Preview: University of York Symphony Orchestra, Central Hall, March 7 (From York Press)

Preview: University of York Symphony Orchestra, Central Hall, March 7

11:30am Friday 2nd March 2007

• Print
• Email
• Share

AFTER sold-out concerts in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, the University of York Symphony Orchestra plays in Central Hall for the first time in several years on Wednesday.

Soprano Bibi Heal joins the orchestra as soloist for Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs. Last heard in York as soloist with the York Musical Society, Bibi has taken solo roles with Opera North, theRoyal Opera House, Garsington and Gstaad Opera. She is also establishing a connection with North Yorkshire as her husband, Julian Doyle, is artistic director of the Ryedale and Swaledale Festivals.

The haunting Four Last Songs was Strauss's last major work and ends with a meditation on death, sung by a soaring soprano with violin accompaniment. The programme concludes with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, a meditation from the depths of despair to life-affirming energy, and the 7.30pm concert also marks the 70th birthday of composer David Blake, former head of the music department, with a performance of his Metamorphoses. This lyrical showpiece was written for the university orchestra in 1971.

Box office: 01904 432439 or email boxoffice@york.ac.uk

• Print
• Email
• Share