Guildhall School announces Spring 2020 events

Highlights of the Spring 2020 season include:

• Two world premieres: a new opera The Angel Esmeralda, commissioned by Scottish Opera with music by alumnus Lliam Paterson; and Antigone, a play specially commissioned by Guildhall School, written by Stef Smith and directed by Vice-Principal & Director of Drama Orla O’Loughlin
• Three more dramas by award-winning writers exploring a diverse range of stories, with themes including race, family and climate change: Frances Poet’s Gut; Marco Ramirez’s The Royale; and Mike Bartlett’s Earthquakes in London
• Alumna Alison Balsom and Guildhall Jazz Orchestra perform Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain as part of Alison Balsom: Milton Court Artist-in-Residence in the Barbican Presents season
• Guildhall Studio Orchestra performs with Joe Stilgoe and presents a celebration of The Beatles’ music, and Guildhall Jazz Orchestra welcomes back alumnus Tim Garland
• Guildhall Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Roberto González-Monjas and Guildhall String Ensemble directed by Candida Thompson
• Head of Keyboard Studies Ronan O’Hora marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with his final three piano sonatas
• Collaborations with London Symphony Orchestra in LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists and BBC Symphony Orchestra for their Anders Hillborg Total Immersion day
• A host of prestigious artists including Michael Chance, Richard Goode, Takács Quartet, Robert Levin, Iain Burnside and Sarah Willis work with senior Guildhall School musicians in public masterclasses

Music

Billy May’s Big Fat Brass
Friday 24 January, Milton Court Concert Hall

Three of Britain’s most celebrated jazz performers join forces to direct the Guildhall Wind, Brass & Percussion Big Band in a programme including works by Count Basie and Big Fat Brass by the legendary Billy May. Matt Skelton and Mick Foster direct along with Mike Lovatt, Principal Trumpet of the John Wilson Orchestra and Lead Trumpet of the BBC Big Band, who also features as soloist. 

Guildhall String Ensemble
Thursday 30 January, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall School alumna Candida Thompson, Artistic Director of Amsterdam Sinfonietta, directs the Guildhall String Ensemble in a programme of musical dedications: Arvo Pärt’s elegy for Benjamin Britten, Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten; Britten’s tribute to his teacher Frank Bridge, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge; and Shostakovich’s Sonata for violin, percussion and string orchestra – a birthday gift for the violinist David Oistrakh.

Beethoven: The Last Three Piano Sonatas
Thursday 27 February, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall School’s distinguished Head of Keyboard Studies Ronan O’Hora presents Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas in a special concert marking the 250th anniversary of the great composer’s birth. This special recital is part of Guildhall’s Faculty Artists Series and Beethoven 250 at the Barbican.

Guildhall Symphony Orchestra conducted by Roberto González-Monjas
Wednesday 11 March, Barbican Hall

Guildhall alumnus and violin professor Roberto González-Monjas leads the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra in Rachmaninov’s enduringly popular Symphony No. 2 alongside Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 featuring outstanding Guildhall School pianist Ryan Drucker as soloist.

Astor Piazzolla's Greatest Tangos
Sunday 17 November, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall School welcomes back violinist and alumna Elmira Darvarova, former leader of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, for a high voltage concert of masterpieces by Astor Piazzolla. Darvarova is joined by horn player Howard Wall and pianist Thomas Weaver to present London and UK premieres of their own arrangements of the composer’s most beloved tangos including Libertango, Oblivion and Le Grand Tango – transporting audiences to Argentina for the evening. Part of Guildhall’s Alumni Recital Series.

Masterclasses

A host of prestigious artists visit the School this spring to give masterclasses to senior Guildhall musicians. These include Edith Wiens (9 January); Aquiles Delle Vigne (13 January); Sérgio Carolino (15 January); Juliette Bausor (16 January); Michael Chance (16 January); Valentin Erben (20 January); Miroslav Petkov (23 January); Kamal Khan (23 January); Richard Goode (24 January); Takács Quartet (31 January); Hie-Yon Choi (11 February); Michael McMahon (12 February); Elian Ortiz (14 February); Ido Ariel (21 February); Juliana Koch (24 February); Jimmy Briere (2 March); Robert Levin (4 March); Iain Burnside (10 March); and Sarah Willis (16 March). 

Opera

The Angel Esmeralda (world premiere)
Four performances from Monday 24 February, Silk Street Theatre

Composed by Guildhall School alumnus Lliam Paterson and commissioned by Scottish Opera, with whom Paterson is a former Emerging Artist Composer in Residence, The Angel Esmeralda is adapted from Don DeLillo’s captivating short story of the same name in which a mysterious girl witnessed clambering across the ruins of a South Bronx estate dies – or does she? With a libretto by Pamela Carter, the creative team comprises conductor Dominic Wheeler, director Martin Lloyd-Evans, designer Gregor Donnelly and lighting designer Robbie Butler.

