Author: Charles Hutchinson

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National Centre for Early Music and BBC Radio 3 launches 2026 edition of Young Composers Award with The Gonzaga Band

The Gonzaga Band members Jamie Savan, Steven Devine and Faye Newton: Teaming up with National Centre for Early Music, York, and BBC Radio 3 for Young Composers Award 2026

THE deadline to register online entries for the National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award 2026 in York is 12 noon on Friday, February 2 2026.

Launched on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show, this annual award is presented by the NCEM in association with regular partners BBC Radio 3.

For the 2026 instalment, young composers will be working with The Gonzaga Band, specialists in late-Renaissance and early-Baroque repertoire.

The deadline for submission of scores will be Friday, March 2. Successful shortlisted candidates will be informed on Monday, March 1 and then be invited to attend the award day at the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, on Thursday, April 16.  The NCEM will meet reasonable travel and accommodation costs from within the UK.

Young composers are invited to compose a new song setting for soprano, cornett and keyboard, to be performed by Gonzaga Band musicians Jamie Savan, cornett, Faye Newton, soprano, and Steven Devine, keyboards, who are renowned for innovative programming, underpinned by cutting-edge research.

The song should take inspiration from the experimental and innovative music of Claudio Monteverdi and his contemporaries, evoked in The Gonzaga Band’s recital programme Love’s Labyrinth, released as a recording on the Deux-Elles Classical Recording label in July 2025.

On this album, The Gonzaga Band navigate a path between the ardour and anguish of love, from the most exquisitely wrought madrigals of Monteverdi to the lively and sensuous dance rhythms of popular canzonettas.

Owain Park, right: Former winner of NCEM Young Composers Award, now director of the BBC Singers and The Gesualdo Six

In the process, they explore the development of a new style in Italian composition and performance practice, through which musicians were striving to find new ways of expressing and heightening the emotional power of their poetic texts.

Their distinctive arrangements, drawn from sources connected to the ducal court of Ferrara as well as Venice and Florence, heighten the intimate connection between the cornett and the human voice, interweaving in duet.

Award candidates should write a song setting that explores the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments, setting a poem by Lady Mary Wrath, a contemporary of Shakespeare.

Composers selected for the final are invited to a collaborative workshop day in York on April 16 2026, led by composer Christopher Fox and Gonzaga Band members. This will be followed by a public performance of all the selected compositions at the NCEM.

The winning entries will be premiered by The Gonzaga Band in a lunchtime concert at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Tuesday, October 27 2026, to be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.

This major national annual award is open to young composers up to the age of 25 resident in the UK and is divided into two categories: age 18 and under and age 19 to 25.

NCEM director Dr Delma Tomlin says: “The Young Composers Award is one of the annual highlights at the NCEM, and we always enjoy welcoming and nurturing the extraordinary array of talent these young composers have to offer.

Anna Disley-Simpson: Alumna of NCEM Young Composers Award

“Alumni of the award include: Owain Park, now director of BBC Singers and The Gesualdo Six; Sarah Cattley; Kristina Arakelyen; Kerensa Briggs and Anna Disley-Simpson, whose new work was performed last year as part of the York Early Music Festival.

“The award truly makes a difference to young composers’ career paths – it has proved to be an important stepping stone in the careers of these young people. We are very proud of our success to date and look forward to welcoming composers from across the UK to join with us in partnership with The Gonzaga Band.”

Les Pratt, producer of BBC Radio 3’s The Early Music Show, says: “We’re delighted to continue to support this award here at BBC Radio 3, now looking ahead to its 19th edition. It’s hugely important to challenge and nurture young talent, and what’s most gratifying is seeing past winners and entrants who are now making their way in the professional world.

“We are really looking forward to sharing next year’s compositions for The Gonzaga Band with our audiences at home on The Early Music Show.”

Jamie Savan, of The Gonzaga Band, enthuses: “We’re excited to collaborate with the NCEM and BBC Radio 3 on the Young Composers Award for 2026. We’re passionate about expanding the contemporary repertoire for cornett (the most ‘vocal’ of instruments), together with soprano voice and historical keyboards, and we can’t wait to work with the next generation of composers on this project.”

Terms and conditions and details of how to take part in the NCEM Young Composers Award 2025 are available at: https://www.youngcomposersaward.co.uk or by emailing info.composers@ncem.co.uk.

The Gonzaga Band: back story

The Gonzaga Band’s Faye Newton, Jamie Savan, centre, and Steve Devine

FORMED by cornettist Jamie Savan in 1997 with a mission to explore the intimate relationship between vocal and instrumental performance practice in the Early Modern period.

The ensemble takes its name from the ducal family of Mantua: the Gonzagas were powerful and influential patrons of the arts in the late Renaissance, who employed Claudio Monteverdi as their maestro della musica at the turn of the 17th century.

Monteverdi wrote some of his most innovative music for the Gonzagas: his third, fourth and fifth books of madrigals, the operas Orfeo and Arianna and the Vespers of 1610.

Performing most often as a chamber ensemble with a core of soprano voice, cornett and keyboards, and expanding on occasion according to the particular requirements of each programme, The Gonzaga Band can perform in a variety of combinations, ranging from a trio to a full period-instrument orchestra and vocal consort.

