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PRESS RELEASE
Celebrity? What’s in a Name?
A highly respected pianist, performing in a recent Barber Celebrity Concert, questioned his ‘celebrity’ status, claiming never to have appeared on Big Brother. Partly prompted by this amusing conversation—and the changing inferences nowadays drawn from the word ‘celebrity’—we have decided to abandon the term and revert to the title by which they have been known through the greater part of their history: Barber Evening Concerts. However, the extremely high calibre of musicians taking part in these concerts will remain, as will the ticket price of just £5 to Friends.
This coming term we are visited by the Belcea Quartet (playing Schubert), by Andreas Haefliger (piano sonatas by Beethoven and Schubert) and by Patricia Rozario with the English Chamber Choir (music old and new from east and west). In the Spring we shall have performances by the London Handel Players, the Nash Ensemble and the Schubert Ensemble. So, celebrity aside, the new series of Barber Evening Concerts will offer some of the finest chamber music performances in the region.
Regular visitors to the concert series will probably have noticed that the light on the stage is not ideal, and that the quality of light varies from one part of the stage to another. This is being corrected by replacing the existing lights with a set of more efficient ones above the up-stage and down-stage areas. These changes will also mean that members of the larger ensembles performing on stage, such as the University Chamber Orchestra, will be able to see their music just as clearly whether they are in the centre of the stage or on the corner of the front apron! In addition, we are improving the audience’s perspective by installing new spotlights in the roof space above the auditorium, to help illuminate the faces of performers. Following a number of site visits and testing sessions this summer, a team of lighting engineers is due to install the new lighting at the end of August, in good time for the start of the Autumn concert series.
A set of ergonomically designed musicians’ chairs has also been purchased, which will be used by all visiting artists and by the smaller University ensembles that perform on the stage. These chairs, originally designed for Symphony Hall, Birmingham, are considered to be the finest chairs available for musicians’ posture and comfort.
We hope these modest but significant improvements will herald the advent of the long-awaited Concert Hall refurbishment. The next few years could be an exciting time for all of us interested in music in the Barber Institute.
24 September 2007
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