Read about what David Curtis is upto this October – November 2008

A busy opening to the 2008-9 season for David Curtis with performances with several orchestras in the UK and a visit to the USA in November.

His work as Principal Conductor with Orchestra of the Swan saw David conducting the opening concerts of their season in their residencies in Town Hall Birmingham and in their home in Stratford-upon-Avon. For the Birmingham concert David was joined on the platform by Jennifer Pike – violin, for a wonderful performance of Mozart’s G major concerto (Her collaboration with Curtis and OOTS was one of genuine empathy and freshness, in music-making of an impressively high order...Birmingham Post).

October also saw David conducting Elgar’s masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius in The Great Hall, Exeter University, with the combined forces of Orchestra of the Swan, The North Devon Sinfonia and the Two Moors Festival Chorus for the final concert of the highly successful 2008 Two Moors Festival. Continuing the choral theme David also conducted Britten’s War Requiem with the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a special concert to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armistice. This very moving performance took place in Tewkesbury Abbey on Saturday 8th November.

A frequent visitor to the USA November also sees David in New York State as a guest of the University of Syracuse. During his stay he will work with the university orchestra, conducting and composition classes. David is highly regarded as a champion of new music and has worked with many leading composers as performer and conductor, commissioning and premièring at least 50 new works in the last five years, and he will be drawing on his very wide ranging experience in his classes.

In November David continued his commissioning programme with another world premiere from the young British composer Philip Herbert, inspired by Neville Chamberlain’s infamous ‘Peace in our Time’ speech, Herbert’s ‘Dream of Peace in our Time’ was premiered in another concert commemorating the 1918 Armistice on November 11, in Stratford-upon-Avon.

…the charismatic David Curtis succeeded magnificently… a full-blooded, spell-binding performance… Gloucester Echo