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BGL Group Supports World Premiere Concerts for Great Fen Project

Immediate release: 22 January 2009

Fans of classical music and lovers of the natural world will have something to get excited about this May: internationally-acclaimed composer John Woolrich and one of the world's most celebrated orchestras, Britten Sinfonia, will perform two concerts inspired by the landscape and wildlife of the Great Fen Project.

The world première, supported by the BGL Group as lead sponsor, will be held in the grand setting of Peterborough Cathedral on 6th May 2009 and a repeat performance will be held at Kings College Chapel, Cambridge the following evening.

Partners of the Great Fen Project, Britain's largest conservation effort, commissioned the concerts to raise awareness of their vision to create a 9,000-acre fenland habitat in Cambridgeshire for the benefit of people and wildlife.

Mr Woolrich and members of Britten Sinfonia visited the Great Fen last summer to see its wildlife and gain inspiration for their work.

"The landscape and history of the Fens are awe-inspiring and quite enchanting," said Mr Woolrich. "I am very excited to be composing a piece that evokes the mystery and raw beauty of this area."

As well as the world première work by Mr Woolrich, the programme will include Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, Britten's What the Wild Flowers Tell Me, Delius' Summer Night on the River and Sibelius' Scene with Cranes. The programme will be conducted by Garry Walker and will feature Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova, the youngest-ever winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Emily Anderson Prize.

David Butcher, Chief Executive of Britten Sinfonia, is looking forward to the concerts. "John is a wonderful composer and we always enjoy performing his work," he said. "Britten Sinfonia is delighted to be involved in these concerts and to help the Great Fen Project promote this inspirational landscape."

Britten Sinfonia and project partners are setting up a creative education and community programme that involves working with local young people to create sound-scapes inspired by the fenland habitat and to engage them in music and their natural environment.

Tickets for the concerts are on sale now. Visit www.greatfen.org.uk/events for more information or call 01480 388248 (for the Peterborough Cathedral concert) or 01223 357851 (for the King's College, Cambridge concert). Funds generated from ticket sales will benefit the Great Fen Project.