ĢƵ

ĢƵ Proms, ĢƵ Orchestras and Choirs

ĢƵ Proms, ĢƵ Orchestras and Choirs - Christmas highlights.

Published: 22 November 2018

The ĢƵ Orchestras and Choirs deliver a broad-range of seasonal concerts throughout December and January to bring the festive spirit to audiences across the UK.

ĢƵ Proms 2018

From Christmas Day through to the 8 January, audiences can re-live the magic of the ĢƵ Proms 2018 as the sound of summer brightens those dark winter days.

Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday is marked once again with a repeat of West Side Story from the John Wilson Orchestra on Christmas Day (7.30pm); the Berlin Philharmonic’s blazing performance of Strauss and Beethoven under their highly-acclaimed new Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko can be heard at 7.30pm on 28 December, and the New Year will be brought in with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (New Year’s Eve, 7.30pm), Bernstein’s On The Town (New Year’s Day, 7pm) and an intimate Late Night Prom from the Tallis Scholars brings New Year’s Day festivities to a close as they weave together an intricate programme inspired by the Christian office of Compile, the final service of the day (9.30pm).

Other highlights include: Pioneers Of Sound (2 January, 9.30pm); Jacob Collier and Friends (3 January, 9pm); Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury performed in the newly restored Victorian Theatre at Alexandra Palace (3 January, 7pm); Havana Meets Kingston (4 Jan, 9pm); and, concluding a two-year project, Sir Andras Schiff returns with a Late Night performance of Book 2 of J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier (7 Jan, 7.30pm).

No Christmas would be complete without the world-famous Last Night Of The Proms, highlights of which will be repeated on New Year’s Eve at 9pm.

ĢƵ Singers: Christmas Carols with Bob Chilcott and John Rutter

TX details: Saturday 15 December, 7.30pm

Barbican Hall, London.

John Rutter and Bob Chilcott conduct the ĢƵ Singers and the ĢƵ Concert Orchestra in a fabulous concert of carols old and new, including many of their own works.

This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on ĢƵ Radio 3 on Friday 21 December for ĢƵ Sounds. Further information here.

Full repertoire to be announced soon.

ĢƵ Concert Orchestra
ĢƵ Singers
John Rutter - conductor and composer
Bob Chilcott - conductor and composer

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

Laura Whitmore’s What To Believe

ĢƵ Singers: J. S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio

TX details: Saturday 22 December, 2pm  & Friday 11 January, 7.3pm

St. Luke’s Church, Chelsea.

Sofi Jeannin conducts the ĢƵ Singers and the Academy of Ancient Music in J. S. Bach's masterpiece which tells the Christmas story through a feast of sumptuous baroque choral music. The story is performed in two parts over Christmas and New Year in the glorious surroundings of St Luke's Church, Chelsea.

The first concert will be recorded for future broadcast on ĢƵ Radio 3 on Wednesday 9 January and the second concert will be broadcast live on ĢƵ Radio 3 for ĢƵ Sounds. 

Bach Christmas Oratorio

ĢƵ Singers
Academy of Ancient Music
Sofi Jeannin – conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

ĢƵ Symphony Orchestra: Berlioz's The Childhood Of Christ

TX details: Monday 17 December, 7.30pm

Barbican Hall, London.

Berlioz's ravishing version of the story of the childhood of Christ, which includes the much-loved The Shepherds' Farewell is performed by the ĢƵ Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and ĢƵ Singers, and conducted by Edward Gardner. Leading soloists such as Karen Cargill and Matthew Rose complete the cast.

This concert will be broadcast live on ĢƵ Radio 3 for ĢƵ Sounds. 

Berlioz L’Enfance du Christ

ĢƵ Symphony Orchestra
ĢƵ Symphony Chorus
ĢƵ Singers
Karen Cargill - mezzo-soprano
Robert Murray - tenor
Étienne Dupuis - baritone
Matthew Rose – bass
Edward Gardner - conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

ĢƵ Concert Orchestra: Winter Lights

End Of Days

TX details: Wednesday 5 December, 7.30pm

Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre.

The ĢƵ Concert Orchestra illuminates a dark December night with the wintry-themed concert. Under Principal Conductor Bramwell Tovey (pictured), the works of the orchestra’s past and present Composers-in-Residence will be heard. Works by Jonny Greenwood, Guy Barker and Anne Dudley meet world premieres by Dobrinka Tabakova and ĢƵ Proms Inspire composer Sarah Jenkins. Star trumpeter Alison Balsom completes the line-up.

This concert will be broadcast live on ĢƵ Radio 3 for ĢƵ Sounds. 

