Wednesday 22 May: Concert Programme - London Symphony ...

Gary Griffiths
Second Soldier (baritone)
Simon Halsey
Chorus Director
Welsh baritone Gary Griffiths studied at the
Guildhall School where he was the 2009
winner of the coveted Gold Medal Competition.
Gary is an Associate Artist with Welsh National
Opera where he debuted to critical acclaim in
2011 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. His roles
with the company have included Masetto in
Don Giovanni, Claudio in Béatrice et Bénédict,
and Schaunard in a new production of La
bohème. This season he returns to the role of
Guglielmo in a revival of Così fan tutte and
appears in concert with the orchestra of
Welsh National Opera conducted by Christoph
Poppen in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem.
His concert repertoire includes Mendelsson’s
Elijah; Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in
C minor; Haydn’s The Seasons, Nelson
Mass and Paukenmesse; Brahms’ German
Requiem; Duruflé’s Requiem; and Handel’s
Messiah. His recent concert appearances
include a gala performance at the National
Eisteddfod of Wales with the Welsh Chamber
Orchestra and the BBC Wales Chorus, and
a performance of Belshazzar’s Feast at
the Barbican with the Guildhall Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
A Samling Scholar, he studies with Robert Dean.
He is the recipient of the WNO Chris Ball
Bursary, the WNO Sir John Moores Award
and the Elizabeth Parry Family Bursary, and is
supported by the Joseph Strong Frazer Trust.
Winner of the Welsh Singers Competition
in 2012, he will represent Wales in the
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2013.
Simon Halsey is one of the world’s leading
conductors of choral repertoire, regularly
conducting prestigious orchestras and choirs
worldwide. Halsey holds the position of Chief
Conductor of the Berlin Radio Choir, he has
been Chorus Director of the CBSO Chorus for
over 25 years, and in 2012 was announced
Choral Director of the London Symphony
Orchestra and London Symphony Chorus.
Simon Halsey also holds the positions of
Artistic Director of the Berlin Philharmonic’s
Youth Choral Programme and Director of
the BBC Proms Youth Choir.
Projects in the 2012/13 season with the
London Symphony Orchestra and London
Symphony Chorus included Szymanowski’s
Stabat Mater and Brahms’ German Requiem
with Valery Gergiev. Highlights of Simon
Halsey’s work in Birmingham include
Symphony Hall’s 21st anniversary concerts in
June where he will be conducting the CBSO
and its Chorus in Elgar’s The Music Makers.
His work in Birmingham is complemented
by a new role as Professor and Director
of Choral Activities at the University of
Birmingham.
Halsey has worked on countless major
recording projects, many of which have won
major awards including several Gramophone
Awards and Preis der Deutschen
Schallplattenkritik. In February 2011 Halsey
received his third Grammy Award for Best
Choral Performance for the recording of
L’Amour de Loin by the Finnish composer
Kaija Saariaho, having previously won a
Grammy in both 2008 and 2009 for the Berlin
Radio Choir’s recordings of works by Brahms
and Stravinsky respectively.
In January 2011, Simon Halsey was presented
with the prestigious Bundesverdienstkreuz
Erste Klasse, Germany’s Order of Merit by
State Cultural Secretary André Schmitz in
Berlin, in recognition of outstanding services
to choral music in Germany.
The Artists
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