Harrogate Choral Society will welcome back one of its former longstanding conductors for a farewell concert this month.

Andrew Padmore was musical director of the society since 2005 until his retirement last year. But he has agreed to return to the Royal Hall on March 19 for a final performance.

The concert, which has been in the works since 2020 when it was postponed due to covid, includes Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

Soloists include Sarah Power (soprano), Stephen Gadd (bass), Clare McCaldin (mezzo) and Austin Gunn (tenor). They will be accompanied by the choir and Manchester Camerata orchestra.

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The society is a mixed age, voice choir which has been running since the 19th Century.

Paul Jackson, co-chair of the choir, said;

“We are very pleased that Andrew is returning for this farewell concert, which includes, as Rossini himself rightly said, ‘music of the finest quality’. This will be an exciting evening.”

Tickets are £25 or £5 for concessions and can be bought from the box office at Harrogate Theatre.

Harrogate Philharmonic Orchestra will perform the first of a new series of concerts celebrating female composers this weekend.

The orchestra will give the UK premiere performance of the first symphony by Emilie Mayer – a mid-nineteenth century composer whose music, in her day, was renowned throughout her native Germany and beyond.

The concert, at St Mark’s Church on Leeds Road in Harrogate will also include Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, featuring cello soloist Dr George Kennaway.

Mendelssohn’s The Fair Melusina is also on the programme.

HPO, which was founded in 1981, focuses on smaller and lesser known orchestral works and puts on three concerts a year at St Mark’s.

HPO committee member Claire Golightly said:

“Our music by women composers were explored through some repertoire sessions during covid restrictions.

“We explored works by Emilie Mayer, Mel Bonis and Cecile Chaminade and a symphony by Alice Mary Smith.

“The Mayer will be played on Saturday and the others will feature in future programmes.”

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After her death in 1883, Mayer’s music faded into obscurity.

Ms Golightly described it as “bold and confident”, adding:

“If you like the music of Mendelssohn, Schumann and some of the other Romantic greats, you’ll love Mayer!”

Tickets cost £11 for adults and £5 for students with cards and are available in advance only here, Entry is free for under 16s and carers assisting wheelchair users.

One of Britain’s leading pianists will perform in Harrogate next month.

Stephen Hough first performed at the Wesley Centre in 2006 and will return for a ninth time for an evening recital on March 3.

As well as being regarded as one of the pre-eminent pianists of his generation, Mr Hough has published 40 works, including four piano sonatas, and written a book.

In a programme that he will subsequently be giving at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, and then in Tallinn and Miami, he will play works by four composers.

The recital will open with the 1938 bagatelles by the now-neglected British composer Alan Rawsthorne, followed by Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana.

After the interval Mr Hough will play his own partita before ending with a group of four Chopin favourites, ballade No 3, two nocturnes and the scherzo number 2.

Tickets cost £16 or £8 for people aged 16 and under and can be obtained in advance by emailing event organiser Andrew Hitchens at a.hitchen81@gmail.com.

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Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata will be played by candlelight at a recital in Harrogate in aid of charity.

British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith (pictured above) will perform the sonata at the Wesley Centre on December 9.

The event will also feature music by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninov and Gershwin.

The event is being held in aid of Artizan International, a charity that raises money for people with disabilities in the UK and the developing world.

Tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £5 for students. The concert will start at 7.30pm.

For more information, visit the Ticketsource website.

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Ripon will go from rock and pop to pomp and circumstance in its final free mass entertainment event of the summer next weekend.

Organised to coincide with the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the city will welcome fans of the more classical style of music to Market Square on Saturday, September 11.

The event, from 7pm until 11pm, features a tribute act singing songs made famous by Welsh mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins.

Also taking the stage in front of Ripon Town Hall during the evening will be the Dishforth Military Wives Choir.

Live music will be provided by an ensemble of 17 musicians and a fireworks display will provide the finale.

The free weekends of entertainment have been paid for from the Ripon parish precept, which is funded by council tax.

The previous ones brought tribute acts ranging from Queen to the ABBA Forever tribute group.

As well as providing free family entertainment, which has also included fairground rides for children, the intention has been to bring more people to the city centre and drive footfall to benefit local traders.

City council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:

“They’ve been enjoyable and trouble-free events that have put smiles on a lot of faces.

“You could see that people are delighted to be finally free of the restrictions that were necessary during the covid lockdowns.”

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More free events in Market Square are scheduled for autumn and winter.

During the October half term holiday there will be further family-focused activities, followed in November with the switch on of the city’s Christmas lights.

Bringing the curtain down on 2021 will be the famous New Year’s Eve entertainment — an alfresco party that normally sees hundreds of revellers rocking around Ripon’s obelisk.

Classical stars are set to perform at Harewood House this September when live music returns after a year of lockdowns.

The Picnic Proms will feature top names such as Alfie Boe, Sir Willard White, Aled Jones and The Three Tenors and Queen Symphonic.

A series of concerts will be held over three days from Friday, September 3, in the picturesque grounds of Harewood House, which is between Harrogate and Leeds.

A veteran of the London stage and Broadway, Alfie Boe will open the event before Aled Jones hosts the second night with special guests Sir Willard White, Sophie Evans, Peyee Chen and Tenors Unlimited.

The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, a professional orchestra specifically created to support freelance musicians from Yorkshire who have been hit hardest by the pandemic, will also join them on stage.

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Finally, The Queen Symphonic will close the proms playing a series of greatest hits from rock band Queen blended with symphonic arrangements.

Firework displays will also take place on the Saturday and Sunday nights.

Ben Crick, conductor for Vivo Entertainment and the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, said: 

“We’re sure event-goers can’t wait to enjoy live music once again and it’s our pleasure to present this spectacular series of outdoor events. Harewood House is the perfect setting for such prestigious artists and legendary musicians to showcase their talents. 

“We’re sure Picnic Proms will be a truly magnificent series of events for everyone involved, including our wonderful audiences.”

The event has been created and designed to ensure potential government restrictions, including social distancing and household bubbles, can be adhered to if required. 

Additional safety measures such as on-site hand sanitising stations and queuing systems will also be in place.

Tickets are priced at £35 and will go on sale from Friday at 9am at the Vivo Entertainment website.