events

Gareth Brynmor John talks to Ian Partidge @ Putney Music
Sept
29

Gareth Brynmor John talks to Ian Partidge @ Putney Music

Putney Music was founded in 1950 by the critic and writer, Ralph Hill as a Gramophone Society, but has grown and developed over the years to become a much-admired forum where members and visitors can meet internationally renowned musicians in an informal setting.

We are a society of music lovers who meet fortnightly from September to April to hear some of the world’s most celebrated musicians talk, with recorded and sometimes visual illustrations, about their lives and work. Our meetings provide a rare opportunity to learn how great musicians approach their work, and to hear about the private person behind the public image. Our guest speakers come from all fields of music – the concert hall, recital platform, opera, ballet, television and film – and include producers, broadcasters, critics and writers in addition to performers. Their fields of expertise may vary, but what unites them is their status within their field.

29 September – Gareth Brynmor John
A favourite at British classical music festivals such as the Three Choirs, the baritone Gareth Brynmor John’s career has flourished since he won the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 2013 when the jury included his interviewer, PM’s Vice-President Ian Partridge.

https://putneymusic.org.uk/

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The Dream of Gerontius - Elysian Singers
Oct
4

The Dream of Gerontius - Elysian Singers

The Elysian Singers of London, under musical director Sam Laughton, is one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs. Known for our adventurous programming and imaginative repertoire, we give concerts in and around London, and have recorded a number of enthusiastically received CDs.

Victoria Simmonds (mezzo-soprano)
Thomas Elwin (tenor)
Gareth Brynmor John (bass)

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A Schubertiade
Oct
18

A Schubertiade

Schubert & Co. bring their trademark, celebratory Schubertiade back to this year’s Festival. As well as some of Schubert’s best-loved solo songs, they include ensembles that were written for sociable occasions that Schubert himself would have attended. These offer insights into the rich depth of Schubert, revealing both a lighter side that is less often heard, and some of the composer’s most deeply personal works.

Schubert & Co. are a flexible ensemble of eight renowned singers who gather around the piano to recreate an atmosphere of informal music-making that was so close to the heart of Schubert and many other composers. Their Festival concerts are always sell-out occasions, and tonight they give two performances of the same programme. The bar in the Levine Building will be open before and after, and you may well find yourself joined there by the musicians.

Schubert & Co., Harriet Burns, Katy Thomson, Katie Bray, Bethan Langford, Alessandro Fisher, Joshua Owen Mills, Gareth Brynmor John & Frederick Long

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A Schubertiade
Oct
18

A Schubertiade

Schubert & Co. bring their trademark, celebratory Schubertiade back to this year’s Festival. As well as some of Schubert’s best-loved solo songs, they include ensembles that were written for sociable occasions that Schubert himself would have attended. These offer insights into the rich depth of Schubert, revealing both a lighter side that is less often heard, and some of the composer’s most deeply personal works.

Schubert & Co. are a flexible ensemble of eight renowned singers who gather around the piano to recreate an atmosphere of informal music-making that was so close to the heart of Schubert and many other composers. Their Festival concerts are always sell-out occasions, and tonight they give two performances of the same programme. The bar in the Levine Building will be open before and after, and you may well find yourself joined there by the musicians.

Schubert & Co., Harriet Burns, Katy Thomson, Katie Bray, Bethan Langford, Alessandro Fisher, Joshua Owen Mills, Gareth Brynmor John & Frederick Long

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Sea Symphony - Guildford
Nov
1

Sea Symphony - Guildford

Guildford Choral
Jonathan Willcocks. Musical Director
Sophie Bevan, Soprano
Gareth Brynmor John, Baritone

Guildford Choral will present a sea-themed concert with three works: Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture,  evoking the rolling waves and rugged cliffs of the Scottish coastline; Stanford's Songs of the Fleet, a collection of five songs reflecting different aspects of naval life and the emotions of sailors at sea; and Vaughan Williams' iconic setting to music of Walt Whitman’s poem ‘Leaves of Grass’ - A Sea Symphony, which celebrates the vastness and drama of the ocean.

Joining Guildford Choral will be two exceptional artists: Sophie Bevan (Soprano) and Gareth Brynmor John (Baritone). Sophie has won multiple prestigious awards, and Gareth is an acclaimed Welsh baritone and winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award. 

