APRIL FREDRICK

Johann Strauss II, ‘Mein Herr Marquis’, Die Fledermaus

Johann Strauss II, ‘Saffi’s Song’, The Gypsy Baron

Anton Dvořák, ‘Song to the Moon’, Rusalka

English Symphony Orchestra

Kenneth Woods, conductor

Pittville Pump Rooms, Cheltenham

April returns to the Regency gem of the Pitville Pump Rooms for a New Year’s programme welcoming a year of discovery, dreams, and the endless enchantment of the symphonic world.

Echoes of Lind

Thomas Humphreys, baritone

Robert Bottriell, piano

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester

April Fredrick as Jenny Lind and Thomas Humphreys as Giovanni Belletti in a modern recreation and homage to legendary Swedish soprano Jenny Lind’s 1849 visit to Worcester, with musicians from the ESO, the Avonbank Brass Band, Severn Voices and Elgar School of Music. Put on by Hatpin Productions CIC.

Richard Strauss Four Last Songs

Gustav Mahler Symphony no. 4

West Forest Sinfonia

Philip Ellis, conductor

Great Hall, University of Reading

April embarks on another pilgrimage to these beloved ‘old friends’ in her repertoire, exploring the great questions of what it means to end a life well-lived, whether long or short.

April Fredrick, soprano

Christopher Turner, tenor

Nottingham Harmonic Choir

Richard Laing, conductor

Orchestra da Camera

 Albert Hall, Nottingham

April’s first performance of the monumental Hymnus Paradisi by Herbert Howells, one of the pinnacles of the choral repertoire but only rarely performed. There can be few works as dramatic and heartfelt; any performance of this overwhelming work is a special occasion.

J.S. Bach St John Passion

April Fredrick, soprano

Heidi Jost, mezzo

Lawrence Olsworth-Peter

Jon de Garis, baritone

Dei Gratia Baroque

St Nick’s, Sevenoaks

Dei Gratia Baroque returns to its innovative condensed and dramatised presentation of J.S. Bach’s beloved work, presenting its dramatic and theological core to a new generation and audience.

Haydn Nelson Mass

April Fredrick, soprano

Angelina Dorlin-Barlow, contralto

Benjamin Durrant, tenor

Ed Grint, bass

Wimbledon Choral Society

City of London Sinfonia

Daniel Mahoney, conductor

Cadogan Hall

April returns to Haydn’s wonderful Nelson Mass, plumbing the heights and depths of human experience through the lens of the ancient Christian service.

6 young singers will be selected by audition to work with April Fredrick and Festival Composer-in-Residence Ian Venables, with accompanists Elizabeth Haughan and Rebecca Watson, on English Song repertoire of their choice. The morning session involves individual coaching, feedback and advice, and after lunch all 6 students will perform in a more formal concert setting.

April Fredrick, soprano

Eric McElroy, piano

Pembroke College, Cambridge

April and Eric perform songs by Arthus Bliss (including Simples (The Joyce Book) ,The Hare (from Three Romantic Songs), Autumn (from Ballad of the Four Seasons), Lovelocks (from Three Romantic Songs), The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House, A Child’s Prayer, Fair is My Love (from Serenade) to mark the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death on 27 March 1975.

Richard Strauss

Cäcillie Op.27 No.2 

Holy Trinity Church, Guildford

April joins the Surrey Mozart Players for a collection of Strauss orchestral songs that shimmers, dazzles and savours its way through all the seasons of love. 

‘April Fredrick, soprano

Bach Choir

Philharmonia Orchestra

David Hill, conductor

St Paul’s Cathedral

April sings her first performance of Mahler’s monumental Symphony no. 8 in the role of ‘Magna Peccatrix’, its massive forces and themes echoing the grandeur of St Paul’s.