Musicians from the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music in China are to join with the University of Nottingham’s Philharmonia and Choir for a week-long programme of events, which will culminate in a special gala public concert, to mark the end of their first ever UK tour.

Performing at Nottingham’s Albert Hall from 7.30pm, Saturday 24 November, the combined large-scale ensemble of choral and orchestral musicians will play a concert including:

• Li Huanzhi’s Spring Festival Overture, often performed at Chinese New Year festivities;
• Rachmaninov’s The Bells, a choral symphony based on a Russian poem adapted from Edgar Alan Poe’s famous poem of the same name, marking the passage of life; and
• The complete suite from Holst’s awe-inspiring, tour-de-force The Planets. Gustav Holst’s seven-orchestral movement represents all the known planets of the solar system seen from Earth at the time, and the astrological character of each planet.

The large-scale combined ensemble of orchestral musicians will perform the powerful and haunting finale, bringing together Holst’s imaginative use of a large orchestra.

Providing an additional dimension to the concert, a video show using astrological images and lighting is to be projected above the stage during the performance of The Planets. Created by digital artist Barret Hodgson of Vent Media — who has worked with Lakeside on a number of creative projects including the light projections onto Trent Building for Chinese New Year — the light show is sure to add an ‘other worldly’ dimension to the majestic closing performance.

Read the full press release on the UoN news webpage.