Sunday 12th October 2025 – 7.30pm – The Cinema, Newton Stewart
Classical Musicians Scotland present a full programme of classics from the world of opera with a little operetta and possibly even a smidgen of Gilbert and Sullivan thrown in, performed by four professional soloists and a chamber orchestra conducted by Derek Clark (formerly Head of Music at Scottish Opera).
A Night at the Opera / four singers, eleven instruments, conductor, compère
If you would like a really special event for a unique celebration, why not consider our Opera Gala evening? You provide the space and the audience, and we provide the musicians and a full programme of classics from the world of opera with a little operetta and possibly even a smidgen of Gilbert and Sullivan thrown in.
….performed at Lanark Memorial Hall, 29/10/24, soprano Emily Mitchell, mezzo Sarah Shorter, baritone Douglas Nairne with the Classical Musicians Scotland orchestra, conducted by Derek Clark
In 2016, Garnethill Synagogue asked us to provide a Candlelit Classics evening to help them raise funds for the upkeep of their truly unique building in Glasgow’s city centre, and A Night at the Opera was born.
We came along with a full complement of professional musicians including four singers, five strings, four woodwind, a horn player, a harpist, a conductor/pianist and a compère. Atmospheric “safe” candles were provided and a wonderful evening was had by all in a truly magical setting.
The programme of favourite operatic melodies included pieces to delight both the musical connoisseur and the less operatically minded, and homage was paid to Bizet, Delibes, Donizetti, Mozart, Offenbach, Puccini, Saint-Saens, J Strauss and Verdi with an acknowledgement to Lehar and Gilbert and Sullivan. Each item was introduced with polish and panache, explaining which character was singing, how he/she was feeling and why, and what he/she was expressing in the music. A surprise or two may also have been in store!
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=536039589060509
Derek Clark / conductor / accompanist / composer / arranger
Derek Clark was born in Glasgow, and is an Honours graduate of the RSAMD and the University of Durham. He also studied at the London Opera Centre before joining Welsh National Opera as a repetiteur in 1977, making his professional conducting debut in 1981 with Handel’s Tamerlano.
He was Head of Music at Scottish Opera from 1997 until March 2023, and conducted more than 25 operas for the company, including major works by Handel and Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Puccini, and Gilbert & Sullivan – his most recent conducting engagement being the outstanding production of “Il Trittico” at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.
He provided re-orchestrations for recent touring productions of Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Rodelinda and The Elixir of Love and devised twenty-two Opera Highlight/Essential Scottish Opera programmes. His re-orchestration of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ has also been used by other companies and colleges, both in the UK and in America.
He has also specialised in contemporary music, as conductor of all three seasons of Scottish Opera’s highly successful Five:15 project. He conducted the Scottish premieres of James MacMillan’s Clemency, Philip Glass’ The Trial and the world premieres of Craig Armstrong’s ‘The Lady from the Sea’ and Rory Boyle’s Kaspar Hauser: Child of Europe.
He works as an accompanist, appearing regularly throughout the country, and is a regular Guest Coach at the major conservatoires and colleges and at the National Opera Studio. Though most of his professional life has been spent in the opera house, he has also found time to compose and arrange music for a wide variety of people and circumstances.
He was appointed Musical Director of Dundee Choral Union in 2011, and since 2014 has been Director of Music at Helensburgh Parish Church.
After retiring from Scottish Opera in March 2023, his diary is quickly filling up with new and exciting projects, including concerts with The Antonine Trio, Opera Alba, and “Celebrating Irving Berlin”.