 7pm (Doors) Lamont Dozier Thu 14 | 8pm Moscow Drug Club + Tango Calor Fri 15 | 7.30pm Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments Sound House Sat 16 | 7.45pm Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra Thu 21 | 7.30pm Paul Lewis Piano Haydn, Beethoven & Brahms I Sat 23 | 7.30pm Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra Sun 24 | 7pm City Voices Bristol Home and Away Tue 26 | 7pm Bristol Youth Choir Juniors Summer Concert Wed 27 | 7.30pm Bristol Youth Choir Seniors Summer Concert Fri 29 | 7.30pm Julian Bliss Clarinet & the Carducci Quartet
JULY Thu 5 | 7pm Sat 7 | 7.30pm Sun 15 | 2.30pm & 7pm
Toto La Momposina & AMJ Collective Footnotes to the Great War Riff Raff Paint the Town Red… and Pink… and Orange
Book now stgeorgesbristol.co.uk 0845 40 24 001* Great George Street (Off Park Street), Bristol BS1 5RR * During box office opening hours @stgeorgesbris