He is Associate Director of the Orchestra of the Swan, Founder and Conductor Laureate of the Britten Sinfonia, Principal Conductor of the Oxford Bach Choir and Artistic Director of the Sounds New contemporary music festival. He is also Artistic Adviser to the Berkshire Choral Festival (USA) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra. He also works extensively with opera companies around the world, from Opera North to Glyndebourne, Zurich Opera to Royal Opera Stockholm and from Chicago Opera Theatre to Canadian Opera. Nicholas Cleobury brings a special expertise to choral music and is in demand with choirs world-wide. As well as conducting the Oxford Bach Choir and being closely involved with the Berkshire Choral Festival (USA), he works regularly with the BBC Singers and the Huddersfield Choral Society. For several years Principal Conductor of the Royal Academy of Music Opera in London, Nicholas Cleobury continues to bring insight and enthusiasm to creative projects with music students and graduates, working with such talented young ensembles as the Southbank Sinfonia, Guildhall School of Music & Drama New Music Ensemble and Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra and to be involved in wide ranging music in the community initiatives. He is also a vibrant and persuasive speaker and lecturer, making him in demand as a communicator both on and off the rostrum and is a passionate evangelist for contemporary music, shown most vividly in his own ten year old contemporary music festival, Sounds New. This year, Nicholas Cleobury was made an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University. Innovative and scholarly programming, a wide repertoire and a natural affinity for making music with young people, are the hallmarks of his music making. “Harley” (composer Edward Rushton) succeeded…thanks to the magisterial direction of the contemporary music specialist Nicholas Cleobury, leading the Orchestra of the Zurich Opera in top form.” CORRIERE DEL TICINO |
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ORCHESTRAL UK ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN In 2005, Nicholas Cleobury was appointed Associate Director of Orchestra of the Swan. Under its Artistic Director, David Curtis, Orchestra of the Swan has achieved national recognition for outstanding performances combined with intriguing programming and an accessible style of presentation. The orchestra’s performances receive widespread critical acclaim in the national and regional media and are frequently chosen for “Pick of the Week” in the Guardian, Times and Telegraph. Its home is at the Civic Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon, where the orchestra presents concerts drawing on masterpieces from the chamber orchestra repertoire, from the classical and romantic canon to significant works from the 20th century. May 2005 marked Nicholas Cleobury’s first appearance as the orchestra’s Associate Director with a concert in Cheltenham celebrating the music of Sir Michael Tippett – a composer with whom he enjoyed a long and close association. The programme also included a new commission Bell Tower in the Clouds by the young composer Dobrinka Tabakova. This critically well-received concert was followed by further Tippett performances in Rye, Bristol and at the North Wales International Music Festival, St Asaph, with the programme again featuring a new work, Residuum, by Tansy Davies. In 2006 his engagements with the orchestra include concerts in Dartington and Canterbury (for Sounds New) marking the 70th birthday of Richard Rodney Bennett, concerts in Stratford and Cheltenham featuring the world premiere of Isolation by Joseph Duddell and an appearance at the Two Moors Festival. “This concert marked the first appearance of Nicholas Cleobury as Associate Director… given Cleobury’s affinity with English music and the ensemble’s in-depth exploration of Tippett….it seemed to auger well for the players.” BRITTEN SINFONIA “High praise is due to Cleobury who seems to have found even more nuances in the orchestral parts (Britten: Song Cycles) of all three works than his predecessors.” Founder Artistic Director in 1992 of the Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Cleobury’s dedication to this fine ensemble has contributed to its international success. Under his direction, Britten Sinfonia has performed many outstandingly well-received concerts at the UK’s leading festivals, including the BBC Proms and made several critically acclaimed CDs, including first recordings of Richard Rodney Bennett and Frank Bridge repertoire. Nicholas Cleobury’s recording with the orchestra for EMI of Strauss' Horn concerti, with David Pyatt as soloist, won a Gramophone Award and his recording of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with Joy Farrall as