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.:Nicholas Kok Biographies:. | |
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Nicholas Kok (Full biography) Principal Conductor, Psappha An extraordinarily versatile musician, Nicholas Kok’s work as a conductor and pianist has led to his engagement in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world. He has recently been appointed Principal Conductor of Psappha, the leading new music and music-theatre ensemble in the North of England. Concurrently with this role, he continues his association with sinfonia Viva (formerly East of England Orchestra), of which he was Principal Conductor (1996-2006), becoming Principal Guest Conductor last year. With an operatic repertoire ranging from Monteverdi, Handel and Mozart to Humperdinck, Britten and beyond, Nicholas Kok has worked frequently with ENO, Opera North and Opera Factory. He has made guest appearances at many opera houses and festivals including Cologne, Edinburgh, Graz, Klagenfurt, Montepulciano, Valencia, Stuttgart and Zurich. A longtime champion of contemporary music, he has conducted numerous world and UK premieres, including works by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Simon Holt, Steve Reich, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Iannis Xenakis. He played a large part in setting up Almeida Opera, conducting the UK premiere of Stephen Oliver’s Mario and the Magician and the world premiere of Julian Grant’s A Family Affair. Other operatic world premieres include Nigel Osborne’s Sarajevo and Xenakis’s The Bacchae for Opera Factory London, Turnage’s The Country of the Blind and Twice Through the Heart and Alec Roth’s Arion and the Dolphin for English National Opera and Simon Holt’s The Nightingale’s to Blame for Opera North/Huddersfield Festival. Nicholas also conducted the UK premiere of Reich’s Hindenburg at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. He has collaborated (as conductor, composer and arranger) with several leading choreographers including Richard Alston, Emio Greco, Robert North, Ashley Page, Pat Neary and Janet Smith, and has conducted for Scottish Ballet (Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet and a Balanchine programme at the Edinburgh International Festival) and Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. He recently played his own specially-composed music for Scottish Dance Theatre’s “Out of the House” showcase performances. Nicholas Kok was an organ scholar at New College, Oxford, before continuing his studies at the Royal College of Music as a repetiteur/conductor. He has since worked with many of the UK’s major orchestras and ensembles, including the Philharmonia, LPO, CBSO, BCMG, RSNO, SCO, BBC SO, BBC NOW, BBC Scottish SO, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers, Ulster Orchestra, Hallé, London Sinfonietta, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Orchestra of St John’s, Endymion and the Nash Ensemble, as well as with the Radio Sinfonie Berlin, Strasbourg Philharmoniqe, Het Gelders Orkest, Liepaja Symphony, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Jenaer Philharmonie. He has recorded regularly for radio (including many recordings with the BBC Singers) and television, and has written and arranged music for both mediums, as well as being involved with recordings for Opera Rara and Chandos. Future plans include new productions of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Les Noces for Opera North; Bach’s St. John Passion with sinfonia Viva and the new London Chamber Choir; appearances with Psappha at the 2007 Cheltenham Festival and for SPNM; a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty for Scottish Ballet, and performances at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival. February 2007 Nicholas Kok (Short biography) Principal Conductor, Psappha An extraordinarily versatile musician, Nicholas Kok’s work as a conductor and pianist has led to his engagement in major opera houses and concert halls, and at leading festivals, throughout the world. He has recently been appointed Principal Conductor of Psappha, the leading new music and music-theatre ensemble in the North of England. Concurrently with this role, he continues his association with sinfonia Viva (formerly East of England Orchestra), of which he was Principal Conductor (1996-2006), becoming Principal Guest Conductor last year. With a remarkably wide operatic repertoire ranging from Monteverdi, Handel and Mozart to Humperdinck, Britten and beyond, Nicholas Kok has established a reputation as a longtime champion of contemporary music, conducting numerous world and UK premieres. He has also collaborated (as conductor, composer and arranger) with several leading choreographers. Nicholas Kok has worked with many of the UK’s major orchestras and ensembles, as well accepting many overseas engagements. He has composed, arranged and recorded regularly for radio and television, as well as being involved with recordings for Opera Rara and Chandos. Future plans include new productions of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Les Noces for Opera North; Bach’s St. John Passion with sinfonia Viva and the new London Chamber Choir; appearances with Psappha at the 2007 Cheltenham Festival and for SPNM; a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty for Scottish Ballet, and performances at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival. February 2007 |
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