Fauré s Requiem and other music for an autumn evening in Ely Cathedral Saturday September 29th 2012 at 7.30pm

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1 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Coming up from Ely Sinfonia... Saturday November 24th 2012 Ely Sinfonia returns to Swaffham with a delightful St Peter & St Paul Church, programme including Brahms Academic Festival Swaffham Overture, Barber s Adagio for Strings, Rossini s 7.30pm Thieving Magpie Overture, Elgar s Serenade for Strings and Mozart s Symphony no 40. Saturday April 13th 2013 Ely Sinfonia s Easter concert will feature Mendels Ely Cathedral sohn s Hebrides Overture, Richard Strauss s Horn 7.30pm Horn Concerto and Brahms Symphony no 2. St Ives Choral Society Thursday December 15th pm Saturday February 9th pm Christmas Concert Poulenc s Gloria and Brahms Requiem Both concerts will take place at the Free Church, Market Hill, St Ives Other forthcoming concerts Saturday October 27th 2012 Ely Choral Society presents A Choral Celebration Ely Cathedral with music by Handel, Parnell, Mendelssohn, Rutter 7.30pm and Fauré (in case tonight s concert has whetted your appetite). With Ely Youth Choir and the Kempen Protest ant Church Choir from Germany. Sunday October 28th 2012 The Cambridge Philharmonic Society plays Tchaikovsky s West Road Concert Hall Romeo and Juliet and Symphony no 6, Cambridge Eric Whitacre s Lux Aurumque and Morten Lauridsen s 7.30pm Mid Winter Songs. Conducted by Steve Bingham. Sunday November 25th 2012 The Norfolk Symphony Orchestra in Britten s Sinfonia da Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn Requiem and Mahler s Blumine and Symphony no pm President: Raphael Wallfisch presents Fauré s Requiem and other music for an autumn evening in Ely Cathedral Saturday September 29th 2012 at 7.30pm Anna Patalong soprano Jonathan Gunthorpe baritone and St Ives Choral Society (director Julian Merson) Conducted by Steve Bingham PROGRAMME Johannes Brahms Academic Festival Overture Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings Samuel Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Gabriel Fauré Requiem in D minor There will be a 20 minute interval before the Fauré. Ely Sinfonia wishes to express sincere thanks to all who helped with this concert and especially Julian Merson, the committee and members of St Ives Choral Society, the staff of Ely Cathedral, The Kings School, Ely, Jeremy Harmer for the programme notes, and the Friends of Ely Sinfonia. Programme 1 (free to premium ticket holders)

2 Fauré s Requiem and music for an autumn evening For the second of our concerts in Ely Cathedral this year we're delighted to be working with the St Ives Choral Society and their chorus master Julian Merson whom you'll hear playing the organ part of the Faure. The last time Ely Sinfonia played a Requiem was in our 10th Anniversary year, when we performed Mozart's unsurpassed late work. Gabriel Fauré's foray into the Requiem format is a very different piece of music, using an unusual orchestration centred on violas, cellos and organ. Personally I'm particularly looking forward to the Libera Me, which has one of the most haunting themes in the repertoire. We are also pleased to welcome Anna Patalong, who is appearing at relatively short notice, to sing the solo soprano parts in both the Requiem and Knoxville; and we wish Raphaela Papadakis, our original soloist, a speedy recovery from the health issues which have prevented her from performing with us this evening. Finally I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people who work tirelessly in the background, and without whom these Ely Sinfonia concerts would not take place: as Ely Sinfonia goes from strength to strength the vital work done in organising all the things which are needed for the running of a successful concert is sincerely appreciated both by me and by everyone in the orchestra. Steve Bingham, artistic director About Ely Sinfonia Ely Sinfonia was founded in November 1999 by a group led by ADeC (Arts Development in East Cambridgeshire) with the aim of becoming a beacon of excellence as East Cambridgeshire s own community orchestra. Since then it has become one of the region s best respected orchestras. Today, Ely Sinfonia is made up of players of all ages and backgrounds, including school and college students, business professionals, retired individuals and local music teachers. We play a huge range of music, as you can see from tonight s programme. Our repertoire ranges from the contemporary (including special commissions) to mainstream works. We are sponsors of the Cambridge Young Composer of the Year competition and winners pieces are