Dobrinka Tabakova Orpheus' Comet
Anne Dudley Northern Lights
Guy Barker The Lanterne of Light
Jonny Greenwood Norwegian Wood
Sarah Jenkins And the sun stood stillworld premiere
Dobrinka Tabakova New Work (world premiere)

ĢƵ Concert Orchestra
Alison Balsom – trumpet
Bramwell Tovey – conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

Cillian Murphy

ĢƵ Radio 2 presents: ĢƵ Philharmonic Christmas with Curtis Stigers and Craig Charles's' Scary Fairy Saves Christmas

TX details: Wednesday 5 December, 7.30pm

The Lowry Theatre, Manchester.

ĢƵ Radio 2's’ Friday Night is Music Night takes over The Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays with master storyteller Craig Charles, acclaimed singer Curtis Stigers, conductor Clark Rundell and the ĢƵ Philharmonic. Presented by Angellica Bell, the evening sees the world premiere of Craig Charles’s Scary Fairy Saves Christmas - an ingenious fable in rhyme set against a backdrop of music from composer Iain Farrington. Guest singer Curtis Stigers also joins the orchestra for the very first time with a combination of his own hits and Christmas classics.

This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on ĢƵ Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night on Friday 7 December at 8pm, for ĢƵ Sounds. Further information here.

Craig Charles Scary Fairy Saves Christmas (world premiere)
A selection of festive music
Full repertoire to be announced in due course

ĢƵ Philharmonic
Craig Charles – narrator
Curtis Stigers – singer
Angellica Bell – presenter
Clark Rundell – conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

ĢƵ Radio Manchester Christmas Concert

TX details: Thursday 20 December, 2.30pm

ĢƵ Philharmonic Studio, MediaCity UK.

The ĢƵ Philharmonic brings in the final days of advent with seasonal music and classic festive favourites, in this concert broadcast on ĢƵ Radio Manchester, featuring a number of special guests under conductor Sergei Bolkhovets.

This concert will be recorded for broadcast on ĢƵ Radio Manchester on Christmas Eve at 3pm and repeated on Christmas Day 12pm, for ĢƵ Sounds. 

A Selection Of Festive Music

ĢƵ Philharmonic
Sergej Bolkhovets - conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

ĢƵ Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Clare Teal’s Swingin’ Christmas

Thursday 20 December, 19:30 & Friday 21 December, 19:30
Town Hall, Ayr & City Halls, Glasgow

Jazz singer and ĢƵ Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal joins the ĢƵ SSO for a festive night of classic Christmas songs. From old favourites to unearthed treasures via a range of Yuletide originals, this festive affair will be given the finger-snapping, toe-tapping treatment.

The concert in Glasgow will be recorded for future broadcast on ĢƵ Radio Scotland, for ĢƵ Sounds. Further information here.

A Selection Of Festive Music

ĢƵ Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Clare Teal - singer
Gavin Sutherland - conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

Fleur East Presents 5 Live’s Christmas Morning Show

ĢƵ Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Christmas At The Movies

TX details: Sunday 23 December, 3pm

City Halls, Glasgow.

The ĢƵ SSO’s concert of music from the Big Screen is now an annual part of many families’ seasonal celebrations. From the sweeping melodies of Hollywood’s Golden Age, to selections from recent multiplex blockbusters, via Disney favourites and John Williams classics, there’s something for every generation. Singer and presenter Jamie MacDougall presents this performance, as the ĢƵ SSO once again brings movie magic to City Halls.

This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on ĢƵ Radio Scotland, for ĢƵ Sounds.

ĢƵ Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Jamie MacDougall - singer and presenter
Gavin Sutherland - conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production

ĢƵ National Orchestra of Wales: Handel - Messiah

TX details: Thursday 6 December, 7.30pm

St David's Hall, Cardiff.

Handel needed a change of fortune in 1740. His latest opera had flopped and he was in dire straits. So he turned to oratorios instead and with this, his sixth in the genre, he hit gold. From humble beginnings at its première in a packed Irish town hall, Messiah remains his most performed work by far.

This concert will be broadcast live on ĢƵ Radio 3 for ĢƵ Sounds. 

Handel Messiah

ĢƵ National Orchestra of Wales
ĢƵ National Chorus of Wales
Katherine Watson - soprano
Iestyn Davies - counter-tenor
Gwilym Bowen - tenor
Neal Davies - bass
Stephen Layton - conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio Production

Tailenders Live

ĢƵ Wales: Carols For Christmas

TX details: Sunday 16 December, 3pm

St David's Hall, Cardiff.

ĢƵ Wales’ annual festive concert returns to St David’s Hall with a selection of popular carols, readings by ĢƵ Wales presenters and a massed choir of primary school pupils.

This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on ĢƵ Radio Wales for ĢƵ Sounds. Further information here.

Selection of popular carols and readings

ĢƵ National Chorus of Wales
Massed School's Chorus
Adrian Partington – conductor

  • A ĢƵ Radio production