Guildford Choral - 01/11/2025 7:30pm - Behold, the Sea!

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Temple Music - Out of the Shadows
Nov
4

Temple Music - Out of the Shadows

Alessandro Fisher (tenor)

Gareth Brynmor John (baritone)

William Vann (piano)

Navarra String Quartet

A stellar line-up of musicians come together to mark the 70th birthday of composer Ian Venables. At the heart of the programme are two powerful works for tenor, string quartet and piano. Vaughan Williams' On Wenlock Edge is a deeply evocative setting of poetry from A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad - with its themes of homesickness, lives cut short, and lost love, and its conjuring of Shropshire landscape. Ian Venables’ ethereal Portraits of a Mind, was commissioned by the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society in honour of that earlier composer’s 150th Anniversary in 2022 and premiered by the musicians who perform it tonight. Inspired by the musical language of Vaughan Williams and his artistic credo – ‘the object of art is to reach out to the ultimate realities through the medium of beauty’ – Venables references music from The House of Life to The Lark Ascending, in a highly atmospheric cycle.

The concert opens with the London premiere of Out of the Shadows, which was commissioned by Robert Venables KC in 2023 to celebrate Gary Morris and he having been together for 30 years. Works by Howells and Butterworth complete the lavish programme.

Venables: Out of the Shadows

Vaughan Williams (arr. Vann): Fantasia on Greensleeves

Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge

Interval

Vaughan Williams: Love Bade me Welcome

Butterworth: Love Blows as the Wind Blows

Venables: Portraits of a Mind

Howells: An Old Man’s Lullaby

Duration: 1 hr 45 minutes (including interval)

Sponsored by The Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation

Out of the Shadows

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WIMF 2025 - Faure Requiem
Nov
8

WIMF 2025 - Faure Requiem

The Academy Choir of Wimbledon
London Mozart Players

Sophie Bevan, soprano
Gareth Brynmor John, baritone

Taverner The Lamb
Svyati (‘O Holy One’)
–
Fauré Requiem (1893 version ed. Rutter)

 

Wimbledon’s beloved Academy Choir returns with Fauré’s serene and radiant Requiem, joined by the London Mozart Players. Also featured are two works by Sir John Tavener: The Lamb, a poignant setting of William Blake’s poetry, and Svyati, a spiritual choral piece for cello and choir in Church Slavonic drawing on Orthodox funeral rites. This marks the Choir’s first performance under their new Music Director, following a distinguished partnership with the late Matthew Best.

Retiring collection in aid of Medical Life Lines Ukraine

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90 Years of Arvo Pärt
Nov
11

90 Years of Arvo Pärt

90 Years of Arvo Pärt: Merton College Choir and Britten Sinfonia

Date: Tuesday 11 November 2025

Time: 19:30 - 21:00

Venue The Sheldonian Theatre

Arvo Pärt’s haunting Fratres (Brothers) opens this concert, music that somehow manages to be both still and unsettled at the same time. Similarly, his Berlin Mass takes the listener on a journey that encompasses both moments of quiet devotion and full-blooded declarations of faith. Pärt’s music is complemented by that of John Tavener, with his spine-tingling Song for Athene, a work made famous after featuring in the funeral service for Diana, Princess of Wales. Haydn’s starkly powerful ‘Mass for Troubled Times’ closes the evening.

Concert produced in partnership with Merton College.

Part of 90 Years of Arvo Pärt: A Reflection, staged with the collaboration of the Arvo Pärt Centre, Estonian Embassy in London and the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

90 Years of Arvo Pärt: Merton College Choir and Britten Sinfonia | Merton College - Oxford

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The Apostles -
Nov
15

The Apostles -

Elgar – The Apostles

The Chichester Singers with Southern Pro Musica

Jonathan Wilcocks – conductor

This is one of Elgar’s greatest large-scale works, but is relatively seldom performed because of the very substantial musical resources that it requires – six soloists, large chorus and full symphony orchestra.