The Gonzaga Band is renowned for its innovative programming, underpinned by cutting-edge research, shining new light on the repertoire and its interpretation.

The band has five internationally acclaimed recordings to its credit, including Sacred Garland on Chandos/Chaconne and Venice 1629 on the Resonus Classics label. Its latest release is Love’s Labyrinth on the Deux-Elles label (2025). For more information, visit www.gonzagaband.com.

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Who will be performing at 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival from Dec 5 to 14?

Apollo’s Cabinet: Playing opening concert at 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival on December 5

THE 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival will open on December 5 for a Yuletide feast of music spanning the centuries complemented by contemporary tunes.

Most concerts take place in the home of the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), in the medieval setting of St Margaret’s Church, in Walmgate, where audiences can enjoy warming mulled wine and mince pies in “the perfect recipe for a heart-warming Christmas experience”.

NCEM Platform Artists Apollo’s Cabinet will kick off the festival with their Christmas edition of Apollo’s Jukebox Menu, where the audience will call the shots in this musical menu of Baroque favourites, bawdy ballads, delightful dances and streetwise scandals from 7pm to 8.15pm.

“Following their prize-winning successes over the past year, when they won the 2024 Friends Prize at our International Young Artists Competition ,and the launch of their debut album [Musical Wanderlust], we’re delighted that Apollo’s Cabinet are returning to the NCEM stage,” says festival director Delma Tomlin.

“They’re having a fantastic career already, appealing to a broad market, where they hit the sweet spot of entertaining as well as engaging audiences.

Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston: Presenting A Lyrical Interlude on December 6

“At December 5’s concert, you should forget stuffy concerts with velvet seats and polite applause. Apollo’s Jukebox takes you back to the 18th-century music rooms where tunes weren’t just played – they were ordered. It’s all about good music, great stories and a proper pint.”

Rory McLeery, artistic director of festival act The Marian Consort, will host December 6’s 10.15am Choral Workshop at Bedern Hall , where he will take a journey through music by members of the Bach family, Schutz and Palestrina, to be followed at 4pm by an informal concert performance by the participants, who have been sent music online to practise in advance.

McCleery will direct The Marian Consort in their December 6 concert with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, directed by Gawain Glenton, in a festive 6.30pm programmed entitled Looking Bach To Palestrina, marking Palestrina’s 500th birthday.

York Early Music Festival artistic advisor and mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston will team up with her regular pianist, Sholto Kynoch, for A Lyrical Interlude at the NCEM on December 6, when her 12.30pm programme will embrace 18th century works by Fanny Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn and Carl Loewe.

This will lead to Robert Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe as Charlston explores themes of love, loss, longing and the power of memory and imagination to shape experiences of love, its joy and pain.

The Marion Consort: Teaming up with English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble for December 6 concert. Picture: Ben Tomlin

Festival stalwarts Yorkshire Bach Choir & Yorkshire Baroque Soloists will unite once more under conductor Peter Seymour for Hayden’s 1798 magnus opus, The Creation, at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, on December 6 at 7.30pm.

“From its revolutionary ‘Representations of Chaos’ and the ensuing, electrifying arrival of light, the oratorio unfolds with boundless musical invention, painting vibrant sonic landscapes of land, sea, flora, celestial bodies, fauna and ultimately, humankind,” says Delma.

“Brimming with humanity and life-affirming joy, this work stands as a towering testament to the illuminating spirit of the Enlightenment.”

Reflecting on The Marian Consort’s December 8 programme, John Bryan, Emertitus Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield, will give  a 10.15am talk on December 7 on Contrast and Continuity: From the Renaissance to the Baroque.

The Dowland’s Foundry duo of tenor Daniel Thomson and lutenist Sam Brown will present Facets Of Time at a sold-out Bedern Hall on December 7, when their 2pm performance will combine music by Dowland, Daniel, Ferrabasco and Morley and words by William Shakespeare.

Irish folk singer Cara Dillon: On song in Upon A Winter’s Night on December 13

The Chiaroscuro Quartet and the BBC New Generation Artists Consone String Quartet will make a rare appearance together at the NCEM on December 7 for a 6.30pm programme featuring one of the 19th century’s most remarkable works, Mendelssohn’s Octet in E flat major Op 20, composed when he was 16, preceded by Haydn and Beethoven string quartets.

“Effectively this is the highlight of the festival. Having these two absolutely world-class quartets play together is extraordinary on what will be a magical night,” says Delma.

“Both quartets have played here before, so we have a great relationship with them, and I’ve wanted to programme the Mendelssohn Octet in the festival forever.”

Apollo5 will conjure the wonder of the winter’s changing landscape through  contemporary choral writing for the season, interwoven with early music favourites by William Byrd and Guerrero in The Crimson Sun at the NCEM on December 9 at 6.30pm.

Lowe Ensemble, a Spanish family group, will perform Handel’s rare Spanish cantata No Se Emendara Jamas plus Iberian-Baroque festive music in Echoes Of The Baroque at the NCEM on December 12 at 12 noon.

Lowe Ensemble: Performing Echoes of the Baroque at York Early Music Christmas Festival on December 12

Fieri Consort Singers and Camerata Øresund will perform From the Church to the Tavern: Christmas Cantatas by Christopher Graupner and English Tavern Songs at the NCEM on December 12 at 6pm. Expect festive jollity as heard in the taverns of 17th and 18th centuries at this exclusive concert for the 2025 Christmas festival.

