Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra Immersive Concert Review 09/06/2018 It is often a shame that orchestras work on fantastic programmes of music, yet only perform it out to the public once or maybe twice. The Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) however, have learned a jam-packed programme of Spanish-influenced music and their concert on Read more…
Jean-Paul Gasparian is rising to be one of his generation’s top classical pianists. After studying at both the Paris Conservatoire and at the Royal College of Music in London, he has just released his first debut album in 2018. As an homage to Russian composers, namely Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Prokofiev, Read more…
Fiona Bennett: ‘A Lad and a Lass’ Context Fiona Bennett (1962-present), is a Welsh composer. Born and raised in Cardiff, Bennett began receiving piano lessons at age 4. Ten years later, Bennett was awarded a scholarship to study piano performance and music theory at the Royal Welsh College of Music Read more…
Opera on Location: The Marriage of Figaro Review Victoria Hall, 27/04/18 Opera on Location aims to produce accessible and immersive opera for their audiences, and what better opera to achieve these goals than with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Teamed up with Sheffield Chamber Orchestra, and under the direction or co-founder of the opera company, Gareth LLoyd, Read more…
My experience of SUJO Sessions SUJO (Sheffield University Jazz Orchestra) kindly invited me along to their most recent monthly jam session. Held at The Gardener’s Rest pub in Kelham Island, Sheffield, this jam session runs every second Saturday of the month. Although I knew a few people in the core Read more…
Gina Williams is the lady on everybody’s lips right now, after her November 2017 classical album release of Olympiad, which sees choral and orchestral forces collide. This dynamic multi-talented musician has created a ground-breaking classical album, that was certainly an unpredictable move for her career. Gina got in touch with me earlier Read more…
The build up to the release of Classic FM’s composer in residence, Debbie Wiseman’s newest album has caught the attention of many, including myself. This unique collaboration between Wiseman and gardener guru, radio presenter, and author, Alan Titchmarsh, does not disappoint in the slightest. There are two distinctive roles within Read more…
As part of the new 2018 expansion of Classicalexburns, I am starting to take on reviews (of events, concerts and CDs), and I am really pleased to be writing this review on Daniel Thomson debut solo album Secret Fires of Love. According to the CD notes, Secret Fires of Love: “Tells the Read more…
Dearest classical music fans, welcome to a brand new strand of Classicalexburns! As well as now doing CD reviews, I am also beginning to try some reviews of other events, such as conferences, concerts and music events. To kick things off, I am going to share my experience of playing Read more…
Dearest readers, something new for you today, a blog on a conference I attended in June which I think you’ll be interested to hear about. ‘Representations of Early Music on Stage and Screen’ (REMOSS) is a small working group of academics from around the UK who put together meetings, talks, Read more…