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Oratorio of Hope: London Borough of Culture Flagship Event
Highlighted as London’s Borough of Culture for 2023-24, we’re celebrating all things Croydon with two flagship performances of the Oratorio of Hope, a brand-new commission which puts the Croydon community at the heart of the music. This double-bill concert showcases the very best of Croydon’s young talent through music, spoken word, song, dance, film and visual art.
Saturday 1 April Oratorio of Hope 7pm
Croydon’s poet laureate Shaniqua Benjamin will take a lead on the poetry and spoken word to share stories of hope for the future, while Grammy-nominated, Croydon-educated Tarik O’Regan will lead on the composition of the music alongside composers Sarah Freestone, Fiona Brice and Jeff Moore, working with local musicians and arts groups. The choreography will be led by Agudo Dance Company, alongside Subrang Arts and local young people. A host of schools in Croydon will be involved in the creation and performance of the piece, including hundreds of singers and instrumentalists from Croydon Music and Arts and a mass finale celebrating the very best talent Croydon has to offer.
Sunday 2 April – Free performances in Fairfield Halls from 2-6pm, Oratorio of Hope 7pm
We’re hosting a FREE afternoon showcase in the public open spaces of Fairfield Halls featuring local talent from across Croydon, including choirs, sea shanties, solo performers, dance groups and bands.
Who’s Involved in Oratorio of Hope
Shaniqua Benjamin (Croydon’s Poet Laureate) Jonathan Bloxham (conductor) Crisis Skylight Croydon Singers
LMP
We are London Mozart Players (LMP) and we’re Croydon’s resident orchestra, based at Fairfield Halls. You’ll see us on stage in every movement and we’re excited to be performing alongside talent from across the borough in this celebration of Croydon’s creativity.
Agudo Dance Company
Agudo and composer Sarah Freestone have created a movement inspired by Shaniqua Benjamin’s specially commissioned poem, For Us and We. It explores the cycle of life, and ends full of hope for the future.
Subrang Arts
Subrang Arts are one of the borough’s leading cultural organisations, showcasing South Asian arts and heritage. Expect dancing, traditional Indian instruments including tabla, sitar and Indian flute, and lots of colour!
Croydon Music & Arts (CMA)
Over 250 students from schools across the borough will perform a spectacular finale by composer Jeff Moore, with players from CMA ensembles and a mass Children’s Chorus.
Silvastone
Silvastone is a Croydon-based Afrobeats artist/producer whose unique sound is a creative hybrid of influences from his West African heritage, UK upbringing and international travels. He has worked with composer Fiona Brice to write a song for the Oratorio celebrating all that Croydon has to offer.
Tarik O’Regan
Tarik is a Grammy-nominated, Croydon-born composer who has also been commissioned to write music for His Majesty the King’s coronation. He’s written the musical theme on which the whole Oratorio is based.
Composers
Fiona Brice, Sarah Freestone, Jeff Moore, Tarik O’Regan
We want to ensure that as many people as possible can access and enjoy this important opening event for London Borough of Culture. As such we have made tickets available from as little at £5.50*.
Of course this price does not reflect the real cost of putting on an event like this which includes so many talented artists who need to be paid fairly for their work.
If you are able to purchase a £15* or £29.25* ticket, we would encourage you to do so. These tickets better reflect the value of the artistic contributions being made and will support the ongoing financial stability of our work.
Libera Nos: a multi-faith oratorio by Polo Piatti
Polo Piatti Libera Nos
Simon Blendis leader
London Mozart Players
Hastings Sinfonia
London Euphony Choir
St Richard’s Catholic College Choir
Libera Nos Chorus
Derek Carden conductor
Anne Rebecca Højlund soprano
Eleanor Grant junior soprano
Rebekah Jones alto
Matthew Pochin alto
Stephen Holloway bass
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We’re premiering Polo Piatti’s Libera Nos: the very first multi-faith oratorio to be performed anywhere in the world. This monumental work was originally commissioned by the Musica Sacra organisation and took over three years to be researched and completed. This major new work comprises 60 original vocal and instrumental compositions structured into four main sections: Creation, Law, Obedience, End of Time and Reconciliation and Salvation.
