Magic & Enchantment

Conductor               Nicholas Kok
Piano                         Konya Kanneh-Mason

Programme includes:

Dukas                                   The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Tchaikovsky                      Valse (Waltz) from Swan Lake
Shostakovich                    Piano Concerto No.2, Movements 1 & 2
Stravinsky                          Firebird: Berceuse & Finale
Vaughan Williams         March Past of the Kitchen Utensils
Arlen & Harburg             Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Plus Viennese dances and waltzes to bring in the New Year.

Join Sinfonia Viva for their dazzling New Year’s Eve Gala, a Nottingham tradition for nearly 30 years.

Immerse yourself in a world of Magic & Enchantment as we ring in 2026 with a spellbinding musical celebration.

Before the orchestra performs traditional New Year waltzes and a heartfelt Auld Lang Syne, all the music in our concert has a magical connection. They begin with Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, one of the famous classical pieces featured in Disney’s original Fantasia (1940). Then we meet Tchaikovsky’s dancing swans, Stravinsky’s mythical Firebird and some wandering spoons courtesy of Vaughan WIlliams.

The special guest is star Nottingham pianist, Konya Kanneh-Mason. She joins Sinfonia Viva to perform Shoshtakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (Movements 1 & 2), which featured in the Disney sequel Fantasia 2000. This lush, romantic piece is one of the nation’s favourites and was voted no. 6 in this year’s Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Sinfonia Viva are joined again by conductor Nicholas Kok, who has overseen these annual festivities for more than two decades. So if you want something enjoyable to do with friends this New Year’s Eve, join us at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, for a celebratory early evening concert that’s extravagant, fun and steeped in tradition.