frequently played at our concerts. As well as playing works for full orchestra, Ely Sinfonia also provides smaller groups to play at events such as the Easter Day mass in Ely Cathedral. Other projects include training days, coached by professionals, for less experienced players who want to develop their orchestral and ensemble playing techniques. The internationally renowned cellist, Raphael Wallfisch, has been the orchestra s president since marketing@elysinfonia.co.uk About St Ives Choral Society The Society has gone from strength to strength, enabling it to tackle larger works often requiring double choirs. The choir gets great satisfaction in the knowledge that the hard work put in at rehearsals, under the direction of Julian Merson, means that its resulting performances have been very well received by its audiences. They are always happy to see new members. choral.org.uk

3 Johannes Brahms ( ) Academic Festival Overture SUPPORT THE ORCHESTRA AND GET PRIORITY BOOKING AND DIS COUNTED TICKETS FOR OUR CONCERTS! Joining the FRIENDS of ELY SINFONIA is a great opportunity to become part of a lively, social group that meets up regularly as well as supporting the orchestra. Being a friend will give you the following advantages: Personal giving advance information of concerts and special events 10% discount on tickets to concerts promoted by Ely Sinfonia Friends newsletter Free Friends concert once a year Opportunity to meet the conductor and players at rehearsal All this for just 10 a year! As the local community orchestra, Ely Sinfonia aims to give players the chance of orchestral experience close to home, to provide local schoolchildren with the opportunity to learn about music and instruments, and to bring a wealth of wonderful music to local music lovers. Your subscription will go towards developing the orchestra, allowing it to give more concerts in Ely and to take live music out to rural East Cambridgeshire and beyond. Our Friends help us to give concerts in local venues and to run workshops, which give young players the chance to play alongside more experienced musicians and learn new, challenging pieces. For more information about becoming a Friend, please ask for details and a membership form at the Friends stall or friends@elysinfonia.co.uk. Allegro Maestoso Animato Maestoso In 1879, the university of Breslau awarded an honorary doctorate to Johannes Brahms. The composer s response (as someone who did not especially relish publicity) was to write a thank you note. But that wasn t enough for the man who had nominated Brahms for the award, the conductor Bernhard Scholz. He reckoned Brahms should do more. So the next year he did, with a concert overture that has a lot more of the festival about it than the academic. Yes, it s about academic life, but mostly about what they get up to when they are not at their lectures. Drinking, to be precise! In four sections (Allegro, Maestoso, Animato, and Maestoso), the work includes the melodies from four drinking songs, most notably and memorably Gaudeamus Igitur, with which the piece reaches its joyful, triumphant conclusion. And academic? Well, the intricate counterpoint and orchestral brilliance of the overture leave us in no doubt that this 10 minute piece is a work of extraordinary musical skill from an intricate and academic brain. Samuel Barber ( ) Adagio for strings How do certain pieces come to encapsulate something of the spirit of a nation? When we think of solemnity in Britain, most people s minds automatically conjure up Elgar s Nimrod, a movement originally composed as a homage to a friend (and as an exercise in quasi symphonic grandeur), but which has now become our national music of solemnity or mourning. Nimrod has its equivalent in the United States: Samuel Barber s Adagio for Strings (it also exists as a chorus only Agnus Dei). The piece, which was originally the second movement of Barber s String Quartet and which, like Tchaikovsky s Andante Cantabile from his first quartet, has taken on a life of its own, free from its original setting, is now the music that America instinctively turns to when great sadness or stillness needs to be invoked. When it was used in the war film Platoon, it elevated an ordinary scene to one of enormous pathos and depth, such was and is its power. How does it do this? The Adagio for Strings has a minor, elegiac feel. With its spaced chords, a repeated plangent melody played mostly by violins and violas, and its stunning climax of simple fortissimo chords before a quiet and sonorous resolution. It is, in the words of music critic Alex J. Morin, full of pathos and cathartic passion". and it "rarely leaves a dry eye in the house.