Irish folk singer Cara Dillon’s beloved Christmas concert, Upon A Winter’s Night , will blend ancient carols with modern songs and and Celtic rhythms at a sold-out NCEM on December 13 at 7.30pm.

The festival will conclude with Joglaresa’s Here We Come A’Carolling at the NCEM on December 14 at 6.30pm. “We’re delighted to welcome back this effervescent ensemble with a programme of music guaranteed to chase out the Christmas chill,” says Delma.

Summing up the 2025 festival, she says: “Once again, we look forward to welcome friends old and new to our Christmas festival, which is always a very special time for all of us here at the NCEM.

“The York Early Music Christmas Festival was created in 1997 to introduce audiences to the extraordinary wealth of music associated with Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, from the Medieval to the Baroque, intertwined with the sagas, stories and tales of the north. We hope you will enjoy this year’s wonderful line up of artists performing an array music through the ages.” Box office: 01904 658338 or https://ncem.co.uk/yemcf/.

Dowland’s Foundry to play free Baroque Around The Books shows in Explore York community library tour on Dec 8 and 9

Dowland Foundry’s Sam Brown, left, and Daniel Thomson

IN the latest National Centre for Early Music cultural wellbeing initiative, the NCEM and Explore York library service are bringing award-winning tenor Daniel Thomson and Sam Brown, “the Eric Clapton of the lute”, to York for Baroque Around The Books.

On December 8 and 9, the Dowland’s Foundry duo will present a mini-tour of Facets Of Time, a dramatic performance based around Elizabethan England’s most iconic artists, William Shakespeare and John Dowland.

Daniel and Sam will be staying in York for this short residency and musical tour of community libraries after their December 7 appearance at the 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival at a sold-out Bedern Hall, when their 2pm performance will combine music by Dowland, Daniel, Ferrabasco and Morley with words by Shakespeare.

Dowland’s Foundrywill play Tang Hall Explore on December 8 at 11am; Clifton Explore, December 8, 2pm; Haxby & Wigginton Library, December 9, 11am, and York Explore, December 9, 2pm.

Tickets are FREE for these informal concerts – and no booking is required – thanks to this NCEM initiative,  working in association with Explore York, supported by the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust and funds raised in the 2025 Christmas Big Give Campaign. 

Thomson and Brown have performed widely across the UK. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Thomson is known for his expressive text-based performance with major groups across the UK, Europe and Australia.

Flutes & Frets’ Beth Stones and Dan Murphy: Played Baroque Around The Books tour shows in York in 2024

Brown is a graduate of London’s Royal College of Music and one of the leading chordophonists of his generation, admired for his sensitive interpretation of Elizabethan music in performances across Europe, China and Kenya.

Dowland’s Foundry are undertaking the third Baroque Around the Books tour, after successful tours in 2024 by Flutes & Frets (flautist Beth Stones and frets player Dan Murphy) and Intesa (European viol and vocal musicians Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti).

Each one brings free and accessible Early Music performances to the communities of York in a unique opportunity to celebrate and discover Early Music with two talented young performers.

“The NCEM is dedicated to promoting the extraordinary array of talent from Europe’s vibrant Early Music scene and Baroque Around The Books reinforces our ongoing commitment to support, encourage and nurture the skills of emerging artists in the UK and beyond,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin.

“It’s wonderful to be working with our partner Explore York Libraries & Archives once again. Sam and Daniel have developed a sincere love and understanding of lute song that we look forward to sharing with new audiences from York communities.”

Explore York chief executive Jenny Layfield enthuses: “This partnership with NCEM is truly inspiring. There’s something wonderful about bringing such talented musicians into library spaces, offering our communities the chance to stumble upon a high-quality experience.

“I had the pleasure of attending one of the Baroque Around The Books sessions organised by the NCEM last year, and I absolutely loved it. If you have the opportunity to attend a performance at one of our Explore Centres this December, I wholeheartedly recommend it.”

Reactions to 2024’s Baroque Around The Books tours by Flutes & Frets and Intesa

Intesa musicians Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti

“Uplifting, beautiful. Exquisite singing and playing. I felt privileged to experience this in a local library.”

“It was an unexpectedly moving experience.”

“I cannot tell you how glorious the last 20 was. I called in to collect a book and thought I’d gone to heaven.”

“It was truly beautiful and amazing that we could see this at our local library!”

“This was a delightful surprise as I just popped in to get a book. Even though I had other things to do, I stayed for the whole performance, which I loved. A quality experience.”

‘‘It was wonderful, it felt like it was a gift to York. Thank you so much. Thes are difficult times for many of us. This really felt so positive and generous.”

For more Baroque Around The Books details, go to: http://ncem.co.uk/baroque-around-the-books/.

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James promote Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of compilation at Crash Records signing session in Leeds today

The artwork for James’s new compilation, Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of

JAMES are promoting their Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of album with a signing session at Crash Records, The Headrow, Leeds, at 6pm this evening. Unlike upcoming appearances in Liverpool (Cavern) tomorrow and Kingston (Circuit) on Friday, there will be no acoustic set or Q&A.

Released on November 21 on UMR in triple CD, five LP and double LP formats, as well as all download and streaming platforms, the album is a comprehensive, career-spanning collection, documenting the Manchester band’s journey from their early singles through to fan favourites and special selections curated by band members.

