Alumnus' composition due to be performed by Halle Orchestra

Alumnus Andy Smith (BA Music) is due to have his composition, The Sword in the Stone, performed by the Hallé Orchestra in Bolton's Victoria Hall on Thursday 8 July. The performance forms part of a project being run by the Hallé's Education and Outreach Department. Andy's inspiration for The Sword in the Stone came from a Music and the Deaf project he was involved with, run by the Yorkshire based charity. For the project, Andy worked with 80 deaf children composing a song cycle based on King Arthur and Merlin. During this time, Andy was commissioned by The Lancashire Sinfonietta to write a 30 minute piece with narration, which consequently led to him composing The Sword in the Stone. The Sword in the Stone was originally premiered in Preston and it was then that the leader of the Lancashire Sinfonietta, Lyn Marsh, also leader of the Halle Orchestra, invited the Head of Programming from the Hallé to watch the performance. The Hallé was really impressed with the piece and within a week the Orchestra had asked for permission to programme a performance of The Sword in the Stone this July. Andy is really happy with the reception his piece has received, commenting "I am absolutely delighted to have my music performed by one of the country's leading orchestras and hope that this will lead to further opportunities."