Sinfonia Viva Showcases Musicians’ Talents
The East Midlands’ professional orchestra, Sinfonia Viva will start 2016 with a concert at the recently refurbished Derby Cathedral on January 22.
The concert marks the first anniversary of Principal Conductor Duncan Ward’s appointment with the Orchestra.
It will also feature soloists and Viva players Adam Mackenzie (Bassoon) and Emily Pailthorpe (Oboe).
Duncan Ward said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as Sinfonia Viva’s Principal Conductor.
“Over the past 12 months we have brought a diverse range of exciting music to venues across the region and engaged with thousands of people through our education and community outreach work.
“We have also launched our mobile venue which will be a fantastic resource to take classical music right into the heart of local communities – particularly those in rural areas where people would usually have to travel long distances to enjoy such performances.
“I am delighted that we are returning to Derby Cathedral which will be an even more splendid venue for classical music since the refurbishment.
“It has been a real joy over the past year to get to know the talented group of musicians who make up Sinfonia Viva.
“It is always an especially intimate and rewarding musical experience when a soloist from within an orchestra performs a concerto and I am particularly pleased that we will be showcasing the talents of two of our star players – Adam and Emily – in the January concert.”
The programme on January 22 will start with Haydn’s Symphony No.59 ‘Fire’ and then Basoon Concert in B Flat major by Mozart with Adam Mackenzie as soloist.
Adam Mackenzie began playing the bassoon at school in the Scottish Highlands and, quickly joined the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland before gaining entrance to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he won numerous awards and graduated with first class honours.
Adam is the principal bassoonist of Sinfonia Viva and English Sinfonia and plays regularly as principal bassoon with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
He has a particular passion for outreach and education work and works regularly with Sinfonia Viva on the Orchestra’s education projects as well as being appointed as Director of Education for English Sinfonia and Head of Education for Brandenburg Sinfonia.
This will be followed by Patterson’s Phoenix Concerto which was commissioned and composed for soloist Emily Pailthorpe, who is now recognised as one of the world’s leading oboists.
Emily’s career was launched at the age of 17 when she became the youngest artist ever to win the Fernand Gillet International Oboe Competition. Playing the Vaughan-Williams concerto, she was hailed by the judges as “the Jacqueline du Pré of the oboe”.
A graduate of Yale University where she read English, and the Juilliard School of Music, Emily was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performed for the President at the White House and the Kennedy Centre.