The 3-CD deluxe version takes fans on a chronological journey and includes a booklet with exclusive track commentary from the band and features the original Sit Down (Rough Trade Version), available to buy for the first time in 35 years.

James in 2025. In the line-up are Tim Booth, Jim Glennie, Saul Davies, Adrian Oxaal, David Baynton-Power, Mark Hunter, Andy Diagram, Chloe Alper and Deborah Knox-Hewson. Picture: Ehud Lazin

The 5-LP vinyl set includes tracks from Yummy and is housed in a rigid slipcase with accompanying booklet, with 14 tracks and versions being made available on vinyl for the first time. The 2-LP colour vinyl set is a highlights selection of the tracks.

All three versions include two new numbers, Wake Up Superman and Hallelujah Anyhow, both produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with James on their chart-topping 2024 album Yummy.

Fronted by Boston Spa-raised singer Tim Booth, James have announced their biggest-ever UK arena tour for next spring with Wilmslow band Doves as special guests. The eight dates on the Love Is The Answer itinerary include a return to Leeds First Direct Arena on April 4 2026. Tickets are available from wearejames.com, gigsandtours.com or ticketmaster.co.uk.

Listen to Wake Up Superman at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0kks1KOsmY; Hallelujah Anyhow at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PULiInpashg

Nothing But Love’s indie store events, including today’s signing session at Crash Records, Leeds

James: back story

FORMED In Manchester in 1982, James have chalked up more than 30 million albums over a longstanding career, making them among the most commercially and artistically successful English alt. rock bands of their era.

After gathering a cult following around art rock gallops such as Johnny Yen and Hymn From A Village in the 1980s, they broke through to mainstream success with 1990 major label debut Gold Mother, followed by a slew of euphoric anthems, led off by Come Home and Sit Down.

Fifth album Laid saw them break the American charts in 1993, while Whiplash (1997), Millionaires (1999) and Pleased To Meet You (2001) cemented their standing, typified by Tomorrow, She’s A Star and Just Like Fred Astaire.

The itinerary for James’s biggest-ever UK arena travels on the Love Is The Answer Tour next April

James returned from a six-year hiatus in 2008 with Hey Ma, followed by Girl At The End Of The World (2016),  Living In Extraordinary Times (2018) and All The Colours Of You (2021), returning the band to a sustained run in the upper echelons of the album charts.

In 2023, James celebrated their 40th anniversary with the release of Be Opened By The Wonderful, a double album of orchestral re-workings of their biggest hits and rare cuts, and were presented with The PRS For Music Icon Award at the Ivor Novello Awards, a testament to their enduring influence and contribution to British song-writing.

In April 2024 James released 18th album Yummy, their first-ever studio album to reach number one.  Songs addressed the subjects of politics, AI and conspiracy theories, documenting the creative process of a band that continues to evolve and defy expectations.

James: Continuing to evolve and defy expectations after more than 40 years

They played their largest UK Arena tour to date in 2024, selling out the 20,000-capacity Co-op Live Arena in Manchester and The O2 in London, followed up by a co-headline tour with Johnny Marr in the USA and Canada.

This year, their multiple shows across the globe included performing to 20,000 people on the streets of Penamacor, Portugal, and opening the summer season at The Piece Hall, Halifax, on June 6 and 7.

Now comes Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of, their sixth compilation after the chart-topping The Best Of (Mercury/Fontana) in March 1998; B-Sides Ultra (Mercury), December 2001; The Collection (Spectrum Music), October 2004;  Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles (Mercury), April 2007, and Justhipper – The Complete Sire & Blanco Y Negro Recordings 1986- 1988 (Cherry Red Records), July 2017.

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Chapter House Choirs & Jervaulx Singers, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, October 25

Conductor Benjamin Morris

THIS was a strange programme. Ostensibly a celebration of the Chapter House Choir’s upcoming 60th anniversary in December, it somehow morphed into marking the season of remembrance. Celebration and remembrance do not often make easy bedfellows.

Furthermore, the choir’s founder, Andrew Carter – who is also a distinguished choral composer – was in the audience. But he barely got a mention in the programme, was not invited to take a bow and had none of his works performed. Taken together, these were inexcusable omissions.

Judging by the programme, the two conductors involved were much more interested in furthering their own careers than seeing themselves as part of a noble chamber-choir tradition in York, which Chapter House Choir has spearheaded.

The nearest we came to a sense of celebration was in Roderick Williams’s setting of Siegfried Sassoon’s Everyone Sang, given a lusty account by the full forces here: the Chapter House Choir itself, the Chapter House Youth Choir and the octet Jervaulx Singers, making a grand total of nearly 60 singers, with Benjamin Morris conducting.

Otherwise, the mood was restrained, bordering on lugubrious, with mainly slow tempos. The full group opened with Arvo Pärt’s setting of Bogoroditse Djevo (the Russian Orthodox version of the ‘Hail, Mary’) and John Tavener’s take on it. Conducted by Charlie Gower-Smith, it was impressively sung by rote.

 He also directed the Youth Choir in Sullivan’s The Long Day Closes, which was nicely phrased even if its relevance here was doubtful.

