Music in the Round goes to Penistone Paramount

Many of you will remember our Transformations music and film performance that premiered in Sheffield last May. It has since been watched by almost 2,000 people online and returns to South Yorkshire for its final performance in Penistone Paramount in Barnsley. Local student Tom Hobson tells us more about this unique building…

“Penistone is a small market town located on the outskirts of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Often noted for its strong links with agriculture, Penistone could easily be labelled a blast from the past. However, that is not to say there is nothing to do there. There are several nearby museums and attractions, one of which is the independent cinema, Penistone Paramount.

The building originally opened as a library back in 1913, and moved onto cinema in 1915. Over the last century, it has prided itself on staying independent. In order to keep up with an ever-changing climate, the venue has had to offer something a little different to traditional cinema; the Paramount offers a more traditional approach. It’s a building seeping with character and tradition and has an intimate and friendly feel. Aside from cinema, the venue hosts events such as musicals, which are performed by a range of societies.

Music in the Round, one of the UK’s leading promoters of chamber music, brings Transformations to Penistone Paramount on 4^th April as part of the national celebrations surrounding the centenary of the beloved British composer Benjamin Britten.

What makes the event unique is the fact that their resident group of internationally acclaimed musicians, Ensemble 360, will be playing music live to film – something they successfully pulled off before in Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema just last year. The Showroom was an original partner in the creation of the event itself but this time round the programme has one small change; the GPO film that will be screened as part of the programme in Penistone is called Coal Face. With music by Britten himself, the documentary looks at the work of the British miner and the significance to British industry.

The event comes to town on 4th April 2014. We hope to see you there.”

By Tom Hobson, @TomHobson5

@PenParamount #MusicAndFilm #Penistone #CoalFace #Britten100

E360 flautist is a Rising Star

From our guest blogger Juliette Bausor

I’ve hit the ground running at the start of 2014 with final preparations for my forthcoming recital tour as part of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) Rising Stars Series. Every year ECHO hand selects young artists to become its Rising Stars, offering unparalleled performance opportunities including a concert tour across some of Europe’s finest concert halls, including Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Bozar in Brussels, Town Hall Birmingham, Palace of Arts in Budapest, Vienna Musikverein, Stockholm Konserthaus, L’Auditori in Barcelona, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Sage Gateshead and the Barbican Centre in London. The first three of my concerts are in two weeks time, starting in Hamburg, then on to Amsterdam and Brussels.

I’ve chosen two programmes for the tour which illustrate the development of the flute as a solo instrument over a period of four hundred years, from J.S Bach to a brand new commission by my good friend and Ensemble 360 Associate Composer, Charlie Piper. His new work takes its inspiration from Kokopele, an ancient deity from Native American mythology, often depicted in petroglyphs (rock engravings) as a hump-backed flute player with a phallus. It is a fantastic piece and proving lots of fun to learn, with uneven rhythmic patterns passing between the flute and piano, and with a few technical challenges! Please do come along to hear it at one of my UK concerts, either on 2nd February at Birmingham Town Hall, 28^th March at Sage Gateshead or 11th April at the Barbican Hall in London – you can find more details on my website, www.juliettebausor.com!

Aside from all of that, the start of 2014 is as busy as ever with my schedule at Royal Northern Sinfonia and, of course, our Ensemble 360 concerts. We are all very excited about our first ensemble performance in Doncaster’s new performance space, CAST, on 8^th February with the World Premiere of Charlotte Bray’s Shadow Game, for soloists and orchestra. I’m also really looking forward to the forthcoming Music in the Round tour concerts and, as the finishing touches are being put to the programme, the build up to the May Festival!

Here’s to an exciting 2014!

By Juliette Bausor