Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Saturday 20 June 2026 Manchester Monastery, Gorton Lane, Manchester ★★★★★ Kantos Chamber Choir celebrates its tenth anniversary in stunning surroundings and an amazing acoustic Kantos, RNCM and the University of Manchester Chamber Choirs, with conductor Ellie Slorach. Image © The AC Product It’s ten years since Claire Shercliff (Company Director) and Ellie Slorach (Creative Director) …
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Thursday 19 March 2026 Victoria Baths, Manchester ★★★★★ This was not just a concert; it was an immersive experience, taking us from dawn to dusk Image © Adam Critchlow Many contemporary artworks and installations describe themselves as 'immersive'; the word is perhaps overused now. A concert in a former swimming pool (yes, actually in the …
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Manchester was the place to be for superb performances in 2025 The Year in Classical Music Sometimes going abroad reminds you how good things are at home. In the spring of 2025, I went to the Shostakovich Festival in Leipzig, featuring world-class performers such as the Gewandhausorchester and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. So it was …
Friday 14 November 2025 RNCM, Manchester ***** A spellbinding and emotional journey through a historical travesty of justice The Pendle Witch trials of 1612 have left a deep scar in our collective memory in the North of England, just as several centuries later, the Moors Murders have left a deep scar in our communal psyche. …
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A Memorable Year for Music: Highlights from Manchester and Beyond The BBC Philharmonic with Chief Conductor John Storgårds. Image © Chris Payne. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the death of my father, John Charles Holmes, under whose benign and loving influence I developed a lifelong passion for music. He was the choirmaster and …
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From the album Paths of Exile by Kantos Chamber Choir, conducted by Ellie Slorach An Exile in 9th Century England. The Wanderer is an anonymous Old English poem, written in Anglo Saxon, which is preserved in The Exeter Book, a collection of manuscripts which probably dates back to the late tenth century, along with other poems including The Seafarer. …
Continue reading "Off the Beaten Track #11: The Wanderer by Tim Benjamin"
From the album Paths of Exile by Kantos Chamber Choir, conducted by Ellie Slorach The cover of Paths of Exile The Seafarer is an Old English poem, written in Anglo Saxon, which is preserved in The Exeter Book, a collection of manuscripts which probably dates back to the late tenth century. The Exeter Book was …
Continue reading "Off the Beaten Track #10: The Seafarer by Tim Benjamin"
Friday 14 June The Stoller Hall, Manchester ***** A bold and innovative programme of maritime music The nearest beach to Manchester is in Southport, about 35 miles away as the crow flies, or about 45 miles by car. Yet in this landlocked city where the sea has no impact on its citizens' daily lives, it …
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