Welcome Trustees Dr Nigel Brown OBE (Chairman) David Barrs Caroline Derbyshire Mark Hayes Professor Sir Barry Ife CBE Polly Lankester Geoffrey Lewis Hugh Parnell
Partners & Funders Austin and Hope Pilkington Charitable Trust Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University Concorde of Stansted Lodge Essex Community Foundation Essex Music Education Hub Friday Afternoons, Snape Maltings Guildhall School of Music & Drama John and Cecilia Gordon Charitable Trust Lions Club of Saffron Walden Money Advice and Planning, Ltd Raven Charitable Trust Royal Opera House Bridge Saffron Building Society Saffron Centre for Young Musicians Saffron Walden County High School Saffron Walden Dementia Action Alliance
Design shared.institute
Saffron Walden Round Table Saffron Walden Town Council and the Mayor of Saffron Walden Salvation Army Hall, Saffron Walden Serious Sound Connections St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden The Arts Society, Saffron Walden The Melbourne Project, Chelmsford United Reformed Church, Saffron Walden Uttlesford Dementia Action Alliance Uttlesford District Council 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust Our Learning & Participation programme is generously supported by an anonymous local donor, and Barry & Ann Scrutton.
Welcome to our 2018/19 Autumn programme. This season is particularly special as we begin celebrations for the hall’s Fifth Anniversary. We mark this momentous occasion with a series of events that will be launched later in the year. The hall’s opening concert was on November 30th 2013, and it is hard to believe how many wonderful artists have visited us and how many people have been involved in the Saffron Hall story so far. By the end of the 17/18 season we will have held over 300 concerts, sold over 120,000 tickets, worked with over 23,000 participants as part of our learning programme and hosted over 100 school and community events. Our fifth full season is packed with wonderful events and artists. We welcome back the stunning countertenor Iestyn Davies as our Artist in Residence for the season and our Associate Ensemble is the Hallé who will visit for the first time. The variety of events
on offer continues to grow and we have a Christmas season that includes events from the Messiah with Britten Sinfonia to the London Community Gospel Choir. We welcome Luna, a wonderful show for under 5s from Theatre Hullabaloo and we are also delighted to bring spoken word back to the hall in our new ‘Thoughts & Talks’ series. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has been involved with Saffron Hall over the last five years. Yellow Car Charitable Trust who built and supported the first three years of the programme, everyone at Saffron Walden County High School who puts in so much of their time to make our work possible, the artists, audiences, the 350 Saffron Hall members who help to ensure our future and, of course, our wonderful volunteers and staff who make it all happen. Angela Dixon Chief Executive
Thu 13 September, 7.30pm An Evening with Val McDermid Thoughts & Talks
Sun 16 September, 2.30pm Saffron Opera Group: Parsifal
Sun 23 September, 11am & 2pm Family Jam: Dance! Family Event
Val McDermid is one of the biggest names in crime writing – an author whose novels, including The Wire in the Blood, have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. She’s also the only bestselling author to sponsor a football team! Tonight, she talks about her journey from Kirkcaldy to international bestsellerdom.
Saffron Opera Group Orchestra Saffron Opera Group Chorus Michael Thorne conductor
Let’s move! Join the awardwinning hip-hop dance company Boy Blue for these interactive dance workshops. Whether you’re training for the next series of Britain’s Got Talent or grooving along to your favourite tunes at home, don’t miss this chance to have fun and get creative with the whole family.
Cast includes Michael Bracegirdle Parsifal Elaine McKrill Kundry Nicholas Folwell Klingsor Wagner Parsifal Another epic, exhilarating and unmissable evening, following on from Saffron Opera Group’s triumphant Ring Cycle. The company now presents Wagner’s final masterpiece Parsifal, which tells the story of a foolish youth who must retrieve a magic spear in order to gain wisdom and redeem the power of the Holy Grail. The performance features a cast of established professional singers alongside those making their Wagner debut.