soloist was voted Classic FM’s Number 1 Easter Choice. Since 2004 he has held the title of Founder Laureate of Britten Sinfonia. “Cleobury stamped his mark on Stravinsky’s Symphony in C in a memorable performance. Where some conductors make this neo-classical masterpiece sound dry, Cleobury found the wit and textural clarity and delivered the outer movements with blistering bite.” THE TIMES EUROPE - AND BEYOND... “I doubt if Tippett could have secured better playing from the Ulster Orchestra than we experienced and everywhere Cleobury’s understanding of the complexities as well as the possibilities was absolute. A stunning performance indeed.” Nicholas Cleobury has worked with many of the world’s orchestras, including:
“I loved Cleobury’s reading of the work (Enigma Variations) – he perfectly captured its English essence and conveyed it to the listener.” “The Zurich Opera House Orchestra was challenged by this music (Rushton’s Harley) but under the well-paced direction of Nicholas Cleobury they managed to convey the many faceted musical ideas and colours with joy and a twinkle in the eye.” Nicholas Cleobury has worked widely in opera throughout the UK, notably at English and Welsh National Operas, Opera North and Glyndebourne and has conducted productions for Aldeburgh, Camden, English Bach and Orkney Festivals. Among the companies he has conducted abroad are Arcal (Paris and Nantes), Canadian Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Flanders and Gothenburg Opera, Hamburg Staatsoper, Malmö Musikteater, Royal Opera Stockholm, Wexford and Zurich Opera. Recently, he returned to Zurich Opera to conduct performances of both Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Britten’s Peter Grimes and to give the critically acclaimed premiere of Edward Rushton’s Harley. In 2006 Nicholas Cleobury will make a return visit to the Two Moors Festival to give performances of a major new opera, Tarka the Otter, based on the world famous story by Henry Williamson, with music by Stephen McNeff (composer in residence Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra 2005-7), libretto by the eminent stage director Richard Williams and a cast that includes a children’s chorus of hounds, eels and ducks! (Chicago Opera Theatre/Handel: Acis and Galatea) “…a sparkling jewel of a production …stylishly supported by the singers and the period instrument ensemble conducted by Nicholas Cleobury.” Chosen as one of the best performances of the year by The Chicago Tribune “Nicholas Cleobury’s account of this prodigious orchestral showpiece (Elliott Carter’s Concerto for Orchestra) connected up part to whole at every point and conveyed a sense of the work’s terrific overall sweep (Royal Academy of Music Orchestra).” FINANCIAL TIMES Work with student and youth orchestras is an important part of Nicholas Cleobury’s work. He has conducted the Australian Youth Orchestra and the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Junior Philharmonic, the Hampshire, Leicester and Merseyside Youth Orchestras and also the Elizabeth College Summer Orchestral Course in Guernsey. Extending his interest in youth ensembles, he has recently enjoyed collaborations with the Manson Ensemble of the Royal Academy of Music, Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama New Music Ensemble. He has a special relationship with the Southbank Sinfonia and in 2006 he conducts three concerts with this exceptionally talented young group of players. These commenced in the Spring with the Sounds New Festival performing the music of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, followed by Deal Festival, where the repertoire ranges from Rossini and Mozart to Charles Ives and finishes, at the end of the year, in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem in Canterbury Cathedral as part of the Mozart Now events. Mozart Now (part of the Salzburg-led Mozart Ways) is a year-long programme of events celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth and his visit to Canterbury in 1765. Nicholas Cleobury will direct several projects including a major composition course, an authentic and contemporary music performance course, events for children, the creative re-finishing of Mozart’s Requiem by young composers and the launch of Mozart Now Ensemble for amateur and professional musicians. “...the real achievement was musical (Tippett’s The Knot Garden). Conducted with conspicuous organizational skill by Cleobury, the points of genius in the score were well served by both the orchestra and the cast of young professionals (Royal Academy of Music Orchestra).” THE GUARDIAN
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CONTEMPORARY
MUSIC Now in its ninth year, Nicholas Cleobury founded Sounds New to bring the glories of the music of our time to new and wider audiences. |
Nicholas
