Skipton Camerata: St John Passion
Sat 19th April 2025 7:00pm
Bach’s St John Passion is one of those seminal works that will never leave the pantheon of the greatest masterpieces of Western art. Written in Leipzig in 1724 it is an immediate, arresting and reflective setting of Christ’s Passion according to St John. Moving between orchestral, solo and choral music in a manner which seamlessly maintains the storytelling Bach manages to make a two thousand year old narrative present and affecting, a work that is relevant to everyone.
For this the performance the Camerata will be joined by Joseph Doody who, following his mainstage debut with English National Opera, will sing the Evangelist and Opera North regular, Australian baritone Dean Robinson will perform Christus. In the manner of Bach’s original intentions, the chorus will be made up of a collection of soloists who will each take one of the arias.
The performance will be sung in German with English subtitles.
Duration:
2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
Skipton Camerata
Founded in 2004 by its artistic director, Ben Crick, Skipton Camerata is North Yorkshire’s only professional orchestra.
In addition to bringing the great masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire to the more remote areas of Yorkshire, Camerata is passionate about introducing audiences to works and composers they may not otherwise discover. The orchestra regularly commissions and premieres new works. Internationally acclaimed soloists who have appeared with the orchestra include Tasmin Little, Peter Donohoe, Nicholas Daniel and Dame Emma Kirkby. Skipton Camerata now has a growing reputation across the North of England for delivering innovative and engaging performances.
Skipton Camerata’s outreach programme, particularly that with young people, lies at the heart of its work. Camerata regularly teams up with schools and charities to offer workshops and concerts for children and students.
Skipton Camerata is grateful for the support of Skipton Town Hall where it is orchestra-in-residence.
Ben Crick
Yorkshire-born conductor Ben Crick has 20 years’ experience working in the music industry, not least as founder of Skipton Camerata. He is a staff conductor at the Leeds Conservatoire and a regular guest conductor with orchestras throughout the UK and Europe. Ben has worked many international soloists including Lesley Garrett, Jennifer Pike, Sir Willard White, Raphael Wallfisch, and Aled Jones.
Ben is becoming increasingly known as a composer, writing music for the concert hall and for adverts, animation and film. He has written for BBC Music Magazine, Opera Now and Early Music Today, translated 3 operas and has been a guest contributor for BBC Radio.
Ben is also an avid climber, caver and fell runner, and he enjoys rugby league and being a dad.
