Gipps studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams, and her final symphony, written in 1972, was dedicated to fellow composer Arthur Bliss. This quintessentially English work comprises a fiery opening, a delicate Adagio, a playful Scherzo and a joyful Finale.

Gipps: Symphony No. 4

Smith Square Hall

And we’re back for Part Two! The FVSO presents two US Premieres of Doreen Carwithen, the first major female film composer who penned more than 60 film scores during her career. Live film will be projected above the orchestra for two works by Carwithen from the mid 20th century. The program concludes with two pieces featured in the 1937 film 100 Men & A Girl with Leopold Stokowski & Deanna Durbin. Stokowski would have a long association with the symphony in film, promoting various mediums that bridged the gap between the orchestral world and general public.

EPSG:4326

FVSO at The Movies – II

University of Saint Joseph

Malcolm Arnold never did anything by halves, and when he composed his Fifth Symphony he poured out his soul. Soaring melodies, gleaming colours and raw, heart-on-sleeve emotion: this is British music as you’ve never heard it before. It’s a gripping counterpart to Doreen Carwithen’s Concerto, and the radiance and rapture of Vaughan Williams’s gorgeous Serenade.

Oramo conducts Vaughan Williams

Barbican Centre

In this special concert the RCMJD Symphony Orchestra evokes the power of the sea in Doreen Carwithen’s dramatic overture Bishop Rock.

Composed in 1952, the work portrays both the stormy and calm environments of the Bishop Rock lighthouse located a few miles off the Isles of Scilly. The concert will also feature a performance by the winner of the 2024 Peter Morrison Concerto Competition.

RCMJD Symphony Orchestra Concert: Carwithen and Co

Royal College of Music

### Spring Serenade

**Date:** Sunday, 9 March 2025  
**Time:** 2:45 PM  
**Venue:** Assembly Hall, Worthing  
**Conductor:** John Gibbons  
**Leader:** Julian Leaper  

#### Program:
- **Doreen Carwithen - Piano Concerto**
- **Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings**

Join us for an enchanting afternoon of classical music at the Assembly Hall in Worthing. The Spring Serenade concert will feature the evocative and sweeping melodies of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, known for its gracious waltzes, poignant Elegy, and a jubilant Finale inspired by folk-like melodies. Additionally, the concert will include Doreen Carwithen's Piano Concerto, a masterpiece by the first female composer for the Rank Film Organisation. We are thrilled to have the highly regarded pianist Clare Hammond, a dedicated champion of Carwithen's work, perform this piece.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience a beautiful blend of romantic and classical music under the baton of conductor John Gibbons and the leadership of Julian Leaper.

**[Buy Tickets](#)**

Spring Serenade

Assembly Hall Theatre

Some of the UK’s most incredible young musicians perform at their home venue, of the Stoller Hall.

Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra

The Stoller Hall

Anna-Maria Helsing leads the BBC Concert Orchestra in a celebration of local Nottingham hero Robin Hood, featuring works by Doreen Carwithen, Korngold, Sibelius and Rachmaninov – plus a world premiere from local composer Elizabeth Kelly.

Proms Nottingham: Music of Sherwood Forest

Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall

Martin Yates conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra at the English Music Festival, which celebrates Britain's rich musical heritage by showcasing the brilliance, innovation and beauty of English music.

BBC Concert Orchestra at The English Music Festival

Dorchester Abbey

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra oboist and former member of the Merseyside Youth Orchestra, Ruth Davies, takes to the stage as soloist for Cimarosa’s Oboe Concerto alongside the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. In the first half, Youth Academy Orchestra perform in a specially arranged version of Dvořák’s Symphony No.9.

Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestras

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Dvořák New World

Paramount Theatre

Robin Wallington unearths a handful of lesser-heard gems spanning the 19th and 20th century. Today, we’ll introduce you to a few composers you may not have heard of, but whose work you’ll soon be seeking out.

Tranquillity and Discovery with the BBC Philharmonic

MediaCityUK

Doreen Carwithen’s swashbuckling overture was written for a 1954 British adventure film. Anna Clyne tells the story of a seamstress, lost in her thoughts, imagining a series of five fantastical tales. The evening ends with Eleanor Alberga’s ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, adapted from Roald Dahl’s subversive retelling of the Brothers Grimm story.

Family Concert

St. John's Smith Square

A4 Brass

The Music Room

Anna Binneweg, guest conductor  |  Michael Stephen Brown, piano

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial

The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra returns to Cadogan Hall with a romantic programme of big tunes and lush orchestration, inspired by the movies of the 1940s.

This year’s Purcell School Concerto Competition winner, Julia Majewska, is an exciting young violinist who brings passion and verve to the fireworks of the exquisite Korngold Violin Concerto.

Part of Howard Hanson’s Symphony from 1930 was John Williams’ template for E.T., and Doreen Carwithen was the first British woman to write consistently for Hollywood. Walton’s orchestral showpiece from the film The First of the Few completes the programme.

The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra

Cadogan Hall 

Every evening, when the heavy bells of St. Jakobi Church announce midnight, a mysterious clacking, stomping, tiptoeing, and rumbling can be heard from the Lübeck Theater. Theater ghost Johann von Rasselstein has been on the trail of the mystery for years – because every night they awaken: forgotten dancing shoes, old boots, worn-out slippers... What drives the shoes? And why do they only dance when no one is looking? It's high time to unravel the mystery.

Doreen Carwithen

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 9, 2026

The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra · Cadogan Hall

18 - 22 Feb, 2026

2. Children's concert Shoe -Pranks at Midnight · Theater Lübeck

Past events

Nov 16, 2025

Gipps: Symphony No. 4 · Sinfonia Smith Square

May 4, 2025

FVSO at The Movies – II · Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra

About

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