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| Mozart - happy 250th birthday |
Symphony of approval for maestro's work
A trio of talented Staffordshire musical groups are coming together to celebrate the life of one of the most famous composers of all time.
The County Council's Staffordshire Performing Arts (SPA) unit has organised a special celebration to mark the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth.
The collective forces of Staffordshire County Chorus, Staffordshire Youth Choir and Staffordshire Symphony Orchestra will come together on Saturday March 25 at Lichfield Cathedral. The event will celebrate the musical genius responsible for some of the most profound and well known pieces of music in history.
Although Mozart's actual birth date was January 27 1756, birthday celebrations are taking place around the world throughout the whole of 2006. Staffordshire's contribution will be a performance of his famous Requiem along with three other of his smaller works.
The three groups which will perform at the concert all belong to Staffordshire Performing Arts. The County Chorus is made up of 100 adult singers from all over the county, and they will perform alongside the Youth Choir. The accompanying orchestra is made up of staff and former students of SPA. Overall, some 180 people will take part in this event.
Guest vocal soloists for the evening are Natalie Clifton-Griffith (soprano), Rachel Helen Smith (alto), Matthew Hopkins (tenor) and Ian Gifford (bass). Also appearing as soloist in a performance of the Oboe Concerto is Simon Dewhurst who is a full time teacher with SPA.
Nigel Taylor, Head of Cultural Development, will be the conductor for the evening. He said "It's an incredibly exciting opportunity to perform a whole concert of Mozart, one of the world's greatest ever composers. We've chosen pieces that reflect his amazingly prodigious, but short, life and include works written when he was six, 16, 21 and 35 years old.
"The Requiem is a glorious work which was begun in mysterious circumstances and left unfinished when he died. The film "Amadeus" shows a fanciful portrayal of how the piece was started by Mozart with the help of Antonio Salieri but the truth is quite different and it was in fact completed by one of Mozart's pupils quite some time after his death."
The concert takes place at Lichfield Cathedral on Saturday March 25, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets, £10 and £8 (£5 concessions), are available from Julia Waterfall at Staffordshire Performing Arts on 01785 278280.
Page Last Modified:
30/01/2007 16:03:38
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