Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra Winter Season

Conductor: Nicholas Cleobury
Soloists: Pretty Yende (sporano)

Programme:Péter Louis van Dijk “San Gloria”
Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne
Dvorák: Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

NICHOLAS CLEOBURY is one of Britain’s most experienced and respected conductors. An orchestra and operatic interpreter of flair and imagination, he is also an expert choral conductor, has a passionate commitment to contemporary music and is a brilliant communicator as teacher and lecturer.

He has conducted all the major UK orchestras and widely in Europe, Scandinavia, Singapore, South Africa and beyond. He works regularly for the BBC and Classicfm, has appeared at most British Music Festivals, often at the Proms and made many recordings.

He has conducted opera companies from ENO, Glyndebourne and Opera North to Canadian Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, the Royal Opera Stockholm and extensively for Zurich Opera. He has been Principal Opera Conductor at the Royal Academy of Music and Music Director of Broomhill Opera.

Nicholas Cleobury brings special expertise to choral work, having been Assistant Director at the BBC Singers. He has worked with choirs all over the world, from the Swedish and Danish Radio Choirs, the Berkshire Choral Festival (UK and USA) and numerous major choirs in the UK, including the Royal and Huddersfield Choral Societies.

He has a particular gift and flair for working with young people and students, as conductor, lecturer and teacher, working at most of the UK music colleges, with the Southbank Sinfonia and British Youth Opera.

Nicholas Cleobury is an Honorary RAM and Fellow of Christ Church University Canterbury.

Pretty Yende recently made her debut to great acclaim at La Scala, Milan, where she is part of the young artists programme. In July 2007 she was the first South African to win the prestigious Hans Gabor Belverdere.In September 2009, she also triumphed at one of the largest competitions for singers, the Montserrat Caballe International Singing Competition in Barcelona, Spain. In 2010 she shared first prize in the Savonnlina International Singing Competition (Finland) in front of a distinguished panel of judges which included artistic management from Covent Garden and the Metropolitan.