Gwilym Simcock with Northern Chamber Orchestra

Celebrated composer-pianist and award-winning recording artists, Gwilym Simcock is joining one of the country’s most admired orchestras, the Northern Chamber Orchestra for one of the standout concerts in its 50th anniversary season. Gwilym is feted internationally for his ability to mesmerise audiences with exciting, effortless fusions of jazz and classical music. As a sublime pianist, his jaw-dropping technical brilliance and exceptional lyricism leave audiences knowing that they have enjoyed something extraordinary. Adding to his mega-watt reputation, he is also highly regarded as an imaginative composer. The concert programme features Gwilym’s own composition, Cumbrian Thaw for piano and strings, which combines jazz influenced harmonies and beautiful string writing to create a powerful, evocative work. This is the first time that the Northern Chamber Orchestra has worked with Gwilym Simcock and the dovetailing of classical and jazz traditions marks a new moment in the orchestra’s adventurous artistic programming.

Gwilym is an alumnus of Chetham’s School of Music and this concert will give him the opportunity to inspire and mentor young string players from this renowned centre of excellence. The young musicians are being given the unforgettable chance to rehearse with him and the Northern Chamber Orchestra players, before sharing the limelight and the stage for Gwilym’s arrangement of Debussy’s Children’s Corner. Debussy dedicated this piece to his young daughter and it’s a delightful example of the French composer’s skill at creating charming stories through music, for all ages to enjoy - here stunningly re-imagined with a jazz twist. The programme has plenty for jazz and classical fans and also features Tippett's Sellinger’s Round and Haydn's Symphony No 85 ‘La reine’.