The Chapter House Choir alone, under Morris, developed an excellent atmosphere in Elgar’s They Are At Rest, R.I.P. piece if ever there were. Rather less engaging was Owain Park’s Footsteps, which apparently uses texts by no less than nine different authors, but has a restricted harmonic palette that lends it a nebulous feel. It outstayed its welcome.

Jonathan Dove’s Into Thy Hands, sung by the Jervaulx Singers alone, was much more focused as a piece and well modulated.

Howells’ Requiem, a marvellous work, concluded the evening. For all its glories, it seemed out of keeping with the stated headline of celebration. But it was treated with considerable reverence: its smooth, prayerful invocation benefited from beautifully sustained lines.

Psalm 121, with a noble baritone solo, brought hope; sopranos were impassioned, not to say fearless, in the subsequent Requiem before the elegiac composure of the final bars. But let us hope that this is not the final celebration of Chapter House Choir’s anniversary.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on British Music Society, Amabile, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, October 31

Amabile clarinettist Lesley Schatzberger

TOO rarely do we get the chance to hear and acknowledge the professional musicians living in our midst.

The clarinettist Lesley Schatzberger has played internationally with several distinguished orchestras and ensembles, but makes her home in York. She also spearheads Amabile, whose other members are pianist Paul Nicholson – like her, a University of York graduate – and cellist Nicola Tait Baxter. All three have enjoyed successful solo careers.

Not all soloists coalesce easily into chamber music. This British Music Society concert proved otherwise, with works by Shostakovich and York composer Steve Crowther framed by trios from Clara Schumann and Brahms.

Clara’s Piano Trio in G minor, her first chamber piece, is widely regarded as her finest achievement. Its violin part converts easily for the clarinet. Immediately there was lovely shading, as the voices ducked in and out of the texture.

The skittish scherzo has an attractive cello melody in its trio section which Tait Baxter relished. The centre of the Andante was aptly nervy and the spicy fugue shone out of the finale. Best of all, the players did not attempt to press Clara’s cause; they allowed the score to unfold naturally.

The mellow music of Brahms’s last decade regularly relies on the clarinet and Schatzberger’s smoothly fluent tone brought a perfect touch of velvet to his Clarinet Trio in A minor. The ebb and flow in the broad sweeps of the opening typified Romantic yearning.

Eloquent cello led the way in the slow movement. In the lilting scherzo-substitute that follows, Nicholson’s piano backing was a model of restraint. Yet in the finale, after the pause, he re-electrified the momentum for a dramatic finish.

Steve Crowther’s Morris Dances (2012) are a theme and 11 variations, originally for piano solo, dedicated to Philip Morris. In the last two years he has orchestrated six of them for clarinet trio.

They remain delightful cameos of friends and family but have here gained in colour. They always had a tendency to minimalism, but their emotional range is wide, from nervous energy and angry argument to hesitancy and nostalgia. The trio seemed to enjoy them as much as the audience.

Tait Baxter had tackled Shostakovich’s only cello sonata with a laser focus. Thrown straight into the fray by the frenetic opening, she yet found a proper moodiness for its second theme. There was wry humour to follow, another allegro that is essentially a literal ‘scherzo’ (joke). One had to marvel at the sotto voce ending to the slow movement.

She and Nicholson were alive, too, to the martial connotations of the finale’s scatty melody. Indeed he was a tower of strength throughout, never pushy, but always urging.

Amabile is a trio of experts brilliantly submerging their solo instincts to make much more than the sum of their parts.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Opera North in Susanna, Leeds Grand Theatre, October 22

Anna Dennis as Susanna with Yasmina Patel from Phoenix Dance Theatre in Opera North’s Susanna. Picture: Tristram Kenton

HANDEL’S Susanna, billed as oratorio, might have been an opera but the Bishop of London banned staged performances of biblical topics not long before it was premiered in 1749.

Winton Dean even called it “an opera of English village life, and a comic opera at that”. Few these days would agree with him, given its tale of thwarted would-be abusers accusing their prey of adultery.

The story comes from ancient Greek sources via the Book of Daniel, where it is known as Susanna and the Elders. It’s not a comfortable topic but Opera North has never shied away from difficult issues.

Here that included its fourth collaboration with Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre, adding a choreographic element not immediately evident in the anonymous libretto. That would seem to play into the hands of Dean’s vision of a pastoral idyll. In fact, Olivia Fuchs’s production, with choreography by Marcus Jarrell Willis, could hardly have treated such a serious theme with greater reverence.

Zahra Mansouri’s gantry set and modern costumes in pastel shades kept the focus firmly on the drama, with Jake Wiltshire’s lighting a constant ally.

Anna Dennis inhabited the title role to her fingertips. Her glorious tone gave life and substance not merely to Susanna’s happy marriage but to her painful trials, so that we felt every ounce of her desperation when she was falsely accused.

‘Crystal streams’ was sinuously luxuriant, while defiance was tangible in her final aria, as the Elders had their comeuppance, one debagged, the other receiving a painful kick. It was a sensational performance, riveting throughout.

Although given much less to do, James Hall as her husband Joacim was noble in support, with stunningly clear coloratura to match. Both ornamented their da capos appealingly.

Claire Lees as the young prophet Daniel – a role originally allotted to a treble – overcame the handicap of a comically androgynous costume to deliver a shining denouement with her ‘Chastity’ aria.

