Forthcoming production:
FifteenB Consort, Thomas Bowles (clarinet)
At the Herne Hill Festival, Saturday October 13th, 7.30pm, St. Faith's Church, Red Post Hill.
Palestrina's Missa Tu es Petrus, Gregorian Chant, motets by Robert Hugill and music for unaccompanied clarinet including Stravinsky's Three Pieces for Unaccompanied Clarinet
FifteenB was formed by composer Robert Hugill in 1994 in order to promote concerts of accessible contemporary music.
Based in London, around a chamber choir, the group has promoted regular concerts which mix Robert's music with other contemporary music.
The choir's first concert was in 1994 at the Chapel of the House of St. Barnabas in Soho, when Robert's cantata Vocibus Mulierum - Women's Voices was given its premiere.
In 1998 FifteenB received a grant from the National Lottery, through the Arts Council for England, to allow them to give the premiere of Robert's cantata
The Young Man and Death with the Salomon Wind Octet. In June 2000 the choir gave the first performance of Robert's Requiem Mass at the Chelsea Festival.
They were invited back to the Chelsea Festival in June 2002 when they gave a programme jointly with Philharmonia Brass.
They returned again in 2004 to give a programme of sacred music which included the premieres of 6 motets by Robert Hugill alongside music by Byrd, Mozart, Elgar, Saint-Saens and Paul Ayres.
In 2001 FifteenB presented staged performances of Robert's opera Garrett at Hoxton Hall. Staged by Darren Royston the production starred Damian Thantrey and Rosemary Forbes-Butler. The production was well received by opera magazine, click here for reviews, photographs and a complete libretto of the opera.
On Friday 1st July 2005 they celebrated Robert Hugill's 50th Birthday with a concert at St. Giles Cripplegate, Barbican. Instead of the regular choir Robert formed a new group of professional choral singers, the eight:fifteen vocal ensemble. They gave the premiere of Robert's cantata The Testament of Dr. Cranmer as part of a concert themed on Cranmer's life and martyrdom. Along with cellist Jonathan Cottle, they performed Robert's Collect for choir and cello. They repeated this concert on Saturday 18th March 2006 at the University Church, Oxford as part of the commemorations for the 450th anniversary of Cranmer's execution. Further details here.
Paul Brough and the eight:fifteen vocal ensemble have now recorded The Testament of Dr. Cranmer and the disc is available from the Divine Art record label, here. FifteenB celebrated the release of the CD with two concerts at St. Peter's Church, Eaton Square, London. On Saturday 26th January 2008, Paul Brough and the eight:fifteen vocal ensemble performed a celebratory concert with music by Mundy, Tallis, and Hugill including the premiere of Robert Hugill's Evening Service. Then on Saturday February 23rd our voluntary choir, FifteenB, performed a programme of music by Haydn and Hugill. They repeated Robert Hugill's Rabindranath Tagore settings, Crossing, which they premiered at the 2006 Chelsea Festival. They also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Robert's Passion by performing a new version of the Choruses from Passion.
In 2010 FifteenB presented two concert performances of Robert Hugill's new one-act opera When a Man Knows, at St. John's Waterloo and
at Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival at Riverside Studios Hammersmith. In March/April 2011 they gave the work's first staged performances
directed by Ian Caddy, conducted by David Roblou; the performances were reviewed in Opera Magazine and Tempo Magazine. Further Details
Concerts promoted by FifteenB
March 31st - April 2nd 2011, FifteenB productions
When a man knows
Zoe South (soprano), Sarah Barham (contralto), John Beaumont (tenor), Dario Dugandzic (baritone)
Directed by Ian Caddy
Lighting by Matt Haskings
Instrumental ensemble conducted by David Roblou
First staged performances of Robert Hugill's new opera based on the play by Alan Richardson
Bridewell Theatre, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4
Further Details, including images and video