Tickets £12.50 Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £20–40 Presented by Saffron Opera Group
Boy Blue ©Nicole Guarino ©Mark Allan
Tickets £7 Presented by Saffron Hall Age guidance 7+
Sat 29 September, 7.30pm David McAlmont presents: Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall
Sun 30 September, 3pm Legends of Land and Sea: A Concert for Families Family Event
Inspired by Billie Holiday’s legendary 1956 concert at Carnegie Hall, where her performance was accompanied by extracts from her autobiography Lady Sings The Blues, singer David McAlmont gives his unique interpretations of the Lady Day catalogue while quoting from her extraordinary life story. The show includes many of the most well-known Holiday songs, including; What A Little Moonlight Can Do, My Man, and Don’t Explain.
Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra Richard Hull conductor James Mayhew narrator & illustrator
Tickets £10–25 Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £12 (under 18s half price) Presented by Words in Walden Age guidance 4+
Knights, giants, minstrels and mermaids, oceans and rivers, castles and caves are the inspiration for music from Mendelssohn, Rimsky-Korsakov, Smetana and others. James tells the stories and then paints, capturing the mystery of the legends, while the orchestra plays.
David McAlmont ©Anthony Elvy
Sunday 7 October, 3pm Heath Quartet Young Artist Coffee Concert
Foyer Clubs
Beethoven String Quartet Op.132 Tippett String Quartet No.5
14 Sep Gabriel Latchin Trio
The Daily Telegraph described the Heath Quartet as “simply dazzling”. They have quickly built an international reputation, and this concert will find them doing what they do best: taking the music of the classical masters and striking sparks off it.
28 Sep The Hut People 12 Oct Paul Higgs Quintet Heath Quartet ©Simon Way
“ It‘s nice to see four musicians who utterly dispel the idea that classical music is somehow backward looking” Gramophone
2 Nov Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage 15 Nov Joanna Strand 11 Jan
Julian Siegel Quartet
25 Jan Classico Latino Tickets £10 (under 18s free) Presented by Saffron Hall
End the week with a laid-back evening in the Saffron Hall foyer. A well-stocked bar, food trucks serving a superb selection of street food, plus some of the region’s liveliest performers. Eat, drink, get into the swing and unwind! All Foyer Clubs start at 8pm.
Sat 13 October, 7.30pm The Hallé
Sun 14 October, 11am The Hallé Family Concert
Edward Gardner conductor
Jonathon Heyward conductor Tom Redmond presenter
R. Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra Sibelius Symphony No.2 Including excerpts from Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Everyone knows the cosmic Bizet Carmen fanfare that opens Richard Copland Rodeo Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra. Dvořák Slavonic Dances But that’s just the start of this musical adventure, beginning with Get your family together, put on your dancing shoes and let the the dawn of mankind, and ending with Sibelius’s epic musical drama Hallé whisk you round the world of a nation awakening to freedom. of dance. From the Hoe Downs of Expect big tunes and big emotions the Wild West and Latin rhythms of South America to Spanish and with the superb Edward Gardner conducting this legendary Flamenco, folk-dances and the grandeur of European ballet, British orchestra, don’t expect there’s something to get your them to hold back. feet moving.
Edward Gardner ©Neil Pugh
Tickets £24–55 Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £15–20 (under 18s half price) Presented by Saffron Hall Age guidance 5+
The Hallé
Wed 17 October, 7.30pm Sun 21 October, 3pm An Evening with Paul Lewis Professor Robert Winston Thoughts & Talks
Associate Ensemble for the 2018/19 season
Does decoding the human genome herald new opportunities for medicine or is there a darker side? Will ethics prevent us from manufacturing stronger, more gifted children? Or will our imperfect knowledge of genetics result in some major surprises? Join legendary scientist, politician and writer Robert Winston to discover more.
Paul Lewis piano
Tickets £12.50 Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £14–26 Presented by Saffron Hall
©The Hallé
We’re delighted to welcome the Hallé as our Associate Ensemble this season. Since its inception 160 years ago, the Hallé has become a British institution and it’s never been in more exuberant musical health. “I go all over the world to work with marvellous orchestras” says Sir Mark Elder, their Music Director, “yet still I miss the Hallé. They play so beautifully.” In addition
to their concerts, the Hallé will be working with over 200 local school children – opening the doors to their rehearsals and inviting young local musicians to play side-by-side with members of the orchestra. The Hallé will return again in the Spring with their Music Director. See page 9 for full details of the Hallé’s autumn concerts.