Libera Nos, meaning ‘Deliver Us’ in Latin, aims to convey and unite the traditional beliefs and spiritual messages of the world’s largest religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Talking about the story behind the work. Polo Piatti says: “The oratorio’s main objective is to convey a simple message: as long as people remain segregated from each other, the world will continue to be an unjust and unhappy place. Only by looking for common ground and universal similarities, we will be able to find understanding and, in doing so, contribute to a better life for all of us on this planet.”
At the helm, Derek Carden will conduct LMP, an all-star cast of talented local soloists and over 100 musicians and singers from local orchestra Hastings Sinfonia, London Euphony Choir, St Richard’s Catholic College Choir and the specially formed Libera Nos Choir.
Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto No.21 in C
Our lunchtime series with pianist Howard Shelley is back and better than ever. This year, we’re turning our attention to the (17)80s classics when Mozart was at the top of his game in Vienna, composing reams of piano concertos for the finest instrumentalists of the day. Make the most of your lunch-hour with a Viennese whirlwind of music and insightful introductions as Howard plays 6 of these concertos in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.
We have it on the highest authority (Classic FM’s Hall of Fame) that No. 21 is the nation’s favourite Mozart Piano Concerto. Delicate, playful and well-balanced, it’s the Mozart we know and love at his very best. Its nickname ‘Elvira Madigan’ comes from its inclusion in a 1960s Swedish film, which tells the story of a tragic love affair between a circus performer and nobleman. A much happier relationship exists between us and Howard Shelley, with whom we recorded this concerto way back in 1995. Do join us as we reunite for a live performance, 28 years later.
Since you’ll be in the area, why not pre-book lunch at the Alfred Tennyson pub and restaurant which is just three minutes away? They’ll offer you a free drink (wine, Prosecco or beer) with a pre-booked meal, as long as you show proof of ticket purchase.
If you are a student, then you can get our ‘Education’ tickets for £10. Please bring suitable ID with you on the day to show at the door. All tickets can be bought on the door as well, as well as over the phone and online.
Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto No.22 in E Flat
Howard Shelley director/piano
Simon Blendis leader
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Mozart wrote this concerto at the end of 1785, when he was still the pianist darling of Vienna. In these years, he was composing concertos to perform at subscription concerts, which for the spendthrift Mozart provided a necessary source of income.
This is the first of Mozart’s piano concertos to include clarinets. Clarinets were a relatively new instrument at the time, invented earlier that century and only found in musical cities. Of course, being so new, it was difficult (and expensive!) to find clarinet players. Mozart wrote clarinets freely into his operas, but for his self-funded subscription concerts he seems to have been much more frugal. And yet for his Piano Concerto No. 22, he decided that clarinets were essential.
Our lunchtime series with pianist Howard Shelley is back and better than ever. This year, we’re turning our attention to the (17)80s classics when Mozart was at the top of his game in Vienna, composing reams of piano concertos for the finest instrumentalists of the day. Make the most of your lunch-hour with a Viennese whirlwind of music and insightful introductions as Howard plays 6 of these concertos in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.
Since you’ll be in the area, why not pre-book lunch at the Alfred Tennyson which is just three minutes away? They’ll offer you a free drink (wine, Prosecco or beer) with a pre-booked meal, as long as you show proof of ticket purchase.
If you are a student, then you can get our ‘Education’ tickets for £10. Please bring suitable ID with you on the day to show at the door. All tickets can be bought on the door as well, as well as over the phone and online.
Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor
Our lunchtime series with pianist Howard Shelley is back and better than ever. This year, we’re turning our attention to the (17)80s classics when Mozart was at the top of his game in Vienna, composing reams of piano concertos for the finest instrumentalists of the day. Make the most of your lunch-hour with a Viennese whirlwind of music and insightful introductions as Howard plays 6 of these concertos in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.