4 Samuel Barber ( ) Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Barber s nostalgic portrait of the American south, provoked by a short story from the writer James Agee, takes us back to a warm summer evening in Knoxville Tennessee in The most obviously American of all Barber s work (he wrote concertos, operas and songs, quite apart from the two works being performed tonight), you can almost feel the summer night, with rocking chairs creaking on porches, streetcars, a night full of stars, and a young boy being put to bed. Barber was, it seems, drawn to the story by James Agee partly because the author s father died the year after the setting of the story, when Agee was only six. And while Barber was setting Agee s words to music, his own father, Roy, was gently heading in the direction of his own death. Indeed, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is dedicated in memory of my father, and perhaps that, together with Agee s prose, accounts for the obvious (but effective) sentimental dreaminess of some of the musical writing. Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is a one movement rhapsody, almost rondo like with, nevertheless, a collection of sharply contrasting themes. It opens with a rocking motion on a summer evening before moving into an allegro agitato with hornlike motives (in the horns, of course, and woodwind) being mixed up with staccato and pizzicato lines to depict a streetcar not unlike symphonic painting by Gershwin or Delius. But this fades away as the soprano sings that now is the night one blue dew and she sings, almost alone, of the vastness of the stars. A mention of a father who is good to me in Agee s prose has Barber break into an agitated section, quite possibly because of his own father s deteriorating health. But when, in the end, the final theme gently reappears, and the five yearold Agee is put to bed, the instruments of the orchestra gradually undulate in dreamlike resolution. St Ives Choral Society Musical Director Soprano Alto Tenor Julian Merson Rosemarie Adams, Catherine Ball, Beverley Barlow, Roz Berry, Charlotte Bruce, Margaret Cakebread, Joy Cooper, Liz Denham, Margaret Ditchfield, Liz Dixon, Edie Dyer, Jane Godfrey, Maureen Gray, Cheska Hodder, Margaret Humbert, Debbie Jones, Eileen Lane, Chris Newlove, Alison Orr, Kate Plumb, Shirley Purvis, Rebecca Rhodes, Kate Robinson, Carol Scott, Denise Seldon, Rosemary Setchfield, Anne Sharp, Ann Smith, Ronnie Tullett, Val Valentine, June York Helen Ackroyd, Christine Allgood, Gilly Atherton, Chris Curtis, Carolyn Daines, Judy Davison, Vanessa Dennis, Jinty Garbutt, Shirley Hiscox, Tessa Kilvington Shaw, Margaret Leverett, Helen Lukey, Irene McCormick, Trina Miller, Barbara Northwood, Ann Owen, Agi Peach, Ann Pike, Daniela Rosindale, Joy Saunders, Liz Slee, Rosemary Smith, Sindy Surtees, Jan Taylor, Elaine Withers Philip Blunt, David Bruce, Colin Edwards, John Hindley, Tony Humes, Brian Lodde, Ken Mack, Tom Merson, Fred Munford, Tony Perryman, John Smoothy Bass Keith Adams, Andrew Bethune, Mike Bond, Robert Brown, Thomas Bruce, Anthony Clarke, John Daines, Mike Davison, Derek Ditchfield, Gordon Fuller, Alan Harvey, Robert Horsman, Eric Knighton, Charles McGregor, David Prior, Nick Sarkies, Nick Sloman, Neil Taylor, Cedric Williams

5 Ely Sinfonia Artistic Director Steve Bingham Violin 1 Christina Everson (leader), Donna Allum, Ann Claydon, Fiona Gloag, Yuki Kimura, Chris Moule, Selyf Shapey, Louise Topping, Polly Taylor, Richard Williamson Violin 2 Roz Chalmers, Issy Atkinson, Ian Claydon, Clare Gardner, Clare Hambling, Sally Merson, Rob Millman, Sean Rock, Ijmkje van der Werf, Mark Webb Viola Katy Baker, Christina Everson*, Jeremy Harmer, Patricia Mathieson, Sally Merson*, Marlen Moss Eccardt, Susan Pyke, Hilary Sellars, Evan Turner, Brenda Stewart, Richard Williamson*, Yvonne Williamson Cello Dave McLeish, Nick Balaam, April Bowman, Charlotte Dean, Laura Daish, Fionna Hall, Helen Hills, Roger Lunn, Joan Marchbank, Rachel Mycock, Sally Parnell Double Bass John Chalmers, Stuart Clow, Rosemary Hughes, Kate Merrington Flute Liz Hargest, Sarah Petts, Jean Swift Oboe Jenny Sewell, Carol London Clarinet Peter Fisher, Michelle Heathcote Bassoon Phil Evans, Simon Laughlin, Horn John Cronin. Laurie Friday, Louise Hill, Owen Rose Trumpet Graham Berridge, Evert Bokma Trombone Roger Nunn, Wesley Bloom, Michael Rickwood Tuba Alan Sugars Percussion Alan Silverstein, Alan Neale, Jo Pope, Sheri Rutland Organ Julian Merson * Playing violin in all pieces except the Fauré Ely Sinfonia extends warm thanks to Topping and Company for its help with publicity for this concert. Text, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 from James Agee s essay Knoxville and the introduction to his Pulitzer Prize winning posthumous novel, A Death in the Family Barber says: This is a tale of of summer evenings in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the