Brahms Seven Fantasies Op.116 Haydn Sonata in C minor Hob.XVI:20 Beethoven Seven Bagatelles Op.33 Haydn Sonata in E flat major Hob.XVI:52 “Intelligence and intensity” were the two qualities that The Guardian found in Paul Lewis’s playing, but as Saffron Hall regulars already know, that’s not the half of it: everything Lewis touches says something personal and poetic. We’re delighted to welcome him back to continue his project, which traces the musical connections that run between Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms.
Fri 26 October, 7.30pm Sat 27 October, 7.30pm English Touring Opera English Touring Opera: Triple Bill: Dido & Aeneas, Radamisto Jonas & I Will Not Speak Old Street Band Jonathan Peter Kenny conductor Seb Harcombe director Bernadette Iglich director Adam Wiltshire designer Rory Beaton lighting designer
Old Street Band Peter Whelan conductor James Conway director Adam Wiltshire designer Rory Beaton lighting designer Handel Radamisto
Purcell Dido & Aeneas Carissimi Jonas Gesualdo I Will Not Speak
Radamisto is one of Handel’s most appreciated operas, not least for its famous aria ‘Ombra A rare concoction of 17th-century cara’. The dramatic story of a royal music and opera, featuring fully- family in old Armenia, locked in staged works by Purcell, Carissimi mortal conflict, is brought to life and Gesualdo. Best known is Dido in this fully-staged production. & Aeneas, and the aria ‘When I am A moving piece of music theatre laid in earth’. “Remember me!” and a perfect introduction for the abandoned Dido calls, and anyone new to Handel’s operas. in Purcell’s melody she will be remembered forever.
Tickets £18–55 Presented by Saffron Hall in association with English Touring Opera
Tickets £18–55 Presented by Saffron Hall in association with English Touring Opera
English Touring Opera’s Autumn Season
Sharing the power of music & the arts
Families Saffron Hall is a place for everyone, and our events for families promise fun, no matter your age or experience! See pages 3, 5, 9 and 21 for more details.
Schools We run a diverse year-round schools programme that has enabled young people to get up-close to some of the world’s top artists, including violinist Nicola Benedetti, the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop.
Healthy Ageing Together in Sound is a 10-week interactive music therapy group in Saffron Walden for those living with dementia and their carers. To enquire about sessions for autumn 2018, visit: saffronhall.com/togetherinsound or phone 01799 588545.
This autumn, hundreds of children will be working with artists including hip hop company Boy Blue, the Hallé and music innovators Sō Percussion.
This project is delivered in partnership with the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR) at Anglia Ruskin University.
©Roger King (all photos)
Sun 28 October, 3pm Sat 3 November, 7.30pm Jess Gillam Stacey Kent Young Artist Coffee Concert Jess Gillam saxophone Zeynep Özsuca piano
The internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated vocalist, Stacey Kent, performs music from Pedro Iturraldo Pequeña Czardas her latest album I Know I Dream Marcello Oboe Concerto in D Minor (Sony Music/Okeh). This beautiful Wiedoeft Valse Vanité collection of songs includes Milhaud Scaramouche American Standards, bossa nova Michael Nyman ‘If’ from The Diary classics and chansons. She will of Anne Frank also perform original songs and Britten Temporal Variations reprises of some of her most John Harle Rant loved repertoire – including numbers co-written by Nobel When the 17-year old Jess Gillam prize-winner, Kazuo Ishiguro, became the first saxophonist whose song writing partnership ever to win the Woodwind Final with Stacey has formed an of BBC Young Musician in 2016, it essential part of her repertoire. was blindingly obvious that she had star quality. Her Saffron Hall debut is a showcase for a young artist who transcends genres; as The Times put it, prepare yourself for “hot licks, lustrous tone and winning passion”.