Darker, moodier and more brooding than the Mozart we’re familiar with, the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor was one of only two minor concertos he ever wrote. And yet this was what so many of Mozart’s successors loved about it. In the years after Mozart’s death in 1791, popular tastes changed. With the rise of Romanticism, people wanted music to be emotional, tense and sublime. Much of Mozart’s lighter and more playful music suffered from neglect, but this proto-Romantic concerto never went out of style. It had fans in Beethoven, Brahms and Clara Schumann—and you don’t get more legendary than that.
Since you’ll be in the area, why not pre-book lunch at the Alfred Tennyson pub and restaurant which is just three minutes away? They’ll offer you a free drink (wine, Prosecco or beer) with a pre-booked meal, as long as you show proof of ticket purchase.
If you are a student, then you can get our ‘Education’ tickets for £10. Please bring suitable ID with you on the day to show at the door. All tickets can be bought on the door as well, as well as over the phone and online.
Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto No.19 in F
Our lunchtime series with pianist Howard Shelley is back and better than ever. This year, we’re turning our attention to the (17)80s classics when Mozart was at the top of his game in Vienna, composing reams of piano concertos for the finest instrumentalists of the day. Make the most of your lunch-hour with a Viennese whirlwind of music and insightful introductions as Howard plays 6 of these concertos in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.
1784 was Mozart’s ‘year of the piano’ in which he wrote masterpiece after masterpiece, and topped them off with the Piano Concerto No. 19 in December. This piece was probably first performed that winter. Mozart played it again in a six-part concert series given during Lent of 1785. For the price of one gold sovereign, a concert-goer could enjoy all six Lenten concerts. These took place in restaurant ballrooms instead of more conventional concert halls, because the venue hire was cheap: only half a gold sovereign per concert! With these profits, he and his wife Constanze began to live accordingly: moving to a more expensive apartment, sending their son to boarding school and buying a piano worth double their rent.
Since you’ll be in the area, why not pre-book lunch at the Alfred Tennyson pub and restaurant which is just three minutes away? They’ll offer you a free drink (wine, Prosecco or beer) with a pre-booked meal, as long as you show proof of ticket purchase.
If you are a student, then you can get our ‘Education’ tickets for £10. Please bring suitable ID with you on the day to show at the door. All tickets can be bought on the door as well, as well as over the phone and online.
Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto No.18 in B Flat
Our lunchtime series with pianist Howard Shelley is back and better than ever. This year, we’re turning our attention to the (17)80s classics when Mozart was at the top of his game in Vienna, composing reams of piano concertos for the finest instrumentalists of the day. Make the most of your lunch-hour with a Viennese whirlwind of music and insightful introductions as Howard plays 6 of these concertos in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.
Mozart wrote Piano Concerto No. 18 for his friend Maria Theresia von Paradis. Blind by the age of 5, Paradis became one of the most famous pianists of her day, a sensation in Vienna and the rest of Europe. Her father was Austria’s Secretary of Commerce; Paradis herself was taught by Antonio Salieri and commissioned music from Joseph Haydn. The history of this Piano Concerto offers a glimpse into the tight-knit musical circles of Vienna, as well as shining a light on how close musicians were to centres of power and influence.
Since you’ll be in the area, why not pre-book lunch at the Alfred Tennyson pub and restaurant which is just three minutes away? They’ll offer you a free drink (wine, Prosecco or beer) with a pre-booked meal, as long as you show proof of ticket purchase.
If you are a student, then you can get our ‘Education’ tickets for £10. Please bring suitable ID with you on the day to show at the door. All tickets can be bought on the door as well, as well as over the phone and online.