time that I lived there so successfully disguised to myself as a child....it has become that time of evening when people sit on their porches, rocking gently and talking gently and watching the street and the standing up into their sphere of possession of the trees, of birds' hung havens, hangars. People go by; things go by. A horse, drawing a buggy, breaking his hollow iron music on the asphalt: a loud auto: a quiet auto: people in pairs, not in a hurry, scuffling, switching their weight of aestival body, talking casually, the taste hovering over them of vanilla, strawberry, pasteboard, and starched milk, the image upon them of lovers and horsemen, squaring with clowns in hueless amber. A streetcar raising its iron moan; stopping; belling and starting, stertorous; rousing and raising again its iron increasing moan and swimming its gold windows and straw seats on past and past and past, the bleak spark crackling and cursing above it like a small malignant spirit set to dog its tracks; the iron whine rises on rising speed; still risen, faints; halts; the faint stinging bell; rises again, still fainter; fainting, lifting, lifts, faints foregone: forgotten. Now is the night one blue dew. Now is the night one blue dew, my father has drained, he has coiled the hose. Low in the length of lawns, a frailing of fire who breathes... Parents on porches: rock and rock. From damp strings morning glories hang their ancient faces. The dry and exalted noise of the locusts from all the air at once enchants my eardrums. On the rough wet grass of the back yard my father and mother have spread quilts. We all lie there, my mother, my father, my uncle, my aunt, and I too am lying there. They are not talking much, and the talk is quiet, of nothing in particular, of nothing at all in particular, of nothing at all. The stars are wide and alive, they seem each like a smile of great sweetness, and they seem very near. All my people are larger bodies than mine,...with voices gentle and meaningless like the voices of sleeping birds. One is an artist, he is living at home. One is a musician, she is living at home. One is

6 my mother who is good to me. One is my father who is good to me. By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summer evening, among the sounds of the night. May God bless my people, my uncle, my aunt, my mother, my good father, oh, remember them kindly in their time of trouble; and in the hour of their taking away. After a little I am taken in and put to bed. Sleep, soft smiling, draws me unto her: and those receive me, who quietly treat me, as one familiar and well beloved in that home: but will not, oh, will not, not now, not ever; but will not ever tell me who I am (renewed) by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP). International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission. Gabriel Fauré ( ) Requiem in D minor, Opus 48 Introït et Kyrie Offertoire Sanctus Pie Jesu Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna Libera me In Paradisum Some of the most celebrated western composers, including Mozart, Berlioz, Dvorak and Verdi, as well as twentieth century composers such as John Rutter, Howard Goodall and Andrew Lloyd Webber, have been irresistibly drawn to the Requiem, the Catholic mass for the repose of souls. Gabriel Fauré, who spent years of service as a church organist, notably at L Église Saint Sulpice in Paris, was completely familiar with the traditions of religious music. But when he came to set the Requiem Mass to music, his instinct was less for mourning and sadness, but rather for the idea of death as a happy deliverance or, in the composer s words an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience. That must be why almost alone among the major requiems he misses out the Dies Irae, the scary days of judgment that await us sinners all on the other side. Fauré s Requiem is nothing like that. The final calm of In Paradisum takes us to a place of gentle acceptance, with the balm of the orchestral strings gloriously punctuated by the organ s gloriously life affirming commentary. And throughout the piece the rich sonorities of the viola section most notably in the Libera Me give this work a special warmth quite unlike any other comparable composition. Steve Bingham studied violin with Emanuel Hurwitz, Sidney Griller and the Amadeus Quartet at the Royal Academy of Music from 1981 to 1985, winning prizes for orchestral leading and string quartet playing. In 1985 he founded the Bingham String Quartet, internationally known for its performances of both classical and contemporary repertoire. Steve has appeared as guest leader with many orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English National Ballet and English Sinfonia. He has given solo recitals in the UK and America and his concerto performances include works by Bach, Vivaldi, Bruch, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Sibelius. Steve