Current Projects
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Past Projects
Me and My Girl with TWODS Musical Theatre
Musical Director: Ben Knowles
Director: David Fawcett
Choreographer: Elizabeth Witt
Venue: Assembly Halls Theatre, Tunbridge Wells
Tuesday 15th November 2022 @ 19:30
Wednesday 16th November 2022 @ 14:30
Wednesday 16th November 2022 @ 19:30
Thursday 17th November 2022 @ 19:30
Friday 18th November 2022 @ 19:30
Saturday 19th November 2022 @ 14:30
Saturday 19th November 2022 @ 19:30
The Wizard of Oz with TWODS Musical Theatre
Musical Director: Ben Knowles
Director: Lucy Moignard
Choreographer: Lucy Moignard & Megan Allaway
Venue: Assembly Halls Theatre, Tunbridge Wells
Shows postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Grease with LOS Musical Theatre
Musical Director: Ben Knowles
Director: Jacqui Freeman
Choreographer: Joanna Thomas
Venue: Lewes Town Hall, Lewes
Tuesday 1st October 2019 @ 19:30
Wednesday 2nd October 2019 @ 19:30
Thursday 3rd October 2019 @ 19:30
Friday 4th October 2019 @ 19:30
Saturday 5th October 2019 @ 14:30
Saturday 5th October 2019 @ 19:00
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Verdi’s La Traviata with New Sussex Opera
Musical Director: Ben Knowles
Director: Cate Couch
Violetta – Jana Holesworth
Alfredo – Oswaldo Iraheta
Flora – Deirdre McCabe (1st & 8th June: Annabelle Pepper)
Germont – Chris Childs Santos
Annina – Olivia Bell
Gaston – Kitty Needham
Marquis – Richard Pulham
Baron – Nicholas George
Doctor – Steve Hawksley
Giuseppe/Messenger/Servant – Kiera Smitheram
Saturday 1st June 2019 @19:00 – All Saints Centre, Lewes
Sunday 2nd June 2019 @ 16:00 – The Birley Centre, Eastbourne
Saturday 8th June 2019 @ 19:00 – Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead
Saturday 15th June @ 19:00 – St George’s, Brighton
Sunday 16th June @ 17:00 – All Saints Centre, Lewes
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My Fair Lady with LOS Musical Theatre
Musical Director: Ben Knowles
Director: David Foster
Choreographer: Collette Goodwin
Production Assistants: Nick Hazle and Amy Reynolds
Eliza Doolittle – Georgina Thorburn
Henry Higgins – Hayden Cheyne
Alfred P. Doolittle – Andy Freeman
Colonel Pickering – Ian Foster
Freddy Eynsford-Hill – Jack Allsobrook
Mrs Pearce – Libby Hannelle
Mrs Higgins – Sarah Hall
Venue: Lewes Town Hall, Lewes
Tuesday 2nd April 2019 @ 19:30
Wednesday 3rd April 2019 @ 19:30
Thursday 4th April 2019 @ 19:30
Friday 5th April 2019 @ 19:30
Saturday 6th April 2019 @ 14:30
Saturday 6th April 2019 @ 19:00
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Sunset Boulevard with Valley Park School
Venue: Valley Park School, Maidstone
Tuesday 12th February @ 19:30
Wednesday 13th February @ 19:30
Thursday 14th February @ 19:30
Friday 15th February @ 19:30
Saturday 16th February @ 19:30
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Charles Villiers Stanford’s The Travelling Companion with New Sussex Opera
Assistant Conductor to Toby Purser
New orchestration by Ben Knowles
Director – Paul Higgins
Designer – Isabella Van Braeckel
Lighting – Designer Tom Turner
Choreographer Roseanna Anderson
John – David Horton
The Travelling Companion – Julien Van Mellaerts
The Princess – Kate Valentine
The King – Pauls Putnins
Wizard – Ian Beadle
Herald – Felix Kemp
Two girls – Tamzin Barnett, Lucy Urquhart
Wednesday 21st November 2018 @ 19:00 – Lewes Town Hall, Lewes
Thursday 22nd November 2018 @ 19:00 – Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
Friday 30th November 2018 @ 19:00 – Cadogan Hall, Sloane Square, London
Sunday 2nd December 2018 @ 15:00 – Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden (This performance was recorded live by SOMM Records)
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Donizetti’s Elixir of Love with New Sussex Opera
Musical Director
Adina – Nicola Said (Cover: Deirdre McCabe)
Giannetta – Georgina Thorburn
Nemorino – Oliver Brignell
Belcore – Edwin Dizer
Dulcamara – Peter Edge
Saturday 26th May 2018 @ 19:00 – All Saints Centre, Lewes
Monday 28th May 2018 @ 19:00 – The Capitol Theatre, Horsham
Saturday 2nd June 2018 @ 19:00 – St George’s, Brighton
Sunday 3rd June 2018 @ 16:00 – Birley Centre, Eastbourne
Saturday 9th June 2018 @ 19:00 – Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead
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London Beethoven Cycle @ St. James Church, Paddington
Venue: St James’ Church, Sussex Gardens, London, W2 3UD
Conductor: Ben Knowles
Soloists: Harriet Mackenzie (Violin), Anthony Hewitt (Piano), Thomas Carroll (Cello)
Dates:
Concert 1: Saturday 22nd October 2016
Concert 2: Friday 11th November 2016
Concert 3: Friday 16th December 2016
Concert 4: Saturday 14th January 2017
Concert 5: Saturday 18th February 2017
Concert 6: Saturday 18th March 2017
Concert 7: Saturday 8th April 2017
Concert 8: Saturday 13th May 2017
Concert 9: Friday 30th June 2017
All Concerts starting at 19:30.
