We are very sorry to announce that Nicola Benedetti has been advised by doctors to withdraw from Manchester Camerata’s season finale at The Bridgewater Hall (3 Jun) and further concerts in Harrogate (Harrogate International Festivals – 1 Jun), Crewe (2 Jun) and Malvern (4 Jun). We are delighted that Ray Chen will replace Nicola Benedetti for all four concerts. Manchester Camerata’s Music Director, Gábor Takács-Nagy, will conduct all four concerts, replacing Andrea Marcon.

Benedetti’s Mozart project with conductor Andrea Marcon, which was part of a wider European Tour, will now be programmed by Manchester Camerata in a future season.

Winner of the Queen Elisabeth (2009) and Yehudi Menuhin Competitions (2008), Ray Chen is one of the most compelling young violinists today. The great Maxim Vengerov has said of him: ’Ray has proven himself to be a very pure musician with great qualities such as a beautiful youthful tone, vitality and lightness. He has all the skills of a truly musical interpreter.’ Ray’s performance with Camerata will be a fantastic opportunity to see this exceptional young virtuoso in action, before his performance at this year’s BBC Proms with Sir Andrew Davies and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Camerata’s Music Director, Gábor Takács-Nagy, who knows Ray personally said today: ‘We are truly fortunate that the wonderful violinist Ray Chen is able to step in at such short notice to replace Nicola Benedetti.  Ray is a musician of rare talent and exceptional charisma, and it will be a joy and a privilege to perform Mozart with him next week’.

Followed by over 2 million people on SoundCloud, Ray Chen looks to expand the classical music audience by increasing its appeal to the young generation via all available social media platforms. In particular his series of quirky, self-made online videos has proven an effective tool in broadening the reach of classical music through humour and education.

The revised programme is as follows:

Mozart             Symphony No.35 in D Major ‘Haffner’ K385
Mozart             Violin Concerto No.3 in G Major ‘Strassburg’ K216
Mozart             Violin Concerto No.4 in D Major K218
Mozart             Symphony No.39 in E flat Major K543

Everyone at Manchester Camerata wishes Nicola Benedetti a speedy recovery.