Jess Gillam ©Phil Rigby
Tickets £10 (under 18s free) Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £16–28 Presented by Saffron Hall
Sun 4 November, 3pm English Touring Opera: St Matthew Passion
Sat 10 November, 7.30pm Sun 11 November, 3pm Britten Sinfonia: Saffron Walden The Last Letter Symphony Orchestra
Old Street Band Granta Chorale SCYM Junior Choir SWCHS Voices Jonathan Peter Kenny conductor
Thomas Gould violin/director Jonathan McGovern baritone
Richard Hull conductor Chloë Beresford-Jones soprano
Gurney The Western Playland Kelly Elegy for Strings Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin Stephan Nachspiel Nico Muhly The Last Letter (world premiere tour of orchestral arrangement) Barber Adagio for Strings
Programme to include Stephan Musik für Orchester Kelly Elegy for Strings Vaughan Williams ‘Pastoral’ Symphony No.3
Bach St Matthew Passion Bach’s most dramatic work presented in a way you have never seen it. Extraordinary soloists will perform from memory, along with the much praised period instrument orchestra the Old Street Band. The professional performers will be joined by local choirs Granta Chorale, SCYM Junior Choir and SWCHS Voices in the spirit of Bach’s original Lutheran setting.
Tickets £8–20 Presented by Saffron Hall in association with English Touring Opera
Poetry and letters by Mary Borden, Vera Brittain, Ivor Gurney and Wilfred Owen Evening devised by Dr Kate Kennedy
ETO, Old Street Band & Granta Chorale ©Roger King
To commemorate the end of the Great War, Britten Sinfonia premiere a new arrangement of Nico Muhly’s poignant The Last Letter as part of a compelling and dramatic evening of music and words. Tickets £10–35 Presented by Britten Sinfonia
Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra (in association with the United Nations Association) present a concert to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Great War featuring music by composers who fought and died on both sides of the front lines. The orchestra finishes with a performance of Vaughan Williams’ evocative symphony.
Tickets £15–18 (plus concessions) Presented by Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra
Wed 14 November, 1.30pm Thu 15 November, 10.30am Theatre Hullabaloo: Luna Family Event
Fri 16 November, 7.30pm Orphy Robinson presents: Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks
Devised and directed by Sarah Argent from an original story by Miranda Thain
Orphy Robinson musical director/ vibes-marimba Sarah Jane Morris guest vocalist
This concert celebrates Van Morrison’s masterpiece Astral Weeks, released 50 years ago, An enchanting first theatrical in November 1968. Jazz FM ‘Live experience for 2–5 year olds and Experience of the Year’ Awardtheir families, about friendship, winner Orphy Robinson brings the moon and being brave in the together some of the UK’s top jazz dark. Luna is bored in the sky with players to reinterpret the magical no-one to play with – it’s lonely combination of jazz, folk and soul being the only moon. One night influences that made up Astral she spots a young boy, Billy, hiding Weeks, with the vocals sung by from shadows on his bedroom the great Sarah Jane Morris, who’s walls. Luna makes friends with best known for her work with The Billy and together they go on a Communards on songs like Don’t wondrous adventure of light and Leave Me This Way. dark to help him overcome his fear of the night time.
Bek Palmer designer Gregory Hall composer
Luna ©Kirsten McTernan
Tickets £10 (under 18s half price) Presented by Saffron Hall Age guidance 2–5
Tickets £15–30 Presented by Saffron Hall
Sat 17 November, 7.30pm Wed 21 November, 7.30pm Saffron Walden Choral Carolyn Sampson, Society Iestyn Davies & Joseph Middleton Supported by Charles Rawlinson MBE Janet Wheeler musical director Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem Boulanger Pour les Funérailles d’un Soldat Butterworth A Shropshire Lad, Rhapsody for Orchestra Saffron Walden Choral Society mark the centenary of the end of World War One in a concert of German, French and British works. Brahms’ German Requiem, with its emphasis on comforting those who mourn, joins Boulanger’s haunting funeral music and Butterworth’s pastoral orchestral rhapsody in this commemoration of peace.
