FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER Hall One, 7pm
ROCK ’N’ ROLL POLITICS WITH STEVE RICHARDS
LIVE FROM KINGS PLACE HALL ONE
Award-winning political commentator & broadcaster Steve Richards once again gears up for his latest behind-the-scenes tour of the epic dramas in Westminster and the characters shaping seismic events – this time live from Kings Place Hall One! Limited number of tickets available in the Hall. Tickets to stream the event from home also available.
Tickets in the Hall £16.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £9.50
SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER Hall Two, 4pm
ABEL SELAOCOE
HAE KE KAE?/WHERE IS HOME?
JS BACH Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat, BWV 1010
Hlokomela/Take care; Zawose; Ka bohaleng;
buyile I Africa (Africa is back); Ulibambe (Hold the sun) All composed or arranged by Abel SELAOCOE)
Abel Selaocoe cello
Charismatic South African cellist, composer and vocalist Abel Selaocoe, shares music from his new album in this special ‘taster weekend’ recital. Hae ke kae? (‘Where is home?’) is inspired by the concept of taking refuge in different facets of life as a universal urge. It is about literal homes, politics, family, friends, strangers, religion and all things that help to strengthen identity; a celebration of Abel’s home South Africa and an ode to some of those countries (Tanzania, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Botswana and more) that gave his forefathers refuge in the times of apartheid. Through the media of cello and voice, Abel creates a sound world inspired by stringed instruments of the African diaspora such as the Zeze violin (Tanzania), Uhadi (South Africa), Sekhankula (violin from Lesotho) together with his profound and powerful voice.
Tickets in the Hall £14.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £9.50
SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER – continued… Hall Two from 5.30pm
ABEL SELAOCOE
CULTURE CLINIC
We invite you to step over the Kings Place threshold to experience a bespoke performance with cellist Abel Selaocoe. Have you missed the tingle of a live performance? Experience bespoke one-to-one performances by leading musicians in a safe environment. Individuals or groups of up to six people can share their personal lockdown story or mood with one of the guest artists who will prescribe a piece of music or a literary response. The South African cellist is redefining the parameters of the cello. He moves seamlessly across a plethora of genres and styles, from collaborations with world musicians and beatboxers, to concerto performances and solo classical recitals.
Tickets £10 (Limited availability. Families, and multiple members of households or bubbles can join one booking, up to 6 people.)
SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER Hall One 5pm; 7pm;
THE SIXTEEN
MUSIC FOR REFLECTION
PART OF LIVE FROM LONDON FESTIVAL
ANERIO Litaniae beatissimae Virginis Mariae
Arvo PÄRT The Deer’s Cry JOSQUIN O Virgo prudentissima Arvo PÄRT Da pacem Domine SHEPPARD Libera nos I JOSQUIN Pater noster / Ave Maria Arvo PÄRT Morning Star VICTORIA Litaniae Beatae Mariae
With narration from TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral [St Thomas Becket d. 1170]
The Sixteen | Harry Christopher conductor
This is a momentous occasion for The Sixteen, their first live concert after six months of lockdown. As Harry Christophers writes, ‘Those months have given us lots of time to reflect on what is important to us: live performance and connecting with our audience; now we will treasure it even more keenly. Our programme allows us to reflect on our lives and the lives of people around us. It is framed by two double choir litanies both prayerful yet full of hope, whose final prayer is echoed by the women of Canterbury in TS Eliot’s final chorus from Murder in the Cathedral. Music by Josquin, Sheppard and Arvo Pärt offers an amazing range of sonic variety, texture and subtle use of silence. This music is deeply felt by all of us in The Sixteen.’
Tickets in the Hall £24.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £12.50
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER Hall One 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm
GROVE INTO THE WOODS
GROOVEBABY PRESENTS…
Groove into the Woods follows a collection of kooky characters on a magical adventure into a fairy-tale forest where they learn some important lessons about who you can trust, who your friends are and who might eat you. All rolled up in a fun mixture of storytelling, interactive music making and solid groove from the Groove Baby Organ Trio. Blending jungle rhythms, infectious pop themes, and a heavy dose of 60s Blue Note soul jazz, the trio creates a non-stop musical adventure that will have everyone on their feet.