Fuchs resisted the temptation to make the Elders figures of fun: tenor Colin Judson and bass Karl Huml were well contrasted in both stature and temperament, the one with oily refinement, the other more impatient for conquest. Matthew Brook was firmly reliable as Chelsias, Susanna’s father.

The chorus was as forceful as ever and made more relevant with smaller gestures that chimed with the dance.

Handel provided an original overture, unusually devoid of borrowings, and the orchestra under Johanna Soller, conducting from the harpsichord, gave it fresh, enthusiastic treatment, with cleanly muscular lines in its fugue.

This set the tone for the evening, as the players gave every indication of knowing exactly what was required for a ‘period’ sound, not something you can expect from an opera orchestra. It led gracefully into perhaps the work’s greatest chorus, ‘How long, O Lord’, with the Israelites moping about their oppression – which is otherwise almost completely irrelevant to the story.

This was the first occasion where the choreography helped, with the writhings of the nine dancers enlivening an otherwise static scenario. This proved a telling feature throughout, particularly effective when the dancers acted in consort, thus reflecting the lines of the music.

At the other extreme, modern dance movements sometimes jarred with the Baroque underlay. When solo dancers acted as alter ego to a character delivering an aria, it added emotional depth; when they attempted to share too closely in the lovers’ idyll, for example, by providing an extra ring of embrace, it was intrusive, an invasion of personal space in modern parlance.

However, the continued collaboration between the two companies has undoubtedly benefited both, not least in broadening the limitations of each art form. We do well to remember that dance was regularly a component of opera from earliest times. The two need each other.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Opera North in La Bohème, Leeds Grand Theatre, October 28

Anthony Ciaramitaro as Rodolfo and Olivia Boen as Mimì in Opera North’s La Bohème. Picture: Richard H Smith

PHYLLIDA Lloyd’s career as an opera director began here in 1991 and she is still around, in spirit at least, through this Bohème, which was here revived by James Hurley.

Now into its fourth decade, it keeps popping up every five years or so and has lost none of its pulling power. Lloyd’s dramatic instincts, honed in straight theatre, have had a ripple effect on this company in the way its singers interact. So much so, that when a principal fails to fall into line, it becomes all the more noticeable.

The four principal roles were double-cast. In this matinee we had two American newcomers to Leeds in Anthony Ciaramitaro as Rodolfo and Olivia Boen as Mimì, backed by the familiar Elin Pritchard as Musetta and Yuriy Yurchuk repeating his Marcello from 2019.

The tone was set early by Ciaramitaro’s Rodolfo. He was distrait even before his encounter with Mimì, concerned with getting his focus right rather than portraying a character. There was never any doubting his resonance, impressively ringing throughout the range, in traditionally Italianate style if with a tendency to dally at cadences.

However, he was also largely nuance-free. ‘Che gelida manina’, always the touchstone of Rodolfo’s tenderness, is marked dolcissimo and piano. This one was neither. There was later evidence of his ability to tone it down: he simply chose not to use it here.

Conversely, Boen’s Mimì was a model of restraint, with a comely diffidence in ‘Sì, mi chiamano Mimì’; she reserved her strongest emotions for Act 3, but always phrased intelligently. It was really not her fault that there was so little chemistry between them.

Yuriy Yurchuk as Marcello, Seán Boylan as Schaunard, Jeremy Peaker as Benoît, Anthony Ciaramitaro as Rodolfo and Han Kim as Colline in Opera North’s La Bohème. Picture: Richard H Smith

Yurchuk was a tower of strength and reassurance as Marcello, with a serious side to his leadership of the Bohemians’ hi-jinks. Seán Boylan’s flexible baritone suited Schaunard while Han Kim’s sterner bass as Colline contrasted well.

Elin Pritchard was quite the bossy man-eater as Musetta, hogging the spotlight at the café, but relaxing into sensitivity at the death.

Jeremy Peaker repeated his redoubtable double act as a put-upon Benoît and a henpecked Alcindoro. Act 2, with its ever-swivelling banquette, was a rowdy affair, teetering on the verge of ill-discipline in Maxine Braham’s revival choreography but entertaining for all that; it was good to have the involvement of so many children (some of whom had briefly invaded Act 1).

Act 3 continued to benefit from the intermittent visibility of the nightclub, whose warm lighting (revived by Richard Moore) made the outside air all the chillier in Anthony Ward’s set.

Garry Walker was thoroughly attuned to Puccini’s specific demands – thrilling trumpets in Act 2, for example – even if his general approach was less romantic than is customary. His players remained steadfastly responsive.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on York Musical Society, St Lawrence Parish Church, York, November 8

David Pipe: “Charismatic conductor with a knack for motivating his charges”

YORK Musical Society abandoned York Minster, the traditional venue for its autumn concert, in favour of a much cheaper option, St Lawrence on Hull Road.

The church’s acoustics are clearer than the Minster’s, but it meant squeezing 130 singers into the choir and chancel and leaving no room for an orchestra. So we heard Vivaldi’s Gloria in D, RV 589 and Haydn’s ‘Nelson’ Mass with accompaniment from organ and timpani.

The hero of the hour was certainly Shaun Turnbull, whose organ accompaniments were a sterling replacement for the tricky violin parts of both these works, demanding focus and stamina. The timpani were skilfully handled by Taneli Clarke, although at the front of the aisle he was too far forward for balance with the organ.

