The Amadè Players & Nicholas Newland
Biography The Amadè Players & Nicholas Newland
Nicholas Newland
made his professional debut as a conductor at the Cadogan Hall, London in January 2007 and has since appeared around the UK and Europe conducting opera, contemporary music and chamber works of the 17th and 18th centuries. Having originally studied the tuba at Trinity College of Music, he was awarded a distinction for his MA in Historical Musicology at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2011. He is currently undertaking PhD research on the sacred vocal music of Waṅhal, and in 2013 joined the international Research Council of the Johann Baptist Waṅhal Association.
Alongside his research, Nicholas is an active performer - directing a broad spectrum of repertoire, including all of Mozart's concerti, many symphonies and operas including Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Dido & Aeneas, Venus & Adonis and Rodelinda. He founded the period instrument ensemble The Amadè Players in 2010, having previously led groups including the London Irish Symphony Orchestra and Situation Opera. Equally at home in the recording studio, Nicholas has conducted and produced soundtracks for the Indian film industry including, in 2012, the hit Tamil movie Neethaane En Ponvasantham. This album was released by Sony Music, sold 22 million copies, and won a Vijay award for Best Song (Sattru Munbu), the highest accolade of the industry.
Nicholas is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and focuses a significant amount of his time on music education and pedagogy. He has recently been invited to become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. As well as regular outreach projects with The Amadè Players, he is a Lecturer in Historical Musicology at Goldsmiths, University of London, teaching at under- and post-graduate levels. Nicholas is an experienced music editor, and has prepared editions of previously unavailable works for performance, including music by Waṅhal - three of which are currently being considered for publication in the year ahead. In September 2014, Nicholas recorded the first of three discs focused on the music of 'Forgotten Vienna' at St John's Smith Square, London for record label Resonus Classics.
The year ahead will see Nicholas give world and British premieres of music by Waṅhal, Domnich, and Rolla at venues including St John's Smith Square, Handel House and the Foundling Museum.
The Amadè Players
Founded in 2010, The Amadè Players are thrilled to be embarking on our most exciting season yet. The past two seasons have included our Purcell Room and Royal Festival Hall début performances, world broadcast premieres of Vivaldi sonatas on BBC Radio 3, an appearance on the BBC's Celebrity Masterchef and education projects involving 500 school children. We are Ensemble in Residence at The Foundling Museum, and in our 2014-2015 season will be performing at St John's Smith Square, Handel House, and Henry Wood Hall. In September 2014 we recorded our first disc for Resonus Classics, to be released this season, supported by concerts and education projects.