Bibi Heal (soprano), Diana Moore (contralto), Oliver Johnston (tenor), Gareth Brynmor John (baritone-Jesus), Frederick Long (bass-baritone – Peter), Ossian Huskinson (bass – Judas)

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Mozart Requiem - Cheltenham Festival
Jul
6

Mozart Requiem - Cheltenham Festival

Hilary Cronin soprano

Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano

James Gilchrist tenor

Gareth John bass-baritone

Cheltenham Bach Choir

Musical and Amicable Society 

David Crown conductor

...............................................................................................

Ola Gjeilo Sunrise Mass

INTERVAL

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem in D minor, K.626 

https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/mozarts-requiem

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King Arthur - Pimlico Musical Foundation
Jun
25

King Arthur - Pimlico Musical Foundation

King Arthur 

Foundation Scholars
The Pimlico Chorus
Pimlico Children’s Choir and Children from Local Schools

Conductor, James Day

Programme

King Arthur, Henry Purcell 

Wednesday 25th July, 7 - 8PM

https://pimlicomusicalfoundation.org.uk/whats-on-list/king-arthur

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No Friend but the Mountains
Jun
19

No Friend but the Mountains

Luke Styles
No Friend but the Mountains

Joseph Young conductor
Gareth Brynmor John baritone
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Chorus

The concert will finish at approximately 8.30pm. There will be no interval.

https://www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/no-friend-but-the-mountains/

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ESO Gala Concert
May
31

ESO Gala Concert

English Symphony Orchestra

Elgar Festival Chorus

Kenneth Woods, conductor

Stephen Shellard, conductor (Ireland)

Gareth Brynmor John, baritone

John Ireland: ‘These Things Shall Be’ (baritone and chorus)

Ian Venables: ‘Out of the Shadows’ for Baritone and Orchestra (world premiere of orchestral version)

Interval

Elgar: Symphony No. 2

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Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla Williams • Bloch • Duruflé • Fauré
May
29

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla Williams • Bloch • Duruflé • Fauré

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Dirigentin
Mitglied des Maîtrise de Radio France, Sopran
Gareth Brynmor John, Bariton
Julia Hagen, Violoncello
Sarah Kim, Orgel

Programm

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Fantasie über ein Thema von Thomas Tallis

Ernest Bloch

Schelomo. Hebräische Rhapsodie für Violoncello und Orchester


– Zugabe –

Gabriel Fauré

Après un Rêve, op. 7/1; Bearbeitung für Violoncello und Harfe


– Pause –

Maurice Duruflé

Notre Père, op. 14

Orgelimprovisation über ein Thema von Jean-Pierre Leguay

Gabriel Fauré

Requiem für Sopran, Bariton, Chor und Orchester, op. 48

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Matthew Passion - Hereford Cathedral Choir
Apr
15

Matthew Passion - Hereford Cathedral Choir

Joining the Cathedral Choir are Marches Baroque, a renowned period-instrument orchestra, and a distinguished lineup of soloists who are specialists in the interpretation of Baroque sacred music. The cast includes:

Ruairi Bowen – Evangelist
Gareth Brynmoor John – Christus
Rebecca Hardwick – Soprano
Martha McLorinan – Mezzo-soprano
David de Winter – Tenor
Alex Ashworth – Bass

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Holy Week Oratorio - Chris Wood
Apr
12

Holy Week Oratorio - Chris Wood

Lotti’s Crucifixus in 8 Parts – A soul-stirring expression of devotion and depth.
​Allegri’s Miserere Mei – The hauntingly beautiful work that has echoed through centuries.
​Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei - a setting of his Adagio for Strings with spiritual depth and transcendent grace.
​John Tavener's Funeral Ikos - a beautiful and austere choral lament that has its origins in Russian chant.

