An evening of ballet music:

• Masquerade Suite Khachaturian
• Rodeo Copland
• Romeo and Juliet Suite #2 Prokofiev
• Swan Lake Tchaikovsky

Halifax Symphony Orchestra

132 years old, the Halifax Symphony Orchestra is one of the UK’s oldest non-professional orchestras. Members come from all walks of life from within and around Calderdale and beyond, and share a passion for playing together. The players are variously teachers, semi-professionals, and retired professionals along with a positive group of dedicated amateurs.

Conductor – Nicholas Simpson

Nick was born in Manchester.

He read law at Nottingham University, and for ten years played in rock bands, making a small but still faintly detectable impact on 1980s pop, before studying composition and conducting at Trinity College of Music in London.

At Trinity he had lessons with John Tavener, winning the Chappell Prize for composition and the Ricordi Prize for conducting (twice). In 1987 he was a finalist in the national Yehudi Menhuin and Royal Overseas League competitions, and whilst still a student his first string quartet was given by the Roth Quartet at the Purcell Room.

In the 1990s Nick earned a living as a criminal lawyer, composing in his spare time, but resigned to concentrate on music upon moving back to Manchester in 1998. His music has been played by artists as diverse as the Composers’ Ensemble, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the English String Quartet, both in Europe and the USA. He has written music in a wide variety of genres, including two symphonies and many chamber pieces, and is one of a small (and undistinguished) number of people whose work has been played both on Radio 1 and Radio 3.

In 2003 he began an association with the award-winning Sound Inventors composition in education team, leading further courses in 2005. He has twice been nominated for the British Composer Awards, most recently for his oratorio Recreation, completed in 2004 whilst Composer in Residence with Sale Choral Society. His Symphony No.2 was recorded by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2005 and broadcast on Radio 3 last summer. His new piece for the Fell Clarinet Quartet, Mardale Changes, received its premiere at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in December, and he is now working on a third Symphony.

In addition to his work with the Halifax Symphony Orchestra, Nick Simpson is Music Director of the Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester. He is married and has three children. In idle moments he plays guitar in the R&B band Los Galacticos.

(Information sourced from the Halifax Symphony Orchestra. If you’re interested in finding out more, follow the link.)

Tickets: Obtainable online from www.squarechapel.co.uk or in person at the Box Office

Orchestra of Square Chapel is the resident orchestra at Square Chapel Centre for the Arts, Halifax. A mixture of professional, semi-professional and gifted amateur players, the orchestra has a reputation for exciting programming. Concerts feature the very best music for chamber orchestra and offer an alternative musical palette to other local orchestras. This concert will be conducted by Nick Concannon-Hodges.

Orchestra of Square Chapel has been heard on BBC Radio 3 as part of the Listen Up Festival of British and Contemporary Composers and has performed as part of the Halifax Festival.

Sarah Killian

The soprano soloist Sarah Killian will be performing in this concert, which will feature music by Verdi, Puccini, Bernstein and Wagner.

Sarah grew up in Halifax, West Yorkshire and was involved in music from an early age.

In 2008, Sarah went to Royal Holloway University to read Music.  She was lucky enough to perform lead roles such as Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Aline (The Sorcerer) with the Savoy Opera Society and Countess Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro) with Opera Holloway.  In her final year she was awarded the composition prize and graduated with First Class hons.

Since University she has studied on Birkbeck’s Opera course and is currently on the postgraduate course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  Whilst at Guildhall Sarah has had many opportunities, performing in the operas, The Adventures of Pinnochio by Jonathan Dove and Dvořák’s The Cunning Peasant. She played Naijade in a scene from Strauss’s Ariadne Auf Naxos and Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen.  Last year she was invited to sing Maconchy’s song cycle Sun, Moon and Stars for Jane Manning’s Birthday Celebration at the City of London Festival.

(Information taken from Sarah’s website. For further information, follow the link.)

Conductor – Nick Concannon-Hodges

Since taking over the Todmorden Orchestra at the start of the 2006/7 season, Nick has established himself as a highly successful and respected conductor in the West Pennines.

Between 2007 and 2012 he worked with the Burnley Municipal Orchestra and Chorus and most recently, he has been engaged as a Guest Conductor with the Orchestra of Square Chapel, Halifax. In 2009 Nick became the Musical Director of the Congleton Choral Society, a post he held until 2011, and he was also invited to conduct the Pennine Spring Music Festival Orchestra. He was subsequently made Musical Director of the Festival in 2011. Challenging performers to excel and perform at their best through supportive, enjoyable and rewarding rehearsals is a fundamental part of Nick’s work.

(Information taken from Pennine Spring Music. For more information, click the link.)

Tickets available from the Box Office: 01422 349 422 or book online.