Main content
This programme will be available shortly after broadcast

Sally Beamish 70th Birthday Concert

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields marks Sally Beamish at 70 with her new clarinet concerto: Michael Collins plays the UK premiere of IZAKHI, inspired by South Africa.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields celebrates Sally Beamish鈥檚 70th birthday with a programme centred on her music. A former violist with the orchestra and its first Composer in Residence, this concert reflects her long association with the ensemble.
The programme begins with Bach, alongside Beamish鈥檚 reflective slow movement woven into the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The UK premiere of IZAKHI, a new basset clarinet concerto written for Michael Collins, forms the centrepiece, inspired by Beamish鈥檚 travels in South Africa and her reflections on the natural world.
Chris Stout (fiddle) and Catriona McKay (harp) join the orchestra for Beamish鈥檚 Seavaigers, drawing on Celtic traditions and seascapes. Respighi鈥檚 colourful suite The Birds brings the programme to a vibrant close.
Recorded last month at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Presented by Ian Skelly.

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 (with slow movement by Sally Beamish)
Sally Beamish: IZAKHI (new commission)
Sally Beamish: Seavaigers
Ottorino Respighi: The Birds

Michael Collins (basset clarinet)
Chris Stout (fiddle)
Catriona McKay (harp)
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (director)

Release date:

2 hours, 14 minutes

On radio

Tue 30 Jun 2026 19:30

Broadcast

  • Tue 30 Jun 2026 19:30