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Students from LGS Perform Alongside The Bardi

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12th November 2024

An impressive array of talent was on show on Sunday in the annual Bardi/Leicester Grammar School concert.

A whirlwind tour through music history from the Baroque to John Williams saw the Orchestra accompany gifted young LGS players in concerto movements, whilst others sat alongside Bardi players in the Orchestra. 

The concerto players chose movements from composers ranging from Vivaldi, through Mozart, to 20th century French composer Paul Maurice played on instruments including cellos, trumpets, bassoon and saxophone. The orchestra was showcased in the overture from Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken, a movement from Brahms mighty Symphony No. 4 and the concert culminated in a John Williams Tribute selection of music from the composers best known film scores. Each concert item was greeted with loud applause and was pronounced ‘the best yet’ by audience and players alike.

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Prakash Easwar is our Bardi Young Musician 2025 Winner!

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8th November 2024

Bardi Young Musician 2025 is saxophonist Prakash Easwar, a 15-year-old academic and music scholar at Leicester Grammar School.

Prakash beat stiff competition in what the audition panel said was probably the highest standard field of candidates since the competition began in 2012. 

Prakash plays the Violin, Saxophone, and Piano. Supported by the school’s music department and inspired by his saxophone teacher, John Barker, Prakash also holds Grade 8 qualifications in both Piano and Violin and is soon completing his ARSM diploma on Saxophone. He is an active member of the school’s Big Band and First Orchestra, and also enjoys performing Bollywood, folk and jazz music. Away from school he has played violin with the Market Harborough Choral Society, has won several piano competitions at Leicester MusicFest and regularly performs in cultural celebrations. He plans to pursue music further and finds inspiration in his violinist brother, balancing his musical interests with cricket and tennis!

You can book tickets to see Prakash’s performance with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra on Saturday 25th January here.

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The Bardi’s New Horizons season off to a flying start at De Montfort Hall

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7th October 2024

There was a distinct air of anticipation building in the foyer of De Montfort Hall on Sunday afternoon in advance of the Orchestra’s first concert of the New Horizons season under conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa.

Orchestra Manager Robert Calow had to step in at the last minute to do the pre-concert talk as listed host John Florance was laid low with covid. Robert did a sterling job and said afterwards it was easy as Natalia and soloist Lydia Shelley were a real pleasure to talk to!  

The concert opener Kauyumari by Gabriela Ortiz brought smiles to the faces of audience and orchestra alike, with a very large orchestra and an amazing battery of percussion instruments. The main theme of the piece emerged and with repetition became a pleasing earworm remaining long in the memory.  

This was followed by a popular return by soloist Lydia Shelley who performed Dvorak’s Cello concerto and provided clear evidence of the rapport between conductor and soloist as they gave a powerful and memorable performance of the work which was clearly appreciated by the audience. 

New merchandise proved a talking point in the interval with the ‘Bardi bears’ making a welcome return to the Friends desk, lots of them went off to new homes after the concert.  

The second half consisted of a single work, Brahms Symphony No. 2 which was, under the dynamic direction of Luis-Bassa, clearly enjoyed by players and audience alike with enthusiastic applause at the end.

The new season is off to a flying start! See you all at the next one on Sunday 1st December for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and more.

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Photography by Chris Roe

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Bardi Wind and Oadby & Wigston Lions raise over £2,000 for RNLI

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6th September 2024

Bardi Wind Orchestra Music Director David Calow, Orchestra Manager Robert Calow and members of Oadby & Wigston Lions Club were at De Montfort Hall at the end of August to present a cheque for over £2,000 to Emma Cunnington, Community Manager of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The cheque was raised at the annual Bardi Wind Orchestra charity concert held in association with the Lions Club back in June.  

Over the past two years the Bardi Wind Orchestra and Oadby & Wigston Lions have raised almost £4,000 for the RNLI. The success of the concert held in 2023 led to an invitation to do a further concert this year. The 2024 concert was one of several musical and other events held nationally to mark the milestone 200th Anniversary of the RNLI.  Dreadful weather on the day of the presentation led to this rather striking photograph on the stairs of De Montfort Hall.  

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Watch Highlights from the 2023/24 Season

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7th August 2024

As we prepare for our New Horizons 2024/25 season, we have gathered together a selection of highlights from last season.

Sunday 8th October 2023, De Montfort Hall
A Celebration of John Williams

Imperial March from Star Wars

Flight to Neverland from Hook

Sunday 24th March 2024, De Montfort Hall
Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt

Sunday 19th May 2024, De Montfort Hall
Mahler – Symphony No.1 in D “Titan”

See our YouTube channel for more videos from the Bardi

Subscribe to the bardi youtube channel here

Bardi Wind celebrate 200 Years of RNLI at De Montfort hall

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10th June 2024

Thank you to all who joined us for what was a very successful Bardi Wind Orchestra concert on Sunday afternoon celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.  

There was a real buzz of anticipation in the De Montfort Hall for an afternoon of ‘Fantasy and Adventure’, with music from Disney, Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean featuring prominently, and the feet were soon tapping!