is also keenly interested in improvisation, electronics and World Music. He has released two solo CDs, Duplicity (2005) and Ascension (2008). Steve has many years of experience conducting both youth and amateur orchestras. This is his fifth season as Ely Sinfonia s Artistic Director. Julian Merson has been musical director of St Ives Choral Society since September He read music at Royal Holloway College, London University, graduating in He has been accompanist to the St Neots Philharmonic for a number of years and is also seen regularly performing at venues in and around St Ives. Since 1994, he has been organist at St Mary's Parish Church, Houghton and has worked with a number of local societies as baritone, accompanist, continuo player, organist and pianist. As organist, he has appeared with the Orlando singers in Cambridge in the requiems by Duruflé and Rutter, and in Bach s Christmas Oratorio. As baritone, he has sung Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas for Stratford upon Avon Chamber Choir. In 2007 and 2009, he performed as soloist in Mozart s Piano Concertos no 20 and no 21 with the Chamber Orchestra of St Ives. He has also played as harpsichord soloist in Bach s Brandenburg Concerto no 5 (2008).

7 Recent operatic roles include Musetta La Bohème for BYO Donizetti s Rita Soeur Blanche Dialogues des Carmélites for GSMD and Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera Brava. Roles studied at Guildhall also include Massenet s Manon Ilia Idomeneo Nedda Pagliacci AsteriaTamerlano and Sandrina La Finta Giardiniera. In much demand as a recitalist Anna has performed in concert at many prestigious venues across Britain including the Royal Opera House Crush Room the Wigmore Hall the Barbican and as guest soloist with the choir of King s College Cambridge at the Royal Albert Hall. Engagements abroad have featured festivals in Italy and Tel Aviv. Anna has appeared on BBC Radio 3 s In Tune and on Hear and Now with a live broadcast from the Barbican of George Crumb s Ancient Voices of Children in the presence of the composer. She gives a variety of chamber performances most recently the famous Villa Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras for soprano and eight celli and Barber s Knoxville: Summer of Anna s studies were supported by the Susan Chilcott Foundation the Musician s Benevolent Fund Serena Fenwick and the Wingate Foundation. She continues to learn with John Evans. Tonight s concert is sponsored by The Wine Store at La Hogue a wine store with attitude! A visit to The Wine Store is a unique experience you will be impressed by our knowledge and feel cosseted by our friendly team in the most congenial surroundings. Come to us for: advice on wine for any occasion tutored tasting evenings to find great wines for yourself or the perfect gift for a friend or loved one special tastings for groups Gifts, presentation boxes Gift vouchers... and a selection of wines that you can t find anywhere else! The Wine Store left off the A11 just north of Newmarket for East Anglia's most interesting selection of wines...for drinking or laying down. The Wine Store at La Hogue, La Hogue Road, Chippenham, Cambs, CB7 5PZ Phone: thewinestore@btconnect.com Fauré s Requiem in D Minor I. Introit & Kyrie Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. II. Offertoire(Baritone) O Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas [omnium fidelium] defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu. [Libera eas] de ore leonis, ne absorbeat [eas] Tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum. [Sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini eius.] Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus. Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini eius. III. Sanctus Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth, Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. IV. Pie Jesu (Soprano) Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen. Rest eternal grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. A hymn is due thee, O God, in Zion, and to thee shall vows be paid in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to thee all flesh shall come. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, Free the souls of [all] the [faithful] departed from the pains of hell and from the abyss. Free them from the mouth of the lion; let [them] not be swallowed by Tartarus, nor fall into lasting darkness. [Instead let Michael, the holy standardbearer, lead them into holy light; which once thou didst promise to Abraham and his seed.] Sacrifices and prayers to thee, O Lord, we offer, with praise. Receive them for the souls that we remember today. Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death to life; which once thou didst promise to Abraham and his seed. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest. Amen.

