Musical Medley: Concerts and what's on in the Doncaster music scene this April

Tickhill Music Society – Victor Lim

A piano recital is always a strong attraction at Tickhill Music Society and at their forthcoming concert it is provided by Victor Lim.

At the age of 18 the South Korean born pianist was a contestant in the Young Musician of the Year competition and he has been described in the musical press as having ‘great possibilities of nuance and perfect flexibility’.

For this concert Victor will be playing Grieg’s Holberg Suite, a Chopin mazurka as well as works by Haydn and Bach and will finish with a sonata by Rachmaninoff. It promises to be a treat not to be missed!

Friday, 21 April 2023 at 7.00pm

St Mary’s School, St Mary’s Road, Tickhill, DN11 9LZ

Non-members: £12 at the door

Accompanied children and students (16-19) admitted free of charge

St. Helena’s Church, Austerfield presents critically acclaimed soprano Cathleen McGowen in concert.

A vocal recital of history and artistic works with Scott Crowne, recorded piano.

Including compositions by Bellini, Debussy, Donizetti, Argento, Flotow and world premiere works by Scott Mohnkern.

Cathleen McGowan is a dramatic coloratura soprano known for her warm tone, broad range, and versatility. She’s a skilled actor who “morphs into each character she portrays, with heartfelt and inspiring depth.”

She performs opera, art song, jazz, musical theatre, world music and has performed with world class symphonies. Opera roles include Königin der Nacht in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci. Chiefly a recitalist, Cathleen presents in depth programs marrying art and scholarly research.

Cathleen is also an accomplished visual artist and teacher. She resides in the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area of the U.S. with her husband, cat and one of the world’s most diverse gardens.

A masters level teacher, she teaches voice and visual art, in all styles and genres, and loves to help students (of all ages) find their own unique voices. Cathleen also teaches with Crowne Voice Studio.

All the songs in the concert are inspired by English or Scottish history, literature, or visual art and are by composers who are not from the UK. There is a song on an essay by William Bradford which, incidentally, mentions his time in Austerfield!

Arrangements of Yorkshire folksongs, arias covering various periods in British history: Roman, Medieval, Tudor, Elizabethan, the Great Rebellion, Restoration, American Colonial, Start of the United Kingdom and Georgian eras with words by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other English writers.

Some songs are inspired by the novels of Sir Walter Scott and paintings by J.M.W. Turner, one of which is from nearby Farnley Hall.

The church itself has connections with the Pilgrim Fathers who set sail for the New World in 1620, through William Bradford who was raised in the village and attended, for a little while, St Helena’s church in Austerfield.

This concert, part of the Mayflower 400 celebrations, was postponed in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Such a gala evening will certainly be worth the wait!

Saturday 22 April, 7pm

St. Helena’s Church, Austerfield, DN10 6QU

Tickets £20 (including cheese and a glass of wine) available from Kay Beckett 07507 334330

All proceeds towards improving the church facilities.

Doncaster Music Hub presents iSing 2023

A thrilling night of singing from Doncaster’s young people coming together in a massed choir, accompanied by a live band and performances from Doncaster Youth Swing Orchestra.

Wednesday 26 April 2023

7:00 - 8:30pm (doors 6:30pm)

The Dome, Doncaster Lakeside, DN4 7PD

Adults £5/Concessions £4

Tickets available in advance from The Dome box office.

Booking fees may apply

For more information telephone Doncaster Music Service on 01302 737256

Doncaster Minster organ recital series continues

Doncaster is fortunate to have such a fine instrument in the ‘mighty Schultze organ’ and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy these lunchtime recitals by gifted musicians.

A truly wonderful way to pass an hour in the beautiful setting of Doncaster Minster.

This month the recitalist is Keith Dale from Hull and looks to be a wonderful event.

Doncaster Minster, DN1 1RD

Friday 28 April

1.10pm, free entry with retiring collection

Public Acts – the National Theatre’s nationwide initiative to create extraordinary acts of theatre and community.

Rehearsals underway for multi-location production of The Odyssey in collaboration with communities and artists across England.

The Odyssey is reimagined for today in five episodes by five writers across the country and told with hundreds of community members in four other locations across England. The Cyclops is the second episode, taking place at Cast in Doncaster on 15 and 16 April, accompanied by The Galley.

The Galley, a 10-metre ship crafted from bamboo will journey across the country alongside the productions and collect messages of remembrance from local communities.

