The final concert of the Brighton Philharmonic’s season at Brighton Dome sees another exciting collaboration with the Brighton Festival Chorus which brings over 100 singers and 80 musicians together on stage. Vaughan Williams’ epic A Sea Symphony (Symphony No.1) is a powerful setting of the poetry of Walt Whitman in what could be seen more as one huge song rather than a traditional symphony. Soloists Elin Pritchard (soprano) and Nicholas Lester (baritone) join the orchestra and choir under the baton of Barry Wordsworth in this stirring work that evokes the power and grandeur of the sea with its shimmering strings, swirling woodwind, pounding brass and crashing percussion.

James Morgan, Music Director of the Brighton Festival Chorus, is delighted the choir is performing with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra again: “The choir love working with Barry, and never more so than on core English repertory like this – the Sea Symphony is a great, tumultuous sing which BFC are all looking forward to performing.”

The concert begins with a short but scintillating overture by William Alwyn, a British composer perhaps best known as a prolific writer of film scores. His bustling overture Derby Day, commissioned in 1960 by the BBC, was named after the famous panoramic oil painting by William Frith that depicts the Epsom Derby in 1858, and the overture delightfully portrays the diverse race crowd, with people from all classes and backgrounds mingling together intent on enjoying themselves on a day out at the races.

Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No.2 takes its subtitle “The Age of Anxiety” from a poem by WH Auden which the composer said was “one of the most shattering examples of pure virtuosity in the history of English poetry”. The symphony it inspired is an eclectic and kaleidoscopic mix of moods and musical textures depicting the Seven Ages of man from infancy through to death. Written in 1949 (at the same time as West Side Story) and scored for orchestra and solo piano, Bernstein intended the pianist to be an almost autobiographical protagonist in the quest for meaning and faith in the aftermath of the Second World War. Rob Clark, Head of Music for the Royal Ballet, takes on this role in an energetic work that seems at times more like a concerto, with echoes of Brahms and Rachmaninov in its two movements that mirror Auden’s text through 14 variations.

This piece is particularly dear to the heart of the Brighton Philharmonic’s Conductor Laureate, Barry Wordsworth, who has long wanted to bring Bernstein’s symphony to Brighton, having conducted it at the Royal Opera House in 2014, again with Rob Clark as pianist.  Of the piece Barry says: “I am very excited to have the chance to play Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety in Brighton. It is a piano concerto in all but name, and our hero, who eventually overcomes the deep anxieties of life with a display of all conquering courage and confidence, is our soloist, and my great friend and colleague Rob Clark. This masterpiece is a reflection of our time, and all three works speak in different ways of triumph through adversity. It is interesting that the American Bernstein used poetry by an English poet whilst Vaughan Williams, a British composer, used the poetry of an American. This programme should inspire everyone present to leave the concert with a deep feeling of confidence for the future.”

The concert is dedicated to the memory of Martin Lindsay-Hills, a keen sailor and long-time generous supporter and sponsor of the orchestra.

The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra are most grateful to the William Alwyn Foundation for their financial support of this concert.

SUNDAY 20 MARCH 2016, 2.45pm, BRIGHTON DOME CONCERT HALL:

BRIGHTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor BARRY WORDSWORTH

Piano ROB CLARK

BRIGHTON FESTIVAL CHORUS

Soprano ELIN PRITCHARD

Baritone NICHOLAS LESTER

WILLIAM ALWYN Overture: Derby Day

BERNSTEIN Symphony No.2 (The Age of Anxiety)

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No.1 (A Sea Symphony)

Tickets from £11.50-£36.50 (50% student discount) are available from Brighton Dome Ticket Office in person, by telephone (01273) 709709 and online: www.brightondome.org

The full programme for the 50th Brighton Festival (7-29 May 2016) – the largest and most established curated annual multi-arts festival in England – is unveiled today with experimental artist and musician Laurie Anderson as Guest Director.

Renowned for her inventive use of technology, Anderson is one of America’s most daring creative pioneers. In roles as varied as artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, vocalist and instrumentalist, she has been experimenting, creating and challenging audiences all over the world for almost as long as Brighton Festival has existed. Anderson takes the helm as Brighton Festival marks its milestone50th year of commissioning and producing innovative arts and culture by exploring the theme of ‘home and place’across its 2016 programme.

