Chris Kettle

A spectacular Proms finale for Sir Mark Elder at the helm of the Hallé

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 4 – MacMillan, Mahler: Hallé Children’s Choir (chorus master: Shirley Court), Hallé Youth Choir (chorus master: Stuart Overington), Hallé Choir (chorus master: Matthew Hamilton), Hallé / Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 21.7.2024. (CK)

Sir Mark Elder conducts the Hallé © Chris Christodoulou

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Laura Rickard’s imaginatively devised voyage of chamber music discovery concludes in Romsey

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Various – Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024 [2]: Sophia Jin (soprano), Thomas Guthrie (baritone), Imogen Whitehead (trumpet), Laura Rickard, Emma Roijackers, Luke Hsu (violin), José Nunes, Joseph Griffin, Coby Mendez (viola), Rainer Crosett, Lydia Hillerudh (cello), James Trowbridge (double bass), Johan Löfving (guitar), Jennifer Walsh, Michael Cohen-Weissert, Caspar Vos (piano). Houghton Lodge Gardens, Romsey Abbey, St. Mark’s Church, Ampfield, United Reformed Church, Romsey, 24-30.6.2024. (CK)

Plink, Plank, Plunk! at the Sunday evening RCMF concert (30.6)

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Bach, birdsong and bacon butties: an early start to the Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Various – Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024 [1]: Sophia Jin (soprano), Thomas Guthrie (baritone), Imogen Whitehead (trumpet), Laura Rickard, Emma Roijackers, Luke Hsu (violin), José Nunes, Joseph Griffin, Coby Mendez (viola), Rainer Crosett, Lydia Hillerudh (cello), James Trowbridge (double bass), Johan Löfving (guitar), Jennifer Walsh, Michael Cohen-Weissert, Caspar Vos (piano). Houghton Lodge Gardens, Romsey Abbey, St. Mark’s Church, Ampfield, United Reformed Church, Romsey, 24-30.6.2024. (CK)

Thursday evening concert (27.6)  at the Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024

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Francesca Tiburzi a striking and memorable Tosca at The Grange Festival 2024

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom The Grange Festival 2024 – Puccini, Tosca: Soloists, The Grange Festival Chorus (chorus master: William Vann), The Grange Festival Children’s Chorus (chorus master: David Hall), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Francesco Cilluffo (conductor). The Grange, Hampshire 21.6.2024. (CK)

The Grange Festival 2024 Tosca – Andrés Presno (Cavaradossi) © Craig Fuller

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Compelling Royal Festival Hall day of unfamiliar Eastern Europe music from Kirill Karabits’s BSO

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Various: Valeriy Sokolov (viola), Harutyun Chkolyan, Karen Sirakanyan (duduk/zurna), Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Kirill Karabits (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 19.5.2024. (CK)

Kirill Karabits conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall © Pete Woodhead

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Three explosive performances and a touching gesture: Kirill Karabits’s fitting farewell with the BSO

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Bartok, Prokofiev, Shostakovich: Alexander Gavrylyuk (piano), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Kirill Karabits (conductor). Lighthouse, Poole, 15.5.2024. (CK)

Kirill Karabits conducts pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra © Mark Allan

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Chineke! give characteristically life-affirming performances of music concerned with death

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Goodyear, Berlioz, Garcia: Isabelle Peters (soprano), Idunnu Munch (mezzo-soprano), Zwakele Tshabalala (tenor), Rodney Earl Clarke (baritone), Chineke! Chorus and Orchestra / Malcolm J. Merriweather (conductor). Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 3.5.2024. (CK)

Malcolm J. Merriweather conducts Idunnu Munch (mezzo-soprano) and Chineke! Orchestra © Chuko Cribb

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