Stevens & Pound

Award-winning BBC Radio 3 Presenter, Delia Stevens and three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year nominee, Will Pound, present an unprecedented collaboration with the youth-led global climate non-profit organisation, Force of Nature. Alongside members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Northern College of Music, they première their new double percussion and harmonica/melodeon concerto, Silent Planet Suite. To mark Holst’s 150th anniversary in 2024, Stevens and Pound reimagine his iconic Planets suite – adding an additional movement which Holst chose to silence as ‘astrologically insignificant’ – Earth. The piece platforms young climate activists from the international youth organisation Force of Nature giving key-note speeches accompanied by orchestral improvised soundscapes based on Holst’s planetary characters such as Bringer of War or Bringer of Peace. The additional movement Earth – co-written with Force of Nature – stresses the urgency of listening to our planet and amplifying unheard voices in the conversation around the climate. Silent Planet Suite (première) Holst’s Planets re-imagined Delia Stevens & Will Pound / orch Ian Gardiner Mars, the Bringer of War Mercury, the Winged Messenger Venus, the Bringer of Peace Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity Earth – new work by Stevens & Pound and Force of Nature / orch Gardiner Clark Rundell conductor Will Pound harmonica Delia Stevens percussion Phoebe Hanson speaker, Force of Nature Musicians from the RNCM and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra