Programme: Elgar Serenade for Strings, Mark Simpson The Immortal (new version)*, Sibelius Symphony No.2
Performers: Daniela Candillari conductor, Rory Musgrave baritone*, EXAUDI vocal ensemble
When you find your voice, you’ve got to make it heard. Sibelius poured all the hopes and fears of a new nation into a Second Symphony that flows and swells like a mighty river – crowned with a tune you’ll never forget. In 2015, Artist in Residence Mark Simpson astonished the world when he premiered his supernatural oratorio, The Immortal. With the help of conductor Daniela Candillari and a star vocal line, he’s bringing it home tonight. The evergreen favourite Serenade for Strings by Elgar sets off the evening.
St. Mary’s College, Crosby deliver another showcase of the musical talents of its pupils.
The concert will feature gifted soloists and musical ensembles including the College’s award-winning Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Band, Stage Band, Chamber Choir and Preparatory School Concert Choir.
Presenting a musical journey through time, these talented young musicians will perform works including Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Capriccio Espagnol, the William Tell Overture by Rossini, extracts from Hairspray and the symphonic suite from Star Wars.
The Dodge Brothers produce new songs written and performed in the old style – a hybrid of blues, rockabilly, jugband, skiffle and early rock’n’roll.
Comprising Mike Hammond, Aly Hirji, BBC film critic Mark Kermode and Alex Hammond, The Dodge Brothers are renowned for their take on classic Americana.
Following their second album Louisa and the Devil, (“wonderful stuff!” – Whispering Bob Harris) the band recorded The Sun Set (“marvellous new record” – Jools Holland) at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee using authentically old-fashioned recording techniques to recapture the spirit of a bygone age (a BBC Radio 2 documentary was made following the band on this journey).
Their version of ‘Rock Island Line’ (recorded by Grammy winner Steve Levine for Liverpool International Music Festival), has now been used in the Brian Epstein biopic Midas Man, The Dodge Brothers featuring in the movie as The Beatles support act in The Cavern in 1961. The Dodge Brothers packed out The Cavern for the Midas Man premiere in October 2024.
As a live act The Dodge Brothers have played everywhere from Lapland to the Royal Albert Hall, selling out throughout the UK. The Dodge Brothers tunes of proven merit never fail to entertain.
At last, an Irish music show that has come out of Ireland without the clichés that usually follow! There are no twee costumes or backing tracks here. Instead you get incredibly talented musicians and dancers who simply want to bring you the sound and fun of Ireland in an intimate and homely setting.
The live music, Irish dancing and banter is infectious and enters the psyche in seconds. The show itself features All Ireland champion musicians and world champion dancers who combine a unique blend of light hearted audience interaction with fascinating stories about the music and the instruments themselves.
The original show was set up in Dublin by a group of musicians who wanted visitors to the city to experience what a real Irish house party is like. It’s all presented in a fun and humorous way resulting in a fabulous theatre going experience.
Don’t miss the chance to experience a true taste of an Irish House Party live on the theatre stage!
Programme: Dvořák The Water Goblin, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Beethoven Symphony No.6, ‘Pastoral’
Performers: Ariane Matiakh conductor, Diana Tischenko violin
Even a genius has to relax sometimes and when Beethoven wanted to unwind, he headed for the countryside. In his Pastoral symphony, we get to join him: green meadows, rippling brooks and the occasional thunderstorm, all crafted into one of the freshest symphonies ever written. Conductor Ariane Matiakh returns and gets things started with a supernatural thriller from Antonín Dvořák, before Tchaikovsky’s ever popular Violin Concerto heats up the stage.
For more than a decade Tankus have offered a transcendental rock ‘n’ roll experience. The hardest-working band in town, they’ve played roughly 1400 shows, criss- crossing the continent in the process.
Led by the redoubtable, the Jaz Delorean, with João Mello on sax and vocals, Dan Hipkin on bass, Jack Price on guitar, João Taborda on drums and Russ Evans on trombone, the band have scored numerous highs, building an astonishingly loyal fanbase in the process.
They’re a deeply theatrical endeavour, akin to shows by Tom Waits or the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, but with a modern twist, similar to the raw power of The Fat White Family or Cage The Elephant, inviting people into a counter cultural realm for one-night-only.
Programme: Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Mozart Piano Concerto No.27 in B-flat K595, Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Performers: Adam Hickox conductor, Paul Lewis piano
Take a young composer with a heart full of unrequited love and a head full of wild imaginings. Add bells, witches, guillotines and a super-sized orchestra, and – well, let’s just say that they don’t call it the Symphonie fantastique for nothing. Adam Hickox conducts Berlioz’s extravaganza today, but first, we’ll join Claude Debussy in a garden of otherworldly delights, and Paul Lewis performs Mozart’s final piano concerto. It might be his loveliest.
Programme: Schumann Overture, Genoveva, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3, Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Performers: Adam Hickox conductor, Paul Lewis piano
You’re young, you’re French and you’re madly in love. Naturally, you pour all your feelings into a colossal symphony: a delirious, multicoloured rollercoaster of raw passion, gothic nightmares and jangling bells. Sounds fantastic? Wait till you hear Berlioz’s psychedelic symphony conducted by fast-rising British star Adam Hickox, who returns with Liverpool’s own Paul Lewis in Beethoven’s darkest and most personal piano concerto. Things are about to get spectacular – it’s what Berlioz (and his hero Beethoven) would have expected.
Programme: Ravel Sonata for violin and cello, Martinů Sonata No.1 for cello and piano, Gary Carpenter Dioscuri for two cellos, Shostakovich Piano Trio No.2
Performers: Thelma Handy violin, Alexander Holladay cello, Mark Lindley cello, William Bracken piano
Thelma Handy and fellow musicians immerse us in the cool elegance of Ravel, the quirky tones of Martinů and detuned discourse from Gary Carpenter, before diving into one of Shostakovich’s most personal and famous chamber pieces.
Pleasure Island aka Liverpool-based duo Sean Ekins (guitar, vocals) and Sam Pierpoint (drums) make kinetic, cerebral indie-rock for bodies and minds in these post-Brexit, post-Covid, whatever’s-next times.
The band celebrate the release of their debut EP, titled “Now That’s What I Call Sleaze 26” this September. The tracks showcase the bands ability for caustic wordplay centered on the depths of human experience, wrapped in humour and post punk spikiness.
