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BBC National Orchestra of Wales moves in
to its new state of the art venue at Wales
Millennium Centre.
NEW HOME FOR NOW
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales occupies a very special role
as a much loved and respected national and broadcasting orchestra, acclaimed for the quality of its performances and importance in the community.
This January the BBC National Orchestra of Wales moves into its exciting new home, BBC Hoddinott Hall at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre. Since 1967, the Orchestra has been based in Studio 1 at the BBC studios in Llandaff, Cardiff, but has long out-grown its old home.
Now a new purpose-built studio has been added as Phase Two of the Wales Millennium Centre complex in Cardiff Bay. BBC Hoddinott Hall will not only be the Orchestra’s base, where all its rehearsals will take place but also a new state-of-the-art concert hall seating over 350 people.
There is also a studio named the Grace Williams Studio which will provide auxiliary rehearsal space for the Orchestra and will be the home base for BBC National Orchestra of Wales’s education and community outreach work with the capability of hosting workshops, master classes, small-scale rehearsals and performances.
The main large-scale concerts will continue to take place in St David’s Hall, Cardiff, and Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, as well as the other concerts throughout the length and breadth of Wales. BBC Hoddinott Hall will add a whole range of concerts to the Orchestra’s output, from forgotten masterpieces and specialist concerts to works that are well-known and loved by people everywhere. The new hall will enable the Orchestra to present more intimate concerts in addition to their regular performances across Wales.
The Orchestra’s concerts are broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC Cymru Wales radio and television, and BBC Four. The Orchestra also records the soundtrack to BBC Wales’s Doctor Who and Torchwood series.
BBC National Orchestra of Wales have announced the details of the Opening Festival at their new home which will take place from Thursday 22 January until Sunday 1 February 2009. Two gala concerts will launch the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ new hall, opening with an orchestral showpiece by the man after whom it is named, Alun Hoddinott, pictured below.
In these historic concerts there will be a celebration of music making at its best. Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and imposing and powerful choral masterpieces by Beethoven and Ravel will feature alongside Hoddinott’s Badger In The Bag. The world premiere of St Vitus in the Kettle by Simon Holt, the Orchestra’s new Composer in Association will complete the programme. Members of the Orchestra’s dynamic conducting team: Principal Conductor Thierry Fischer, Principal Guest Conductor Jac van Steen and Tadaaki Otaka Conductor Laureate will all join the Orchestra throughout the festival.
Director of BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales David Murray said, “For an orchestra to take possession of its own hall is a unique and very special experience; a rite of passage or coming of age that only happens once or twice in any orchestra’s lifecycle. A good hall not only provides a home for an orchestra but defines its character and, more importantly, embodies its sound.”
After the Opening Festival of events, the new season of BBC Hoddinott Hall events will then begin on Tuesday 3 February with a Discovering Music concert at 7pm with Principal Conductor Thierry Fischer featuring Stravinsky’s Petrushka.
For more details please contact:
BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Hoddinott Hall
visit www.bbc.co.uk/now
or call the Orchestra’s Audience Line on 0800 052 1812 |
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Opening Festival Concert events
Inaugural Gala Concerts
Thursday 22 January 2009, 7pm
Friday 23 January, 7pm Tickets
£18 (discounts £15)
Programme includes music by Sibelius, Beethoven, Ravel, Varese, Hoddinott and a World Premiere by Simon Holt
Jac van Steen conducts Hoddinott
Saturday 24 January, 7pm
Tickets £10 (discounts £8)
Song Recital:
A Tribute to Hans Hotter
Sunday 25 January, 3pm
Tickets £8 (£5)
Llyˆr Williams (piano)
Sunday 1, Sunday 8 and Sunday 15 February, 3pm
Tickets £8 (£5)
In Tune
Friday 30 January, 5pm
LIVE on BBC Radio 3
with Sean Rafferty
Otaka conducts Tchaikovsky
Saturday 31 January, 7pm
Tickets £18 (discounts £15)
The Choir
Sunday 1 February, 6.30pm
Tickets £10 (discounts £8)
Presented by Aled Jones
Performances are subject to change. Please check prior to booking.
HOW TO BOOK
Tickets can be purchased via the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Audience Line on 0800 052 1812 or
via Wales Millennium Centre on 08700 400 200
www.bbc.co.uk/now |
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