LMP's 60th birthday bonanza (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

LMP's 60th birthday bonanza

8:20am Friday 6th March 2009

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Royalty will be present at Fairfield Halls later this month as the London Mozart Players marks its 60th birthday and celebrates two decades of residency in Croydon.

The UK's longest-established chamber orchestra are putting on a gala performance starring soprano Dame Felicity Lott for the occasion Wednesday, March 18, and will be doing so in front of their patron, HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex.

“2009 is a year of real celebration for the London Mozart Players and this concert with Howard Shelley, Isabelle van Keulen and Dame Felicity Lott will show off the superb quality of arguably Britain’s finest chamber orchestra.

Managing director Antony Lewis-Crosby

The Queen's third son became the LMP’s Patron in 1990 and has been an enthusiastic and committed supporter of the orchestra’s work ever since.

“Passion for music has been at the heart of the London Mozart Players throughout the years," he said.

"And we are proud to carry this legacy forward in the 21st century, in our concerts and in our extensive programme of education and community work here in Croydon.”

Since becoming Croydon's resident orchestra in 1989 the LMP has performed more than 150 world-class concerts in Fairfield Halls alone, with many others dotted around the borough.

Top soloists such as Sir James Galway, Nicola Benedetti and Julian Lloyd Webber have been on stage with them, while LMP musicians perform more than 100 events each year in residential care homes, hospices, hospital wards, day centres, and schools and colleges across the Borough.

Outgoing managing director Antony Lewis-Crosby, who retires from the post at the end of the month to be replaced by Simon Funnell, thanked Croydon Council for the way they have backed the orchestra.

"The support of Croydon Council over the last 20 years has been truly magnificent, one of only two local communities in London to support a Resident Orchestra," he said.

“2009 is a year of real celebration for the London Mozart Players and this concert with Howard Shelley, Isabelle van Keulen and Dame Felicity Lott will show off the superb quality of arguably Britain’s finest chamber orchestra."

The gala performance will feature works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Rossini and Shostakovich and will be conducted Shelley, who was associate conductor and principal guest conductor with the LMP from 1990-1998.

It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on March 27 as part of its special week-long focus on the LMP.

London Mozart Players 60th Birthday Gala Concert, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, March 18, 7.30pm, £10 to £29.50. Call 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk.

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