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Press Releases
New concert venue to be named after Alun Hoddinott
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Bargoed-born Alun Hoddinott is to become the first Welsh composer to have
a major orchestral concert venue named in his honour.
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In a special announcement at the Â鶹Éç National Orchestra of Wales's St David's
Day concert in Cardiff last night, Menna Richards, Controller Â鶹Éç Wales,
declared that the orchestra's new state-of-the-art recording space and
performance hall at the Wales Millennium Centre will be named Â鶹Éç Hoddinott
Hall.
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"Alun Hoddinott is a very distinguished and prolific composer with an
internationally acclaimed reputation," said Menna Richards.
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"His partnership with the Â鶹Éç National Orchestra of Wales has spanned seven
separate decades.
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"Alun was still a 19-year-old student when, in 1949, the
orchestra broadcast a performance of his Nocturne for Orchestra.
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"It is a relationship that has celebrated and reflected Welsh creativity. Even
when he is inspired by the Italian landscape, Irish literature or Russian
poetry, Alun's music always retains a rich Welsh character.
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"Alun has received many awards but this is a special and singular honour.
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"It is
entirely fitting that his close working relationship over many years with the
Â鶹Éç National Orchestra of Wales is celebrated in this way.
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"We are very proud
that he has accepted this honour."
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Â鶹Éç Hoddinott Hall - due to open before the end of next year - will allow a
live audience of up to 350 to enjoy broadcast performances and concerts
involving the full orchestra and chorus that were not possible to stage at Â鶹Éç
Wales's studios in Llandaff.
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The freedom offered by Â鶹Éç Hoddinott Hall will also enable the orchestra to
revisit some of the work it has commissioned over the years, particularly from
Welsh composers.
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Regarded as one of the most significant composers of his generation, Alun
Hoddinott's bond with the Â鶹Éç National Orchestra of Wales has been life-long.
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The orchestra has premiered more than a dozen of his major works and released
recordings of Star Children and his 6th Symphony.
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Through its broadcasts and concerts, the orchestra has taken Alun Hoddinott's music to audiences throughout the UK
and overseas - most recently on its highly successful tour of the United
States.
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In 2004, the Â鶹Éç National Orchestra of Wales undertook a year-long season of
Hoddinott's work to celebrate the composer's 75th birthday.
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After being educated at Gowerton Grammar School and Cardiff University, Alun
Hoddinott sprang to national prominence when he was still in his twenties.
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His work has been performed all over the world by luminaries ranging from Sir
Geraint Evans and Dame Gwyneth Jones to Mstislav Rostropovich and John Ogdon.
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Hoddinott - a former Professor of Music at University College, Cardiff - has
also been commissioned to write pieces to mark occasions such as the
investiture of the Prince of Wales and the wedding of Prince Charles and
Camilla Parker Bowles.
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The announcement that his prolific career is to receive this unique honour
followed the Â鶹Éç National Orchestra of Wales's world premiere of Alun
Hoddinott's new song cycle, Serenissima, at Cardiff's St David's Hall.
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KS2
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