European Union Chamber Orchestra

Director: Hans-Peter Hofman
Piano Soloist: Maria Marchant

Vivaldi – Concerto for Two Oboes in D minor RV 535
Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major K.414
Sibelius – Romance for Strings Haydn – Symphony No. 64 in A major

he EUCO gave its first concerts in 1981 and soon gained an international reputation as a musical ambassador for the European Union.  Funding from the European Commission enabled EUCO to make its name familiar worldwide with tours to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines, North, South and Central America, North Africa, India and the Middle East as well as across Europe.  It regularly performs in major concert halls throughout the UK and recent years have seen live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, the Bath Festival with Alison Balsom and a tour of Christmas concertos with Nicola Benedetti.  The schedule since 2013 has included tours to Spain, Germany, Luxemburg, Turkey, Malta and most recently to Egypt.

EUCO has performed for many major European Festivals and in many famous concert halls including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Musikverein, the Frankfurter Alte Oper , Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Madrid’s National Concert Hall, Milan’s Sala Verdi, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Pallas Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Many distinguished artists have performed with EUCO on its tours including Mischa Maisky, Julian Lloyd Webber, James Galway, Ivo Pogorelich, Gil Apap, Nicola Benedetti, Tasmin Little, Yehudi Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Alina Ibragimova, Lazar Berman, Freddy Kempf, John Lill and Emma Johnson.

Maria Marchant – Piano

Maria Marchant is an award-winning, professional concert pianist who has performed at numerous venues around the UK and abroad including Cadogan Hall, Konzerthaus (Berlin), Southbank Centre, St John’s Smith Square, Steinway Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Wigmore Hall.  Active as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician, Maria’s 2014-15 season includes concerts for the City Music Society, Harris Music Club, Ripley Recitals Association and Sunderland Pianoforte Society in addition to a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto K414 with the Bernardi String Ensemble at Champs Hill in the High Sheriff’s concert.

Many of Maria’s performances are entitled ‘Conflicts and Memories – the First World War’, marking the centenary by featuring works composed during the war years.  The 2014-15 season sees Maria return to perform for the Darlington Piano Society, Ealing Literature and Music Society, Eastbourne Underground Theatre, Seaford Music Society and the Shipley Arts Festival, where she is delighted to be pianist-in-residence. Maria is a passionate advocate of British music and is grateful to the John Ireland Trust for supporting many of her upcoming performances.

www.euco.org.uk	www.mariamarchant.com