• Date and time: Friday 24 February 2023, 7.30pm
  • Location: In-person only
    Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, Campus West, University of York (Map)
  • Admission: Tickets: £14; concessions £12; students £3, booking required

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Event details

Nicky Spence  tenor
Jess Dandy  contralto
Christopher Glynn  piano

Schumann   Kerner Lieder, op. 35
Barber   Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Schumann   Sechs Gedichte und Requiem, op. 90
Margaret Bonds   Songs of the Seasons
Barber, arr. Glynn   Sure on this shining night

Recent winner of BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Personality of the Year’ Award and star of the Sky Arts’ TV show Anyone Can Sing, Nicky Spence is joined by the contralto Jess Dandy (‘stunning …. a name to watch’, The Times) for a recital that ranges from Schumann’s most passionate song cycle to Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915.

Hailed by The Daily Telegraph as ‘a voice of real distinction,’ Nicky Spence is 'one of our brightest young tenors.’ An artist of great integrity, his unique skills as a singing-actor and the rare honesty of his musicianship have earned him a place at the top of the profession.

Miracle Year

Schumann’s outpouring of song in 1840 is one of the miracles of music. Having finally gained permission to marry his beloved Clara after a long struggle, his feelings found expression in some of the greatest song cycles ever composed. This season, pianist Christopher Glynn joins leading singers – Roderick Williams, Nicky Spence, Jess Dandy and Ailish Tynan – to present three of these 1840 cycles in newly commissioned English translations by Jeremy Sams alongside songs by other composers that reflect and build on their themes.