Autumn 2022 now on sale

Today we announced our Autumn 2022 season featuring a diverse programme of classical, contemporary, folk and jazz performances by many of today’s leading artists. Alongside its main concert series, the Hall announces Saffron Sessions, a series of boundary-challenging performances, in addition to continuing its popular Saffron Foyer events. Throughout the season the Hall will continue to host a programme of engaging cultural events for its audience both in Saffron Walden and the wider region.

A wide array of leading soloists will perform at Saffron Hall in the Autumn including Isata Kanneh-Mason who makes her solo debut at the Hall in a programme centred around the theme of childhood with music by Fanny Mendelssohn, Claude Debussy and more [7 October]. After an important year in her career during which she received an MBE, Jess Gillam returns to the Hall with her ensemble to perform a selection of Christmas classics such as a medley from The Nutcracker [16 December]. Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov joins Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra for a performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 [8 October] and later that month English Touring Opera make a welcome return with fully-staged performances of Handel’s Agrippina [28 October] and Tamerlano [29 October].

Multi-Grammy-nominated composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar performs with the Hall’s Resident Orchestra Britten Sinfonia, Jules Buckley and handpan and drum player Manu Delago in a performance featuring works and arrangements by Roxanna Panufnik, Delago and Buckley as well as Shankar herself [16 October]. The Hall’s other Resident Orchestra – the London Philharmonic Orchestra – returns with their Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis and soloist Johan Dalene to perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s mighty Eroica [23 October], before returning with their Principal Conductor Edward Gardner for Tippett’s grand oratorio, A Child of our Time [27 November].

Three leading vocal ensembles are due to perform at the Hall in the autumn, starting with Scotland’s Dunedin Consort who celebrate their 25th anniversary season with a performance of Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor [19 November]. Nigel Short and Tenebrae return to the Hall to bring a festive programme including Britten’s popular Ceremony of Carols in addition to Joanna Marsh’s In Winter’s House, a piece written for the group in 2019 [10 December]. Harry Christophers and The Sixteen continue the Christmas programme with a performance of Handel’s Messiah [18 December].

Other highlights of the Autumn season include a performance by French string quartet Quatuor Agate [30 October], a first public performance of A4 Brass, a new group comprising principal players from some of the UK’s top brass bands [6 November], and the Hall debut of Cory Band from the Welsh Valleys [3 December], fresh from their recent victory at the European Brass Band Championships.

This autumn the Hall launches Saffron Sessions, a new programme of creative boundary-challenging performances. The series will include performances by American pianist and composer Chad Lawson, Manchester Collective and Pekka Kuusisto, amongst others. The Hall’s informal Saffron Foyer nights return in September with jazz and folk artists including Katriona Taylor, Django’s Tiger and the Dan Forshaw Quartet. More details of Saffron Sessions and Saffron Foyer line-up will be revealed in due course.

Audiences will have the opportunity to revisit the jazz music of the 1920s and 1930s with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra [15 October] before celebrating the big band era of the 1940s with the Glenn Miller Orchestra [11 December]. Other jazz highlights include Courtney Pine performing with jazz pianist Zoe Rahman as part of his Spirituality Tour [25 November]. South African male vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo take to the stage with jazz guitarist and singer Muntu Valdo as part of their much-anticipated return to the UK [22 October].

Bringing a totally different kind of performance to the Hall, restaurant critic and MasterChef judge Jay Rayner explores our most beloved food in a new show about our fascination behind last meals [20 October].

Nurturing local talent as ever, the Autumn season opens with Saffron Opera Group performing Wagner’s Tannhäuser [11 September] with acclaimed tenor Peter Auty conducted by Michael Thorne. This dynamic programming of large-scale work reflects Saffron Hall’s ambition as a venue, something which is emphasised by Saffron Walden Choral Society performing Haydn’s Creation with Chameleon Arts Orchestra [12 November]. The Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra return with violinist Alex Redington for a programme including Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Shostakovich’s Symphony No.12 commemorating the 1917 revolution [4 December].

Saffron Hall continues breaking new ground in their education initiatives. This includes launching the second iteration of Saffron Sounds this autumn. The Saffron Sounds online resource hub, including filmed performances and demonstrations from the Jess Gillam ensemble, will be available to all primary schools, and will be the starting point for a programme of workshops and live schools performances offered to schools across Essex and beyond.

Artists from across the programme, including A4 Brass, will visit local primary schools for performances. This autumn will also see the introduction of ‘A morning with…’ events for secondary schools, featuring performances, masterclasses and Q&A’s from artists including Isata Kanneh-Mason.

And Saffron Hall Trust continues to deliver Together in Sound - its pioneering music therapy programme for those living with dementia and their carers in Saffron Walden. Together in Sound is delivered in partnership with the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University, and a pilot programme is now also underway in Braintree in partnership with Braintree District Museum. Further events and projects as part of the Hall’s learning series will be announced in due course.