Tickets £10–28 Presented by Saffron Walden Choral Society
Carolyn Sampson soprano Iestyn Davies countertenor Joseph Middleton piano Programme to include Purcell ‘Music for a While’ from Oedipus Z.583 Quilter Love’s Philosophy Op.3 No.1 Schumann Nachtlied Op.96 No.1 “Carolyn Sampson’s soprano sparkles and Iestyn Davies’s countertenor glides through the air” says The Guardian. Join these two world-class singers in this ravishing joint song recital spanning four centuries, two countries and a whole world of human emotion. The meeting of their voices, combined with their individual interpretations of the music, reveal something unique in everything they sing. Tickets £15–30 Presented by Saffron Hall
Carolyn Sampson ©Marco Borggreve
Iestyn Davies Artist in Residence for the 2018/19 season
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Become a Saffron Hall member Join us at saffronhall.com/support or call 01799 588545
Saffron Hall member Jane Richardson meeting Courtney Pine ©Roger King
Iestyn Davies ©Chris Sorenson
“For me, good live performance must display a lot of truth” says countertenor Iestyn Davies – and as an artist who believes that “the voice is the one instrument which is truly you”, he more than lives up to that ethos. It’s not just that he possesses one of the loveliest voices of our time, described by one critic as “fearsomely eloquent and velvety”, it’s the way he inhabits the music. Whether
he’s performing the most intimate of Tudor lute songs or bringing the house down on Broadway, few living singers can surpass Davies’s charisma, his commitment, or his sheer communicative power. Look out for two more concerts from Davies in the Spring. See pages 22 and 36 for full details of Iestyn Davies’s autumn concerts.
Fri 23 November, 7.30pm Sat 24 November, 7.30pm Sō Percussion Cambridge University Symphony Chorus: Christmas Oratorio Sō Percussion: the name is Japanese, the performers are American but their music is universal. At the cutting edge of contemporary percussion, they are at home in minimalism, jazz, world music and dance, always pushing the boundaries with electrifying and innovative music-making. This concert’s programme will include music by two of their favourite composers – Steve Reich and Bryce Dessner – as well as a special performance in collaboration with students from Saffron Walden County High School.
Cambridge University Symphony Chorus East Anglia Chamber Orchestra Richard Wilberforce conductor Lucy Page soprano Tim Morgan alto Nicholas Scott tenor Alex Ashworth bass
Tickets £5–20 Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £12–35 Presented by Cambridge University Symphony Chorus
Sō Percussion ©LiveWellPhoto
J.S. Bach Christmas Oratorio One of Bach’s most lavish musical achievements, the Christmas Oratorio comprises six cantatas written for the Christmas period. The Cambridge University Symphony Chorus returns to Saffron Hall to present five of these brilliant pieces, as a foretaste of the coming season.
Saffron Hall is
This November is the 5th anniversary of our first concert. We’ll be hosting a number of special events across the season to celebrate - full details will be announced later this year.
Sun 25 November, 3pm Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Fri 30 November, 7.30pm Lau
Heiko Mathias Förster conductor Jennifer Pike violin
Winners of ‘Best Group’ four times at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Scottish folk pioneers Smetana Overture from Lau return with their first new The Bartered Bride music since their 2015 album The Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G Bell That Never Rang. Their songs minor Op.26 explore the marriage of acoustic Piazzolla Libertango and electronic sources, and the Dvořák Symphony No.8 in G major arrangements continue down the path of intertwining instrumental A quiet hymn, a flurry of birdsong, music and song. Don’t miss this and Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony chance to see the group The is on its way. Maybe it’s the lilt of Guardian calls ‘the most musically the rhythms, or the sound of those adventurous trio in British folk’. Bohemian woodwinds, but there’s always something magical about hearing a Czech orchestra play Czech music. Smetana’s comedy overture makes a sparkling opener, and to hear Jennifer Pike in Bruch’s hugely-popular concerto makes this concert unmissable!
Tickets £20–48 Presented by Saffron Hall
Tickets £10–25 Presented by Saffron Hall
Lau ©Genevieve Stevenson
Sun 2 December, 3pm New Sussex Opera: The Travelling Companion
Sat 8 December, 7.30pm Kansas Smitty’s House Band at Christmas
NSO orchestra and chorus Toby Purser conductor Paul Higgins director
Kansas Smitty’s House Band have been packing their own Hoxton basement and selling out the legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s with an incendiary combination of swing, blues, R&B, New Orleans marching band music and the wild end of gospel. Their first album was chosen as one of the top jazz albums of the year by The Telegraph, and now the band create a special sound for Christmas with this stunning live show.
