With a series sell-out concerts last year, The Northern Chamber Orchestra is busy rehearsing for the final three concerts of its 2022-23 season, following its move to the brand new, purpose built, auditorium at The Kings’ School in Macclesfield, and the beautiful, intimate St Michael’s Church.
Save the dates – final three concerts expected to be another sell-out
- 11th March, 7.30pm: Stabat Mater Dolorosa
- 1st April, 7.30pm: Winds Unleashed
- 6th May, 7.30pm: Bach and his Legacy
First up on 11th March at St Michael’s Church is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater sequence directed by Christopher Jones and sung by soprano Caroline Taylor and countertenor Ralph Thomas Williams. This meditation on the suffering of Mary as she stands at the foot of the cross by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi is profoundly moving and his most celebrated sacred work. ‘Sogno di Stabat Mater’ (2005) by Lera Auerbach, one of the most widely performed composers of the new generation, is a reworking of some of Pergolesi’s themes, seen through a contemporary lens and featuring a solo violin (Kay Stephen) and viola (Christopher Jones). Joyful Concerti Grossi by Handel and Corelli complete the programme.
On 1st April, the NCO returns to The King’s School in Macclesfield for a concert featuring the wind players of the orchestra, directed by the principal oboe of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, John Roberts. Mozart’s Serenade for 13 Winds, the ‘Gran Partita’, is without question a masterpiece for wind ensemble. It covers much ground, from lyrical expressions of yearning to the music of the beer garden. Joachim Raff is an unjustly neglected composer, remembered primarily for his Sinfonietta for Winds, written in 1873 and full of wit and good humour. Following a considerable resurgence of interest in her music, Ruth Gipps is now regarded as one of the foremost English composers of the 20th century. Her ‘Seascape’ (1958) is a short reflection on the sounds of the sea.
Closing the series on 6th May at The King’s School in Macclesfield, Spanish violinist Jorge Jimenez directs the orchestra in three of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos interspersed with two 20th century works in which the German master’s continuing influence can clearly be felt. Jimenez is equally at home in classical or contemporary repertoire. The Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, is one of the most performed contemporary composers in the world. His Fratres is an essentially simple and contemplative work, full of bell-like resonances and elements of early sacred music. Alfred Schnittke was a leading Russian composer in the latter half of the 20th century. Suite in the Old Style is an engaging baroque pastiche, overlaid with some modern surprises.
As the North West’s longest-standing chamber orchestra, The NCO has come a long way since it was set up in 1967. It has over thirty, critically-acclaimed recordings to its name and is known in every continent and its members (approximately twenty five in total) are distinguished chamber musicians who regularly appear as soloists.
How to book
Tickets are on sale now priced at £25 full price, with free tickets for under 18s and students, and under 30s and group discounts available.
Book your tickets now for all concerts at ncorch.co.uk or call 0161 247 2220.
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Metropolitan University, Brooks Building, 53 Bonsall Street, Manchester, M15 6GX
T: 0161 247 2220
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