8th – 21st March – Visit to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to work together with the children and music teachers of the CNCF Blue Skies Ger Village on music and performance, and on preparing for the anniversary gala dinner. (cancelled)

2nd April – A concert in De Witte, a private members’ club in The Hague, the Netherlands, with Hungarian guitarist Robert Sinha and singer Dorottya Lackfi, presenting English and Hungarian folk songs and light music. (cancelled)

3rd April – A concert of English Song from Dowland to Sting in Sijthoff, a culture centre in Leiden, the Netherlands, with Hungarian guitarist Robert Sinha. (cancelled)

5th April – (tbc) Guest singer during a football match between FC Twente and Fortuna Sittard, in which the players were to wear shirts with the names of the 21 British soldiers killed in the liberation of Enschede, with 906 veterans in the public. (pending)

5th April – Liszt’s ‘Via Crucis’ with Dutch concert pianist Willem Brons and the Leidse Cantorij in the Hooglandse Kerk, Leiden, the Netherlands. (cancelled)

9th April – Dawn Ceremony in Arras, France, to commemorate the Battle of Arras. (cancelled)

10th April – Concert and CD presentation of “Echoes of War” in the beautiful chapel of Arras Conservatoire, with concert pianist Han-Louis Meijer. This was to be the launch of our recent CD in France. (cancelled)

19th April – (tbc) Military Tattoo in Epe, the Netherlands, with the Band of Liberation and Pipes. (pending)

3rd May – Concert in the Dominicus Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with the Hoofdstadkoor: Duruflé’s Requiem, the second movement of Goreki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, “Silent, so silent now” from Karl Jenkins’s “The Armed Man,” and Emma’s composition “Mater Pulchra” especially arranged for choir and string orchestra. (pending)

Please check this website for updates.

4th May – Remembrance Day ceremony in Hoek of Holland, the Netherlands.(pending)

5th May (tbc) – Multi-faith Liberation Day service in the Hooglandse Kerk, Leiden, the Netherlands. (pending)

5th May – Concert with Gouda’s Liedertafel and Han-Louis Meijer in the St Jan cathedral church in Gouda, the Netherlands. (pending)

Please check this website for updates.

8th – 10th May – Remembrance ceremonies for the 80th anniversary of Dunkirk and for VE Day in Dunkirk and northern France. (pending)

15th – 18th May – Guest singer with the royal Dutch military orchestra ‘Fanfare Bereden Wapens’ in Lourdes, France, during the international military pilgrimage to Lourdes. (postponed until 2021)

Hungarian guitarist Robert Sinha will visit the Netherlands in early April as part of a tour of Western Europe. Emma will join him for two concerts, one in De Witte, a private members’ club in The Hague, and the other in the Sijthoff culture centre in Leiden.

In De Witte they will be joined by Hungarian singer Dorottya Lackfi and poet János Lackfi for an evening of Hungarian and English music. The event is by invitation only.

In Sijthoff they will present a programme of folk music from the British and former British Isles, and English song. For more information and tickets (in Dutch), please see the website of Sijthoff.

2nd April, 2020, De Witte, The Hague, the Netherlands

3rd April, 2020, 20:00, Sijthoff, Leiden, the Netherlands

Here is a video of Robert and Emma performing “The Poor Wayfaring Stranger” in 2019:

Emma was delighted to be invited to sing for the CNCF fundraising gala in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the event has been postponed, hopefully to later in the year.

Emma sang for the CNCF’s gala in Ho Chi Minh last November. Here is an impression of the event. Please consider supporting this wonderful foundation.

For more information, please visit www.cncf.org

“Fantasia” is the result of a wonderful collaboration between symphonic rock band ‘Simple Harmonic Motion’ and Emma. The album consists of covers of classical music such as Bach-Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria,’ the ‘Sanctus’ from Fauré’s ‘Requiem,’ and Tallis’s ‘Third Mode Fantasy.’

The album is available at Floating World Records and other online retailers.

“Fantasia” is the result of a wonderful collaboration between symphonic rock band ‘Simple Harmonic Motion’ and Emma. The album consists of covers of classical music such as Bach-Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria,’ the ‘Sanctus’ from Fauré’s ‘Requiem,’ and Tallis’s ‘Third Mode Fantasy.’

The album is available at Floating World Records and other online retailers.

Last year Emma was invited to record five songs with the symphonic rock band Simple Harmonic Motion.  On 21st and 22nd February, she will join them to present their new album ‘Fantasia’ in the Netherlands and France.

Here is their press release:

Total immersion in lights and sound. That is the approach of progressive rock band ‘Simple Harmonic Motion.’ Together with Leiden mezzo-soprano Emma Brown, the British band will visit Leiden to present their latest album “Fantasia” in a free concert here in our very own Hooglandse Kerk. Their stunning music is accompanied by bespoke projections in the medieval high choir.

‘Simple Harmonic Motion’ have performed in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Led by Jonathan Beckitt, they have an fresh and innovative approach to music. Their latest album “Fantasia” shows their respectful covers of well-known classical music. It includes folk songs, the Bach-Gounod ‘Ave Maria,’ the ‘Sanctus’ from Fauré’s Requiem, and Albinoni’s ‘Adagio.’

Their previous albums have been equally innovative. In “Tone Poems” they explored the poetry of John Keats, based on Greek mythology, as is depicted magnificently in the accompanying projections. In this album, guitarist Curtis E Johnson really shines, showing his creative use of the harmonic textures of distortion and feedback.

Unusually, the band began as a studio project. They wanted to record high-quality, original music, as can be heard on their album “Interludes.” The success of this album inspired them to perform live. The bespoke projections fit ‘hand in glove’ with the music. A backing track helps the musicians stay synchronized with the animations, and still allows them to play and sing relatively freely.

It is challenging to classify the band. Between them, the musicians have experience in many different genres. Emma is well-known here in the Netherlands as a classical singer: she is the most recent member of the band, joining them in 2018 for “Fantasia.” Meanwhile, bass-player Steve Kershaw regularly performs with jazz bands in the UK, Europe, and Russia. Drummer Gerry O’Riordan has performed in many different genres and works as a sound engineer in London. Guitarist Curtis E Johnson has recorded solo albums as a rock vocalist. Composer, arranger, keyboard player and flautist Jonathan Beckitt draws on all their respective talents. Simple Harmonic Motion has been labelled as a ‘progressive rock band,’ a ‘symphonic rock band’ and also as ‘minimalist,’ ‘ambient,’ and ‘new age contemporary classical music.’ In short, they are the band where genres meet.

Friday, 21st February, 20:30, Hooglandse Kerk, Leiden, the Netherlands
Saturday, 22nd February, 20:00, Cathedral of Our Lady, Amiens, France

On 15th and 16th February Emma will be singing for a private group during First World War remembrance ceremonies at various locations on the Western Front in Northern France.

Emma’s composition ‘O Nata Lux’ has recently been published by Edition HH. This six-part a capella motet uses a tenth-century text for the Feast of Transfiguation. However, it is suitable throughout the liturgical year.

For more information and to purchase the motet, please visit Edition HH.