Photography by Joseph Lynn

Opening at the end of the month, The National Theatre’s multi-location production of The Odyssey is currently in rehearsal at five locations across England. The Odyssey is an epic, multi-venue production made in collaboration with hundreds of community members and professional artists from across the country. Through this landmark project, the adventures of Odysseus are reimagined for today as a universal story of resilience, loss, healing and hope.

Journeying alongside the productions, The Galley will appear in public places including markets, local beaches and parks to collect messages of remembrance from the local community.

A 10-metre-long ship crafted from sustainable materials including bamboo and rope, The Galley represents Odysseus’ epic voyage and the nationwide connection between the communities who will tell the story.

After each of the episodes, The Galley will transform into the stage of a closing ceremony to pass the baton of the storytelling forward. The Odyssey will be told in five episodes taking place across the country from 30 March 2023, culminating with the final episode on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre on 26-28 August 2023.

The first four episodes are being created and performed by local artists and communities in four partner organisations across the country.

The production is a joyful celebration of national community marking the fifth anniversary of Public Acts, the National Theatre’s nationwide programme to create extraordinary acts of theatre and community.

The lead creative team for the project is Director of Public Acts Emily Lim, playwright and lyricist Chris Bush, who will write the final episode and act as dramaturg for the first four episodes in collaboration with playwrights from across the country, and music composer Jim Fortune who will compose music for the final episode.

A company member at Cast said, “Our rehearsal room is a space of true openness, generosity and bravery. Each week brings us closer together in telling the story of Odysseus.

"Our director Madeleine brings a feeling of compassion and collaboration to each session, which, as a community company, makes us feel like we’re essential in creating the world of The Odyssey.”

Playwright Chris Bush said: “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate five years of Public Acts than with this truly national project, assembling our own mini pantheon of world-class writers from up and down the country. It has been a joy and a privilege to help weave this epic story together, and I can’t wait for our final episode at the National Theatre this summer.”

The culmination of The Odyssey journey, the fifth episode, will be staged as a full-scale musical production at the National Theatre on 26-28 August 2023. This final production will feature community performers from all four previous episodes, as well as members recruited through Public Acts founding community partners, founding theatre partner Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, and Trybe House Theatre in London who are working with Public Acts for the first time this year.

The performance will feature a total of 140 people including six professional actors, six live musicians and three cameo performance groups from across the UK.

Public Acts is supported by Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The CareTech Charitable Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Mosawi Foundation and The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust.

Schedule of The Odyssey performances and The Galley appearances:

Episode 1 – The Lotus Eaters at Restoke, Stoke-on-Trent

Thu 30 March 7pm, Fri 31 March 7pm, Sat 1 April 4pm and 7pm, Sun 2 April 7pm

Written by Gabriella Gay in co-creation with the community and produced by Restoke

Galley Schedule: Sat 1 April 1-7pm, Sun 2 April 5.45-7pm outside Restoke

Episode 2 – The Cyclops at Cast, Doncaster

Sat 15 April 7.30pm, Sun 16 April 2.30pm

Written by Tajinder Singh Hayer and directed by Madeleine O’Reilly

Galley Schedule: Sat 15 April 10am-2pm at Doncaster Market, 6-7.30pm outside Cast

Episode 3 – The Four Winds at Trowbridge Town Hall, Trowbridge

Sat 22 April 2.30pm and 6.30pm, Sun 23 April 2.30pm and 6.30pm

Written by Florence Espeut-Nickless and directed by Jesse Jones

Galley Schedule: Sat 22 April 12.30-8pm at Trowbridge Park

Episode 4 – The Island of the Sun at The Fire Station, Sunderland

Fri 28 April 7.30pm, Sat 29 April 6pm

Written by Lindsay Rodden and directed by Annie Rigby

Galley Schedule: Thurs 27 April early afternoon at Roker Beach, from 7pm for sunset at Penshaw

Monument, Fri 28 Apr 12.30-8pm outside The Fire Station, Sat 29 Apr 4-6pm outside The Fire Station

Episode 5 – The Underworld at Olivier Theatre, National Theatre

Sat 26 August 7pm, Sun 27 August 7pm, Monday 28 August 2pm and 7pm

Written by Chris Bush, with Music by Jim Fortune and directed by Emily Lim

The Doncaster Choral Society – Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonelle

Rossini is rightly reckoned an operatic composer, his many operas dating from his pre-forty years, but he did not confine himself to the opera.

We enjoy the Stabat Mater and later works like the short Songs of Old Age and the Petite Messe Solonelle, which has to be said to be neither ‘petite’ or ‘solonelle’, but is a Mass with one or two additions to the text. This dates from 1864 and is the work of a 72 year old composer.

This is quite often revived in concert and it was good to hear Doncaster Choral Society (DCS) perform it on 11 March at Alder Grove Methodist Church in the composer’s original form with the accompaniment of piano and organ (or harmonium).

Rossini shortly afterwards orchestrated the accompaniment.

The DCS, getting back to 50 voices was singing for the first time (barring some rehearsals by Zoom during the lockdown period) under Matt Beckwith, and they sounded well rehearsed and obviously enjoyed the Mass’s operatic ambience, which was also seemingly to be the taste of the night’s vocal soloists, who sang sometimes in ensemble, sometimes in solos – soprano Claire Strafford, particularly in O Salutaris Hostia, one of Rossini’s insertions in the text of the Mass; Doncaster’s own Alison Hudson, a warm contralto whose great moment was the final Agnus Dei where she alternated with the chorus and movingly so; tenor Mark Cunningham singing powerfully at the beginning (Kyrie and Gloria); and the rich toned baritone Quentin Brown, especially in the Quoniam.

The piano and harmonium accompaniment, Rossini’s original and perhaps his preference, was in the hands of Rachel Fright (piano), who eagerly grasped her chance to shine as a soloist in the Preludio Religioso, (another of Rossini’s insertions in the Mass) and organist Alan Horsey adding depth to the performance.

The DCS was not quite new to this work but had not performed it for over 20 years. It is some 80 minutes in length, so it could be done without and interval which helped both the performers and audience (I think). A delightful experience all round.

Tickhill Music Society

On 17 March Tickhill Music Society celebrated the life of its founder, Philip Mottram, at a recent concert given by the Alkyona Quartet. The Society was formed in 1977 and since then has presented over 300 concerts.

The programme devised by the Alkyona contained works by two familiar composers – Brahms and Borodin – and a third virtually unknown. The latter was Henriette Bosmans, a Dutch composer from the first half of the twentieth century. The angular texture of her work was the perfect introduction to the talents of the Quartet.

This was followed by Borodin’s second quartet, which with its lyrical third movement needed no introduction, and gave full rein to the cellist.

Borodin dedicated the work to his wife, and it was easy to imagine that he was thinking of her when he wrote it.

The second half of the concert consisted of Brahms’ third quartet. Brahms was born in the same year as Borodin but could not have been a more different personality – the latter convivial, the former (who destroyed 22 of the 25 quartets that he wrote) obsessive.

The mysterious nature of the third quartet must have puzzled the 19th century audience, but was skilfully interpreted by the Alkyona.

At the end of the evening the audience was treated to an encore in the form of a traditional Danish folk song, which included vocals by the first violin player. For anyone curious about the name of the quartet, Alkyona is Greek for kingfisher, symbolising the flashes of inspiration which musicians can experience.

The audience at Tickhill was left in no doubt that the concert had been touched by similar flashes of brilliance.

The Boyce Orchestra

On 26 February the Boyce Orchestra, 40 strings on the day, gave a concert full of interest at St. Aidan’s Church, Wheatley Hills, which has been the Orchestra’s concert hall of choice.

It was conducted by Richard Howarth, no stranger to Boyce, having played violin in it off and on for some 50 years. He had devised a programme full of interest to mark the occasion.

This began with a suite of seven movements from Delibes incidental music to Hugo’s play Le Roi S’Amuse. Several of the seven movements were new to me and the suite in general sounded well rehearsed.

This was followed by even more of a rarity, a concerto for two bassoons in F major and orchestrated by Johann Baptist Vanhal (1739 – 1813), a Bohemian born composer who spent most of his time in Vienna where he knew Haydn, Mozart and Dittersdorf, with whom he played chamber music on several occasions.

This concerto began with a substantial sonata Allegro and ended with a bubbly Finale, punctuated by a richly harmonised Andante worthy of Haydn.

This was a real find and was admirably executed by soloists Isabel Dowell and David Baker. Apparently solo bassoon concertos are rare enough (though Vivaldi produced over thirty of them and Mozart and Weber composed one each.

After the interval there was one work, Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 which had three versions, a Nonet (1858), a chamber orchestral version and, on this occasion, a full orchestral version.

This was Brahms’s earliest orchestral work (1959). In his six movements, rather like a Mozart Divertimento, his two contrasting Scherzos and a Menuet, though the harmonized slow movement is arguably the high point.

A stirring Finale, well played, as indeed was the whole Serenade, sent us home happily. It was a privilege to attend this concert, arguably one of Boyce’s best in its fifty-odd years, reflecting much credit on all performers and certainly Boyce’s most enterprising.