Anderson’s own events include the UK premiere of her unique Music for Dogs, a concert specially designed for the canine ear; a screening of her acclaimed new film Heart of a Dog, described by Anderson herself as: ‘full of stories about how you make a story . . . nominally a film about me and my dog but really it’s not, it’s about love and language‘; an exclusive new performance monologue about place and places called Slideshow; and a freewheeling walk through sonic spaces with fellow musician-composers, pianist Nik Bärtsch and guitarist Eivind Aarset.

Many of Anderson’s interests, passions and achievements are also explored including the UK premiere of Lou Reed Drones, an installation of her late husband’s guitars and amps in feedback mode which she describes as ‘kind of as close to Lou’s music as we can get these days‘; a special screening of critically acclaimed film Sans Soleil (Sunless) – an elegiac masterpiece by Anderson’s favourite director Chris Marker; and a series of events that explore innovation and technology in the arts, including Complicite /Simon Burney‘s acclaimed The Encounter and Brighton-based Art of Disappearing‘s outdoor adventure The Last Resort.

With the theme of ‘home’at the heart of the programme, Brighton Festival 2016 will celebrate its relationship with the unique, energetic and creative city of Brighton, its artists, its characters, its sense of place and spirit whilst also considering universal issues and ideas around home, our communities and places of safety. Highlights include a new work from Argentinian artist Lola Arias developed with and performed by veterans of the Falklands conflict; experimental composer and musician Yuval Avital‘s potent and thought-provoking new work, Fuga Perpetua, which reflects on the situation of refugees; and the UK premiere of Berlin‘s Zvizdal, a filmic portrait of an elderly couple’s self-imposed solitude in the region affected by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The rich diversity of home-grown artists and companies are celebrated in a series of special commissions that include two works marking the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare‘s death: The Complete Deaths, a re-enactment of every onstage death from Brighton-based artistic powerhouses Spymonkey and Tim Crouch, and Digging for Shakespeare by Marc Rees, a site-specific homage to 19th Century Brighton eccentric and world-renowned Shakespearean scholar James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps; Stella, a theatrical love letter to one half of the infamous Victorian cross-dressing duo Fanny and Stella by playwright Neil Bartlett; and the world premiere of Blast Theory & Hydrocracker‘s immersive undercover police drama Operation Black Antler.

Other city-inspired highlights include a specially commissioned film Brighton: Symphony of a City, screened to a new score performed by Orchestra of Sound and Light, and the entire Royal Pavilion Estate playing host to Dr Blighty; an ambitious, large-scale, immersive outdoor experience which highlights the untold story of wounded Indian soldiers hospitalised in Brighton during World War One. Kicking off with the Children’s Parade – the largest of its kind in Europe – Brighton Festival 2016 will also see a record number of community-focussed events throughout the programme including the annual City Reads and Young City Reads produced in partnership with Collected Works and Future Gazers which asks school pupils to imagine the world in 50 years’time.

2016 also sees Brighton Festival work with Guardian Live in a special partnership to deliver the Books and Debate programme with an impressive line-up of writers and commentators that includes a panel debate on the looming EU Referendum and a visit from former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis as well as appearances from an Orange prize winner (Lionel Shriver) and two Booker prize winners (Marlon James and Howard Jacobson). Brighton Festival 2016 will also see the return of caravan (15-17 May 2016), a three-day biennial curated industry showcase of the best new theatre from across England, which this year features eight performances open to the public.

Brighton & Hove City Council, Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove and Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival are delighted to announce that their joint vision to revitalise the Royal Pavilion Estate has been awarded nearly £5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The money will help to pay for a major refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre. The project forms the first phase of an ambitious regeneration of the Royal Pavilion Estate to create a world-class cultural destination for heritage, culture and the performing arts in the heart of the city.

The £4.99m HLF funding (which includes development phase support) comes on top of £5.8m pledged by Arts Council England, along with money from the city council, charitable trusts and individual patrons (see notes to editors). Together this now secures 66% of the funding required for the project.

Refurbishment and essential conservation work will secure the future of the Corn Exchange, a Grade I listed building, and the Grade ll listed Studio Theatre. Breathtaking and previously hidden heritage spaces will be restored for public viewing, and a new interpretation strategy and activity plan for the Estate will be developed to reveal inspirational stories, unfold layers of history, thought and knowledge and help more people learn, understand and care about the Estate and its history. Work is due to start in the autumn of this year.

Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council said: “We are delighted that the bid for Heritage Lottery funding for this important project has been successful. It marks a major step forward in our joint plans to transform these unique historic assets, to enable more local people and visitors from around the world to enjoy them, and secure the future of the entire estate, which includes the Royal Pavilion, for generations to come.”

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, said: “We are delighted that Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has confirmed its significant support for this major redevelopment project. This is tremendous news. It is a fantastic endorsement of our vision and – alongside major contributions from Arts Council England (ACE), other charitable trusts and individual donors – creates a really strong foundation with which to launch our public appeal in the coming months.”

Stuart McLeod, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East, said: “Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we’re delighted to support this first crucial step towards the regeneration of Brighton’s cultural heart and securing the future of two of the city’s historic listed buildings.”

Brighton Festival – alongside commissioning partners 14-18 NOW and Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove – has today announced a major new commission inspired by the untold story of the hundreds of thousands of men who travelled from India to fight for the Allies in the First World War.

Created by performance company Nutkhut and brought together by a creative team that includes designer Tom Piper (Tower of London poppies), the ambitious, large-scale, immersive outdoor experience Dr Blighty is the latest event revealed for the 50th edition of Brighton Festival in May 2016.

More than a million men travelled from India to fight for the Allies during the First World War, their collective experiences constituting one of military history’s great untold stories. Between 1914 and 1916, over 2000 Indian soldiers wounded on the Western Front would be brought to a temporary hospital housed in Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Estate.

This major new collaboration, Dr Blighty, recalls this episode in Brighton’s wartime history, bringing the experiences of the soldiers – and the locals who came to care for them – movingly back to life via an immersive walk-through installation across the Royal Pavilion Estate. Animated by actors and enhanced by immersive installations, enthralling video projections, ambient soundscapes and theatrical interludes, inspired by letters the soldiers sent back home, the event will seek to capture the essence of the hospital and those who recuperated here.

The hospital installation will be complemented by a series of related performances and participatory outreach activities, drawing parallels with contemporary events while bringing this moving episode in Brighton’s history back to life. For four nights, a spectacular after-dark production will incorporate video projections on the Royal Pavilion, evoking memories of a very distant home for the soldier convalescents. In addition, the Philharmonia Orchestra will perform in a special ticketed concert at Brighton Dome with some of India’s leading contemporary musicians, marrying Western and Eastern classical music traditions.

Ajay Chhabra, Artistic Director of Nutkhut says: ‘Thousands of letters were written from the Western Front back home to wives, mothers, daughters and sisters, and it’s the emotion within these letters that Dr Blighty is trying to bring into the public domain. They, alongside the propaganda and the censorship, give us an insight into the lives of these young men, and give these many anonymous soldiers a voice. The project will essentially tell a 100-year-old story, and make it a contemporary one for new audiences.‘

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival said: ‘This is an important story, both in the history of Brighton & Hove and in the wider context of the First World War – one which we think deserves to be better known. In Brighton Festival’s 50th year, it’s even more appropriate that we present this piece now and I am delighted to be working with our partners to bring it to fruition.’

Jenny Waldman, Director, 14-18 NOW, said: ‘We are thrilled to be working with Brighton Festival to present this ambitious project with an amazing group of artists brought together by Nutkhut, which will offer audiences an insight into the little-known and remarkable story underpinning the city’s involvement with the First World War.‘

Brighton Festival marks its milestone 50th year in 2016 with the pioneering artist and musician Laurie Anderson as its Guest Director. Established in 1967, Brighton Festival has become one of the city’s most enduring symbols of inventiveness and celebration over the past half century. Renowned for its pioneering spirit and experimental reputation, Brighton Festival’s inaugural programme controversially included the first ever exhibition of Concrete Poetry in the UK, alongside performances by Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins andYehudi Menuhin. Now one of Europe’s leading arts festivals, Brighton Festival is known for its ambitious and daring programme that aims to make the most of the city’s distinctive cultural atmosphere, drawing some of the most innovative artists and companies and adventurous audiences from the UK and around the world.

Full programme details of Brighton Festival 2016 will be announced on 17 February 2016.