The Orchestra of the Swan visit with a programme of ‘Arrivals and Departures’. Händel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from the oratorio Solomon is balanced by Roth’s Departure of the Queen of Sheba, also a duet for double reed instruments. The concert ends with Haydn’s Farewell Symphony in which, famously, the whole orchestra gradually leaves the stage. In between, we have Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major and the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Cellos played by Laura van der Heijden and Nick Stringfellow.

Laura was the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2012 and has already made a name for herself as an emerging talent, captivating audiences and critics alike with her insightful interpretations. Nick is the principal cellist of the orchestra but is also acclaimed as a chamber musician playing with such ensembles as the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and the Brook Street Band.

The Orchestra of the Swan has its home in Shakespeare’s Stratfordupon-Avon, but now has a regular concert series as the Associate Orchestra at Birmingham Town Hall. They have recently toured China and Mexico, and have performed at the Istanbul International Festival and at Carnegie Hall in New York. The Orchestra has received critical acclaim for recent recordings. They made the world premiere recordings of the complete symphonies of Hans Gál, which were then featured on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Composer of the Week’.