25th January 2012

BRIDPORT | ILMINSTER: Singing superstars launch Concerts in the West 2012 season

TWO young rising opera stars will be joining forces for the February launch (Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th) of Concert in the West's 2012 series of classical concerts in Somerset, Dorset and Devon.

Silver voiced tenor Nathan Vale and flame-haired Irish soprano Sarah Power promise performances of passion, power and beauty as they wow audiences with a spine tingling selection from Handel, Schumann, R Strauss, Tosti, Donizetti, Verdi, Gounod and Bernstein. Accompanying them will be the stunning Spanish born pianist Anna Cardona, an award winning soloist in her own right.

Concerts in the West founder and Director Catherine Hodgson said: "I am confident that this trio of talents will blow away our audiences in Bridport, Ilminster and Hatherleigh. Nathan, Sarah and Anna are already outstanding performers and I am so excited to have them as the opening act for our 2012 series."

As winner of the 2006 London Handel Singing Competition, Nathan Vale lives up to his reputation as "a fast rising star of the baroque world". His singing has been described as having: "wonderful clarity of tone and graceful phrasing." Critics have commented: "his elegant stylish tenor is a delight to listen to" and have hailed him as "an important new tenor who can cope with the demands of the most florid baroque writing".

Radiant is an adjective frequently applied to Sarah Power, who was a finalist in the 2010 London Handel Singing Competition and winner of the LBS Bach Singers Prize. She was also awarded second prize in the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Singing Competition at the Wigmore Hall. Sarah's voice have been hailed as: "breathtakingly beautiful" and "her flowing, unforced singing gave much pleasure".

Anna Cardona is the 2010 winner of the MBF accompanist's prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Competition and a prizewinner at the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform 2011. Recent performances have included venues such as the Barbican Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Crush Room in the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Palau de la Musica in Barcelona.

Catherine Hodgson allows her musicians a reasonably free hand in their choice of repertoire, with some guidance from herself. But it is her intention not only to entertain, but also to interest and inform her audiences. So less familiar pieces are included in the programme as well as universal favourites.

Audiences at the February concerts will certainly not be disappointed with the sparkling content, which varies according to the venue. At Bridport Arts Centre the coffee concert will feature Handel, Richard Strauss, Tosti, Schumann, Donizetti and Verdi. While Ilminster Arts Centre and Devon's Lower Pulworthy's evening performances offer a packed programme of Handel, Schumann, R Strauss, Tosti, Donizetti, Verdi, Gounod and Bernstein.

The Bridport Coffee Concert takes place at 11am at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday, February 3rd. Tickets cost £8 and are available from the box office on 01308 424204 or online at www.bridport-arts.com

The concert at Ilminster Arts Centre takes place on Friday, February 3rd at 8pm (a pre-show supper is available from 7pm), and tickets cost £12 - call the box office on 01460 54973 to book. The concert at Lower Pulworthy, Hatherleigh (EX21 5LQ - 01837 810940) takes place on Saturday, February 4th and tickets cost £12.

For more details on Concerts in the West visit www.concertsinthewest.org or call director Catherine Hodgson on 01460 53500

PICTURE (l-r): Nathan Vale, Anna Cardona & Sarah Power