Surrey Mozart Players

Adults: £21
21 & under: £5

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• Via orchestra members

• 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. 

Nicolas Ventura - Piano

www.venturanicolas.com

With regular appearances in prestigious venues such as Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall, the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, Palau de la Música Catalana, Fazioli Concert Hall, and Teatro La Fenice, Nicolas Ventura has been praised for his “technical mastery and authority” and “limitless palette of colours”.

Following his London debut at Cadogan Hall described “monumental”, he is sought after by numerous festivals, including the Patmos Music Festival, Giortes Rokka, the Bartolomeo Cristofori Piano Festival, the Oxford Piano Festival, and the Mid-day Manchester Concert Society, and has performed

alongside leading artists and ensembles including members of the New York Philharmonic, Michael Gutmann, the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, the Danube Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau.

A Delphian Records recording artist, Nicolas will release his debut album Origins in February 2027, devoted to Prokofiev and Bloch. A prize-winner of the Concours International d'Île-de-France, he is also the recipient of the Oleg Prokofiev Trust Award for his work on the composer’s music.

Born in Tuscany, Nicolas trained at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Tatiana Sarkissova and Dina Parakhina. He currently specialises at the Lake Como International Piano Academy with William Grant Naboré.

Passionate about education, he has been invited to teach and hold masterclasses across the UK, Italy, and Greece.

© Nicolas Ventura

Fauré - Pelléas et Mélisande Suite

Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 3
(Soloist - Nicolas Ventura)

Debussy - Two Etampes
La Soirée dans Grenade (Orch. Busser)
Pagodes (Orch. Caplet)

Bizet - Selection from Carmen Suites

Venue Location

The concert takes place at Holy Trinity Church in the centre of Guildford.

Holy Trinity Church
High Street
Guildford
GR1 3RR

By Road

Guildford is reached via the A3 (London or Portsmouth directions).  

By Train

The church is approximately 10 minutes walk from Guildford Mainline Station which is served by regular trains to/from London Waterloo and Victoria, Portsmouth, Reading, Gatwick Airport, Haslemere and Ascot.

Parking

The nearest car park is:

Castle Car Park
Sydenham Road
GU1 3RW 

Accessibility

A ramp is available at one of the entrances to the church.  Please contact us on surreymozartplayers@gmail.com if you have any specific requirements.

Refreshments

Drinks will be available before the concert and during the interval.

• The concert starts at 7.30pm. 

• There will be an interval of around 20 minutes.  

• The concert is expected to finish around 9.30pm.