Cast includes Daniel Norman John Julien Van Mellaerts The Travelling Companion Kate Valentine Princess Simon Thorpe The King Joseph Padfield Wizard Charles Villers Stanford The Travelling Companion (after a story by Hans Christian Andersen) An exciting re-discovery: a mysterious stranger, a princess, a riddle, a wizard, with haunting, romantic music. An innovative staging, slightly modified for live recording, of the last of Stanford’s nine operas, “his finest operatic achievement”.
Tickets £20–35 Presented by New Sussex Opera
Kansas Smitty’s House Band ©Rah Petherbridge
Tickets £15–30 Presented by Saffron Hall
Sun 9 December, 7.30pm London Community Gospel Choir at Christmas
Sun 16 December, 3pm Rutter & Chilcott Conduct Christmas Carols
Sponsored by Saffron Building Society
They’ve sung for Nelson Mandela and Freddie Mercury, recorded with Madonna and Elton John, but still, the heart of the London Community Gospel Choir’s mission is praise - and uninhibited, life-affirming song. They are bringing a special Christmas celebration to Saffron Walden, and you won’t have heard festive music quite like this: tidings of deep comfort and pure, roof-raising joy.
London Community Gospel Choir ©Alex Winn
Tickets £15–30 Presented by Saffron Hall
BBC Singers BBC Concert Orchestra John Rutter conductor Bob Chilcott conductor A selection of Christmas carols An absolute must for fans of Christmas carols – Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the carols of John Rutter and Bob Chilcott. In this special concert, the two composers take turns to conduct their own festive repertoire with the BBC Singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra. The programme is packed with seasonal favourites including the Star Carol, Jesus Child and The Shepherd’s Carol and there will also be the chance for audience participation to kick-start Christmas. Tickets £24–50 Presented by Saffron Hall
Sat 22 December, 7.30pm Sun 23 December, 3pm A Victorian Christmas Britten Sinfonia: Messiah Jacqueline Shave violin/director Britten Sinfonia Voices Eamonn Dougan Britten Sinfonia Voices director Sophie Bevan soprano Iestyn Davies countertenor Allan Clayton tenor Roderick Williams baritone
Robert Powell actor Liza Goddard actor Clive Conway flute Christine Croshaw piano
From Christmas trees to Christmas cards, A Christmas Carol to Mrs Beeton’s plum pudding, the Victorians practically invented Christmas. Join two Handel Messiah legends of stage and screen, Britten Sinfonia is joined by a Robert Powell (Jesus of Nazareth, scintillating line-up of some of the Holby City) and Liza Goddard UK’s finest singers for a festive (Bergerac) to celebrate the performance of Handel’s thrilling delights of Christmas past, in and jubilant Messiah. the company of Queen Victoria, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Gilbert and Sullivan. Magical words, muchloved music – and a stocking full of festive good cheer!
Tickets £18–50 Presented by Britten Sinfonia
Tickets £10–20 Presented by Saffron Hall
Thoughts & Talks at Saffron Hall This season we welcome spoken word back to Saffron Hall with three unmissable events.
Thu 13 September, 7.30pm An Evening with Val McDermid (page 2)
Wed 17 October, 7.30pm An Evening with Professor Robert Winston (page 11)
Wed 16 January, 7.30pm An Evening with Dr David Starkey (page 38)
Wed 16 January, 7.30pm An Evening with Dr David Starkey Thoughts & Talks
Fri 18 January, 7.30pm Britten Sinfonia: Elder conducts Mahler & Brahms
Was Henry VIII the first brexiteer? Historian David Starkey draws on both his unique knowledge of Henry VIII’s reign and his insights as a leading commentator on modern politics to illuminate both the Tudor age and our own. He explores how Henry’s VIII’s decisions still reverberate today.
Sir Mark Elder conductor Anna Stéphany mezzo-soprano
Tickets £12.50 Presented by Saffron Hall
Britten Sinfonia Saffron Hall’s Resident Orchestra
Britten Suite on English Folk Tunes Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Brahms Symphony No.2 in D major Brahms as Brahms wished it to be heard: Sir Mark Elder joins Britten Sinfonia for the second instalment of their Brahms Symphony Cycle, paired with Mahler songs and Britten’s last orchestral work.
