Aleksandar Markovic in concert in Leeds and Huddersfield

There is a chance to hear Opera North's new music director, Aleksandar Markovic, in concert on 22 September 2016 when he conducts the Orchestra of Opera North in the opening concert of the 14th Kirklees Season at Huddersfield Town Hall. The concert opens with Scriabin, evidently something of a Markovic speciality, with Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique and Rachmaninov's Variations on a theme of Paganini with BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Pavel Kolesnikov. Markovic has just made his first bow in opera as music director of Opera North conducting the revival of David McVicar's production of Der Rosenkavalier which has just opened at the Grand Theatre Leeds ( until 28 October) and tours to Newcastle, Salford and Nottingham.

Serbian born Markovic has lived in Vienna for the last 20 years so it will be interesting to find out how he finds music making in the North of England. Given his Viennese connection it is no surprise to find him returning to the concert podium with the Orchestra of Opera North for their evening of Strauss Waltzes in Huddersfield Town Hall (29 December), and Leeds Town Hall (30 December), and he will again be conducting on 30 March 2017 when he and the orchestra close the Kirklees season (30 March 2017) with a nature inspired concert including Strauss's Alpine Symphony, Sibelius's Tapiola and Bruch's Scottish Fantasy with violinist Jack Liebeck, the concert is repeated in Leeds (1 April 2017).

The orchestra has had a busy summer, not only was it performing in Opera North's concert staging of Wagner's Ring Cycle which the company took on tour, but it gave a performance of Mahler's large-scale Symphony No. 8 at Leeds Town Hall.

Other concerts from the orchestra include Jac van Steen conducting Hadyn and Mozart with soprano Soraya Mafi, Opera North Associate Aritst, and Stefan Blunier conducting Berlioz' Le Corsair, Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherezade and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. In a very different vein the orchestra will be giving film music its focus in a programme of music by John Williams, and a programme of music from James Bond films.

Full details for the Opera North website.