For anyone who loves ballet music, the next concert by the City of Carlisle Orchestra offers the opportunity to hear works by two of the acknowledged masters of the genre – Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev.
The concert takes place in St John’s Church on London Road, Carlisle on Saturday March 29 at 7.30pm.
The programme opens with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture which will be followed by excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet, including Montagues and Capulets, also known as Dance of the Knights, which is famous as the signature tune to TV’s The Apprentice.
Following the interval, the orchestra will perform a selection of movements from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty.
The orchestra is conducted by London-based Max Todes, who is currently studying under Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.
Max began conducting at the age of 15, and a year later founded the Cavatina Orchestra, comprised of talented students of the Junior and Senior London Conservatoires with the aim of giving young musicians the opportunity to study and perform an extensive range of repertoire.
In 2018 Max co-founded Cavatina Opera for a three-night run of The Magic Flute, which raised over £11,000 for Charity. While in Cambridge, Max conducted Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte and Semele.
Max previously held a Lay Clerkship at Kings College, Cambridge alongside the Cambridge conducting scholarship. The conducting scholarship has afforded Max the opportunity to assist various visiting conductors such as Martyn Brabbins, Jack van Steen and Ben Glassberg.
He graduated from St John’s College, Cambridge having studied music, and sang as a choral scholar in the choir. As a cellist, Max was an award holder on the Instrumental Scheme, and the continuo cellist in the Cambridge baroque ensemble Collegium.
Max said: “Working with the City of Carlisle Orchestra since January has been a highly rewarding experience for me. The opportunity to take the orchestra from the initial stages of music preparation through to the concert performance is one I value immensely.
“I believe we’ve learned a great deal from each other, and the collaboration between the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the city’s musicians is greatly appreciatedas a resource for the students on the MA Orchestral Conducting programme.”
Tickets for the performance are available in advance (£10) from members of the orchestra or the Tourist Information Centre at the Old Town Hall in Carlisle or at the door for £12. Under-18s are free.