David Pipe is a charismatic conductor with a knack for motivating his charges. There was no lack of willing on their part. But there was a feeling on the night that several passages were not as assured as they might be.

The Vivaldi got off to a vivid start, but ‘Et in terra’ suffered from an unvarying dynamic, apart from the diminuendo at its close. In the ‘Domine Deus, Agnus Dei’, the choir’s responses to the alto soloist’s intercessions were too forceful, out of keeping with the prayerful mood. It takes a confident choir to sing softly.

Thereafter the choir was in good form, both in its brief ‘Qui tollis’ and especially in the fugal ‘Cum sancto spiritu’, which was pleasingly lively. The soloists, soprano Ellie Miles-Kingston and mezzo-soprano Holly Gowen, had blended neatly in ‘Laudamus te’ and the former’s straight tone was an asset in ‘Domine Deus, Rex coelestis’, but their diction was more or less non-existent. It should be a given that soloists use words as an aid to projection.

The Haydn gets off to a dramatic start. For all her bravery, the youthful Miles-Kingston does not yet have the weight of tone needed for the ‘Kyrie eleison’, perhaps the most taxing solo passage in all Haydn’s masses. It requires full-on operatic treatment with coloratura to match.

But her ‘Et incarnatus’ was effective and she led the solo quartet well; here it was tenor who needed to give more. The bass Dominic Rose might have been more convincing in ‘Qui tollis peccata’ had he raised his eyes from his copy more often.

The choir brought considerable conviction to the start of the ‘Credo’, with bold lines in all voices. ‘Hosanna in excelsis’ took off admirably. There were signs of sagging stamina in the ‘Agnus Dei’, with not all sopranos reaching the high entries cleanly. But given the cramped conditions the choir deserves congratulations for its perseverance.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 50, from Gazette & Herald

James Swanton: Returning to York Medical Society with his Dickensian ghost stories

FROM Dickensian ghost stories and Gothic tales to mischievous mice and a festive talent showcase, ’tis the season to be out and about, reports Charles Hutchinson.

Storyteller of the week: James Swanton presents Charles Dickens’ Ghost Stories, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, until Sunday

YORK storyteller supreme and Gothic actor James Swanton returns to York Medical Society with two of Dickens’ seasonal ghost stories: The Haunted Man, a neglected Gothic classic (November 27, 7pm) and A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s saga (November 28, 7pm, and November 30, 2pm and 6pm).

“Their words unlock a world teeming with chain-rattling spectres, with dark and shadowy doubles, with Ghosts of Christmases Past and Present and Yet To Come,” he says. “These tales chill the marrow and tickle the funny bone, but always they enchant, as only the works of a master storyteller can.” Box office for returns only: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Steve Tearle: Directing NE Theatre York in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

DIRECTED by Steve Tearle, this musical will take you to a world of pure imagination in Roald Dahl’s devilishly delicious tale of young golden ticket winner Charlie Bucket entering the scrumptious chocolate factory. There, he and his grandpa Joe, along with five more children, will meet the mysterious confectionary wizard Willy Wonka for an adventure like no other.

“The story of chocolate is at the very heart and history of this amazing city and it is only fitting that NE Theatre York brings Charlie And The Chocolate Factory to York,” says Tearle. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Rebecca Vaughan: Telling haunting tales of the festive season at Theatre@41

Frailties of human nature of the week: Dafyd Productions in Christmas Gothic, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Thursday, 7.30pm

REGULAR York frequenters Dafyd Productions return with Christmas Gothic, an invitation to enter into the Christmas spirit as spectral woman (Rebecca Vaughan) tells haunting tales of the festive season, lighting a candle to the frailties of human nature and illuminating the chilling depths of bleak wintry darkness. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Tucking into the cheese at A Christmas Mousequerade at Fairfax House

Mischievous mice takeover of the week: A Christmas Mousequerade at Fairfax House, Castlegate, York, until January 4 2026

FAIRFAX House’s much-loved Christmas display returns for 2025 with a new theme of A Christmas Mousequerade, combining more mice than ever before in the “ultimate 18th century house party”.

A multitude of mice is dressed in hand-crafted and exquisitely miniature Georgian finery, custom made by Fairfax House volunteers, as you step into the glittering world of Georgian York and join the Fairfax family’s preparations for the most spectacular ball of the season. Tickets: https://fairfaxhouse.co.uk/event/christmas-at-fairfax-house/.

Poetry gig of the week: Stairwell Books presents Poetry For All, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm

THIS annual event is designed to remove as many barriers as possible from enjoying live poetry events. All poems are projected on a screen, and BSL (British Sign Language) interpreted by Dave Wycherley and Vicci Ackroyd in a venue with fab acoustics and level access throughout.

Headliners Dominic Berry and Pete Kalu will be supported by five York poets, co-hosted by Fay Roberts and Rose Drew. Service dogs are welcome; entry for carers is free. VI tarot card reader Gillian Avart will read your potential future. Look out for special guests too. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Kevin Daniel: Relatable storytelling at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Steve Best

Ryedale comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, Kevin Daniel, Paul Tonkinson and Stephanie Laing, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm

KEVIN Daniel combines a commanding stage presence with relatable storytelling and jokes aplenty. Paul Tonkinson, Yorkshireman, marathon runner and two-time Time Out Comedian of the Year, is noted for his effervescent physicality and skilful impressions, bringing alive exuberant, tender comic reflections of love, family and the day-to-day idiosyncrasies of 21st century living.

