Scala Radio Presents: Classics at Christmas
Start your Christmas early with a festive afternoon at the iconic London Palladium.
Last updated 12th Oct 2023
We're delighted to announce that we are returning to the iconic London Palladium with our festive concert Scala Radio presents: Classics at Christmas with Holiday Inn Express on the 26th November 2023. Join your favourite duo, Scala Radio presenter Penny Smith and world-renowned tenor Alfie Boe, as they host an afternoon filled with a selection of Christmas classics and Classical favourites accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
Alongside hosting with Penny, Alfie will also be performing on the famous London Palladium stage for an unforgettable afternoon of live music with further Scala family and friends, including the multi-talented cellist, singer and composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson, superstar tenor Russell Watson, British composer and orchestral conductor David Arnold and the outstanding flautist Lisa Friend will be joining the line-up, with familiar Scala Radio faces Charles Nove and Jack Pepper also making an appearance on stage, with many more to be announced shortly.
Tickets are on sale now! Make sure you get yours before they sell out!
Where can I get tickets?
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra (RPCO) is a dynamic and versatile ensemble that performs a wide range of styles and genres of music in shows across the UK and around the world. The Orchestra’s repertoire includes film music, video game scores, music from the musicals, and symphonic arrangements of classic rock and pop songs, as well as new commissions and the traditional core classical repertoire, reaching an audience of over 170,000 live listeners per year. The Orchestra’s creative partnerships with artists, promoters and producers have resulted in ambitious performances in venues from vast arenas and main concert venues around the UK to smaller and more intimate settings. The RPCO aims to reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible and is unafraid to explore new orchestral experiences.
Alfie Boe
Alfie's career took off back in 2002 when he was casted in the acclaimed Broadway revival of ‘La Bohème’. His powerhouse performance brought him a Tony award and marked his arrival on the international scene. Having conquered the world’s most prestigious opera stages, Alfie led the cast of Les Misérables in the role of Jean Valjean in the West End and played the lead role in Finding Neverland on Broadway. In 2012, Alfie stole the show at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace with a medley of hits from his illustrious career.
Having performed at Scala Radio's Christmas event last year, Alfie is looking forward to taking to the stage again at this year's Scala Radio Presents Classics as Christmas, where he'll be performing solo as well as hosting at the London Palladium on November 26th:
“After the fun that Michael and I had performing at last year’s event I jumped at the chance to join the lovely Penny for this year’s Classics at Christmas. And to be able to perform on the Palladium stage with the Royal Philharmonic is the best cherry on my Christmas cake!”
Russell Watson
Russell watson is the UKs most prolific classical recording artiste ever! His first two recordings, The Voice and Encore are the top two album sellers of the century, with ‘The Voice’ making him the first and only classical vocalist from these shores to reach one million sales in the UK. He has reached number one status all over the globe and holds platinum album status, from here to Australia. He was the first uk artiste to score a transatlantic number one in the USA and the Uk and spent a record breaking 52 weeks at number one in the process.
His performances at some of the worlds biggest sporting events has gained him great acclaim. Everything from a performance with legendary soprano Montserrat Caballé at the champions league final, the 1999 rugby union World Cup, the Euro’s in 2002, the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and the opening ceremony of the world games. That same year he sang in front of the capitol building in Washington DC for a live audience of four hundred and fifty thousand people. In 2012 he performed three concerts at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Coronation Gala Festival. Since 2001 he has sold more than seven million albums worldwide achieved eight top ten album placements and received four classical Brit Awards. He has occupied the UK top twenty on seventeen separate occasions. He has duetted with some of the worlds biggest stars , Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti, Lionel Richie, Meatloaf and Natalie Cole for his PBS debut special in the states.
Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, pianist and cellist. She has a phenomenal mastery for seamlessly crossing the boundaries of classical, jazz, reggae, soul and R&B, to imprint her unique musical signature with her virtuosic tap, strum and bow with her cello into her sound and vibe.
An acclaimed and celebrated performer, Ayanna has collaborated with many stellar artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Nitin Sawhney, Andrea Bocelli and Jools Holland. She has also toured extensively across the UK, Europe and the US.
Lisa Friend
Lisa Friend (British Flautist) has appeared as a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, City of Prague Philharmonic, Virtuosi Pragenses Chamber Orchestra and the CRR Genç Oda Orkestrası.
She has toured as a soloist throughout Europe, the USA and Asia. Lisa has also been broadcast on radio stations around the world including Scala Radio, Classic FM, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 2, BBC London, RTE Lyric FM, WQXR-New York, with the Brodsky Quartet live in the Classic FM Studios and on BBC One TV 'The Andrew Marr Show'.
Solo recital highlights include solo performances for Steven Spielberg, the Royal Family, LG Arts Centre-Seoul, Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall.
Her many recordings as a solo/chamber artist include Voyage (Chandos), Essence-Lisa Friend and Rohan De Silva (Chandos), Mozart Quartets-Lisa Friend & the Brodsky Quartet (Chandos), Cinema Affair (Silva Screen), Luminance (Champs Hill Records) and Deep in My Soul (Signum Records). All have been widely praised in the press including the BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone and the Mail on Sunday and many of her albums have been chosen as Scala Radio and Classic FM Album of the week.
David Arnold
David Arnold is a British composer, music producer and orchestral conductor with wide-ranging experience in many areas of the music industry. He started his music career as a leading player in one of the world's top orchestras and has since built an international reputation for his versatility and all-round musical ability. He now concentrates on conducting, composing, arranging and producing, as well as acting as a music consultant for concerts and recording.
As a conductor, David has worked with a diverse range of artists in both classical and pop music – from Rod Stewart, Annie Lennox, Tina Turner, Randy Newman and Donny Osmond to Andrea Bocelli, Julian Lloyd Webber, and Nicola Benedetti. He has conducted leading orchestras around the world, including the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic, RTE National Symphony, BBC Concert and London Concert orchestras, as well as the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera North.
He has conducted concerts in many countries, including Japan, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Greece and the Czech Republic. His orchestral recordings include Symphonic Rock, Pop Goes The Beatles, Christmas Classics, Showcase: The Musicals, Addicted To Movies and three volumes of the RPO's Here Come The Classics series. He is associate conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and was music director for the Cathcart Proms at the Royal Albert Hall for many years. He has been Musical Director for the BBC's Children In Need telethon since 1994.
Having written and arranged for radio and television for many years, David has built up a huge music library of arrangements, from classic greats and opera to musical and film scores. His hundreds of television credits include BBC One branding, Blue Peter, Guinness World Records, Sky News, Sky Sports, Live and Kicking and Tomorrow's World, On radio, he has produced station themes for BBC World Service, LBC, as well as Scala Radio, Classic FM and countless other stations.
Listen to Scala Radio on digital radio, app and smart speaker for further announcements about special guests set to join Penny and Alfie on November 26th.