NEW DATE! 23rd September
London Novello Ensemble - taking concerts out of the concert hall
Gavin Davies (violin)
Murray Hipkin (piano)
The London Novello Ensemble believes that no one should need to be experienced, formally dressed, uncomfortably seated or even sober to enjoy classical music performed at the highest level, and the success of their concerts in alternative cabaret-style venues speaks for itself.
Core members Gavin and Murray present the LNE’s first concert at an LGBT+ venue in their own inimitable style with an eclectic programme ranging from Bach to bluegrass that also reflects some influences of sexuality and gender identity along the way.
The programme will include Piazzolla Libertango, Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso and music by Schumann, Bach, Angela Morley, John Williams and Kurt Weill.
Gavin Davies has combined a career with most of the London orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Concert Orchestra alongside playing for a wildly diverse array of artists spanning Barbra Streisand to Dame Edna Everage. Recording soundtracks for over 100 films and TV shows, he has also worked in the West End on shows such as Phantom of the Opera and Wicked, and appears regularly as a soloist. His unconventional style when presenting London Novello Concerts has been described as 'like the Jo Brand of the violin'
Murray Hipkin is musical director of the Pink Singers, Europe’s longest running LGBT+ choir. Somehow, he manages to hold down his day job at English National Opera, where he has been a member of the music staff (on and off, but mostly on) since 1983. He has conducted The Pirates of Penzance, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, Kismet, Chess, Carousel and Man of la Mancha for ENO, and in 2008-09 was musical director of The Sound of Music at the London Palladium. He recently appeared as a musical supervisor in the Sky Arts/ENO reality show Anyone Can Sing and would like to have been described as “like the Keith-from-the-Pottery-Throwdown of the piano” but sadly wasn’t.