Waynflete Singers Christmas Concert
Dvorak Mass in D major
Finzi In terra pax
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Waynflete Singers
Andrew Lumsden conductor
Grayshott Concerts: An American Evening
Montgomery Starburst
Barber Adagio for Strings
Copland Appalachian Spring
Copland A Quiet City
Barber Violin Concerto
Júlia Pusker violin
Geoffrey Paterson conductor
Wimbledon International Music Festival
Poulenc Litanies a la Vierge Noire
Berlioz L’enfance du Christ
London Mozart Players
The Academy Choir
Grace Durham mezzo-soprano
Julien van Mellaerts baritone
Alessandro Fisher tenor
James Platt bass
Matthew Best conductor
Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto No.17 in G
Our lunchtime series with pianist Howard Shelley is back and better than ever. This year, we’re turning our attention to the (17)80s classics when Mozart was at the top of his game in Vienna, composing reams of piano concertos for the finest instrumentalists of the day. Make the most of your lunch-hour with a Viennese whirlwind of music and insightful introductions as Howard plays 6 of these concertos in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge.
Concertos are pieces performed by a soloist and an orchestra, but Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G had an unlikely third collaborator. As the legend goes, Mozart got the melody for the third movement from his pet starling. We don’t know if the starling was compensated for his work or just paid in exposure, but Mozart certainly prized its musical talent – which is quite something, coming from him.
Fancy a discount? Book all 6 concerts in one go and we’ll only charge you for the price of 5.
Since you’ll be in the area, why not pre-book lunch at the Alfred Tennyson pub and restaurant which is just three minutes away? They’ll offer you a free drink (wine, Prosecco or beer) with a pre-booked meal, as long as you show proof of ticket purchase.
If you are a student, then you can get our ‘Education’ tickets for £10. Please bring suitable ID with you on the day to show at the door.
Grayshott Concerts: The Healer
Karl Jenkins from Requiem, Cantate Memoria, Stabat Mater and The Peacemakers
Karl Jenkins Enchantment
Karl Jenkins The Healer
London Mozart Players
Excelsis Chamber Choir
Vox Chamber Choir
Robert Lewis conductor
Karl Jenkins guest conductor
Simon Blendis director
Gareth Hulse oboe/cor anglais
Shoshanah Sievers violin
Lucy Knight soprano
Luca Brugnoli treble
Hakan Vramso baritone
Zands Duggan percussion
St Martin’s Voices: Serenade to Music
Vaughan Williams Sun, Moon, Stars and Man
Ola Gjeilo Song of the Universal
Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music
London Mozart Players
St Martin’s Voices
Andrew Earis conductor
Classical Road Show
Richard Brown Fire!
Benjamin Pope conductor
London Mozart Players
Musicians from Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Bath MozartFest
Haydn Symphony No. 55 in E flat ‘The Schoolmaster’
Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor
Michael Collins clarinet
Simon Blendis director
Grayshott Concerts: Friends of Grayshott
Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals
Prokofiev (arr. Matthews) Peter and the Wolf
Simon Callow narrator
James Mayhew artist
It’s all about Mozart
Mozart Oboe Concerto
Mozart Violin Concerto no.3
Mozart Symphony no.29
Chris Vettraino oboe
Ruth Rogers leader
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Building on our tradition of supporting young artists, we are joined by the winner of Croydon Performing Arts Festival (CPAF), oboist Chris Vettraino. CPAF is one of the largest performing-arts festivals in the country and attracts more than 1000 performers each year in western music, South Asian music, dance, south Asian dance, speech and drama.
We can’t deny that Mozart was a prodigy. Having only 35 years on the earth didn’t stop him from writing an incredible amount of music in a whole variety of genres, on top of being somewhat of a party animal (so we’re told). In today’s concert, Chris stars as the soloist for Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, a piece written to showcase the playful nature of the instrument, our leader, Ruth Rogers, takes the stage for Mozart’s adventurous Violin Concerto and the orchestra come together for his Symphony no.29.
At the heart of our residency at St John’s is a mission to inspire the younger generation and allow as many people as possible to hear our music. By purchasing one of our £25 tickets, you are enabling a student, or person who is not normally able to attend, the chance to come to our concert and enjoy the night free of charge. You’ll also receive a glass of prosecco and reserved seating free of charge.