Devon Philharmonic Orchestra Exeter Cathedral Saturday 2 November 2019 Press Release from Ellen Stratton

Devon Philharmonic Orchestra
(formerly EMG Symphony Orchestra)
Saturday 2nd November 7.30pm
Exeter Cathedral
(Photography Paula Fernley)

Leo Geyer Conducts
Rehearsals at St Peter's School
(Photography Paula Fernley)

On Saturday 2 November the orchestra formerly known as EMG Symphony Orchestra is excited to return to Exeter Cathedral for their first performance as Devon Philharmonic Orchestra under their Music Director, Leo Geyer.  The concert marks the official launch of the orchestra's rebrand, which reflects the quality, energy and scale of its 80-strong membership, which is drawn from across the county.  Devon Philharmonic and Leo are delighted to welcome violinist Philippa Mo, who joins the orchestra for Dvořák's lyrical Violin Concerto.  The programme also features Ligeti's atmospheric, dream-like Lontano and Shostakovich's politically brave, emotional Symphony No.5.

Violin Soloist for Dvořák
Philippa Mo

There will be a retiring collection in aid of Children's Hospice South West, who provide a wide range of hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions and their whole family across the South West, including respite and short breaks, emergency care, palliative care and end of life care.

Tickets for this concert cost £17, £14, £12 and £10 (concessions for students and under-16s) and are available from Exeter Tourist Information, Dix's Field, Exeter, 01392 665885 (9.30am – 4.30pm, Monday – Saturday), online from TicketSource or on the door (cash payments only please).  For more information about Devon Philharmonic Orchestra please visit the Devon Philharmonic Website find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Two Moors Festival: Exeter/Wiveliscombe/Dulverton/Ashburton/Tiverton Parkway/Blundell's/Brompton Regis/Higher Ashton/Chagford/Okehampton/Hatherleigh/Crediton/Powderham/Dunster/South Molton/Barnstaple - - - Friday 11 - Sunday 20 October 2019

Penny Adie
Joint Founder (with John Adie)
& Retiring Artistic Director
Two Moors Festival

Friday 11 October

Royal Albert Memorial Museum 7.30pm
MIGRATION
Baritone: Ashley Riches
Piano: Joseph Middleton
£25 (student/child £5)

Saturday 12 October

White Hart Wiveliscombe 11am
MUSICAL QUIZ
Quiz Master: Penny Adie
Admission FREE

St Andrew's Wiveliscombe 2pm
CELEBRATION OF SONG
Baritone: Roderick Williams OBE

Soprano: Elizabeth Watts
Piano: Roger Vignoles
Schubert/Strauss/Rachmaninov
Britten/Vignoles
£10-35 (student/child £5)

All Saints Dulverton 7.30pm
LORNA DOONE
Blundell's School Chamber Choir
Blundell's Prep & Dulverton Junior Pupils
Wells Cathedral School String Quartet
Narrator: John Nettles
Music Director: Dr Oliver Leaman
Tenor: Eamonn Mulhall
Soprano: Juliette Featherstone
£10-32 (student/child £5)

Sunday 13 October

St Lawrence Chapel Ashburton 10.30-2.30
THE ART OF SINGING PSALMS
Director: David Davies
Organist: Jonathan Delbridge
(A preparation for Evensong at 3pm)
£15 (student/child £5)

St Andrew's Ashburton 3pm
EVENSONG
President: Rt Revd Mark Rylands
(Former Bishop of Shrewsbury
  Diocesan Missioner Exeter Diocese
     2002-2009)
Musical Director: David Davies
Organist Jonathan Delbridge
An Anglican Church Service
No charge for admission

St Andrew's Ashburton 7.30pm
THE PLEYEL ENSEMBLE
Piano: Harvey Davies
Violin: Sarah Ewins
Horn: Laurence Davies
Cooke/Berkeley/Mozart/Brahms
£10-32 (student/child £5)

Monday 14 October

 

Blundell's School Main Hall 11am
THE PLEYEL ENSEMBLE
Mathias/MacMillan/Cooke
£15 (student/child £5)

Blessed Virgin Brompton Regis 2-3pm
St Nicholas Brushford 4.30-5.30pm
TWO ORGAN RECITALS

Organist: Heather Easting
Bach/Franck/Boellmann/Vierne/Langlais/Bach
MacMillan/Part/Hindemith/Nalle/Bach
£10 (student/child £5) 2 Adults £18

All Saints Dulverton 7.30pm
IMOGEN COOPER
Piano Recital
Beethoven/Schubert
£10-35 (student/child £5)

Town Hall Dulverton 10pm
ACCORDION RECITAL
Accordion: Iosif Purits
Vivaldi/Mendelssohn/Zolotarev
Tchaikovsky/Poulenc/Prokofiev
Piazzolla/Schedrin/Rizol/Vlasov
£10 (student/child £5)

Tuesday 15 October

Tiverton Parkway 11.30am-12.10pm
WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL
BRASS QUINTET
Rossini/Handel/Farnaby/Butterworth
Berlin/Trad Gospel
Admission FREE (booking required)