Cleobury pictured with |
With his worldwide experience as a conductor championing contemporary scores, he often found bewilderment, misunderstanding and even hostility to new music. Sounds New brings this wealth of new music to people in an approachable and understandable manner. Sounds New has had great success with people of all ages, already reaching over 5,000 school children in a wide range of creative projects and bringing older students and adults to music they thought was “not for them”. Such is the success of Sounds New that by request its work is now extended across the South East region and beyond, taking in some of the UK’s foremost festivals. Nicholas Cleobury and Sounds New have hosted many leading composers, including Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Jonathan Harvey, Magnus Lindberg, James Macmillan (twice!), David Matthews, John McCabe, Paul Patterson, Poul Ruders, Robert Saxton, Sir John Tavener and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Soloists have included Django Bates, James Bowman, Paul Crossley, Evelyn Glennie, John Harle, Rolf Hind, Joanna MacGregor and Rafael Wallfisch. Ensembles have included the BBC Singers, Britten Sinfonia, Fretwork, the Maggini Quartet, Onyx Brass, Orchestra of the Swan, the Scottish Ensemble, the Southbank Sinfonia and the Wallace Collection. Many youth groups have also enjoyed participating in Sounds New, notably Dance Warehouse, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Kent Music School, Live Music Now, the Orpheus Centre for young disabled artists, Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble, the Royal School for Deaf Children (Margate), as well as numerous school ensembles. Sounds New’s first “hosting” of 2006 with three concerts conducted by Nicholas Cleobury, was for Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in programmes that varied from a primary school production of A Selkie Tale to students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Southbank Sinfonia performing “Max’s” infinitely varied concert repertoire. This was followed by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, in his 70th year, joining the festival to perform a musical autobiography with saxophonist John Harle as soloist and a cabaret show with Claire Martin. The orchestral concert dedicated to Bennett featured the Orchestra of the Swan playing Bennett - his Reflections on a Theme of William Walton, the Saxophone Concerto (with John Harle) and Seven Country Dances plus Stravinsky and a new piece by Errollyn Wallen, winner of the 2005 BBC Composers “Listeners” Award. “…Nicholas Cleobury (with the Southbank Sinfonia) was an informative and passionate compere and exceptional conductor.” KENTISH GAZETTE “A highly sympathetic reading (Durufle Requiem – BBC Concert Orchestra & BBC Singers), taking full advantage of the resonant cathedral acoustic.” Nicholas Cleobury has conducted a wealth of choirs and choruses including the BBC Singers, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Glyndebourne Festival Chorus in repertoire ranging from early music to some of today’s most challenging and notable contemporary vocal scores. He has been Principal Conductor of the Oxford Bach Choir since 1997. Under his guidance, the Choir has continued its tradition of performing not only well-known repertoire but also of supporting new music. Among these new works are notably Nicholas Maw’s Hymnus (originally commissioned for performance by the Choir for its centenary in 1996 and later with Nicholas Cleobury recorded for ASV), a performance of David Matthews’ Vespers (originally commissioned by Huddersfield Choral Society) and the world premiere of Martin Butler’s Two Rivers. This year Nicholas Cleobury conducts the OBC in performances of the St John Passion with the Britten Sinfonia and the Brahms’ Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As Artistic Adviser to the annual Berkshire Choral Festival (USA), the leading US/UK Summer Choral Festival, he has conducted the Festival Choir both in the UK and at their home in Sheffield, Massachusetts. During Tippett’s centenary year of 2005, Nicholas Cleobury conducted four performances of A Child of our Time; with the Oxford Bach Choir, with Norwich Festival Chorus, with the Berkshire Choral Festival and with Huddersfield Choral Society. His close association with the BBC Singers continues, collaborating with them this year in John Armitage Memorial Trust concerts in Chichester Cathedral and St Brides, Fleet Street. “Cleobury inspired his forces to yet greater things in a vivid Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast: bright brass, terrific woodwinds, keen strings and a choir in splendid voice. What a performance! What an achievement!” THE YORKSHIRE POST
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