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UK premiere of The Peterborough Letters

↑ CPSO conductor Paul Hilliam

On Sunday, 30 March, the City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra will play a special piece of music written by American composer Lynne Palmer Warren called The Peterborough Letters...

Minnie Griffin gave birth to an illegitimate son when she was 17. The baby was given up for adoption and Minnie was told that the child had died soon afterwards…

It was not until 26 years later that Minnie learned that the son, called Loren, was alive. They wrote several letters to each other and met just once.

The letters were found close to where mother Minnie had lived and died – in Peterborough, Ontario, and inspired Palmer Warren to create a very moving yet uplifting piece of work.

The performance of that work on Sunday, 30 March at The Voyager Academy here in Peterborough will be the UK premiere of the piece, and especially poignant as the concert is on Mothering Sunday.

During the performance several lithographs, drawn by American artist Betty Beeby, will be shown on a screen and correspond directly with the music each lithograph inspired.

Two members of Peterborough Opera, Liz Williams and Matt Phillips, will narrate the roles of mother Minnie and son Loren.

CPSO conductor Paul Hilliam said, ‘It is beautifully moving music which, combined with the words, pictures and Peterborough connection, will doubtless prove a very powerful experience.’

Composer Lynne Warren said, ‘I am delighted that The Peterborough Letters is the first of my pieces to cross the ocean.’

Other music being played at the concert includes Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9.

Tickets are £12.50 and £10.50 (concessions). School children under 16 are admitted free. Tickets are available from the orchestra website at www.cpso.org.uk, the Tourist Information Centre in Bridge Street, Peterborough, and on the door. Sponsors of the concert are the Peterborough City Council, Van Hage Garden Centre and the Vigar Group.

The Peterborough Letters
Sunday, 30 March, 3 pm
The Voyager Academy, Mountsteven Avenue, Walton

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