2018

PUSH

An opera by Howard Moody
Saturday 25 August 2018, 5pm and 8pm
St Thomas’s Church, Salisbury

A La Folia production in association with Wiltshire Creative
Originally commissioned by Battle Festival (2016) and produced in partnership with Glyndebourne and the De La Warr Pavilion
Directed by Simon Iorio
Musical direction by Howard Moody
Performed by Salisbury Festival Chorus, PUSH Children’s Chorus and La Folia Orchestra (details below)
Soloists: James Newby, Matthew Stiff, Tereza Gevorgyan

‘My life is only miracles’

PUSH is a community opera written by Howard Moody. Through music, we discover the extraordinary story of Simon Gronowski, who was pushed by his mother from a train bound for Auschwitz in 1943 and survived.

Featuring internationally-renowned soloists, a community chorus of over 100 adults and children and a professional orchestra, PUSH is packed with memorable scenes and tunes, and carries a strong message of hope and belief in the ‘power of human goodness’.

Since being commissioned by Battle Festival in 2016, PUSH has been performed at Battle Festival in Sussex and in Chichester Cathedral for Holocaust Memorial Day 2018. The performances in Salisbury’s St Thomas’s Church were part of the Wiltshire Creative Lift Off! weekend.

Download the PUSH flyer

Media coverage of the Salisbury performances and talk, August 2018

The Guardian
Salisbury Journal
The Fine Times Recorder

The Orchestra

Click here to read more about the musicians

Violins: Daphne Moody and Rosie Tompsett
Viola: George White
Cello: Joe Giddey
Double bass: Sandy Burnett
Guitar: Andy Williams
Flute: Chloë Vincent
Clarinet: Andrew Sparling
Horn: Chris Beagles
Trumpets: Sam Kinrade and Stephen Peneycad
Trombones: Dominic Hales and Jim Alexander
Percussion: Jez Wiles and Peter Beament

Simon Gronowski was in Salisbury for the performances and there was an opportunity to hear his story first-hand at the following event:

PUSH: My Life is Only Miracles
Simon Gronowski tells his story

Saturday 25 August 2018, 11am
Salisbury Methodist Church

Photographs by Adrian Harris

Continuing Songs CD launch

Wednesday 28 November 2018, 6.30pm
Salisbury Arts Centre

A launch event for the Continuing Songs CD ‘Celebrate Life’, featuring songs written by students at Wiltshire College, Salisbury.

Click for more information on the project


Sei Solo project performance

Friday 28 September 2018, 10.30am
St Martin’s Church, Salisbury

An informal sharing of Exeter House School students’ creative responses to the music of Bach.

Click for more information on the project