Tickets £6.50 £8.50 / Approx. 50 mins. Ideal for children aged 3–7 & their grown-ups.
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER Hall Two 4pm
ON COMMON GROUND: THE LIFE & TIMES OF JOHN CLARE
WITH HUGH LUPTON
PRESENTED BY THE CRICK CRACK CLUB
NATURE UNWRAPPED 2020
‘The landscape holds the memory of everyone who has ever trodden it. All we have to do is listen.’ J Clare. Master wordsmith Hugh Lupton puts his ear to the ground to tell the story of nature poet John Clare – tormented by romance laid barren by class, and the loss of freedom to walk ancient pathways as, with the enclosure acts of the 1800s, land was seized, divided and fenced. Poetic, political and seditious, this performance explores the porous boundaries between language & place, love & lunacy, home & exile.
Tickets in the Hall £14.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £9.50
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER – continued… Hall Two 6.45pm
THE GRATEFUL AND THE DEAD
WITH BEN HAGGARTY
PRESENTED BY THE CRICK CRACK CLUB
World renowned for his playful performances, allow Ben Haggarty to lure you into the richly metaphorical world of a full-blooded fairytale for grown-ups. Dark, beautiful and startling by turn, this is a story of dreams, initiations and the repayment of debts – a journey from innocence to experience, which delves into a disconcertingly familiar narrative world, complete with bizarre marriages, wild hags and strange companions.
Ben Haggarty performs with infectious charm and ease – fierce, fast paced, and unashamedly magical. This is a place where rules aren’t broken lightly… Suitable for ages 14+
Tickets in the Hall £14.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £9.50
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER Hall One 4pm; 6pm
I FAGIOLINI
AU NATUREL
NATURE UNWRAPPED 2020
Spring
MONTEVERDI
O primavera, gioventù dell’anno
LE JEUNE Revoici venir du printemps
BRITTEN Lenten is come JANEQUIN Le chant des oiseaux Summer
SCHUTZ Die Himmel erzählen
HOWELLS The summer is coming
JANEQUIN La Chasse
Autumn
RHEINBERGER Abendlied
BRAHMS Im Herbst
DE WERT Ascendente Jesu in naviculam
Winter
POULENC Un soir de neige HUGHES Sun, New Moon and Women Shoutin
As the focus on climate change grows, I Fagiolini sings of nature and the passing of the year in a programme inspired by Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s famous group of paintings, The Seasons. Brueghel and Robert Hollingworth’s vocal ensemble invite you to pull up an armchair (or dog- drawn sleigh), while they gather in the musical harvest of a repertoire spanning six centuries six centuries spliced with semi-staged theatrical enactments of a storm, a hunt and birdsong from Renaissance masters. Art through the prism of Music.
Tickets in the Hall £24.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming (6pm) on KPlayer £12.50
TASTER WEEKEND II
FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER Hall One 6.30pm & 8.30pm (start times TBC)
VOCES8
THE PASSING OF THE YEAR
NATURE UNWRAPPED 2020
VOCES 8 | Jonathan Dove piano
The Passing of the Year sees acclaimed vocal ensemble VOCES8 presenting music rooted in nature – from extravagant Elizabethan idylls, styled for their queen ‘Oriana’, to a set of Monteverdi madrigals in which an Arcadian shepherd pines for a nymph. The programme title comes from Jonathan Dove’s superb song cycle which evokes the beauty and mystic power of the changing seasons and describes the triumph of nature’s perpetual cycle. The composer himself will accompany VOCES8 on the piano. Also included are folksong arrangements describing the beauty of the landscape.
Tickets in the Hall £24.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming (6pm only) on KPlayer £12.50
FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER Hall Two; 7pm
THE RHEINGANS SISTERS
The Rheingans Sisters make playful, powerful and richly connecting music that is wholly contemporary while deeply anchored in folk traditions. The award-winning multi-instrumentalists, composers and folk scholars are nominated for ‘Best Duo/Group’ at 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. A unique and unmissable act on the folk and world music stage today, Rowan and Anna play a plethora of instruments in their live shows, many of them handmade by their luthier father Helmut Rheingans. The Rheingans Sisters will release their much-anticipated fourth album on 23 October on the Bendigedig Label.
