Devised by the Bristol Choral Society’s director Hilary Campbell, the choir’s second album with Delphian is a celebration of British choral music including Holst, Britten, Vaughan Williams, and Judith Weir. At its heart is Grace-Evangeline Mason’s A Memory of the Ocean for choir, piano and cello, a Royal Philharmonic Society commission whose first performance the choir gave in 2023.
STRATHMORE SONIC TRAILS: 'The Imagined Forest' Immersive Experience
Recently Grace-Evangeline Mason visited Strathmore Music Center, Maryland, to experience their Sonic Trails: an immersive sound experience where you can traverse Strathmore’s 16-acre campus using a free GPS app downloaded to your phone, hearing different parts of ‘The Imagined Forest’ as you move through each space.
New Release: 'As Bronze' on Lyrebird Brass New Album
Opera: 'The Yellow Wallpaper' German Premiere
New Release: 'In the Fragrant Air' on Apollo Saxophone Quartet Disk
BCS Recording Session for Delphian Records
New Release: 'Glass Cathedrals' on Lauren Scott's Latest Album
'O Sapientia' in Choir & Organ Magazine
'A Memory of the Ocean' Dutch Premiere
The 6th October saw the Dutch premiere of the collection of pieces ‘A Memory of the Ocean’ by the Dutch Radio Choir Groot Omroepkoor with a solo from soprano Varvara Tishina, pianist Hannes Minnaar, and cellist Anton Spronk under conductor Florian Helgath for AVROTROS Vrijdagconcert at TivoliVrendenburg, Utrecht to standing ovation.
'The Imagined Forest' Australian Premiere
'ABLAZE THE MOON' Premiere at BBC Proms
Tuesday night saw the premiere of ABLAZE THE MOON performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Mark Wigglesworth as part of The BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The piece was commissioned to be a short concert-opener to be followed by a programme of Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto performed by Sir Stephen Hough, and Mahler’s First Symphony.
New Orchestral Concert-Opener for BBC Proms 2023
The new concert-opener, ‘ABLAZE THE MOON’, was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 to be premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 July by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. The new five-minute work draws inspiration from American lyric poet Sara Teasdale. with melodies mirroring the lunar arcs heard in lines from the poem ‘Tonight’
'A Memory of the Ocean' Premiere
‘A Memory of the Ocean’, a new work for choir, concertante piano and solo ‘cello, was premiered by Bristol Choral Society under Hilary Campbell on 24 June 2023 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams and co-commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society, Vaughan Williams Foundation, and Netherlands’ AVROTROS Friday concert.
US Premiere of 'The Imagined Forest'
On Friday 19th, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under their new music director, Jonathon Heyward gave the US Premiere of 'The Imagined Forest' at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in a programme with Xavier Foley's 'Soul Bass' and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, followed by two further performances; Saturday 20th, at Strathmore Music Center and Sunday 21st at JMSH, Maryland.
Philharmonia Orchestra Premiere 'The Water Garden'
On Thursday night, the Philharmonia Orchestra presented a variety of concerts curated by and including Anna Clyne. The first concert was part of their Music of Today series, conducted by Delyana Lazarova, of a programme including the world premiere of Grace-Evangeline Mason’s ‘The Water Garden’ described as ‘an intricate, luxuriant parade of aqueous imagery’ [The Guardian] for wind dectet and harp.
December Broadcasts on BBC Radio 3
Premiere of 'In the Fragrant Air'
'The Imagined Forest' at Teatro alla Scala
'The Imagined Forest' Italian Premiere, MiTo SettembreMusica
The international music festival MiTo SettembreMusica opened in Lingotto, Torino last week on September 5th with a concert at the Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under conductor, John Axelrod with the Italian Premiere of Grace-Evangeline Mason’s The Imagined Forest.
Premiere of 'In Her Own Valley'
Saturday night saw the premiere of ‘In Her Own Valley’, a cantata based on the life and principles of Hannah Lightbody, an activist during the Industrial Revolution, with words written by librettist, Lila Palmer. The work was performed by the combined Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Children’s and Youth Choirs under conductor, Simon Emery.