Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Candlelight
Mozart – Salzburg Symphony No 1
Mozart – Serenata Notturna
Pachelbel – Canon
Faure – Pavane
Vivaldi – ‘Summer’ from Four Seasons
Purcell – ‘Fairy Queen’ Suite
Handel – Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Handel – ‘Overture and Dances’ from Theodora
Belmont Ensemble of London
Peter G Dyson Conductor
The Belmont Ensemble of London was founded by its Musical Director, Peter Dyson in 1991, winning instant critical acclaim. It is now one of the busiest and finest chamber orchestras in the capital.
The Belmont Ensemble was the pioneering force in establishing the famous series of baroque concerts at St.Martin-in-the-Fields in the early 1990s and in 2012 the orchestra celebrates its 21st Birthday.
They have now given over 500 concerts at the famous Trafalgar Square Church where they are firmly established as the most popular of the principal orchestras, attracting large international audiences to their fortnightly concerts.
The Orchestra was originally established to enable exceptional music graduates the opportunity to bridge the gap between leaving conservatoire and finding full-time employment, within a professional environment. Now a seasoned fixture on the London musical scene, the orchestra receives no subsidies or sponsorship, relying purely on enterprising programming and box office receipts.
In 1996 the Ensemble made their acclaimed debut at the Purcell Room, and in 1998 made their sold-out debut at Queen Elizabeth Hall; until 2007 they were regular performers at London’s Southbank Centre. The Orchestra has recently appeared at The Banqueting House in Whitehall, St Clement Dane’s Church, St Paul’s Church Covent Garden, The Blackheath Halls and they have established an ongoing concert series at St James’s Church, Piccadilly.
As well as performing in the capital, the Ensemble has appeared at numerous Festivals and Music Societies around the country, from Somerset to Sussex and Ludlow to Northampton.
Belmont has close links with Classic FM, which has included giving the stations first ever Christmas Day Concert, since then Classic FM has broadcast many Belmont Ensemble concerts live from St Martin-in-the-Fields. In 1994 The Orchestra recorded Walton’s Façade, and other works incorporating the poetry of John Betjeman and Roald Dahl, narrated by Benjamin Luxon CBE. This received critical acclaim in the USA “The orchestras’ playing is light, playful and precise”. Belmont Recordings was quickly established, releasing more CDs including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Mozart’s two Sinfonia Concertante. The Ensemble also appeared in a Channel 4 TV documentary, as well as the recent Channel Five TV series about St Martin-in-the-Fields.
The Belmont Ensemble is a highly flexible group with a dedicated core of string players for baroque music; it can adapt to encompass forces for large romantic concertos and choral works, to contemporary commissions.
All across the country’s musical spectrum, former Belmont Ensemble players can be found: Past Leaders now play with the LSO, and Royal Opera House, and former continuo players are now working with ENO and the BBC Symphony, Philharmonic, and Concert Orchestras.
Current members of the Ensemble also play with leading British orchestras including The Philharmonia, LPO, LSO and RPO, CBSO, Britten Sinfonia, Hanover Band, English Concert and OAE. Soloists with the orchestra have included former winners of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competitions and many outstanding international artists.
