Reviews

My reviews of concerts in Durham. Full reviews on this page are written exclusively for this site. I generally buy my own tickets for concerts, especially when they are student or local amateur groups.

DCYC’s celebratory Messiah

Past and present members of Durham County Youth Choir gave a magnificent performance of Handel’s Messiah in Durham Cathedral to celebrate their 50th anniversary in an evening that showed what a vital role the choir plays in music education in the North East. Read my review here:

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Organ recital – Dr Ian Brunt

My review of a recital of baroque chorale preludes played by Dr Ian Brunt at St Helen Auckland that reminded me that there is more to organ music than the pull-out-all-the-stops variety.

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DUCS: Rowarth and Mozart

Ben Rowarth’s “Christus: A Passiontide Sequence” is a powerful and provocative new approach to the story of Christ’s Passion, combining imaginative writing with a firm grounding in musical history. This startling new work was combined with an energetic performance of Mozart’s Requiem, sung by the Durham University Choral Society and Chamber Choir, conducted by Mike Summers.

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DOE: The Magic Flute

Durham Opera Ensemble put on a touching, witty and thoroughly entertaining performance of Mozart’s final opera, “The Magic Flute”.

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