Surrey Mozart Players

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, community and youth groups throughout his career.  He is very much looking forward to a long and exciting collaboration with Surrey Mozart Players as their new Music Director, working together with this wonderful orchestra on the next stage of their already distinguished musical journey.

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 since 1989, he has conducted the majority of their productions.  He also 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, 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 of media. A selection of his work can be seen on his website www.philipellisconductor.com and on instagram @philellisart. 

Sarah Williamson

sarah-williamson.co.uk

Sarah Williamson is renowned as a virtuoso clarinettist whose talent has been recognised by concert-goers and critics alike. BBC Music Magazine wrote: ‘A tenacious player like Williamson doesn’t need gimmicks – her sonorous timbre and natural musicality speak for themselves.’ The Independent hailed her as a ‘superb player’; and The Telegraph praised Sarah’s ‘blend of languor and exuberance.’

The International Stage

As a soloist, Sarah has performed at many of the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, The Wigmore Hall, The South Bank Centre, The Berlin Concerthaus, The Tonhalle Zurich, The Theatre des Champs- Elysèes Paris, The Suntory Hall and NHK Hall, Japan.

World-Class Collaborators

Sarah has performed and toured extensively with The Academy of St Martins in the Fields, The City of London Sinfonia, the BBC Concert orchestra, the LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra (broadcast live), The European Union Chamber Orchestra, The Brighton Philharmonic, The Royal Philharmonic (Classic FM live broadcast) and the Orchestra of the Swan.
Sarah achieved international fame following her success in the BBC Young Musician Competition 2002, first as Woodwind Division winner, then as Concerto Finalist when Sarah gave a highly individual performance of the piece with which she is most frequently associated, the Copland Clarinet Concerto, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Sarah went on to win second prize in the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Berlin, again playing the Copland Concerto, this time with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowsky.

Sarah continued her studies at Le Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Dance de Paris, graduating with the Premier Prix and where she was awarded a ‘Laureate’, the Conservatoire’s highest honour in recognition of her reflecting her ability and musicality.

Sarah’s budding talent was previously recognised by the award of the Shell LSO Gerald McDonald Award and the Arthur Frederick Bulgin Medal by The Worshipful Company of Musicians. As a performer, Sarah was the winner of the Tillett Trust and Kirkman Concert Society Awards.

Contemporary Repertoire

Sarah is recognised as a leading interpreter of the Copland Concerto, a recording of which on the Somm label was recently played on ‘Building a Library’ on BBC Radio 3. Sarah is also active in the field of contemporary music: she has championed the music of Edward Longstaff who has written a 'Prelude' and ‘Nocturne’ specially for Sarah, both of which were premiered on BBC Radio 3, in addition to a clarinet concerto. She has also worked with Philip Grange and recorded his clarinet concerto. Sarah commissioned a new piece by Joseph Phibbs, ‘Arc de Soleil,’ which was premiered at the Wigmore Hall, and is currently championing the works of Graham Fitkin and the Beniamin Baczewski Clarinet Concerto.  

 © sarah-williamson.co.uk

The Surrey Mozart Players are delighted to present a concert of sweeping orchestral music for their Spring Concert.

Cecilia McDowall’s ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’ written in 2006 was inspired by Turner’s painting of the same name and is an atmospheric and symphonic journey along the Great Western Railway.  In her own words, from her website (www.ceciliamcdowall.co.uk), Cecilia explains: “…. rather than follow a programmatic development of the title I have tried to convey a feeling of wide open spaces and pastoral repose in the opening section.  Even the hare (a pair of clarinets) makes a playful appearance.  In Turner’s painting the “iron horse” emerges from the distance, pressing powerfully forwards and so, from out of the calm, a clear rhythmic motif, pianissimo at first, rattles to a full orchestral crescendo, then gradually disappears from view.” 

Mozart’s joyful Clarinet Concerto needs no introduction and will be performed by internationally renowned, virtuoso clarinettist, Sarah Williamson (BBC Young Musician Finalist in 2002).  

Beethoven’s glorious and ground-breaking ‘Eroica’ Symphony completes the 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.

Accessibility

Details can be found here.

Refreshments

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