The Wind Orchestra, in association with Oadby and Wigston Lions Club, were under the baton of guest conductor Dan Watson making his debut appearance, together with local favourites David Morris and Jenny Saunders joining them for several vocal items. Presenting the concert in a last-minute change to the programme, the Wind Orchestra were also fortunate to be able to secure the services of well-known local broadcaster Dave Andrews, who was able to talk to representatives of the RNLI about the amazing and invaluable work that they have been doing over the last 200 years.  

Final totals for the charity collections are still being tallied, but those collection buckets were certainly very heavy following another successful summer charity concert.

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Jeneba Kanneh-Mason stars in Bardi season finale

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20th May 2024

A large and appreciative audience was at De Montfort Hall on Sunday for the last concert in Bardi’s 2023-24 season.  

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason’s outstanding performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 set the bar high in the first half, and to the obvious delight of the audience she played a contrasting and unusual encore in the form of little-known Spanish composer Federico Mompou’s Jeunes filles au jardin from his piano suite Scènes d’enfants.

An enlarged Bardi Orchestra filled the stage for the second half of the concert for Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 appropriately subtitled ‘Titan’. Fine playing on the part of the orchestra was overlaid with visual excitement in the form of various special effects from the large brass and woodwind sections demanded by the score including wind players raising their instruments above their stands and the large horn section raising the bells of their instruments whilst standing as the piece reached its spectacularly triumphant conclusion.

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As well as the season finale, this concert marked the final appearance of Claus Efland as the Orchestra’s Music Director.  Associated with the Orchestra since 2005 and Music Director since 2008, Claus gave a short speech to the audience thanking them for their support over 19 years and urging them to continue to support classical music in Leicester.  

He then went on to introduce a special encore the Oriental Festival March from the Aladdin Suite by his fellow countryman Carl Nielsen.  He went on to explain that his first ever concert with the Orchestra had included an encore by Nielsen, so this was a fitting end to his final concert. The orchestra is grateful to Claus Efland for his immense contribution to the development of the Orchestra over the years.

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The Bardi say goodbye to Music Director Claus Efland after 16 years as Maestro

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18th April 2024

The Bardi’s concert on 19th May will be Claus Efland’s last appearance with the Orchestra as Music Director. 

Since his appointment to the post in 2008 his inspirational leadership has taken the Orchestra to what one reviewer described as ‘levels of performance rare in an orchestra of this kind’. There have been many notable performances over the years and soloists of the highest calibre have performed with the Orchestra – including Jeneba Kanneh-Mason performing with the Orchestra in Claus’ final concert next month. In addition there have been performances with a range of choruses over the years including the Leicestershire Chorale, Leicester Bach Choir, Leicester Philharmonic Choir, London Philharmonic Choir and the Choristers of Leicester Cathedral. 

There have been many memorable orchestral concerts over the period in De Montfort Hall, with others including one to a capacity audience in the open air at De Montfort Hall, and collaborations with the young dancers of Dance Activate in ballet programmes. Innovative orchestral programmes have played to Claus’ strength in Scandinavian music with a memorable series of Nielsen symphonies rarely heard in Leicester, as well as a fresh approach to favourite classics. The Orchestra would like to thank Claus for everything he has done for the orchestra over the years he has been with us, and we wish him very well for the future.

Going forward the Orchestra intend to pursue a different style of programming with four concerts next season at De Montfort Hall each conducted by high calibre conductors with international reputations. Programmes are planned to both entertain with well-loved favourites and be challenging with one or two perhaps less familiar works. Equally high-profile soloists will join the Orchestra on the stage. Full details of the 2024-25 season will be published in May.

You can book tickets for Claus’ final concert here. Featuring Mahler’s First Symphony and star soloist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason performing Mozart Piano Concerto No.23, it is going to be a memorable concert for Leicester audiences.

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Claus conducting film music at open air DMH concert; conducting Britten’s War Requiem in 2018; Claus rehearsing with the orchestra.

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A Scandinavian Triumph at De Montfort Hall

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26th March 2024

The music of Finland, Norway and Denmark added to the enjoyment of a sunny early Spring afternoon when the Bardi played a programme of Sibelius, Grieg and Nielsen at De Montfort Hall on Sunday.

The programme opened with a performance of Grieg’s Peer Gynt suites Nos 1 and 2 which was followed by a rare performance Nielsen’s Flute concerto by flautist Anna Wolstenholme, an internationally known player based in Norway. The piece demands a virtuoso player and Wolstenholme was certainly the right choice for the piece.

The second half of the concert was occupied by a performance of Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major.  Probably the most well-known of Sibelius’s Symphonies and certainly the most frequently performed, the piece runs through a wild gamut of feelings from a depiction of pastoral peace and quiet, through patriotism, the depiction of a national uprising and a positive finale portraying hope and victory over oppression.  The Bardi did justice to all of this in good measure and the overall mood of the departing audience was certainly life affirming and happy.

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