John Lewis Sidwell Street 4pm
WELLS CATHEDRAL SCHOOL
SAXOPHONE QUARTET
Francais/Piazzolla/Karen Street
£15 (student /child £5)

Exeter Cathedral 7pm
THE ENGLISH CONCERT
Musical Director: Harry Bicket
Mezzo Soprano: Dame Sarah Connolly
Rameau/Charpentier/Gluck/Handel
£10-42 (student/child £5)

Wednesday 16 October

Great Barn Higher Ashton 10am-4.45pm
A DAY OF FOOD & CONVERSATION
10am Dartmoor's Daughter
(Emma Cunis: My Hidden Dartmoor)
11.30am Chris Chapman
(Higher Shilstone: Memories of a
  Mediaeval Farmstead on Dartmoor)
1.15pm Lunch
(Pop-Up Restaurant: Tom's Pies)
2.30pm John Varley OBE TD
(Disruption to Opportunity:
   Management of Land in Uncertain Times)
3.45pm Ivor Gurney Composer
(Tim Kendal English Professor
   Philip Lancaster Baritone
      Timothy Noon Cathedral Music Director)
£10 each £15 for Lunch All-In £45

St Michael's Chagford 7.30pm
THE ELIAS STRING QUARTET

Violin: Sara Bitlloch
Violin: Conald Grant
Viola: Simone van der Giessen
'Cello: Marie Bitlloch
Haydn/Hindson/Schubert
£10-35 (student/child £5)

Thursday 17 October

Okehampton College 11.45am
PIANO MASTERCLASS
Director: Harvey Davies
Students of Okehampton College
£10

Okehampton College 2.30pm
THE PLEYEL ENSEMBLE
Mendelssohn/Mozart/Schumann
£15 (student/child £5)

John the Baptist Hatherleigh 7.30pm
LUTOSLAWSKI PIANO DUO
Piano: Bartlomiej Wasik/Emilia Sitarz
Bach/Debussy/Chopin/Liszt/De Falla
Rachmaninov/Lutoslawski/Brahms/Ravel
£10-35 (student/child £5)

Friday 18 October

Tiverton Parkway 11-11.20am
TOBY HUGHES: DOUBLE BASS
Francais/Tabakov/Berio/Bach
Admission FREE (booking required)

Holy Cross Crediton 2.30pm
PIANO & VIOLIN
Violin: Sophia Rosa
Piano: Martin Roscoe
Schubert/Ravel/Brahms/Gershwin
£10-32 (student/child £5)

Powderham Castle 7.30pm
THE NEXT GENERATION
(Previous Platform Winners)
Double Bass: Toby Hughes
Desenclos/Bottesini/Dubognon/Gliere
Piano: Clara Sherratt
Bach/Beethoven/Chopin/Debussy
'Cello: Rebecca McNaught
Britten 'Cello Sonata in C major Op 65
Accompanist: Harvey Davies
£18

Saturday 19 October

Yarn Market Hotel Dunster 11am
CONVERSATION WITH . . .
Artistic Director: Penny Adie
Pianist: Harvey Davies
His Life - Davies Duo (with mother Helen)
Pleyel Ensemble - Royal Northern
Arnold Cooke Revival etc
£5

Priory Church of St George Dunster 2.30pm
YOUNG MUSICIANS COMPETITION
WINNERS
Flute: Amelie Donovan
'Cello: Isabella Farleigh
Clarinet: Daisy Hickson
Oboe: Ella Leonard
Violin: Rachel Stonham
Accompanist: Aleksandra Myslek
£12 (student/child £5)

Tithe Barn Dunster 7.30pm
THE TITHE BARN DINNER
Soprano: Lorena Paz Nieto
Baritone: Malachy Frame
Piano: Harvey Davies
Massenet/Mozart/Puccini
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Bernstein/Sondheim/Gershwin/Kern
£45 (Black Tie Optional!)

Sunday 20 October

Town Hall South Molton 2pm
BAROQUE DANCE
The Bach Players
Baroque Violins: Anna Curzon
                     Nicolette Skamletz
Viola da Gamba: Reiko Ichise
Harpsichord: Silas Wollston
Baroque Dancers: Mercurius Company
(Ricardo Barros & Gudrun Skamletz)
Couperin/Rebel
£15 (student/child £5)

St Peter & St Mary Barnstaple 6pm
NORTH DEVON SINFONIA
Conductor: Emma Kent
Von Suppe/ Beethoven/Tchaikovsky
Beethoven Piano Soloist: Piers Lane
£10-32 (stuent/child £5)

Box Office: 01392 665885

(Tourist Info Dix's Field Exeter)

9-12.30//1.15-4.30pm

(4pm Thur & Sat)

Closed Sunday

Online Booking: Festival Website

St David's Players "The Grand Duke" Barnfield Theatre Tuesday-Saturday 8-12 October 2019

