THE cultural year gets off to a rousing start as Bolton Symphony Orchestra joins Opera 74 to present the immensely popular traditional New Year Concert.
Although the event, on Saturday January 27, is usually held at the Albert Hall, this year, due to popular demand, it will be staged at the larger Victoria Hall.
Conductor Bob Chasey said: “Fill the Victoria Hall and enjoy securing the future of two of Bolton’s premier music groups.”
Soloists in the concert are the ever-popular singers Jane Hyde, Alan Roscoe and Paul Stanley.
John Matthias also returns this year to star as master of ceremonies.
As well as traditional polkas by Strauss, the programme includes songs from Carmen, Orpheus In The Underworld and Gounod’s Faust.
And, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edward Elgar in 2007, the concert will open with his famous Pomp and Circumstance March No.4.
Next in the BSO season is A Mystical, Magical Night Of Music at the Victoria Hall on March 3.
This family concert is in aid of Bolton Hospice, and features John Williams’ themes from Star Wars and Harry Potter, plus Saint-Saens Danse Macabre, Mussorgsky’s Night On A Bare Mountain and the finale from Stravisnsky’s The Firebird, among others.
Also appearing at the concert will be Shonaleigh, who is a drut’syla, a storyteller from the Yiddish tradition, and one of the foremost tellers of stories on the British scene.
Mr Chasey said: “This concert will be fun for all the family, and the audience can join members of the orchestra in dressing up as a favourite magical character.
“Shonaleigh will lead the audience on a journey through a world of mystery and magic as the concert programme unfolds.”