Tickets £10–50 Presented by Britten Sinfonia
Britten Sinfonia ©Roger King Since becoming Saffron Hall’s Resident Orchestra three years ago, the welcome we’ve received from audiences each time the orchestra has visited this world-class venue has been wonderful – thank you so much for making us feel part of the Saffron Hall family. We’re thrilled to announce our 2018/19 Saffron Hall series which offers a worldclass line-up of musicians, conductors and composers, with programmes drawing intriguing connections across a wide array of music. We kick-off the season with a dramatic evening of music, letters and poetry commemorating the end of
World War One, followed by a festive performance of Handel’s Messiah with a glittering line-up of soloists. We also welcome back Sir Mark Elder for the second instalment of our Brahms Symphony Cycle, which was so well-received in 2017. You can find details of all of these concerts in this brochure, but I’d also like to take this opportunity to give you special notice of the final part of our critically acclaimed Beethoven Symphony Cycle which under the baton of Thomas Adès takes place on Saturday 18th May 2019 – further details to be announced soon! As Resident Orchestra we are
also committed to immersing the orchestra in Saffron Hall (and further afield) beyond the concerts, and there’s a whole host of other activities taking place including talks prior to each evening concert, open rehearsals, side-by-side projects with Saffron Centre for Young Musicians, family concerts and projects with local schools in partnership with Essex Music Hub. We look forward to seeing you next season. David Butcher, Chief Executive, Britten Sinfonia See pages 19, 36 and 38 for more details.
Sat 26 January, 7.30pm The English Concert
Saffron Walden County High School presents
Harry Bicket director/harpsichord Nadja Zwiener violin Programme to include Vivaldi Concerto for strings in G minor RV 157 Purcell Suite from Abdelazer Z.570 Bach Concerto for violin in A minor BWV 1041 Bach Orchestral Suite No.3 in D BWV 1068 The high baroque era was an age of limitless musical possibilities – of brilliant innovations, virtuoso fireworks, and music of electrifying theatricality and grandeur. Harry Bicket and The English Concert celebrate all that splendour in a concert that embraces the London stage, the glitter of 18th-century Venice and the timeless beauty of Johann Sebastian Bach: including the orchestral arrangement of his famous Air on the G string.
Tickets £14–32 Presented by Saffron Hall
Music 12 November 2018 Michaelmas Concert
The English Concert ©Oliver Rosser
1–3 March 2019 Saffron Walden Music Festival Saffron Walden’s very own Young Musician Competition – see the community’s most talented young people compete for the Mullucks Wells Trophy. Booking details tba.
Dance 4 December 2018 SWCHS’s annual dance presentation is a galaxy of dance styles and genres involving students of all ages. Theatre 5–7 February 2019 Upper-school production
©Roger King
Saffron Walden County High School has been at the heart of the community in Saffron Walden since 1950 and is now one of the top performing non–selective state schools in England. Saffron Hall is a magnificent addition to the facilities at the school and one that the students benefit from every day. Over 2,000 people saw Saffron Hall and SWCHS’s outstanding joint production of The Glass Knight in March 2016, and regular school
concerts, drama productions and dance performances showcase the work of the large number of students involved in the Arts at SWCHS. The school’s Sixth Form Music Academy continues to flourish, providing incredible opportunities for talented musicians to improve their skills through an excellent teaching programme, masterclasses and connections with artists who appear at Saffron Hall.
SWCHS holds a ‘Platinum’ ArtsMark Award from Arts Council England, marking the school’s exceptional contribution to the Arts. www.swchs.net
Booking Buying tickets Online www.saffronhall.com
Print at home tickets For your convenience print at home tickets are available for most events.
By Phone 0845 548 7650 10am–5pm Monday to Saturday inclusive (excluding Public Holidays).
The option to collect or receive tickets is also available. A charge of £1 applies if you would like your tickets posted.
In person Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden 9.30am–5pm Monday to Saturday 10.30am–1pm Public Holidays (closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day). On the door The Saffron Hall box office opens 1 hour before each performance begins.