“Goofy and peculiar” host Stephanie Laing, an Edinburgh Fringe regular since 2010, fuses silliness, filth and unusual observations, underpinned by a disarming honesty and charming vulnerability. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

The Catenary Wires team up with poet Brian Bilston at Pocklington Arts Centre

Poetry-and-song union of the week: Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm

POET Brian Bilston started out by sharing his brief, direct, and witty poems online and now has more than half a million followers on social media. The Catenary Wires comprise Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button, who also play as Heavenly, whose T-shirt Bilston was spotted wearing at one of his gigs.

Word reached Fletcher and Pursey,  introductions were made, friendships were formed, and the Sounds Made By Humans album took shape: a collection of songs, where words and music have become intertwined. Friday’s first half features a solo spoken-word set by Bilston and a music set by The Catenary Wires; in the second, they unite to perform tracks from the album. Box office: 01759 301 5 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Poet Brian Bilston

Talent showcase of the week: HAC Studio Bar Festive Open Mic, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

HELMSLEY Arts Centre plays host to a cosy evening for creatives to share their talents in the relaxed and friendly environment of the Studio Bar. Mulled wine and mince pies are on the menu and festive tunes will be the order of the day.

This Open Mic is a comfortable space for both seasoned performers and those taking the stage for the first time, as well as anyone who wants to enjoy a drink from the bar and be entertained by Ryedale talent. No need to book to listen or perform, just turn up.

Jake Lambert: The Sunshine Kid with bright ideas at Pocklington Arts Centre

Debut tour of the week: Jake Lambert, The Sunshine Kid, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm

RAPIDLY rising stand-up comic Jake Lambert has chalked up more than 500 million views of his online videos featuring his gag-filled storytelling. Having supported Michael McIntyre on his worldwide tour, he is undertaking his inaugural international tour with his show The Sunshine Kid, selling out across the UK, Europe and Australia. Box office: 01759 301 5 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Thornton Le Dale Ukuleles: Christmas concert at Kirk Theatre

Christmas Singalong of the week: Thornton Le Dale Ukuleles and Scoble and Friends, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, December 4, 7.30pm

THORNTON Le Dale Ukuleles’ Christmas Singalong is divided into two parts, kicking off with Scoble and Friends, a small group of talented singers and musicians.

Thornton Le Dale Ukuleles, the brainchild of leader John Scoble, will fill the stage with 40 players. Scoble provides tuition free of charge, while singer-songwriter David Swann gives lessons too. The group performs all genres of music, but virtually no George Formby, playing the melody as well as strumming and complementing ukuleles with other instruments. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

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REVIEW: Paul Rhodes’s verdict on The Unthanks At 20, All Saints Church, The Pavement, Pocklington, November 22

Becky Unthank, left, Rachel Unthank and Niopha Keegan in harmony at All Saints Church, Pocklington. All pictures: Paul Rhodes

SHOWING no signs of slowing, this tour marks 20 years in showbusiness for the Unthanks. Mercifully, these North Easterners are the perfect antidote to the shallow and throwaway nature of much of what’s spun out for popular entertainment.

All Saints Church in Pocklington is an ideal intimate venue for them. All 200 seats sold out quickly, and the welcome and sound were both warm and inviting.

The Unthanks have been prolific, with a range of releases including lots of diversions to cover the works of others. It made for a really varied evening, with 19 tunes drawn from all corners of their repertoire.

The Unthanks’ musical director, Adrian McNally

The opening salvo of John Dead, On A Monday Morning and What Can A Song Do To You encapsulated this. The last of the three was a cover of Molly Drake’s home recordings (their last recorded diversion). Molly was the mother ofsinger-songwriter Nick Drake and an enormous musical influence on her son who took her inner journeys and piano tunings and made them darker, more abstract and universal.

With all its twists, the set was still steeped in the darkness that we have come to expect from the Unthanks. Their voices conjured a devastating account of The Trimdon Grange Explosion and it was a rare treat to hear Keen And Cry And Weep from the sisters’ musical score to the play Elmet (adapted and directed by Javaad Alipoor from York writer Fiona Mozley’s novel and performed at The Loading Bay, Bradford, as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture).

The Unthanks are one of many, many folk groups, so why are they so beloved? It’s partly their natural North Eastern authenticity (not weakened a jot by adding London Irish Niopha Keegan, who sang and played fiddle).

The Unthanks’ set list for their November 22 concert at All Saints Church, Pocklington

There’s definitely their canny knack of choosing and arranging songs, and their sharp ears for a good story that can last. Most of all, however, it really comes down to the voices and our love of siblings harmony. Becky and Rachel really know how to make the most of what nature has given them.

The goose bump moments also happen when, rarely, all four sing together, bringing in musical director Adrian McNally’s voice at the low end. A grand example was King Of Rome, majestic in its new brass-less arrangement, which brought the second set to life after a less than diverting start.

Twenty years not out, and comparative striplings still, we can hopefully look forward to many more evenings in the Unthanks’ fine company.

The Unthanks performing under the lights at All Saints Church, Pocklington