Hawes' Concerto premieres at Highgrove

A new harp concerto by Patrick Hawes, commissioned by The Prince of Wales, was premiered on Tuesday 8 June at Highgrove by Royal Harpist Claire Jones and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

The Highgrove Suite, a four-movement work for harp and strings, celebrates and draws inspiration from the gardens at Highgrove. Its premiere will celebrate The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, founded by The Prince in 2002 to help more children to experience the arts first-hand.

As part of the commission, Patrick Hawes will be running a number of workshops with The Prince’s Foundation to give children an insight into the process of classical composition. He commented: “As an Ambassador of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, I am delighted that the charity is to be celebrated at the premiere, and I am very much looking forward to sharing my experiences of the creative process with as many young people as possible.”

The Highgrove Suite developed out of Hawes’ one-movement work for harp and strings entitled ‘Goddess of the Woods’, which was premiered on The Prince’s 60th birthday in November 2008 by Claire Jones and the Philharmonia. Three new movements have been added to complete the suite, each one inspired by an aspect of the gardens at Highgrove.

For the past 30 years The Prince, a keen gardener, has developed a series of gardens within the Highgrove estate, including a wild flower meadow, a walled kitchen garden, a stumpery and an Islamic ‘Carpet Garden’.

Patrick Hawes was Classic FM Composer in Residence from 2006-7. Read more about Patrick Hawes here.

For the premiere Claire Jones will wear a dress inspired by Highgrove, specially designed by students of Gwent College, Wales. Read more here.