Samantha Ege

University Chamber Orchestra is delighted to be joined by University of York alumna Dr Samantha Ege to perform African-American composer Florence Price’s Piano Concerto. Dr Ege is a leading scholar and interpreter of Florence Price and gave the world premiere of the composer’s solo-piano set Fantasie Nègre at the London Festival of American Music in 2021. Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme was the closest the composer ever came to writing a cello concerto. His admiration for Mozart and the late-Baroque/early Classical period is ever present in the work, and although the theme is not eighteenth century in origin, Tchaikovsky brilliantly captures the Mozartian style. This staple of the cello repertoire, beloved by both cellists and audiences, is performed by final-year student Mari MacGregor. The programme also features the first performance of PhD composer Tom Sissons’ Sir Jack Lyons Celebration Award Commission.