Visit Accessibility Saffron Hall is fully accessible. Customers with access requirements can book their tickets by contacting the Box Office on 0845 548 7650 or by emailing info@saffronhall.com
There are 6 wheelchair spaces and 10 level access seats (subject to availability). For concessions and other access Booking fee info please see website. Saffron Hall charges a £2 fee Parking for Blue Badge holders per transaction for bookings made in person and via phone, is available on a first come, first and a £1 fee per transaction for served basis. web bookings. For full details about our facilities and conditions of Refunds and exchanges sale please visit: Tickets can only be refunded or exchanged if a performance www.saffronhall.com is cancelled. Returns may be taken for sold–out events; All information is correct at please visit our website for time of going to print. more information. Saffron Hall reserves the right to substitute artists and vary Concessions the programme if necessary. For all Saffron Hall presented events, under 18 tickets are half price (except Schools Concerts and Family Jam).
Saffron Hall is an awardwinning 740-seat performance space built in the grounds of Saffron Walden County High School, just minutes away from Saffron Walden’s historic town centre. The hall’s critically acclaimed acoustic and state-of-theart facilities surpass many of the world’s more established venues. Train The nearest station is Audley End Station, two miles away. Regular services run from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge. Minibus We run a free minibus service between Audley End Station and the hall for most Saffron Hall-presented events. You can hop on anytime from an hour before and up to an hour after the performance. To check if this service is running for the event you have booked, please visit our website.
Car Saffron Hall is easy to get to. We’re a half-hour drive from Cambridge and Bishop’s Stortford and easily accessible from the M11. Directions are available on our website. Parking Over 400 free car parking spaces are available on site. Air Saffron Hall is approximately a 30 minute drive from Stansted Airport. Catering Saffron Hall’s bar is open for 1 hour prior to each performance and during the interval serving a selection of drinks and snacks. Our address is Audley End Road Saffron Walden, CB11 4UH www.saffronhall.com
Programme 2018/19 SEPTEMBER Thursday 13 Friday 14 Sunday 16 Sunday 23 Friday 28 Saturday 29 Sunday 30
OCTOBER Sunday 7 Friday 12 Saturday 13 Sunday 14 Wednesday 17 Sunday 21 Friday 26 Saturday 27 Sunday 28
7.30pm 8pm 2.30pm 11am & 2pm 8pm 7.30pm 3pm
3pm 8pm 7.30pm 11am 7.30pm 3pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 3pm
An Evening with Val McDermid Foyer Jazz Club Saffron Opera Group: Parsifal Family Jam: Dance! Foyer Folk Club David McAlmont: Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall Legends of Land and Sea
Heath Quartet Foyer Jazz Club The Hallé The Hallé: Family Concert An Evening with Professor Robert Winston Paul Lewis English Touring Opera: Triple Bill English Touring Opera: Radamisto Jess Gillam
NOVEMBER Friday 2 Saturday 3 Sunday 4 Saturday 10 Sunday 11 Wednesday 14 Thursday 15 Thursday 15 Friday 16 Saturday 17 Wednesday 21 Friday 23 Saturday 24 Sunday 25 Friday 30
8pm 7.30pm 3pm 7.30pm 3pm 1.30pm 10.30am 8pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 3pm 7.30pm
Foyer Folk Club Stacey Kent English Touring Opera: St Matthew Passion Britten Sinfonia: The Last Letter Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra Theatre Hullabaloo: Luna Theatre Hullabaloo: Luna Foyer Jazz Club Orphy Robinson presents: Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks Saffron Walden Choral Society Carolyn Sampson, Iestyn Davies & Joseph Middleton Sō Percussion Cambridge University Symphony Chorus Czech National Symphony Orchestra Lau
DECEMBER Sunday 2 Saturday 8 Sunday 9 Sunday 16 Saturday 22 Sunday 23
3pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 3pm 7.30pm 3pm
New Sussex Opera: The Travelling Companion Kansas Smitty’s House Band at Christmas London Community Gospel Choir at Christmas Rutter & Chilcott Conduct Christmas Carols Britten Sinfonia: Messiah A Victorian Christmas
8pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 8pm 7.30pm
Foyer Jazz Club An Evening with Dr David Starkey Britten Sinfonia: Elder conducts Mahler & Brahms Classico Latino The English Concert
JANUARY Friday 11 Wednesday 16 Friday 18 Friday 25 Saturday 26
Saffron Hall Audley End Road Saffron Walden CB11 4UH United Kingdom Box office 0845 548 7650 Facebook / Twitter / Instagram @saffronhallsw www.saffronhall.com