A Classical Celebration
International stars from the world of classical music will be joining the University’s 125th anniversary celebrations with a gala concert at the Wales Millennium Centre.
Renowned Welsh tenor Dennis O’Neill CBE will be joined by Grammy Award winning soprano Rebecca Evans, as well as many other international singers and musicians on Sunday October 19, performing some of the world’s best-loved operatic songs and classical music.
Compered by BBC presenter Huw Edwards, the evening will feature a specially-created fanfare tribute to the University, written by leading international composer Karl Jenkins. The Chamber Choir of Cardiff University’s own highly-regarded School of Music will also be among the performers, as well as students from the acclaimed Cardiff International Academy of Voice, all accompanied by the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera.
Book your place for this unique celebration
Tickets are priced £30/£20/£15 and are available now from the Wales Millennium Centre’s Ticket and Information Office. Phone 08700 40 2000 or book online at www.wmc.org.uk
Dennis O’Neill is one of the world’s leading operatic tenors. Since 1979, he has featured in almost every season at the Royal Opera House, and his distinguished career has included a variety of principal appearances, particularly in roles in Verdi operas at Munich, Vienna, Chicago and Paris. In 2007, Dennis became Director of the new Cardiff International Academy Voice, a highly specialised and unique training environment for a small number of exceptional operatic singers based at the University.
Rebecca Evans was born in South Wales and is an internationally-recognised Soprano. She has sung in New York, San Francisco, Munich, at Covent Garden and the Proms. She frequently performs with the Welsh National Opera, recently receiving excellent reviews as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She has appeared in Gala Concerts with Bryn Terfel, Andrea Bocelli and with Luciano Pavarotti, and performed at the Gala Concert to celebrate the opening of the Welsh Assembly in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales.
Twenty five years after graduating BBC presenter and Cardiff University alumnus Huw Edwards is returning to his roots to join in the celebrations, as the evening's host. Huw is a BAFTA award-winning journalist, known to millions of viewers as main presenter of the BBC’s flagship 10 O’Clock News. He joined the BBC over twenty years ago, and has presented a wide range of programmes, including Newsnight, Panorama, and the 6 O’Clock News as well as a number of documentaries on his native Wales.
Dr Karl Jenkins OBE is also a Cardiff University graduate and one of the leading composers working in the world today. A former jazz and soft rock musician, his breakthrough piece was Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary. He has composed for the Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel and recorded an album with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Kiri sings Karl.
Whether you are a current member of staff, a past student, or just enjoy classical music, Cardiff University’s 125th Anniversary Gala Concert promises to be an evening to remember.
Kindly sponsored by St David’s Partnership