Pictures of Life Events

Pictures of Life’s official launch event took place in the elegant surroundings of Hall One in Kings Place, London, on Monday 26th October 2015. The event was a choral and orchestral performance of the work featuring the Ascolta Choir and Pictures of Life Orchestra, conducted by Peter Broadbent, together with four wonderful soloists: internationally acclaimed baritone Rodney Earl Clarke, bass Richard Wiegold, soprano Eloise Irving and mezzo-soprano Hannah Poulsom, plus the marvellous Finchley Childrens Music Group [ages 9-15] and barbershop quartet “A Cut Above”.

The Artistic Director for the concert was the award winning Martin Constantine, founder and director of ENO Opera Works.

The event was held in support of 21st Century Tiger 21st Century Tiger which raises funds for wild tiger conservation projects. Please visit www.21stcenturytiger.org for more information about the charity. At the Kings Place event, the charity displayed an array of wildlife photography, sold merchandise and ran a successful Silent Auction (all profits went to the charity). Before the concert, one of the charity’s patrons, Sarah Christie of the London Zoological Society, gave a short talk on the charity’s work and another patron, poet/broadcaster Ruth Padel, read a special poem “Tiger Drinking at a Forest Pool” and signed copies of her books after the concert.

The event was opened by the Mayor of Islington who gave a pre-concert speech. The Mayor of Camden also attended the event.

The event was managed by Jenny Burgess of Blue Orb Events [see Partners page]. Jenny will be producing, on behalf of Pictures of Life Ltd, a series of Pictures of Life concert events planned nationally and internationally from 2016-17 onwards. The first of these events is currently in development and information about the next event will be available on our News page from January 2016.

Please visit Kings Place Picture Gallery to view a selection of photographs from the event.

Peter Broadbent and The Ascolta Choir

Peter Broadbent is best-known as conductor of the Joyful Company of Singers, with whom he has recorded over 20 CD’s and given over 30 premieres since forming the choir in 1989. He has worked as a guest conductor with professional choirs and orchestras in the UK and Europe and is widely respected as a teacher and choral clinician. ASCOLTA is a new choir formed by Peter Broadbent early in 2015. The members are postgraduate students and recent graduates from UK conservatoires, and their debut recording of works by the Hungarian composer Ferenc Farkas (1905-2000) will be issued by Toccata Records later this year. Future plans include recordings of the complete choral works of Havergal Brian.

Soloists

Rodney Earl Clarke is recognised for versatility in performance from Mozart to Max Richter. Roles include Mozart’s Figaro (ETO) and Don Giovanni (BOC), Workman Bernstein’s On the Town (ENO), Ferryman Britten’s Church Parables (Mahogany Opera), Jake Porgy & Bess (Berlin Philharmonic- Sir Simon Rattle), Crown Porgy & Bess (Royal Danish Opera – John Doyle) Guest Singer in The Broadway Sound Prom (John Wilson Orchestra) and Guest singer in a performance of Gershwin’s Songbook (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra -Keith Lockhart ). Upcoming performances include a tour of West End Hits with the Czech Philharmonic under Keith Lockhart.

Eloise Irving, soprano, is currently studying singing with Paul Farrington having trained in voice and harp at the Guildhall School of Music. She began her musical career by winning the 1998 BBC Radio 2 Choirgirl of the Year Competition. Recent engagement include Almirena in Handel’s Rinaldo with Longborough Festival Opera and Galatea in Acis & Galatea with Chilmark Opera. She has also performed and recorded with Polyphony, Tenebrae, AAM, the Eric Whitacre Singers and Gareth Malone’s Voices.

Richard Wiegold is a Welsh-born bass who has had an international career in opera, with roles at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Salzburg Easter Festival and the Canadian Opera, and in concert, performing with Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic and the Hallé, amongst others. Richard’s recordings include Dr. Grenvil in a Grammy-nominated La Traviata with Renée Fleming.

Hannah Poulsom is an English mezzo-soprano who studied at both the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. Recent concert appearances and performances include Bach’s St. John Passion, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and as Anna Kennedy in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda at the Edinburgh Fringe. Hannah is supported by the Josephine Baker Trust and gratefully acknowledges the support of the trust.

Finchley Children’s Music Group comprises four choirs for young people aged 4-18. Well-known for their natural, vibrant vocal quality, the choir regularly works with
leading professional choirs and orchestras in the UK and abroad. FCMG has been under the direction of Grace Rossiter since 2001. Recent highlights include Britten’s St Nicolas (Barbican) and Carl Davis’ Last Train to Tomorrow (Camden’s Roundhouse, and for BBC2).

Barbershop Quartet “A Cut Above” are Cameron Carr, George Fowler, Gus Nicholson and George Rolls. Established in 2013 at King’s College London, A Cut Above (ACA) are members of the a cappella group All the King’s Men, performing from South Korea to California, Edinburgh to New York. They have sung at The Garrick Club, New York’s Town Hall and Beacon Theatre plus universities such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton.