The Italian Job: The Madrigal
Durham Castle Great Hall Palace Green, DurhamAfter a successful preview, ‘The Italian Job’ is back! This time join us for Part 2: ‘The Madrigal’ featuring Luca Marenzio, Barbara Strozzi, and Claudio Monteverdi in a selection of old Italia’s finest Madrigalists.
MUSICON – EXAUDI: Chromatic Renaissance
Durham Cathedral, Chapter House Palace Green, DurhamAcclaimed vocal ensemble EXAUDI returns to Durham with a unique and fascinating programme exploring the chromatic music of 16th-century Renaissance Italy. Featuring music by Lassus, Marenzio, Rore and Luzzaschi, plus the extraordinary microtonal works of theorist Nicola Vicentino, in which the octave is divided into thirty-one steps rather than the usual twelve. No other vocal ensemble, ancient or modern, is known to have attempted these works a cappella. The concert also includes works by Sylvia Lim and by Durham-based Elisabet Dijkstra.
Come and Sing ‘Passion Music’ with Will Todd
Elvet Methodist Church 8 Old Elvet, DurhamAs part of the Durham Vocal Festival, join DU Gospel Choir and the Northern Spirit Singers to perform Will Todd's 'Passion Music'! At the end of the day (4.30pm – 5.30pm) we’ll perform the work in a short, informal ‘pay as you feel’ concert, and friends and families are warmly invited to join to listen.
Never Give Up 2023
Assembly Rooms Theatre The Assembly Rooms Theatre, North Bailey, DurhamRTProjects and Music Durham will be joining forces to showcase an amazing array of musical talent in support of mental health and suicide prevention.
'Never Give Up' is RTProjects's suicide prevention project. We need to talk about suicide. As a nation. As a community. As a friend. As a fellow human. We may never know if our conversation has actually saved a life but we do know that it might.
Join RTProjects and Music Durham in the Assembly Rooms theatre for an evening of music in support of suicide prevention and mental health. A range of student and local musical ensembles and performers will be demonstrating their talents throughout the evening, in what is bound to be a thought-provoking and moving showcase.
MUSICON – Indian Spring Colours: Ashraf Sharif Khan (sitar) with Shahbaz Hussain (tabla)
Music Department Palace Green, DurhamAs we look forward to Holi, the Indian spring festival of colours, Join GemArts and MUSICON to mark the season with a weekend of performances at Durham University. The spring is celebrated in the Indian arts as a time of new life, playfulness and the appreciation of beauty, and Indian music and dance is perfectly adapted to capture these moods. Whatever the weather outside, immerse yourself in our celebration of the coming spring with superb exponents of these classical traditions.
MUSICON – Indian Spring Colours: Vijay Rajput (vocal)
Music Department Palace Green, DurhamAs we look forward to Holi, the Indian spring festival of colours, Join GemArts and MUSICON to mark the season with a weekend of performances at Durham University. The spring is celebrated in the Indian arts as a time of new life, playfulness and the appreciation of beauty, and Indian music and dance is perfectly adapted to capture these moods. Whatever the weather outside, immerse yourself in our celebration of the coming spring with superb exponents of these classical traditions.
MUSICON – Indian Spring Colours: Payal Ramchandani (kuchipudi) & Elena Catalano (odissi)
Music Department Palace Green, DurhamPayal has 27 years of experience including training and performances on the global stage. She has evolved her own unique vocabulary, evident in her innovative choreography. Payal's performance will be an inlet into a storytelling experience coloured with a spectrum of emotional narratives presented in the vocabulary of the South Indian classical dance style of Kuchipudi.
Dr Elena Catalano has established herself as one of the most impressive and influential Odissi dancers in the UK. Following her PhD at Durham University researching Odissi Training, she lectures at Kingston University where she teaches Odissi, yoga and dance anthropology. Elena has distinguished herself as a dancer and a scholar for her understanding and fine embodiment of Odissi aesthetics.
Music Durham Week: Full Score Barbershop – Quartet Showcase
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamFull Score, Durham's only a cappella group dedicated to barbershop singing, will kick off Music Durham Week with a showcase of quartet performances from its members. Fresh from award-winning appearances at the British Association of Barbershop Singers' QuartetCon in November, followed by a sell-out concert alongside Durham Dynamics, this isn't one to miss!
