John Wilson conducts a Rodgers & Hammerstein Gala at the Cheltenham Music Festival

06 Mar 2010

Following John Wilson's outstanding appearance with his own orchestra in the 2009 Festival, he returns with the CBSO for a celebration of the work of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. From their first collaboration in 1943, Oklahoma!, to their last in 1959 with The Sound of Music, Rodgers & Hammerstein created some of the 20th century's most attractive and enduring stage works.

In the John Wilson Orchestra's televised Prom this August, Kim Criswell's powerful charisma and vocal riches contributed significantly to a remarkable evening. Together with fellow American Brent Barrett - currently starring in the Broadway production ofChicago - they perform beloved songs such as 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'' (Oklahoma!), 'Some Enchanted Evening' (South Pacific), 'You'll Never Walk Alone' (Carousel) and, of course, favourites fromThe Sound of Music.

HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival (2-17 July 2010)
Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, GL50 1QA
The 2010 programme for the HSBC Cheltenham Music Festival is its most diverse and richly-layered yet: performances range from a new choral work composed using DNA coding, to a Schumann celebration featuring Steven Isserlis, and a performance by James Rhodes - a classical pianist with 'a rock-star attitude' (Classic FM Magazine).

The Festival's musical riches encompass names as diverse as Alfred Brendel, Jan Garbarek, Steven Isserlis, Alfie Boe, Fascinating Aida and Robert Fripp. Over 20 performances take place in the Regency spa town's Pittville Pump Room, and the brand-new Parabola Arts Centre at Cheltenham Ladies College joins the festival's roster of venues alongside the much older spaces of Gloucester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey.

'Musically you'll be spoilt for choice,' says Festival Director Meurig Bowen.'There aren't many festivals around where you can hear top-rank classical musicians like Imogen Cooper, Steven Isserlis, Sarah Connollyand the Philharmonia alongside jazzers Jan Garbarek and Gwilym Simcock, prog-rock legend Robert Fripp, cabaret queens Fascinating Aida and some chanting Tibetan monks'.

July 2-17, 2010: the full programme is now available at cheltenhamfestivals.com

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