Programme:

Endowed Concert in memory of John Shirley-Quirk

Britten, Four Sea Interludes

Bernstein, Symphonic Dances (from West Side Story)

Walton, Belshazzar's Feast

Nicolas Dwyer (baritone)
Jason Thornton (conductor)
Bath Spa University Choir
South West Festival Chorus

Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast was originally commissioned for chamber orchestra and small chorus however the composition emerged as one of the largest works in the English choral canon. The first half of the programme is a virtuosic showcase for the orchestra incorporating the Latin American rhythms of the Mambo and the Rumble from Bernstein’s masterpiece West Side Story as well as Britten’s four evocations of life by the sea in a Suffolk fishing village, including Sunday Mornings, a nocturne and a storm.