Sinfonietta takes audiences on journey across centuries

Concert will feature works by renowned Baroque composers Tomkins, Purcell and Vivaldi as well as new commissions from students and academics
Peninsula Arts Sinfonietta

Audiences will be taken on a fantastical journey from the Baroque era to more contemporary visions of the future at a concert by the Peninsula Arts Sinfonietta.

The programme for Mindful Visions: Metamorphosis, Daydreams and Fantasies will feature pieces by composers Thomas Tomkins, Henry Purcell and Antonio Vivaldi, renowned by many in their day as innovators ahead of their time.

But they will be complemented by newly-commissioned works from composers based at the University of Plymouth, the result charting the development of classical music and changing visions of experimental composers almost four centuries apart.

The concert on Saturday 08 April is part of Peninsula Arts’ new Visions season, which aims to celebrate the visionary nature of artists and creative thinkers and how they provide new ways of understanding and seeing the world.

Based on that theme, the three new works that will feature are:

  • Tuna Fishing, by PhD student Núria Bonet Filella - drawing inspiration from Escher's work Metamorphosis II, the piece is an exploration of the mixture of a number of different ideas into an explosive but coherent piece of music;
  • Pebbles, Waves, Clouds, by University lecturer Sam Richards – reflects both the uniformity and uniqueness of everyday elements of nature, building on his work as composer and musician for the Open University project Listening to Coastal Change on the north North Norfolk coast;
  • Pensiveness, by Marcelo Gimenes, is a musical piece for piano and string ensemble upon daydreaming, fantasy and melancholy images. The music revolves around lonely voices struggling to find personal long lost connections to known, yet unfamiliar faces and places.
The Peninsula Arts Sinfonietta comprises players from across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset and have performed at a range of events this year, including Peninsula Arts’ own Contemporary Music Festival. It features up to 30 players, with this particular concert featuring 11 strings and three piano soloists, and its repertoire ranges from traditional classical works to more contemporary new pieces.

Simon Ible, Director of Music at Peninsula Arts and conductor of the Peninsula Arts Sinfonietta, said:

“For centuries, composers have consistently tried to push the boundaries of what is possible in music. Tomkins, Purcell and Vivaldi were regarded by many as pioneers and they created works the like of which audiences had never heard before. That is being replicated today through the use of technology in music, and this concert will give a fascinating insight into how innovation in music has changed over the past 300 years.”

The concert takes place on Saturday 08 April, from 7.30-9.30pm, in the Upper Lecture Theatre of the University’s Sherwell Centre. Tickets cost £10 (£7 concessions), discounts are available via the Artory App and they are free to University of Plymouth students.

Simon Ible, Creative Director and Conductor, Peninsula Arts Sinfonietta

Simon Ible, Creative Director and Conductor

Simon studied conducting in Germany with Klaus Donath and in London with Sir Colin Davis. Before joining Plymouth University, Simon spent 20 years conducting in Bath where he was Artistic Director and Resident Conductor of Bath City Orchestra directing concerts in Bath’s famous Pump Room, Guildhall and Assembly Rooms.

Simon has worked with many star performers including Dame Evelyn Glennie, Alison Balsom, Mark Padmore, Stephen Varcoe, Carlos Bonnell and
Sarah Walker CBE, and conducted numerous world premieres including music by Stevie Wishart, Karen Wimhurst, Ben Bartlett, James Barrett, Linas Baltas. His recordings include Nigel Shaw’s Dartmoor Symphony and Mind Pieces by Eduardo R Miranda.

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