March 26th2012
Sinfonia Cymru showcase top Welsh classical music talent– Paul Watkins and Steffan Morris join forces with the leading chamber orchestra for Wales
Sinfonia Cymru is set to showcase some of the top Welsh musical talents of the generation in their upcoming ‘Masters of Music’ tour. The orchestra performs evening concerts in Cardiff, Pontyberem, Llandrindod Wells and Newport, 19th – 22nd April 2012. The tour opens with a Sinfonia Cymru conducting debut for Paul Watkins, at the Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, 19th April, 7.30pm.
Continuing their many associations with celebrated Welsh artists, the talented professionals of Sinfonia Cymru will perform alongside one of Wales’ most exceptional young musicians, Neath born cellist Steffan Morris, who won the Texaco Young Musician of Wales in 2009, aged just 17. The orchestra also welcomes to the stage, the internationally acclaimed Welsh cellist and conductor, Paul Watkins. Morris performs Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major and Watkins takes up the baton to conduct Sinfonia Cymru for the first time.
This concert seriesaims to not only celebrate outstanding Welsh talents, but to celebratethree world famous masters of musical composition; Mozart, Haydn and Shostakovich.
Mozart’s Symphony No.29 in A major, an intimate yet fiery piece, is often celebrated as the first true example of his symphonic genius. The orchestra also performs Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony Op.110a, giving audiences a rare chance to hear Rudolf Barshai’s powerful arrangement for string orchestra of Shostakovich’s searingly emotional Eighth String Quartet. As a finale Sinfonia Cymru performs Haydn’s Symphony No.87 in A major, one of his most exhilarating scores, composed for performance in Paris in 1786.
Paul Watkins on his conducting debut with Sinfonia Cymru, “I'm delighted to be working with Sinfonia Cymru in April 2012. This vibrant ensemble has impressed me greatly recently, and I'm sure that our programme of exuberant Classical works by Haydn and Mozart, combined with a devastatingly powerful orchestration of Shostakovich’s eighth quartet, will display the skill and passion of these young musicians to the full.I'm also looking forward to collaborating with the fine Welsh cellist, Steffan Morris, in Haydn's C major concerto, an elegant and virtuosic piece which I've loved since my earliest cello-playing days.”
Steffan Morris on his upcoming tour with Sinfonia Cymru and Paul Watkins,“It is a realprivilege for me to be asked to play as a soloist with Sinfonia Cymru. It’s an orchestra that I have been lucky to be a part of for the last five to six yearsand I have had such great orchestral experiences.To play in an ensemble that has so much youthful energy and commitment is rare these days. To have Paul Watkins as a conductor is also very exciting, he has so much experience having achieved a great deal as both a cellist and conductor, I'm sure I will learn a lot from him.”
ENDS
For review tickets please contact the Sinfonia Cymru office on 02920 891977
For more information please visit
TOUR DATES:
19th April, Dora Stoutzker Hall, Cardiff, 7.30pm
20th April, Pontyberem Memorial Hall, 7.30pm
21st April, Pavilion, Llandrindod Wells, 7.30pm
22nd April, Riverfront, Newport, 7.30pm
Ticket prices vary. Special ticket offers for under18’s and students.
PROGRAMME:
MOZART Symphony No. 29 in A major KV201
HAYDN Cello Concerto in C major
SHOSTAKOVICH Chamber Symphony [No. 8 arr. Barshai]
HAYDN Symphony No. 87 in A major
Paul Watkins, Conductor
Steffan Morris, Cello
NOTES TO THE EDITORS
Sinfonia Cymru
Established in 1996, Sinfonia Cymru is a leading chamber orchestra and a unique champion in Wales of young musical talent. In 2011, Sinfonia Cymru became the first and only fully professional chamber orchestra in Wales to be revenue funded by the Arts Council of Wales. Working in partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), Sinfonia Cymru is dedicated to supporting music students and young professional musicians in Wales by offering early professional experience in the field of orchestral, ensemble, education and outreach music performance. Therefore,Sinfonia Cymru equips its players with skills and experience essential to the modern day professional musician.
Sinfonia Cymru alumni now occupy permanent and freelance positions in most of the major chamber, symphony, opera and ballet orchestras in the UK and across the world, including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. The quality of performance achieved by Sinfonia Cymru is also reflected in the calibre of artists with whom it has a long standing association. These include Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch, Rebecca Evans, Llyr Williams, Carlo Rizzi and Dennis O’Neill.
Paul Watkins
Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career both as concerto soloist and chamber musician. Since winning the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition he has also maintained a busy career as a conductor and in the 2009/10 season became the first ever Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra, and also took on the role of Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra.
Paul Watkins has conducted all the principal British orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras.
Alongside his conducting activities, Paul Watkins maintains a distinguished career as a cellist, working regularly with many of the major orchestras in the UK and overseas.
Full Biography:
Steffan Morris
Steffan’s concert and recital engagements have enabled him to travel extensively in Wales, England, Scotland, Holland, Germany and Italy.
In 2008, Steffan gave three performances of Elgar’s cello concerto with the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra; the last performance at St David’s Hall received a standing ovation. He has also played concertos with the Surrey Philharmonic and the Guilford Symphony Orchestras and performed and directed Vivaldi’s Concerto for two cellos with the Menuhin School Orchestra.
“Steffan Morris is an outstanding young cellist. The last time we met, he played, so beautifully, the cello solo from the Benedictus from my ‘The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace’ which I was conducting at the Wales Millennium Centre. Steffan has a rare talent and will, I have no doubt, go, as they say, all the way!”
Karl Jenkins OBE
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