Archives

This concert is currently only on sale for LMP Friends. General on-sale goes live at 10am, Tuesday 6 May. For more information on how to join the Friends, visit this page.

Beethoven Coriolan Overture, Op.62
Stephen McNeff Violin Concerto

Interval

Beethoven Symphony No.3 in E flat Major Op.55, ‘Eroica’

Fenella Humphreys violin
Jonathan Bloxham conductor

In a tale worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, Beethoven’s Third Symphony is enshrouded in a story of betrayal and defiance as the composer battled through personal and political strife.

As the promise of liberty in the French Revolution emerged, Beethoven dedicated his symphony to Napoleon in the hope of a better future. When scandal erupted and Napoleon betrayed his way to the top, Beethoven furiously tore out the dedication and renamed the Symphony ‘Eroica’.

Grappling with his worsening deafness and political turmoil, Beethoven refused to write music for music’s sake. Instead, ‘Eroica’ shattered expectations and produced a radical vision of real-life heroism. ‘Eroica’ wasn’t just music; it was revolution.

The spirit of bold innovation continues to shape music today. Paired with ‘Eroica’ in this concert is the world-premiere of Stephen Mcneff’s Violin Concerto, performed by Fenella Humphreys. Drawing from Baroque influences, Mcneff’s Concerto fuses historical ideas with modern sounds, creating something entirely new – music that pushes boundaries, just like ‘Eroica’ did.

This concert is currently only on sale for LMP Friends. General on-sale goes live at 10am, Tuesday 6 May. For more information on how to join the Friends, visit this page.

Mozart ‘Overture’ from Don Giovanni, K.527
Mozart ‘In quali eccessi…Mi tradí quell-alma ingrata’ from Don Giovanni, K.527
Mozart Al desio, di chi t’adora K.577
Mozart Ballet Music from Idomeneo, K.366
Mozart ‘L’amerò sarò costante’ from Il re pastore, K.208
Mozart ‘Parto, parto, ma tu ben mio’ from La Clemenza di Tito, K.621

Interval

Mozart Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550

Danielle de Niese soprano
Jonathan Bloxham conductor

Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Mozart knew how to bring the drama.

As a master of opera, he had a knack for storytelling, bringing his characters to (larger-than) life through outrageous tales of love, loss, deception and even assassination. Danielle de Niese (‘Opera’s coolest opera singer’, New York Times Magazine) shows off Mozart’s theatrical skills with a selection of arias from his most-loved operas including Don Giovanni and Idomeneo.

Mozart’s love for drama didn’t just stop at opera. If turmoil had a soundtrack, it would undoubtably be his Symphony No.40. Oozing with anguish, the symphony shows Mozart to be in touch with his emotional side as he challenges the orchestra to battle through 35 minutes of pure angst. Though that all might sounds a bit miserable, it makes for an action-packed listening experience – there’s a reason it holds its place as one of Mozart’s most popular pieces.

Caroline Shaw Entr’acte (2014 version for string orchestra)
Barber Canzonetta for Oboe and String Orchestra, Op. 48
Vaughan Williams Concerto for Oboe and Strings
Barber Adagio for Strings
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, Op. 48

Nicholas Daniel oboe
Rebecca Miller conductor

Proms at St Jude’s often takes place during Pride Month, and tonight − nearly 55 years to the day since the first Pride marches in June 1970, following the 1969 Stonewall Uprising − we celebrate three LGBTQ+ composers and the immense contribution they have made in the history of classical music. Caroline Shaw is the youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music and described Entr’acte as ‘like a minuet and trio, riffing on that classical form but taking it a little further; [it] suddenly takes you to the other side of Alice’s looking glass, in a kind of absurd, subtle, technicolor transition’. American Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings is one of the most recognisable pieces of classical music in the world – it was used at Franklin Roosevelt’s funeral and after JFK’s assassination − and Tchaikovsky’s heartfelt Serenade for Strings is considered to be one of the late Romantic era’s definitive compositions.

Nicholas Daniel OBE is one of the world’s great oboists and one of Britain’s best-known musicians. He won the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 1980 with the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto and has made several award-winning recordings of it over the years. Mr Daniel will also perform a second piece by Barber − an oboe Canzonetta − the middle movement of an unfinished concerto, his final work.

Jason Chapman (author) Stan and Mabel and the Race for Space
Music by Paul Rissmann
Featuring music by Mozart, Elgar and Tomlinson.

Simon Blendis director
Polly Ives narrator

Psssst parents – are you looking for an affordable day out for the whole family? Join our dog and cat friends, Stan and Mabel, on a musical adventure as they discover the orchestra!

Music-loving dog and cat Stan and Mabel are back. This time, they’re joined by a whole carnival of animals as they escape from the School for Wild and Dangerous Animals in search of a safe place to call home.

This fun-packed interactive concert for children aged 3+, features highly engaging music by composer Paul Rissmann, storytelling by Polly Ives and projected illustrations from Jason Chapman’s original book. This is a perfect introduction to the orchestra with music also by Mozart, Elgar and Tomlinson.

Jessie Montgomery Strum
James Macmillan Saxophone Concerto
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves
Dowland Flow my tears
Bartok Romanian Folk Dances
John Harle RANT!
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, Op. 48

Jess Gillam saxophone
Ruth Rogers leader
Jonathan Bloxham conductor

Join us for an exhilarating evening as Jess Gillam, the brilliant saxophonist hailed for her dynamic and joyful performances, makes her Grayshott Concerts debut. Known for her infectious energy and unique style, Jess has been enchanting audiences worldwide and breaking new ground for the saxophone in classical music. Together with the London Mozart Players, she will guide us through a diverse programme that showcases the saxophone’s versatility, moving from classical to jazz-inspired pieces.

Mayer Overture in D minor
Schubert Symphony No. 7 in B minor, D. 759 ‘Unfinished’
Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21

Rebecca Miller Conductor
Royal Holloway Orchestral Scholars

Join us for this evening masterclass as we delve inside the orchestra with our partners, the London Mozart Players. Led by Rebecca Miller, learn about how the orchestra works from the inside-out, with conversations with members of the London Mozart Players and Orchestral Scholars at Royal Holloway, demonstrations, and short performances of classical music’s symphonic highlights.

Advanced booking is essential.

Dvořák Stabat Mater

Verity Wingate soprano
Rebecca Afonwy-Jones mezzo soprano
Peter Davoren tenor
William Gaunt bass
Richard Cooke conductor
Simon Blendis leader

Canterbury Choral Society

Perhaps in this intensely passionate score, the greatest Czech composer pours out his most profound and heartfelt writing, standing alongside his greatest works such as the Cello concerto and the New World Symphony, and surpassing all his other choral works. This concert is an opportunity to experience a work of great profundity.  Its composition followed the death of his fourth, and last-remaining child – he was to have more who survived him.  It is a work of deep beauty and pathos from its extended first movement, as Mary laments the death of her son Jesus at the foot of the cross. Dvořák’s composition stands together with other great settings of the text from Palestrina in the 16th century, Rossini and Verdi in the 19th, through to Penderecki and Szymanowski in the 20th century.  Dvořák’s creation was on a more expansive scale than all of these others.

Doors will open at 12.30pm for a concert start time of 12:45pm. Please note that you will not be able to enter the church before 12.30pm. As there is very limited space to wait indoors, we would encourage you to arrive as close to 12.30pm as possible.