St David's Players
Gilbert & Sullivan "The Grand Duke"
Exeter Barnfield Theatre
Tuesday 8 October - Saturday 12 October
Herald: Lee Andreae - Grand Duke: Tim Hunt
Princess of Monte Carlo: Nicola Wood
Prince of Monte Carlo: Dominic Rousseau
Baroness von Krakenfelde: Amelia Hall
Ernest Dummkopf: Mark Hurford
Julia Jellico: Penny Daw - Ludwig: Adam Carpenter
Lisa: Sheena Galpin - Costumier: Joe McNulty

After 33 years the St David’s Players return to Gilbert & Sullivan’s last, and arguably most comedic operetta – “The Grand Duke”. There are many overlapping stories in this epic farce, involving more than the usual number of comic characters and partnerships. A cavalcade of St David’s Players stars take on these many roles with great artistic flare.

Grand Duke Rudolph: Tim Hunt

Baroness von Krakenfeldt: Amelia Hall

(Photography: Christopher Wilson)

Tim Hunt is the Grand Duke Rudolph of Pfennig-Halbpfennig, a hilariously effete character who nevertheless exudes confidence and authority when necessary. A masterful performance, ably countered by Amelia Hall as the Grand Duke’s fiancée The Baroness von Krakenfeldt. Amelia’s stage presence is quite overwhelming as she downs magna of ’74 and lurches through the members of chorus like a behemoth – while singing angelically throughout.

Penny Daw, as Julia Jellico, is also billed to marry the Duke, but only as part of a thespian takeover coordinated by theatre director Ernest Dummkopf (Mark Hurford). Details of the plot are carefully outlined by company member Ludwig (Adam Carpenter) with instructions for plotters to identify themselves by eating the, otherwise unappetising, sausage rolls.

Julia Jellico: Penny Daw

(Photography: Christopher Wilson)

Adam it should be mentioned, is appearing in a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta for the very first time, as well as this being his first project with the St David’s players. Adam has recently graduated in languages at the University and is now teaching, but singing and acting are clearly his first love. As a student he performed regularly with the a cappella group ‘Semi-Toned’, even joining them for a live performances on Phonic FM.

The plot thickens as Adam changes places with both the Duke and Dummkopf in a strange local custom of ‘The Statutory Duel’ (an alternative title for the operetta). Now he is engaged to Penny and Amelia, leaving his original fiancée Lisa (Sheena Galpin) bereft. Just when it seems things can’t get any more complicated, Dominic Rousseau arrives as the Prince of Monte Carlo, with his daughter – played by Nicola Wood – who, it seems, has been engaged to the Duke since childhood.

Nicola (the actress) is now married to Jonathan Lucas Wood, who has featured in these reviews many times as a tenor. He plays a minor, but very entertaining, character in the action himself (look out for the striped jersey!) Nicola was formerly known as Nikki Wilkes, and was the star of the St David’s Players’ production of ‘Patience’ in 2016 opposite Tim Hunt.

Ludwig: Adam Carpenter

(Photography: Christopher Wilson)

Needless to say, all is resolved satisfactorily in the end, but it is a fabulously tortuous path they all travel to their final destination. En route there are the most fabulous song and dance numbers, all spectacularly choreographed by Director Susan Gunn-Johnson. The dancing becomes more flamboyant and entertaining with each scene, with all the characters and chorus joining in with gusto. Even the dignified notary Dr Taunhäuser (Nick Lawrence) turns out to be a most stylish mover!

The costumes and lighting, as always with the St David’s Players, turn this production into a sumptuous whirl of colour and excitement. The story confuses and excites, ultimately delivering the most absorbing and hilarious display of comic confusion one could wish for. The singing is delightful and memorable, especially with so many leading voices, all performed by such star players, and the mini orchestra is as wonderful as ever – under the skilled direction of Andrew Curtis.

For an evening of top-flight entertainment, at a traditional venue in the heart of Exeter, the St David’s Players production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Grand Duke” would be hard to beat. Performances continue nightly at 7.30 until Saturday this week - with an additional 2.30 matinée on Saturday.

St David's Players

Barnfield Theatre

Tues 8 - Sat 12 October 7.30pm

(Matinée Saturday 2.30pm)

THE GRAND DUKE

Gilbert & Sullivan

Director: Susan Gunn-Johnson

Musical Director: Andrew Curtis

Ludwig: Adam Carpenter

Lisa: Sheena Galpin

Ernest Dummkopf: Mark Hurford

Julia Jellico: Penny Daw

Dr Tannhäuser: Nick Lawrence

The Grand Duke: Tim Hunt

Baroness von Krakenfeldt: Amelia Hall

Prince of Monte Carlo: Dominic Rousseau

Princess of Monte Carlo: Nicola Wood

Herald: Lee Andreae

Viscount Mentone: Pete Fances

Costumier: Joe McNulty

Tickets: £16.50 (£15 Tues & Matinée)

Box Office: 01392 271808

Online Booking: TicketSolve