Over 9 months, featuring world-class soloists (Harriet Mackenzie, violin; Thomas Carroll, cello; Anthony Hewitt, piano) and the London Beethoven Orchestra, comprised of orchestral musicians from across the London Conservatoires and Universities, we will be putting on a series of concerts in which we will perform Beethoven’s complete concerti (including the lesser-played Piano Concerto after the violin concerto and the Choral Fantasy, along with favourites such as the Violin concerto, the 5 Piano Concertos and the great Triple Concerto) and all 9 symphonies plus Barry Cooper’s completion of the 10th Symphony. In addition to these works will be many of his overtures and the two Romances for Violin.
The Soloists
Harriet Mackenzie
“Searing Intensity… A performance full of panache…. captivating” – The Strad
Harriet Mackenzie is an internationally renowned concerto soloist and has performed across five continents. Her recordings include concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Nova and the English Symphony Orchestra and she has recorded on the NMC, Dutton, Discovery and Nimbus labels. These have received international acclaim, including ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone Magazine, cited for Harriet’s “superbly responsive playing … faultless technique and unfailing insight”. Live broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, Radio London and Hungarian National Radio. As well as performing all the standard repertoire, Harriet is an ambassador for contemporary music. She has performed many world premieres with music specifically written for her, including Robert Fokkens’ violin concerto (premiered Southbank Centre); Graham Coatman’s violin concerto (premiered Swaledale Festival) and Deborah Prichard’s ‘Wall of Water’ violin concerto (premiered LSO St Luke’s). She has performed as a soloist in prestigious halls such as the Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Budapest Marble Hall, Auditorio Nationale Madrid and Kyiv Hall of Marble Columns. A multi-faceted virtuoso, she is also fascinated by world music styles and composes and improvises in many different styles.
As well as her solo work, she is also a founder member of the innovative trio Kosmos Ensemble, violin duo Retorica, the Karolos Ensemble and also performs with pianists Christopher Glynn, Anna Tilbrook, Danny Driver and guitarist Morgan Szymanski.
Harriet graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with First Class honours, M.Mus and DipRAM. In 2015, she was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM). Also in 2015, she was awarded the Richard Carne Fellowship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music.
Future highlights include a five concerto solo disk with the ESO to be released on the Nimbus Label, her Spanish debut in the Auditorio Nationale performing Piazzolla’s Four Seasons, solo and chamber music performances in China, Channel Islands, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Spain, Germany, South Korea and Japan.
Twitter – @harrietviolin,
Facebook – facebook.com/harriet.mackenzie.9
Anthony Hewitt
“Command and Understanding” – The Guardian
“A remarkably gifted artist” – The Gramophone
Anthony Hewitt is regarded as one of Britain’s finest pianists, and since winning the prestigious William Kapell Competition in Washington D.C., has enjoyed a prolific career spanning two decades, including concerto appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra in the U.S.A. and in the U.K with the English Chamber and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras.
He has performed at most of the UK’s major concerts halls, including concerto appearances at Royal Festival Hall in London and Symphony Hall in Birmingham, frequent recitals at Wigmore Hall since his debut there in 1998, and has appeared as chamber musician at King’s Place and Cadogan Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
Anthony has recorded for Decca, Naxos, Champs Hill Records, and Divine Art Records for whom he added to the catalogue the first coupling of the Liszt and Reubke Piano Sonatas, a disc which was praised in International Record Review as “magisterial”, and received a Gramophone recommendation.
Anthony trained at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Simon Nicholls and Seta Tanyel, and was accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as a student of Leon Fleisher and Claude Frank at the age of 17.
He enjoys a diverse musical life as piano tutor at the Birmingham Conservatoire, as well as festival director; in 2003 Anthony founded the Ulverston International Music Festival in his hometown in Cumbria with the aim of bringing internationally renowned artists – including Nicola Benedetti, Steve Isserlis, Tasmin Little, Natalie Clein, Chloe Hanslip, and Alina Ibragimova to name a few – to a rural part of England. Part of his role includes work in the community with local school children in workshops, family concerts, and master classes. In 2014 he gave his conducting debut in a performance of Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony with the Northern Chamber Orchestra.
His most unusual ‘feat’ however was in 2012 when he gained the admiration of the music world and beyond by cycling 1200 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats and giving a concert every night, raising over £13,000 for charity.
www.anthonyhewitt.co.uk
Twitter: @olympianist
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Chequer Mead Productions Presents: Les Miserables School Edition
Director: Angela Scullin; Producer: Pete Jenkins;
Musical Director: Ben Knowles
Dates: 28th-30th July 2016 (2 performances on 30th July)
A musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg
School edition special adaptation licensed by Josef Weinberger Limited on behalf of Music Theatre International and Cameron Mackintosh (Overseas) Limited
This epic story recounts the struggle against adversity in 19th century France. Imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, petty thief Jean Valjean is released from his 19-year term and not only becomes and honest man, but the mayor of a prosperous town and a loving adoptive father – violating his parole in the process. The relentless Inspector Javert, who makes a decent life for Valjean impossible, consequently pursues him. Only years later, after Valjean proves his mettle during a bloody student uprising and saves the life of a young man hopelessly in love with Valjean’s adopted daughter, does the ex-convict finally feel fully redeemed.
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Magicians of the Orchestra: The Art of Conducting – Strauss’s Voice
International Concert Series
2.00pm – 5.00pm in The Barbirolli Room.
A beginner’s guide to the ‘Art of Conducting’ is led by American conductor and music-blogger, Kenneth Woods. The session offers a chance to view video samples of the great conductors of the past (including Richard Strauss), a masterclass with a young conductor and the opportunity for some members of the audience to have a go at conducting for themselves.
The session concludes with a performance of Strauss’s lyrical Serenade for wind instruments.
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