Guildford Cathedral Choir
The London Sinfonia
The L'inviti Singers

Soloists
Tara Bungard - Soprano
Stephanie Dillon - Mezzo-Soprano
Thomas Elwin - Tenor
Gareth Brynmor John - Baritone

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Matthew Passion - Northampton Bach Choir
Mar
22

Matthew Passion - Northampton Bach Choir

Northampton Bach Choir
Orchestra Charivari Agréable
The Choristers of All Saints' Church, Northampton

St Matthew Passion (Bach) in English

Director of Music: Simon Toyne

Evangelist JAMES OXLEY
Christ GARETH BRYNMOR JOHN

Soprano HANNAH DIENES- WILLIAMS
Mezzo-soprano HELENA PAISH
Tenor JOSEPH HANCOCK
Bass ALLYN WU

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Faure Requiem - Dulwich Choral Society
Nov
30

Faure Requiem - Dulwich Choral Society

Gabriel Faure Requiem

Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel Overture in C
Johannes BrahmsSong of Destiny
Ludwig van Beethoven Choral Fantasy


Adam Heron,piano
Alessandro Minarik,treble
Gareth John, baritone
Dulwich Symphony Orchestra
Dulwich Choral Society

Conducted by Chris Stark and William Vann

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Elijah - Chichester Singers
Nov
16

Elijah - Chichester Singers

Mendelssohn – Elijah
As an undoubted masterpiece of the nineteenth century oratorio tradition, Elijah presents in truly dramatic fashion, the trials and tribulations of the biblical prophet. In the title role will be the internationally renowned baritone, Gareth Brynmor John and this great work, which has enjoyed enduring popularity since its first performance in Birmingham in 1846, is also a tour-de-force for the choir and orchestra.

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Dodgson | Cadilly
Oct
27

Dodgson | Cadilly

The Magnard Ensemble‘s programme is made up of music by four twentieth-century British composers, book-ended by two works by Stephen Dodgson (1924-2013). The combination of solo voice and wind instruments is a challenging one, but the rarely-heard works by Ruth Gipps and Vaughan Williams demonstrate that such a challenge can produce naturally distinctive music that enhances the chosen texts. Malcolm Arnold’s early Three Shanties are relatively well-known, inhabiting that attractive vein of optimism that characterises much of his work, but it is Dodgson’s music that will command the most interest for many listeners. His imposing Sonata for wind quintet opens proceedings in stately fashion, and the concert ends with an ‘entertainment’ (Dodgson’s word) for four solo voices and wind quintet – Cadilly – uniquely-scored music, humorous and enlivening by turns.

Dodgson | Sonata for wind quintet

Ruth Gipps | The Lady of the Lambs for soprano and wind quintet Op.79

Vaughan Williams | Ten Blake Songs for soprano and oboe

Arnold | Three Shanties for wind quintet Op.4

Dodgson | Cadilly

Suzie Clements • flute

Mana Shibata • oboe

William White • clarinet

Jonathan Farey • French horn

Catriona McDermid • bassoon

Natasha Page • soprano

Rebekah Jones • mezzo soprano

Gareth Brynmor John • baritone

Jonathan Brown • bass

James Day • conductor

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Vaughan Williams Society Annual Recital
Oct
12

Vaughan Williams Society Annual Recital

Cecil Sharp House, on Saturday, 12 October 2024.

Baritone Gareth Brynmor John will be accompanied by William Vann.

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Three songs of Robert Bridges

I. Since Thou, O Fondest and Truest

II. I Praise the Tender Flower

III. Say, O Say! Saith the Music

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

I will not let thee go (Robert Bridges)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

The Sky Above the Roof (Mabel Dearmer)

The New Ghost (from 4 Poems by Fredegond Shove)

Three Poems by Walt Whitman

I. Nocturne

II. A Clear Midnight

III. Joy, Shipmate, Joy!

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Darest Thou Now, O Soul (Walt Whitman)

Gustav Holst

Darest Thou Now, O Soul (Walt Whitman)

Charles Villiers Stanford

Songs of Faith, Set II (Walt Whitman)

I. To The Soul

II. Tears

III. Joy, Shipmate, Joy!

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Dream of Gerontius
Sept
28

Dream of Gerontius

Quire Voices
Spelthorne Choral Society
West Sussex Philharmonic Choir
Orpheus Sinfonia

Helen Charlston            Mezzo-Soprano
Ed Lyon                           Tenor
Gareth Brynmor John  Baritone
Luke Bond                      Organ
Sean Bui                         Conductor

Immerse yourself in a soul-stirring journey of faith, redemption, and transcendence, as Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius comes to life in the magnificent setting of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

https://tickets.windsorfestival.com/sales/autumn-festival-2024/elgar-the-dream-of-gerontius

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