Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910)
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge (1909)
Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Enigma Variations (1898-99)
Alpesh Chauhan, conductor
Andrew Staples, tenor
Alpesh Chauhan OBE is Principal Guest Conductor of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and Music Director of Birmingham Opera Company.
Born in Birmingham, Alpesh studied ‘cello with Eduardo Vassallo at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester before continuing at the RNCM to pursue the prestigious Master’s Conducting Course. Alpesh studied with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and was mentored by Andris Nelsons and Edward Gardner in his post as Assistant Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2016. Alpesh was named ‘Newcomer of the Year’ in the 2021 International Opera Awards and in 2022 he was delighted to receive the Conductor Award from the Italian National Association of Music Critics for ‘Miglior Direttore’.
Recent and forthcoming highlights include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle and Houston Symphonies, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Oslo Philharmonic, the Hallé, the Toronto, Atlanta, Melbourne and Antwerp Symphony Orchestras, Symphony Orchestra of India, the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, of whom he was Associate Conductor, Orchestre National de Lille, and Malmö Symphony Orchestra, touring iconic venues such as Berlin’s Philharmonie, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, and Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Alpesh enjoys collaborations with distinguished soloists such as Karen Cargill, Colin Currie, Stefan Dohr, Veronika Eberle, James Ehnes, Pablo Ferrández, Alban Gerhardt, Ilya Gringolts, Benjamin Grosvenor, Brenden Gunnell, Hilary Hahn, Sir Stephen Hough, Zakir Hussain, Pavel Kolesnikov, Johannes Moser, Beatrice Rana, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, and Frank Peter Zimmermann.
A keen advocate of music education for young people, Alpesh is a patron of Awards for Young Musicians, a UK charity supporting talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds on their musical journeys. He has also worked with ensembles such as the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the symphony orchestras of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Royal Northern College of Music. He was the conductor of the 2015 BBC Ten Pieces film which brought the world of classical music into secondary schools across the UK and received a distinguished BAFTA award.
Alpesh was honoured to receive an OBE in HRH The Queen’s New Year’s Honours in January 2022 for Services to the Arts.
Andrew Staples is considered one of the most versatile tenors of his generation, appearing regularly with Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Emmanuelle Haïm, Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House,Covent Garden with Fidelio (Jacquino), returning for Capriccio (Flamand), Die Zauberflöte (Tamino), Katya Kabanova (Tichon) andSalome (Narraboth). He has also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, the National Theatre Prague, La MonnaieBrussels, the SalzburgerF estspiele, Hamburg Staatsoper, Theater an der Wien, the Lucerne Festival and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
His recent and future performances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Britten’s Peter Grimes (Teatro La Fenice) and Turn of the Screw (Budapest Festival Orchestra), Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius (Royal ScottishNational Orchestra), Haydn: The Creation (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France), Janacek: Katya Kabanova (London Symphony Orchestra), Handel: Jephtha (Komische Oper Berlin) and Mozart: Idomeneo (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin).
Andrew Staples’ creative output includes concert and opera singing, directing opera andother stage works, music, filmmaking and photography. To these complementary disciplines, he brings a collaborative approach and a strong desire to tell better stories, that build connections between artists and audiences.
