Clarinettist: John Slack

Our festival clarinettist is John Slack. He divides his time between Glasgow and London, which puts Beverley roughly half way along his commute! John is Clarinettist and General Manager of the Berkeley Ensemble, who have recently released their second disc to outstanding reviews. Gramophone included the album, Lennox Berkeley: Chamber Works, as a Critics Choice of 2015, and the September BBC Music Magazine selected it as Chamber Choice.

Here are the Berkeley Ensemble to whet your appetite:

John will be performing Mozart’s effervescent Clarinet Quintet and Schubert’s beautiful Shepherd on the Rock with Mary Bevan in Saturday’s Coffee Concert.

Tickets are on sale!

Tickets for our April festival are now on sale! All events are listed on our events page and further details about obtaining tickets are on the tickets page.

We hope to see you in Beverley in April!

Come & Sing artists

Our full line-up of visiting artists for the Come & Sing Fauré Requiem on 27th February is announced, and it’s a stellar team!

Conductor: Ashley Grote
Organ: Tim Harper
Soprano: Katherine Crompton
Bass Baritone: Edward Grint

Have a look at their profiles, now live on our Artists page.

Remember to sign up if you wish to sing in this special performance. Further details here.

Tenor: David Butt Philip

Outstanding operatic tenor David Butt Philip will be joining us to perform in our Opera Gala.

David recently performed the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème at English National Opera to unanimous critical acclaim.

On the basis of his Rodolfo here, it will be a travesty if he doesn’t go on to enjoy an illustrious career. The voice is a glorious one: warm, large, and ringing vibrantly through the high-lying phrases that Puccini lavishes on the poet, with never a hint of fatigue. All delivered with immense bravado and Italianate style. Every inch the young, besotted lover, he manages the transition through desperation, bitterness and, ultimately, to tragedy with immense aplomb.” – Steve Silverman, Opera Britannia

Come and hear him in the East Riding Theatre!

Violist: Simon Tandree

Our viola player for the festival will be the superb Simon Tandree.

Simon performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in festivals across Europe and has given masterclasses in countries around the globe including India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, Israel and many countries in Europe.

Between 2007 and 2013 Simon played in the world-renowned Doric String Quartet with whom he played regularly in some of the greatest halls in the world including the Wigmore Hall in the UK, the Concertgebouw in Holland and the Vienna Konzerhaus in Austria.

Oboist: James Turnbull

We will be welcoming oboist James Turnbull to the festival, for two concerts on Friday 8th April.

Here he is performing Britten’s charming The Grasshopper with Libby Burgess:

Described by The Independent as “a worthy champion” of contemporary oboe music, James has dedicated much of his performing life to promoting and extending the oboe repertoire. James is an active chamber musician and is Artistic Director of Ensemble Perpetuo. Founded in 2013, Perpetuo is a chamber music collective that specialises in multi-art form collaborations and innovative ways of performing chamber music in new contexts. Aside from his performing interests, James is dedicated to broadening the appeal of the oboe and encouraging young people to learn the instrument. To this end, he has launched the website LearnToPlayTheOboe.com which now receives over a thousand new visitors every month from across the world. James also teaches at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and gives masterclasses across the UK.

Organist: Simon Johnson

We are thrilled to welcome the Organist of St Paul’s Cathedral to Beverley for the festival. Simon Johnson will play a lunchtime recital in the Minster, give a demonstration on the organ at Hull City Hall, and take part in our late night chorale prelude concert.

Here he is exploring the instrument at St Paul’s:

Tickets

Tickets for all New Paths 2016 concerts will go on sale in January. Put the dates in your diary and sign up to our mailing list to ensure you don’t miss out.

Alan Spedding memorial

Registration is now open for the Come & Sing Fauré Requiem on Saturday 27th February. We invite all singers to join us in a day of music-making in memory of the late Alan Spedding.

Have a look at the details here and sign up now to reserve your place.

Violinists: Jamie Campbell & Alexandra Reid

Our two violinists, Jamie Campbell and Alexandra Reid, both featured at the BBC Proms this summer. Here they both are playing Beethoven’s Symphony No 6 (‘Pastoral’) from memory – quite an incredible feat – with Aurora Orchestra: