Philippe Quint to Premiere New Violin Concerto by Errollyn Wallen

The world premiere will take place in March 2024 with the Calgary Philharmonic and its music director Rune Bergmann

British composer Errollyn Wallen’s newly written first violin concerto will be premiered by its dedicatee Philippe Quint on March 15 and 16, 2024, with conductor Rune Bergmann and Canada’s Calgary Philharmonic.

Following its first performances, the concerto will see its US premiere performed with the Kansas City Symphony and its UK premiere with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RNSO).

Across the season, Quint will also perform the work with the North Carolina Symphony, Brevard Festival, and Germany’s Magdeburgische Philharmonie. 

Born in Belize in 1958, Wallen’s compositional style synthesizes a range of influences — drawing on both avant-garde orchestral writing and popular songwriting. 

Errollyn Wallen (Photo credit: Martin Godwin)

To date, she has written three other concerti: the 1994 Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (Wallen’s first commission, which was written for Colin Currie), the 2007 Cello Concerto, and the 2008 Concerto Grosso for violin, piano, double bass, and string orchestra. 

Quint was born in Leningrad and immigrated to America at the age of seventeen. He has an impressive 17-album discography and has been nominated for a GRAMMY award on multiple occasions.

He regularly appears with the world’s best orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony. 

“I am absolutely elated that Errollyn Wallen will be composing her first violin concerto for me,” said Quint. “I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to collaborate with her and be inspired by her exceptional artistic abilities and distinctive style in the creation of this new work.”

A recent performance of Wallen’s 2008 Concerto Grosso by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields can be viewed below.