Tickets £14.50 (reduced capacity due to social distancing)
SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 3pm; convening at Kings Place Box Office
A WALK WITH THE URBAN BIRDER
NATURE UNWRAPPED 2020
Join David Lindo, ‘The Urban Birder’, as he takes you deep into nature in the middle of London. Camley Street Nature Reserve is a little gem bursting with life so let David introduce you to some of its avian delights. Broadcaster and author David Lindo, is an avid birder, broadcaster and ambassador for wildlife. His ethos is to connect city folk with the nature that surrounds them through the medium of birds. Author of How to be an Urban Birder, he was recently named as the seventh Most Influential Person in Wildlife by BBC Wildlife.
Limited spaces available. £12.50
SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER Hall Two 4pm
EMILY DICKINSON – ‘SUCCESS IS COUNTED SWEETEST’
WITH CAROLINE BIRD & NIKITA GILL – PRESENTED BY POET IN THE CITY
Although widely considered as one of the greatest poets, Emily Dickinson is just as well known for being something of a proud outsider. Often typecast as a recluse, her choice to remain unmarried and childless was wildly radical for a woman of her time. Instead, she chose poetry, which required her undivided attention, and with it a degree of isolation. She stood firm in her confrontation of difficult issues as pain, dread and death, with a startling candidness and humour. Through an evening of live poetry and discussion we celebrate Dickinson’s approach to finding strength in the face of critique, and explore how numerous contemporary artists have also rejected societal classifications of failure and success and instead defined their own.
Tickets £14.50
SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER Hall One 8pm
SAM AMIDON
Sam Amidon is a singer-fiddler-banjoist-guitarist originally hailing from Vermont, US. He has released six solo albums on the Nonesuch and Bedroom Community labels, most recently 2017’s The Following Mountain. Amidon’s material for these albums often consists of adventurous re- workings of traditional American ballads, hymns and work songs. Amidon has also recorded or performed as a guest artist with musicians such as Bon Iver, Emmylou Harris, Tune-Yards, Pekka Kuusisto, and Beth Orton. He’s also appeared as a soloist performing with the Kronos Quartet, the Australian Chamber Orchestra & Aurora Orchestra, among others.
Tickets in the Hall £24.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £9.50
SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER 11am, 2pm; Last two hours; convening at Kings Place Box Office
LONDON IS A FOREST – A WALKING TOUR
NATURE UNWRAPPED 2020
Join Paul Wood, author of London is a Forest, and London’s Street Trees on a tour of the remarkable trees found right on our doorstep. Paul will lead us around the streets and natural corners of King’s Cross, all within a short distance of Kings Place. Expect to see a diverse range of species from unexpected Sweet Chestnuts, rare Crêpe Myrtles to new stalwarts of urban planting like Himalayan Birch and American Sweetgum. Highlights include a post-industrial nature reserve and a Great Tree of London with literary connections.
Limited spaces available. £12
SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER Hall One 11.30am
ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
BACH, THE UNIVERSE & EVERYTHING: THE TIME TRAVELLER
JS BACH Cantata: Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke, BWV 84
with Dr Fay Dowker, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London
Bach, the Universe & Everything, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Sunday morning series, juxtaposing Bach’s cantatas with scientific talks continues with a brand-new season. In this programme, BWV 84 sets a modest tone for the morning. Bach focuses his listeners on life as it is now; we should be content with our lot and ‘that which God has allocated to us’, not longing for more in future, nor regretting the past when our end comes. The promise of knowing the future has fascinated generations of great thinkers, but the concept of ‘the future’ depends on the theory that time progresses forwards. Leading physicist in space-time wormholes, Dr Fay Dowker, talks us through the competing philosophies on the passage of time if, indeed, time passes at all.Tickets in the Hall £17.50 (limited due to social distancing); Streaming on KPlayer £9.50