Surrey Mozart Players

Adults: £21
21 & under: £5

• Menuhin Hall Online

• By Phone - call the Box Office on 01932 559 400 (10am-3pm weekdays, lunch 12.15- 12.45pm)

• On the door - until sold out

Philip Ellis
www.philipellisconductor.com

This concert will be conducted by Philip Ellis who was appointed as Music Director of the Surrey Mozart Players in March 2023.  

Since winning first prize in the Leeds Conductors’ Competition in 1991, Philip Ellis has worked extensively throughout the UK conducting many concerts with the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, London Mozart Players, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, City of London Sinfonia, Northern Sinfonia and over 400 concerts with English Sinfonia.  He is a passionate supporter of Music Education and has worked extensively with amateur orchestras, youth and community groups throughout his career. 

He made his international debut conducting the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 1987, leading to engagements with Hong Kong Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, Flanders Symphony, St Petersburg Philharmonic, St Petersburg Symphony, National Orchestra of Mexico, Western Australian Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Würtembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Neue Philharmonie Westfallen and many broadcast concerts with the BRTN Philharmonic (Brussels) for radio and television.

Philip Ellis works extensively as a conductor for dance.  As conductor for Birmingham Royal Ballet 1989-2025, he conducted the majority of their productions.  He regularly guest conducts for international ballet companies: The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, La Scala Ballet in Milan, Paris Opera Ballet at the Opera Garnier, The Australian Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Mikhailovsky Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Hong Kong Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Rome Opera Ballet, Korean National Ballet and Gothenburg Ballet.

On CD, he has recorded Prokofiev Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals with the Philharmonia. Copland Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, El Salon Mexico and a series of Concert Classics discs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Contemporary Clarinet Concertos for Nimbus with Emma Johnson and Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with Dimitri Ferschtman, recorded live in concert from the Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam.   

In his free time he is a keen artist, particularly interested in portraiture, working in a wide range media. A selection of his work can be seen on his website www.philipellisconductor.com and on instagram @philellisart. 

Alexei Watkins - French Horn

https://www.alexeiwatkins.com/

London-based French Horn player Alexei Watkins graduated from the Royal Academy of Music

with a Master of Arts Degree (DisBncBon) in 2018, having been awarded the Dennis Brain Prize.

As a soloist, Alexei has performed recitals extensively across the UK at venues including: St John’s

Smith Square, the Lichfield Festival, the Buxton International Festival, Blackheath Halls, the

Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival, Southwark Cathedral and Hampton Court

Palace. Other recent solo engagements include the Gipps Horn Concerto at Cadogan Hall, Mozart’s

3rd and 4th Horn Concertos, Arnold’s 2nd Horn Concerto and the Gregson Horn Concerto. In 2019

Alexei won the University of London Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and returned to

perform Strauss’ 1st Horn Concerto with the orchestra in 2022. In Summer 2023 Alexei recorded

several pieces for Horn and Strings as soloist with the Chamber Ensemble of London and was an

artist-in-residence at Presteigne Festival, performing the Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and

Strings and the Brahms Horn Trio amongst others.

Alexei is a keen orchestral player and is Principal Horn of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra. He

has also played Principal Horn with the Hallé, English National Opera, Britten Sinfonia, English

National Ballet Philharmonic and Glyndebourne Sinfonia. He is currently on trial for Principal Horn

with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. He

regularly plays with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra,

London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and English

Chamber Orchestra. Alexei’s playing can be heard on various film and television soundtracks

including the recent James Bond film, “No Time To Die”.

Alexei particularly enjoys playing chamber music and has performed with the Nash Ensemble and

London Winds at the Wigmore Hall and the Bath Mozartfest amongst others. He has collaborated,

playing chamber music with pianists such as Joanna MacGregor, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Paul

Lewis, Ivana Gavrić, Harry Rylance and with Tenors such as Nicky Spence, Mark Wilde, James Way,

George Curnow and Hiroshi Amako. In 2023 he recorded Paul Reade’s Serenata for Wind Sextet

with London Winds for Signum Classics. Whilst at the Academy, Alexei recorded Mozart’s Gran

Partita with the Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble and Strauss’ Wind Serenades with

Aldeburgh Winds, both for Linn Records.

Alexei last performed with the Surrey Mozart Players on 28th September 2019 playing Mozart's Horn Horn Concerto No. 3 in Eb.

Haydn - Symphony No. 49 La Passione
Richard Strauss - Horn Concerto No. 1
Paul Vowles - Rise and Redemption - the story of Apollo
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition

We are delighted to welcome back soloist Alexei Watkins to perform Richard Strauss’s first Horn Concerto — a perfect showcase for his talents and indeed for the instrument itself, exploring every aspect of the French horn from heroic virtuosity and power to heart-felt introspection. The composer’s horn playing father could not have wished for a greater gift from his son. 

We then present the world premiere of Paul Vowles’ Rise and Redemption in the new version for chamber orchestra. Commissioned by Surrey Mozart Players, this magical contemporary evocation of classical mythology enjoyed a hugely successful premiere in its original Trio form last year. 

We are used to hearing Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in Ravel’s massive scoring for vast orchestra, but Christian Lindberg’s brilliant new chamber orchestration proves that all the wonderful variety and characterisation of Mussorgsky’s vision can shine through with more modest forces. 

Haydn’s stormy, dramatic early symphonic masterpiece completes this unmissable programme.

Venue Location

The concert takes place at 

The Menuhin Hall
Cobham Road
Stoke D'Abernon
Surrey
KT11 3QQ 

Getting There

Full directions by train or road can be found on the Menuhin Hall website.

Parking

Parking is available in the grounds of the Hall.  Please arrive in good time.  

Accessibility

Details can be found here.

Refreshments

Drinks will be available before the concert and during the interval from the foyer bar.

• The concert starts at 7.30pm. 

• There will be an interval of around 20 minutes.  

• The concert is expected to finish around 9.30pm.