The Ensemble Duparc was founded in 1991 by a group of students at Cambridge University, and has rapidly grown to become one of the most versatile and adventurous young groups of its kind in the UK. The Ensemble currently comprises outstanding musicians from the London conservatoires and from Cambridge University as well as recent graduates, all of whom share a strong interest in the development of instrumental and vocal performances of interpretative and executional merit, with a particular emphasis on chamber music from a variety of periods for larger formations of solo musicians.
Whilst eschewing the dangers of narrow specialisation, from the very outset of its existence The Ensemble has sought to maintain a creditable record of highly-committed performances of works composed in our own century, embarking on a series of workshops and performances with programmes that have spanned works from the Second Viennese School, compositions by a variety of well-established masters such as Maderna, Turchi, Lutoslawski and Birtwistle, as well as premi\`{e}res or first UK performances of works by younger composers. In 1992 The Ensemble had the great privilege of accompanying the legendary Swiss tenor Hugues Cuenod in a performance of Poulenc's Bestiaire in Cambridge, at whose invitation it subsequently performed at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh. The Ensemble also appeared in the Maderna Festival, organised in Cambridge in 1993 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the composer's death, with the support of the publishing houses of Ricordi and Suvini Zerboni, and under the auspices of His Excellency the Italian Ambassador. More recently, The Ensemble appeared at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, accompanying the Guildhall Vocal Ensemble in a performance of Stravinsky's Cantata, and also took part in the Contemporary Music Festival held in July 1995 at the School, in which it premi\`{e}red work produced within the Department of Composition and performed Birtwistle's Silbury Air -- at once one of the most beautiful and spectacularly-challenging of all contemporary scores -- to considerable acclaim.
Future plans for The Ensemble include the UK premi\`{e}res of works by students from Robert Saxton's composition class at the Guildhall and Franco Donatoni's composition class at the Accademia Chigiana; theatre works including Stravinsky's Histoire du Soldat, Roussel's Le Marchand de Sable qui passe... (to be performed in a dramatic context for the first time since 1909, using the recently-rediscovered verses consitituting the text of the play by Jean-Aubry for which the score was composed as incidental music), and the UK premi\`{e}re of Chausson's puppet opera, La L\'{e}gende de Sainte C\'{e}cile; Nonets by Bax, Martinu and Eisler, Octets by Fran\c{c}aix, Ferguson and Schwertsik (``Twilight Music''); and song-cycles by Ravel, Bliss, Dallapiccola and Rubbra.
The Ensemble constantly seeks to consolidate its financial position, on which its continued success so crucially depends. Private individuals and organisations wishing to play a role in the realisation of its vision for the future by sponsoring or underwriting its activities, or those interested in engaging The Ensemble for particular appearances, are invited to contact the Artistic Advisor, Haig Utidjian, c/o Pembroke College, Cambridge, CB2 1RF, for further information.
Back to Haig's main page