In early April we combined with the South Bank Sinfonia to perform James Macmillan's "Seven last words from the cross", Schoenberg's "Friede auf Erden" and, for the orchestra alone, Arvo Part's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. This turned out to be an intensely moving concert. The Macmillan is a very strong piece: challenging for all the performers and really worth it. Our soloists did a remarkable job, and the orchestra managed the virtuoso passages with real flare. James Macmillan was present, and emailed me later to say, "I'm still reeling from your very intense reading".

Friede auf Erden, for choir alone, is similarly demanding, and this choir managed it with extraordinary skill. It was one of the best performances I can remember from Rodolfus. The orchestra produced excellent sound and line in the Britten. It was only as I was walking onto the stage for the performance that I realised that the theme of the piece was based on Britten's canon from Friday Afternoons, "Old Abram Brown is dead and gone, you'll never see him more". I do hope that we shall do some more concerts with the excellent organisation known as the South Bank Sinfonia.