Music Durham Week: Gospel Choir
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamGospel Choir, one of the University’s most uplifting and soulful groups, kicks off Music Durham week in style ahead of their appearance at the University Gospel Choir of the Year Competition.
Music Durham Week: Jazz Night 1 – DUJO & Tiny Fred’s Collective
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamDurham University Jazz Orchestra is joined by Tiny Fred’s Collective for a night of top-quality jazz and improvisation. Free Jazz Jam open to all at 7pm before the gig!
Music Durham Week: Soloist Spotlight 1
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamIn the first lunchtime concert of Music Durham Week, four Music students working towards their end-of-year performance recitals dazzle the audience with works by the big name classical composers.
Music Durham Week: Jazz Night 2 – DUBB
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamAhead of their annual sell-out gig in the famous Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, Durham University Big Band perform their latest set on home turf.
Music Durham Week: Soloist Spotlight 2
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamFour Music students working towards their end-of-year performance recitals dazzle the audience with works by the big name classical composers.
Music Durham Week: Soloist Spotlight 3 – DUKIS Concerto Recital
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamDU Keyboard Instrument Society proudly presents the Concerto Recital, a showcase of some of the best student soloists in Durham performing virtuosic, concertante pieces accompanied by our amazing pianists and friends. From Paganini's thrilling Violin Concerto No. 1 to Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto in a rare string quintet arrangement, the evening will be filled with enchanting music spanning multiple centuries and instruments.
Music Durham Week: Finale – Intercollegiate Showcase
Mark Hillery Arts Centre Collingwood College, South Road, DurhamA chance to see a smorgasbord of college music groups from choirs to cover bands come together to perform an eclectic range of music. A fantastic finale to a great week of music!
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
Sage Gateshead St Mary's Square, GatesheadCleveland Philharmonic Choir and Durham University Choral Society form a choir 200-strong, partnered by the Mowbray Orchestra and conducted by John Forsyth MBE. Tenor Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts sings Gerontius, mezzo-soprano Anna Huntley is the Angel, and baritone Morgan Pearse takes the roles of the Priest and the Angel of the Agony.
Around the World in 80 Minutes
St Oswalds Church Church Street , DurhamDurham University Concert Band is proud to present its Epiphany Term concert, Around the World in 80 Minutes, featuring a thrilling variety of pieces to whisk you around the globe. We’ll give you a tour de France with the Suite Française, take you across the pond for a rendition of the Maple Leaf Rag, down to Havana with Malagueña, and all the way out to the planets with Holst’s Jupiter, with time for favourites such as Les Miserables along the way!
Children of Light: Rubbra’s ‘Nine Tenebrae Motets’ and Lang’s ‘The Little Match Girl Passion’
Durham Cathedral, Chapter House Palace Green, DurhamFollowing a sell-out concert in Durham Castle in December 2022, Durham University Chamber Choir presents a concert of music for passiontide, thematically bound by the idea of the flame. The concert centres on two major works: Edmund Rubbra’s 'Nine Tenebrae Motets' and David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 'The Little Match Girl Passion'.
MUSICON – Ives Ensemble – Double Portrait Cassandra Miller / Joanna Bailie As Part Of The International Women’s Day Celebrations
Music Department Palace Green, DurhamThe Netherlands-based Ives Ensemble is proud to continue its long-standing relationship with Durham and MUSICON by presenting a double portrait featuring two of the most original composers working today, Joanna Bailie and Cassandra Miller as part of the celebrations of International Women’s Day.
DUPO at 15: Romantic Boundaries
Durham Castle Great Hall Palace Green, DurhamIn DUPO’s 15th year celebrations, the Chamber Orchestra presents a varied programme of orchestral favourites, mixed in with a rarely performed gem from the turn of the twentieth century. The programme begins with De Falla’s dramatic and exciting Ritual Fire Dance, before DUPO welcomes Ursula Misra as soloist for the Beethoven Violin Concerto. The second half of the concert is Ethel Smyth’s first orchestral work, her Serenade in D, steeped in Romanticism while also paving the way for much of the twentieth century repertoire.