WHAT DO YOU GET if you mix a European brown bear's heartbeat, a string quartet and a highly emotional composer? Why, Lament for a Bulgarian Dancing Bear which is the track seeming to attract the most attention, so far, from Roxanna's latest Signum Classics release Heartfelt! The Sacconi Quartet are joined by a star-studded cast of the UK's finest soloists in a new CD of Roxanna's chamber music available here. Watch a beautiful short film made by Joe Morgan about the title tracks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ4Yr0jGG4o&t=66s
On Friday 18th September at 1pm, trombonist Peter Moore will perform Roxanna's unashamedly romantic "When you Appear", based on Neruda's poem La Reina. Further details here. On Wednesday 23rd September at 7:30pm, the Sacconi will give the concert world premiere of "Heartfelt" which takes its inspiration from 18th century Uzbek court musicians and uses the heart beat of a Bulgarian dancing bear. Details not yet available online but it will be streamed from the same website as the first concert.
VOCES8 will give the Russian premiere of Love Endureth at St Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow, on 8th February 2020. Further performances are also planned at the WSCM Symposium in Auckland, on 12th and 14th July. This heralds the beginning of Roxanna's Residency with the über-choir - watch this space for further exciting developments!
Absolutely NO CHRISTMAS MUSIC will feature in Roxanna's final concert of the year - several of her works will be featured in the culmination of King's Place's "Venus Unwrapped" festival, on 20th December in London. The programme also includes Tavener and Owain Park and be performed by the fabulous Gesualdo Six and the brilliant Brodsky Quartet. Come and join the fun - tickets and more information here!
Roxanna will be Ryedale Festival’s Compose in Residence, this year. Spend the afternoon of Sunday 21st July with her being grilled by Katy Hamilton, interspersed with performances of her chamber works. In the festival’s grand finale, bassoonist Amy Harman will give the premiere of the new orchestral version of “Cantator & Amanda” with Royal Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Bradley Keswick. Further details here »
On Valentine's Day, Tasmin Little will be performing Roxanna's "Four World Seasons" at Ealing Music Festival and 2 days before, her Love Abide album will be reissued by Signum, a multi-faith programme inspired by love which "radiates heart-warming positivity" (Classical Music Magazine).
November 2018 is packed with premieres! Faithful Journey - a Mass for Poland in Katowice and Birmingham (9th Nov & 21st Nov respectively), When You Appear on 12th Nov at Vienna's Musikverein, and The Gift of Music on 25th Nov in Lagos - see Performance Schedule for more details...
Roxanna has been commissioned to write the new work for the Last Night of the Proms, 8th September 2018. Broadcast LIVE on BBC2 and Radio 3, "Songs of Darkness, Dreams of Light" involves the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus & BBC Symphony Orchestra. Sir Andrew Davis will conduct and the piece, which sets words by Isaac Rosenberg and Khalil Gibran, marries an Ashkenazy Jewish prayer mode, Maronite Syriac chant and Sufi rhythms and structure.
The world premiere of Love Bade Me Welcome will take place at King's College Cambridge, with the King's Voices and Ben Parry conducting at Evensong on 26th February 2018. The melody appeared to Rev. John Penny after his son Andrew, at only a few days old, suddenly died and some 20 years late Rev. Penny approached Roxanna to arrange it. A gentle rocking and lullaby-like setting of this beautiful George Herbert poem, proceeds from performances and sheet music sales will go to the stillbirth charity Sands.
Standing ovations and fab reviews for Silver Birch which premiered 28th - 30th July at Garsington opera - read here: Classicalsource.com & Musicomh.com!
Rehearsals for Roxanna's 'Silver Birch' (libretto by Jessica Duchen) are well underway for the big premiere on 28th July - further performances on 29th & 30th July. Suitable for 8 years and up! Click here for tickets and further info.
Roxanna's Introit 'O Hearken' formed part of the Commonwealth Day annual service at Westminster Abbey, attended by the Queen and the Royal Family - click here to see it - starts at 00:49:49!
Love Sought is a setting of Olivia's passion for Cesario (Viola in disguise) from Twelfth Night. Commissioned by the BBC and premiered LIVE on In Tune, launching their Shakespeare anniversary weekend in Stratford upon Avon, the song was given to VJ and animator Mischa Giancovich - click here to see what she did….
...Dance of Life:Tallinn Mass, in it's staged New York premiere with the exquisite Choral Chameleon here!
Double Bassist Leon Bosch and pianist Sung-Suk Kang will give the world premiere of "Shosholoza" - Roxanna's loving treatment of the famous South African miners' song - at Swaledale Festival on 27th May. More info here!
On 16th May 2015, the world premiere of Roxanna's "The Tablet of Your Heart" will take place at Westmisnter Cathedral, London. Commissioned by The Tablet Magazine for it's 175th anniversary, it will form part of a special mass to which anyone and everyone is welcome! 2pm start! See you there?