The Heron Theatre - Beetham

Dead Of Winter
2026-03-06 19:30 - 22:00 (Europe/London) | The Heron Theatre, Stanley Street, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, LA7 7AS, United Kingdom
Sunday ClassicalTake Wing! Nick Hurndall-Smith and Jen HartleySongs About Birds For Tenor And PianoPlease Note – Postponed Due To Illness. New Date To Be Confirmed. Take WingAfter their warm reception in the Sedbergh Festival 2024, tenor Nicholas Hurndall Smith and pianist Jen Hartley have produced an exciting new recital programme for 2025 and beyond. The collection of songs takes in 18 different composers, all inspired to set texts with birds at the heart of the poetry, each in their own unique way, and in five different languages. The avian theme begins with Purcell and Tippett, continues with Britten, Barber and Finzi, before heading east, with music by Schubert, Brahms, Mahler and Tchaikovsky. The cast of birds includes the swan, nightingale, crow, pigeon and cuckoo with the wagtail, swallow and even chicken making an appearance. We also encounter more exotic birds, such as the humming bird, golden plover, stork, ibis, spoonbill and flamingo. The songs are humorous or reflective, grief-laden or exuberant. The programme includes Tippett’s virtuosic cantata, ‘Boyhood’s End’ based on WH Hudson’s memoir of his childhood in the Argentine pampas, as well as favourites from Schubert’s song cycles Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. There are also two piano solos by Rameau and Messiaen. Join us for this full length recital, and enjoy hearing these fabulous composers take wing. Nicholas Hurndall Smith is a classical singer, conductor, singing teacher, expedition climber, mountain leader and rock climbing instructor. Born in Hertfordshire, he is married with two daughters and based in Kendal. Throughout his career he has sung worldwide with the solo voice ensemble I Fagiolini, as well as appearing in opera and oratorio, and increasingly as arecitalist. Jen Hartley is a teacher, pianist and composer. She read Music at Cambridge University and completed a PhD at the RNCM. She enjoys working as an accompanist and directing choirs,and is currently the Associate Composer for Cumbria Opera Group, and teaches at Chetham’s School of Music.

Ticket Prices

Standard: £15.00

Member: £12.00

Children (-18yrs): £6.00

Booking Postponed

Turner & Constable
2026-03-10 14:00 - 16:00

Second Best Bed
2026-03-13 19:30 - 21:30

The Jack Pearce Quintet
2026-03-21 19:30 - 21:30

Shore Lines
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:30

Blue Moon
2026-04-03 19:30 - 22:00

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party
2026-04-10 19:30 - 21:30

Chameleon Wind Quartet
2026-04-12 14:30 - 16:30

National Theatre Live - Hamlet
2026-04-14 19:30 - 21:30

Hebble
2026-04-18 19:30 - 21:30

Hay Fever By Noel Coward
2026-04-22 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-04-23 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-04-24 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-04-25 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-04-25 19:30 - 21:30

The Choral
2026-05-01 19:30 - 22:00

Simeon Walker - Solo Piano
2026-05-03 14:30 - 16:30

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
2026-05-08 19:30 - 21:30

4 In 1
2026-05-16 19:30 - 21:30

Frida Kahlo - The Making Of An Icon
2026-05-19 14:00 - 16:00

Under Milk Wood
2026-05-22 19:30 - 21:30

The Ballad Of Wallis Island
2026-06-05 19:30 - 22:00

South Lakes Acapella Choir & Maelstrom Male Voice Choir
2026-06-07 14:30 - 16:30

Fake
2026-06-12 19:30 - 21:30

I'm Still Here
2026-06-19 19:30 - 22:00

Kedu
2026-06-20 19:30 - 21:30

Anniversary Film Night
2026-06-26 19:00 - 22:00

Gaby Gullivers Travels
2026-06-27 11:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-27 14:00 - 15:00

The Flight Of The Heron
2026-06-27 19:30 - 22:00
