On the road again

Cardiff University Symphony Orchestra has headed out on the road for its second European tour.

The Symphony Orchestra, along with conductor Mark Eager, will be performing in Heidelberg, Wiesbaden, Baden-Baden and Leuven during the 10-day tour.

Supported by the University’s Global Opportunity Centre, the tour aims to support outward student mobility through helping facilitate overseas opportunities.

Repertoire for the tour will include Finlandia (Sibelius), If Bach had been a beekeeper (Arvo Pärt), and Seagull Nebula (Michael Csanyi-Willis). The Orchestra will also be joined by Professor Ken Hamilton, acclaimed pianist and Head of the School of Music, for performances of Liszt’s Totentanz.

Professor Hamilton said: “These tours are excellent opportunities for us to showcase our student talent abroad, while also allowing our student musicians to experience different cultures and perform for new audiences.

“We’re looking forward to building on last year’s tour which was extremely successful and received wonderful feedback from audiences. I remember one audience member I spoke to at last year’s performance in Baden-Baden said he had almost been moved to tears during the concert; another mentioned that it was his 50^th wedding anniversary and that the concert had been the best possible present he and his wife could have asked for.”

It isn’t just the Symphony Orchestra travelling abroad this year. The Cardiff University Chamber Choir will be heading to Hamburg later this month for a short tour with conductor John Hugh Thomas.

Last year's tour was documented by Tour Blogger Bronwen Maggs, a then final-year undergraduate at the School of Music and you can read all of Brownwen's posts on the Symphony Orchestra website. And remember to keep an eye on the website for all the latest news from the current tour!