The Northern Chamber Orchestra to close Manchester season with two special guests

Bringing their Manchester season to a spectacular close, the Northern Chamber Orchestra will perform two matinee concerts at the iconic Stoller Hall.

The first show, taking place on Sun 24 Apr, will see the orchestra welcome the BBC Philharmonic’s principal horn player and Chetham’s School of music alumnus Ben Hulme to perform Richard Strauss’ notoriously challenging Horn Concerto No.1, widely regarded as one of the most demanding solo works for a horn player.

Following that, Australian guitarist Craig Ogden arrives for a celebration of Anglo-Australian music by composers including Malcolm Arnold, Peter Sculthorpe and Percy Grainger on Sun 22 May.

Rounding off another hugely successful 21-22 season, both concerts will show the previous night at The Heritage Centre in Macclesfield, a fitting send-off for the NCO before they relocate to their brand-new home down the road, a purpose-built auditorium at the £60m campus at Kings School. The orchestra will also bid farewell to their Artistic Director, Nicholas Ward, who is stepping down after a staggering 38 years.

Following these shows, the orchestra hosts two final concerts at the end of May, at Christ Chruch in West Didsbury and the Storyhouse in Chester, before returning to the stage at the Buxton International Festival in July.

The NCO has been the region’s pre-eminent chamber orchestra for several decades—formed in the late sixties, it has produced thirty-seven critically adored recordings and is widely regarded as one of the top orchestras in the country. All of its members are virtuoso chamber musicians in their own right, and regularly perform as soloists around the country. 

Tickets for the concerts are on sale now, grab yours for just £15 by using the following code: NCO15.

Image credit: Chris Payne, 2022.