Jazz

Guildhall Studio Orchestra with Joe Stilgoe
Wednesday 8 January, Milton Court Concert Hall

Internationally acclaimed singer, pianist and entertainer Joe Stilgoe pays tribute to much loved movies in Songs on Film. The self-confessed film enthusiast references his own collection and adds his original and stylish orchestrations to some of the most memorable moments in cinematic history in this performance with the Guildhall Studio Orchestra and director Tom Richards.

Guildhall Jazz Orchestra with Tim Garland
Friday 31 January, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall Jazz Orchestra welcomes back special guest, alumnus Tim Garland. Since graduating, the Grammy Award winning saxophonist has played with Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, led the group Lammas and the Dean Street Underground Orchestra, and formed a 17-year connection with piano legend Chick Corea. He is now known as one of Britain’s foremost composers, fusing jazz with contemporary classical influences. This performance with Guildhall Jazz Orchestra includes a special arrangement of the title track of Garland’s album Weather Walker, plus his own arrangements of Corea’s classic sixties tunes.

Alison Balsom plays Sketches of Spain
Wednesday 18 March, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall School alumna Alison Balsom and Guildhall Jazz Orchestra give their take on Miles Davis’ ground-breaking concept album Sketches of Spain: arranged by Gil Evans, it is as fresh today as it was when recorded over half a century ago. Also featured in the concert is the Guildhall Big Band performing Iain Ballamy’s 21st Century Pastoral, starring the composer himself on saxophone. Part of Alison Balsom: Milton Court Artist-in-Residence in the Barbican Presents season.

The Great British Songbook: The Beatles Reimagined
Wednesday 25 March, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall Studio Orchestra, directed by Head of Jazz Malcolm Edmonstone, draws upon the legacy of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, performing reworkings of hits including In My Life, Eleanor Rigby and Yesterday in a concert which celebrates Guildhall School alumnus Sir George Martin’s pivotal role in the creation of these timeless songs. The arrangements are by Edmonstone and were originally commissioned by BBC Radio 2 for Friday Night is Music Night.

Drama

Gut
Nine performances from Friday 31 January, Milton Court Studio Theatre

Gut is a razor-sharp psychological thriller by Frances Poet which was shortlisted for the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and won the Writers Guild Award for Best Play of 2019. When devoted parents Maddy and Rory leave their 3-year-old boy Joshua with his grandma for the weekend, suddenly everything changes. From a seemingly innocuous event, paranoia, fear and doubt grows, pushing them to the very edge.

The Royale
Nine performances from Monday 3 February, Milton Court Studio Theatre

Set in the segregated USA of 1905 and inspired by the little known true story of Jack Johnson, The Royale tells the incredible tale of the African-American boxer who, in demanding the fight he deserved, also had to take on history. This play by award-winning American writer Marco Ramirez (Songs of Anarchy, Orange is the New Black) is set in a boxing ring and told in six heart-stopping rounds.

Earthquakes in London
Eight performances from 10 February, Milton Court Theatre

Written by Doctor Foster’s Mike Bartlett, Earthquakes in London travels between 1968 and 2525, telling the story of three sisters’ dislocated lives whilst their dysfunctional scientist father predicts global catastrophe. From localised social breakdown to worldwide paranoia, this fast and furious play explores the domestic and the epic effects of climate change.

Antigone (world premiere)
Seven performances from 20 March, Silk Street Theatre

This epic, lyrical reimagining of Sophocles’ Antigone mixes ancient legend with modern perspective, resulting in a powerful exploration of generational impact, sisterly devotion and how we find hope in the most desperate of places. This specially commissioned world premiere written by Olivier Award winner Stef Smith is Guildhall’s first production directed by the School’s multi-award winning new Vice-Principal & Director of Drama Orla O’Loughlin.

Live Events

Love Light Norwich
13-15 February, Norwich City Centre

Love Light Norwich is a bright new festival celebrating art and innovation in Norwich – the City of Stories – during Valentine’s weekend 2020, supported by Arts Council England. Guildhall School video designers present a bespoke projection on the theme of love and belonging, brought to life by Guildhall Live Events.

Collaborations

LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists
Thursday 9 January, Thursday 30 January, Thursday 12 March, Sunday 15 March, Thursday 19 March, Sunday 29 March, Barbican Hall

Senior musicians from Guildhall School take to the Barbican stage before six London Symphony Orchestra concerts this spring with free performances of complementary repertoire. The award-winning Marmen Quartet presents Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 6 (9 Jan); Kathy Chow performs Mozart and Prokofiev (30 Jan); Guildhall musicians present songs by Debussy (12 March); chamber music by Benjamin Britten (15 March); songs by Bartók and Stravinsky (19 March); and Sibelius’ En Saga Septet, reconstructed by Gregory M. Barrett (29 March).

BBC Symphony Orchestra Total Immersion: Anders Hillborg
Saturday 22 February, Milton Court Concert Hall

Guildhall School musicians perform a varied selection of chamber music by maverick Swedish composer Anders Hillborg, introduced by the composer himself, as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion day.

Tickets

Available from the Barbican Box Office. Ticketed events on general sale from Monday 9 December, with priority booking for the School's Patrons and Circle members from Monday 2 December.

Full events listings can be found on the Guildhall School events pages.