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ENSEMBLE INFO

Ensemble Contact:

Email:

amyandtimdickinson@gmail.com

2023

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Two performances of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in Somerset; the first in St. Mary's Church, Bruton on 12th June 2026, and the second at Wyke House, Wyke Champflower on 13th June 2026.

We expect to attract a broad audience, predominantly locals who have attended our previous opera and concert performances. We expect the regular audience of Bruton Choral Society to attend, as well as our audience base from previous years of Opera in the Orchard. Additionally, pupils, parents and members of staff from the local secondary schools. Based on data from our previous performances, we anticipate and age range of 10-80 years.

There are currently no plans to record or stream either of the performances.

Here is a list of all of our public performances to date.
2021: Opera in the Orchard at Wyke House
2022: Acis and Galatea (two performances) at Wyke House
2023: Birdsong at St Mary’s Bruton, Opera in the Orchard (Fairy Queen) at Wyke House, Messiah at St Mary’s Bruton
2024: Opera in the Orchard at Wyke House, Messiah at St Mary’s Bruton
2025: Opera in the Orchard at Wyke House, Fairy Queen at Carey’s Secret Garden, Messiah at St Mary’s Bruton

You can read a review of our performance of Fairy Queen 2023 here: https://crosseyedpianist.com/2023/07/02/fairy-queen-at-wyke-house-2/

We wanted to establish an ensemble in the South West in particular for the area in which we live, and to involve its communities through our outreach programme. We believe that high quality performances of baroque music, and of Opera, should be made accessible closer to home, in relaxed and familiar settings, with a vision to attract a broader and newer audience.

Our aim is to create high quality, live performances out of a strong core of collaboration between the musicians (and we aim to have at least 50% of our musicians living in the South West), rather than having one director, and to have a shared focus on connecting to the audience and involving them ie: through our delivery, staging (including outdoor concerts), programming, workshops, ticket prices, concert lengths & timings.

Tim and I both have extensive experience as ensemble and solo singers (in concert and opera) and we decided to create our own ensemble so that we could pursue our vision of self-directed performances of significant baroque works on a small-scale and in a way that has a big impact on our community.

We now have an annual Messiah performance in the town church, with a growing and returning audience from 75 up to 240 across three years, and we hope to be able to have an annual Passion or similar Eastertide chamber performance as well as our summer opera performance, and ideally to take these performances to other areas of the South West such as Wiltshire Music Centre, Purbeck Arts Festival, Bath Festival.