European Doctors' Orchestra

Raising vital money for The Christie Charity in the process, The European Doctors' Orchestra consists of doctors of all specialties from across the continent. Meeting two to three times annually for charity concerts in aid of local charities, recent highlights have included sell-out performances of Mahler’s Resurrection symphony (Belfast) and Dvorak’s New World (Nantes), and a foundation-shaking performance of Shostakovich’s Leningrad symphony at The Bridgewater Hall.

From the dark beginnings of the Universe to a heart-rending musical statement on the meaning of love itself, Gustav Mahler’s third symphony takes us on a life-changing journey through ever climbing spheres of consciousness. After a primordial beginning, the ancient god Pan awakes, and summer marches raucously in. Mahler then explores in turn what we must learn from nature, from the animal world, from mankind itself and from the angels. Finally, unforgettably, we hear ‘What love tells me’, among the most searingly beautiful music ever written.

Originally titled ‘The Joyful Science’, this epic, all-encompassing symphony rooted in Nietzschean philosophy calls upon enormous forces, including a vast orchestra, children’s and women’s choirs and a mezzo-soprano. In 2017, a huge standing ovation at Belfast’s Ulster Hall followed the European Doctors’ Orchestra and Timothy Redmond’s sell-out performance of Mahler’s second symphony. Tonight these same forces reunite for what promises to be an extraordinary evening.

Joining the orchestra for the first time is mezzo-soprano Sarah Castle, a regular at London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Bayreuth Festival. We are also delighted to welcome back St George’s Singers, and to work with the choristers of Blackburn and Salford Cathedrals. With a pan-European orchestra of doctors playing music of such high stakes, this promises to be a profoundly moving evening.