University News Last updated 23 May 2018
The Stratford-upon-Avon based Orchestra of the Swan will be taking to the stage at Birmingham City University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire this month in a concert conducted by the college’s Principal, Professor Julian Lloyd Webber.
The performance takes place on Monday 28 May at 2.30pm in The Concert Hall and will see Orchestra of the Swan – affectionately known as ‘OOTS’ – joined by world-renowned cellist and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s International Chair in Cello, Jian Wang. Also performing will be fellow Chinese cellist, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber.
The group will present Sir Edward Elgar’s ‘Introduction and Allegro for Strings’ followed by ‘Serenade for Strings’. The performance will also feature Vivaldi’s ‘Concerto for 2 Cellos’ and ‘Cello Concerto in C’ by Haydn.
This concert is part of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Opening Festival which is welcoming a wealth of world-class artists to Birmingham, including Peter Donohoe, Laura van der Heijden, Nigel Kennedy, Barry Wordsworth and Jacqueline Wilson. A recent highlight saw Birmingham City University Chancellor, Sir Lenny Henry, narrate Sergei Prokofiev’s classic, ‘Peter and the Wolf’.
The Conservatoire was granted a Royal title by Her Majesty The Queen in September 2017, with the bestowment following the HRH The Earl of Wessex becoming the college’s first Royal Patron in March 2016. The Earl officially declared the building open on Sunday 11 March this year prior to the Royal Opening Gala Concert in his honour.
Tickets for the Orchestra of the Swan performance event are available to purchase online. The concert will be preceded by a pre-concert talk hosted by journalist Christopher Morley at 1:30pm.