Recitals
Lesley-Jane's wide-ranging recital repertoire incorporates Lieder, Mélodies, English song and American song, as well as light-music programmes. Following the tragic death of her long-standing pianist Christopher Ross, she is currently forging new recital duos with the exciting young pianist Jennie-Helen Moston, and the renowned harpist Danielle Perrett.
2008 Recitals:
Friday 11 January 2008, 1.10 pm RECITAL featuring works by John Joubert Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham Thursday 6 March 2008, 8.00 pm RECITAL including Leighton Animal Heaven Powis Hall, Bangor University Music Department Thursday 24 July 2008, 7.30 pm RECITAL Nantwich Parish Church Wednesday 13 August 2008, 10.30 am Lake District Summer Music RECITAL to celebrate Sir John Manduell St Martin's Church, Bowness Friday 12 September 2008, 12.45 pm 'A Little Bite Music' Series RECITAL: "About Love" Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Saturday 4 October 2008, 7.30 pm RECITAL Stockport Grammar School, Stockport Thursday 18 December 2008, 1.15 pm RECITAL to celebrate Sir John Manduell Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester For full details of Lesley-Jane's concert diary or for booking enquiries, please e-mail:
info@lesleyjanerogers.demon.co.uk
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TRIBUTE to Chris Ross
Lesley-Jane Rogers worked regularly with the pianist Christopher Ross for fifteen years. Given the very special nature of the relationship between singer and accompanist, it is with immense sadness that the tragic death of Chris Ross in December 2005 brought this dynamic duo to an end.
Lesley-Jane writes: "tapping into each other’s mode of expression and interpreting songs together requires a particular symbiotic relationship; Chris and I would sometimes start with very different ideas about a work, but we loved exploring the possibilities and would always end up with a cohesive view about a piece. I believe we had a certain spark in performance and this was something that we delighted in sharing with our audiences. To say that I sorely miss him is a huge understatement. I'm only thankful that we did at least manage to record two CDs together."
Full details of Chris and Jane's CDs - Schubert Lieder and English Song - may be found on the Penchant website, where secure on-line purchases may also be made.
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Lesley-Jane also works closely with the recorder player John Turner. John’s dedication to new music is legendary, but it is his particular interest in 20th century English music that has led to Lesley-Jane giving performances of songs by such interesting composers as Peter Crossley-Holland, Julius Harrison, Percy Young, Thomas Pitfield, Stephen Dodgson, Ian Parrott, Cyril Scott, Wilfrid Mellers, Walter Bergmann and John Joubert among others. She has recently recorded four of John Joubert's song cycles in honour of his 80th Birthday in 2007. The resulting CD, entitled John Joubert Four Song-Cycles, was released in May 2007 on the Toccata Classics label [TOCC 0045].
In the 'English
Composer' series for the Campion/Cameo
label, Lesley-Jane
may be heard on:
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Grains of Sand - music by and for Wilfrid Mellers (Cameo 2051/52; 2006]
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High Barbaree - a CD of music by the composer Stephen Dodgson [Cameo 2032; April 2004]
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Celtic Magic featuring music by 'Peter Crossley-Holland and his circle' [Cameo 2026; June 2003]
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Lesley-Jane is also Director of the group Dramatis Personae:
Lesley-Jane Rogers, soprano
Edward Peters, baritone
Jennie-Helen Moston, piano
Dramatis Personae give concert-staged* recitals, usually around a chosen theme. They offer a lively, visual display, drawn from a wide range of scenas, arias and duets, taken from opera, oratorio, cantatas, masques, dialogues and shows. Popular themes include A Night at the Opera, Aspects of Love, "A Woman's Place...", Stars and Stripes, and Myth, Magic and Legend. Such was the success of one particular concert, that mayhem ensued in the library's entrance/exit corridors as members of the general public stopped to watch the show through the glass doors!
*Concert-staging: Dramatis Personae stage their performances without the aid of theatrical scenery or lighting, but dressing as appropriately as possible, using props where needed, and acting out the roles they are playing.