For David, on his birthday: Ben Vonberg-Clark & Nigel Foster in a taster for Out of the Shadows at Omnibus Theatre, Clapham

In June, we are presenting Out of the Shadows at Omnibus Theatre, Clapham as part of 96 Festival, its celebration of queerness and theatre. Out of the Shadows is an evening of my music, featuring two recent cantatas and a selection of my songs performed by tenor Ben Vonberg-Clark, baritone Jonathan Eyers and pianist Nigel Foster.

As a little taster, here are two songs from my song cycle, For David, on his Birthday performed by Ben Vonberg-Clark and Nigel Foster and recorded at Hinde Street Methodist Church in 2023 when Out of the Shadows was premiered. The recording engineer Christopher Braine. The video is available on YouTube.

In the 1990s I came across two book of poems by the Black American poet Carl Cook, The Tranquil Lake of Love and postscripts. I used his poems for the chorales in my Passion setting, and set seven of them as annual birthday presents for my boyfriend (and now husband) David. Here we hear 'to see you happy' and 'perhaps', this latter was a finalist in the English Poetry and Song Society's Diamond Songs competition, organised to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. 

Out of the Shadows is at Omnibus Theatre, Clapham at 7pm on Sunday 16 June 2024, with tenor Ben Vonberg-Clark, baritone Jonathan Eyers, pianist Nigel Foster. Further information from the theatre website.