Poignant Programme For Sinfonia Viva
East Midlands Orchestra Sinfonia Viva will return to Derby Cathedral on Wednesday June 28 for a poignant performance as part of Derby Remembers - a season of cultural events and activities to commemorate the First World War and the city’s connection to the conflict.
The concert, starting at 7.30pm, will feature excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem – focusing on the chamber orchestra elements and Wilfred Owen’s poems about the First World War.
This is the first time the more intimate chamber orchestra elements of the piece have been performed on their own and Viva has been granted special permission by the composer’s estate to perform this.
The Orchestra, under the baton of their internationally-recognised Choral Advisor David Lawrence, will be joined by tenor Phillip Brown, baritone Grant Doyle and young choristers from the Derby Cathedral Choir.
The evening will open with the world premiere of Strange Meeting which has been commissioned by Sinfonia Viva for Derby theatre company The Lost Boys and directed by Derby LIVE’s Creative Producer Pete Meakin.
The play is inspired by Wilfred Owen’s poem of the same name. Written by acclaimed playwright Peter Roberts, Strange Meeting imagines what it would be like to come face-to-face with the man you killed yesterday in battle.
Sinfonia Viva Chief Executive Peter Helps explained: “We commissioned and performed an outstanding education residency across the region Dark Clouds are Smouldering into Red three years ago to mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War which was an outstanding success.
“We are therefore very honoured to be invited to be part of the Derby Remembers programme – returning to the city very soon after our 35th regional anniversary tour throughout June.
“Derby Cathedral with its wonderful acoustics and intimate atmosphere is the ideal setting for such an inspiring and emotive piece of work.
“And we are particularly delighted to be working again with The Lost Boys and Derby LIVE who will bring the Strange Meeting story to life with their unique style and energy.”
Paul Broesmith, Co-Director of The Lost Boys continued: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to be part of the Derby Remembers programme.
“This will be our first performance in Derby Cathedral and we are relishing the opportunity to work with Sinfonia Viva again.
“Peter Roberts has written the play beautifully and it is particularly poignant as it tells the story of a day on the front line trenches from both a British and German soldier’s point of view.
“Strange Meeting will resonate with different people in different ways but, for me, it shows the futility of war and reminds us that we have still not learnt the lessons from the tragedies of the past.”
For ticket and booking information, please visit www.derbylive.co.uk