8 V. Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. VI. Libera Me (Baritone) Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda; Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra; Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis, et miseriae; dies illa, dies magna et amara valde. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. VII. In Paradisum In Paradisum deducant angeli; in tuo adventu sucipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te sucipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem. Lamb of God, who takest away the sin of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takest away the sin of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takest away the sin of the world, grant them rest everlasting. Let eternal light shine on them, O Lord, with thy saints in eternity; for thou art merciful. Rest eternal grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. With thy saints in eternity; for thou art merciful. Free me, O Lord, from everlasting death on that terrible day; When heaven and earth will be shaken; When thou wilt come to judge the world by fire. I tremble with fear, as the day of judgment approaches, before the wrath that is to come. That day is the day of wrath, calamity, and misery, the day of great bitterness. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. May the angels lead thee into paradise; may thy arrival be attended by the martyrs, and lead thee into the holy city Jerusalem. May the chorus of angels receive thee with Lazarus once a beggar into the eternal rest. Jonathan Gunthorpe, Baritone After reading Russian and English at Leeds University, Jonathan gained an MA in music at Birmingham Conservatoire. He then attended the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio. Roles include English Clerk Death in Venice for La Scala, La Monnaie, the Concertgebouw and ENO, Nachtigall Die Meistersinger and Angelotti Tosca for the Royal Opera House and Dancaire Carmen for WNO. He has performed across Europe in a wide variety of roles including Papageno Magic Flute, Arsenio La Spinalba, The Soul Grabmusik, Alcandro L Olimpiade, Mr Noah Noye s Fludde and Faber The Knot Garden. He has also appeared at the National Theatre in Brecht s Mother Courage with Fiona Shaw and is currently writing a new translation for Tchaikovsky s Onegin. Recordings include Lalande Music for the Sun King, Bach Cantata 61 with The Bach Players and Brahms German Folksongs. In concert, Jonathan has performed repertoire ranging from French baroque and Bach to Britten and many new commissions at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, NCH Dublin, Parco della Roma and La Chaise Dieu. Current work includes Knussen s Where the Wild Things Are at the Barbican and on tour to Los Angeles. In 2013, he makes his debut at Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris in a new production of Sondheim s Sunday in the Park with George. Anna Patalong (soprano) Anna Patalong trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama during which time she received numerous awards including the Maggie Teyte and Miriam Licette Prizes and was a finalist at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards. She was named as the Concordia Foundation Young Artist by the Worshipful Company of Musicians and is a Samling scholar. Current and future plans include Lauretta Gianni Schicchi for Opera Holland Park Serpetta La Finta Giardiniera for Buxton Festival Opera the title role in Massenet s Cendrillon for Blackheath Halls Opera Anne Trulove The Rakes s Progress and Ravel s Mallarmé Songs conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth at the Endellion festival Zerlina Don Giovanni for Mid Wales Opera a new production of La Voix Humaine with Battersea Arts as well as a Wigmore Hall concert with the Samling Foundation featuring excerpts from Le Nozze di Figaro and La Bohème with Sir Thomas Allen. Become a Friend of Ely Sinfonia and benefit from discounted concert tickets and lots more. To find out more go to of ely sinfonia or friends@elysinfonia.co.uk