'Behold, the Sea!' - Tall Ships Celebration

The Cleveland Philharmonic Choir concert programme will help provide a fitting nautical start to the Tall Ships celebrations in Hartlepool, England.

TICKETS are now on sale for an exciting evening of classical music to welcome The Tall Ships Races to Hartlepool this summer.

The 'Behold, the Sea!', programme is made up of some of the most significant marine-themed pieces: Britten's four orchestral Sea Interludes from his opera Peter Grimes, Elgar's song cycle Sea Pictures and Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony, of which this is a centenary performance.

The concert features the Cleveland Philharmonic Choir and the fifty-strong Mowbray Orchestra and is conducted by John Forsyth, the Choir's Musical Director.

There are also several exceptional solo performers:  Anna Stéphany - who represented England in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition - will take the mezzo-soprano role in Sea Pictures, while A Sea Symphony will include two outstanding soloists: soprano Madeleine Pierard and baritone Dawid Kimberg, the South Africa representative in the Singer of the World event.

This is the first-ever performance in Hartlepool by the 120-strong Cleveland Philharmonic Choir, which draws members from all over the Tees Valley, including Hartlepool itself, and from Durham and North Yorkshire. Founded in 1968, the choir aspires to professional standards and has built an impressive repertoire which includes the most challenging works spanning five centuries of music. It has brought to the Tees Valley many prominent singers, including tenor Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts and baritones Alan Opie and Sir Thomas Allen, who is also the choir's Honorary President.

The Mowbray Orchestra was established in 1991 as the professional chamber music ensemble of the Ripon St. Cecilia Orchestra. Its performances have earned it high acclaim and it is now in great demand to accompany choral societies throughout the North of England.

The Soloists   

Originally from Guisborough and a founder-member of the Tees Valley Youth Choir, Anna Stéphany trained at the National Opera Studio in London. Her many operatic roles have included the title role in Mignon, Juno in Handel's Semele, as well as Euridice in Monteverdi's Orfeo for Opera North.

Her regular performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra have included her Proms debut in 2007 as Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung. With the London Symphony Orchestra she has recorded Mozart's Requiem, which she also performed in London and New York under the baton of Sir Colin Davis.

Madeleine Pierard began her musical life as a pianist and chorister in New Zealand. She has performed extensively on the concert platform in New Zealand and the UK, notably Verdi's Requiem, Haydn's Creation and Handel's Messiah and recitals with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Jonathan Lemalu. She has also recently completed two recordings with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and will be joining the young artists' scheme at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the autumn.

Born in Johannesburg, Dawid Kimberg moved to the UK in 2001 and studied at the Royal College of Music and later at the National Opera Studio. His many oratorio performances in the UK and South Africa include the Bach Passions and Mass in B minor, Orff's Carmina Burana and Tippett's A Child of our Time, while his operatic roles have ranged from the Count in Le nozze di Figaro to Masetto in Don Giovanni. Dawid has been a member of the staff of young artists at the Royal Opera House this season.

Joan Carter, Secretary of Cleveland Philharmonic Choir, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have this opportunity to sing in Hartlepool this summer and have chosen the programme very much with the Tall Ships in mind.

"The fact that it also coincides with the centenary of the Sea Symphony is marvellous, because the work is on such a huge scale that you don't get the chance to sing it very often.

"We're all looking forward enormously to the concert and would like to thank Hartlepool Council most sincerely for the warmth of its welcome and the generosity of its support".

Tickets for the concert cost £15 for adults, £12 for concessions and £2 for children and students. They are available from Hartlepool Tourist Information Centre in Church Square on 01429 869706 or from John Hillier on 01740 630736 or on the door.

(Sourced Hartlepool Borough Council)