THE 2015 York Spring Festival of New Music opened with a delightfully engaging concert which drew its inspiration from the Middle East: focusing on the lives and experiences of women through a contemporary window.

The Flood was performed by The Lyre Ensemble with a haunting vocal from the hugely talented Stef Conner. Each song, narrative driven, was delivered with such animated conviction – tender, passionate and with a beautifully judged ornamentation. The only song that didn’t work for me was the one sung in English, it lost its allure, it just felt contemporary. Mark Harmer and Andy Lowings were superb, their lyre accompaniments were spellbinding.

Swimming Between Shores was a hugely ambitious collaboration between composer Morag Galloway and singer Merit Ariane Stephanos.

The performance, both musically and theatrically, was utterly convincing: and it needed to be. Ms Stephanos was clearly at ease with Middle Eastern vocal music and style and the piece, for me, worked best when at its most tender and intimate, especially with the beautiful Qanun commentary performed by Nilufar Habibian.

This innovative, exciting festival of contemporary music continued with the Chimera Ensemble last night.

For full details of all the concerts visit www.yorkspringfestival.co.uk/2015