Preston fans chance to lunch with chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestera

It's not every day classical music fans get the opportunity to have lunch with an internationally renowned conductor before the curtain goes up on his next concert.
Chief conductor Vasily PetrenkoChief conductor Vasily Petrenko
Chief conductor Vasily Petrenko

But followers of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestera will be able to do just that before an afternoon of Delius and Stravinsky at Preston’s Guild Hall.

Chief conductor Vasily Petrenko is planning a meet and greet in the Mundo Tapas restaurant before the concert on Sunday, October 8. The Russian maestro will join one of the RLPO’s artistic directors Sandra Parr in the restaurant before taking to the conductor’s rostrum for a performance of The Firebird in the Grand Hall.

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Lunch With The Phil costs £15 a head and diners will be treated to a talk by Ms Parr, who is artistic planning director for orchestra and ensembles. She will introduce Mr Petrenko for an informal chat with fans. Within an hour the conductor will be on stage treating music lovers to a concert featuring the Korngold Theme from The Sea Hawk, two Delius pieces for small orchestra and a performance of the original (1910) version of The Firebird by Stravinski.

The 41-year-old Vasily Petrenko started as principal conductor with the RLPH in 2006 and became chief conductor in 2009. He has led the orchestra on tours to Japan, China and across Europe. The orchestra’s appearance at the Guild Hall is part of the Preston Arts Fesitval which runs from Sunday October 1 for two weeks. The official launch and opening concert will be at the city’s Minster on Sunday (2pm).