Conductor Rebecca Tong makes Liverpool Philharmonic Hall debut

Rising star conductor Rebecca Tong is to make her delayed Liverpool debut this week after stepping in a short notice to lead three concerts at the Philharmonic Hall.

Andrew Manze was due to conduct the concerts on Thursday evening and Sunday morning and afternoon.

But Covid travelling restrictions mean the RLPO principal guest conductor can’t make it to Liverpool after all.

Instead, Tong will step into the breach – and it will be the first time the young Indonesian has performed live since she won the prestigious La Maestra competition for women conductors which was staged in Paris last month.

She will conduct a reduced-size Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in a programme of Sibelius, Beethoven and Schubert’s exuberant Fifth Symphony.

The concerts will also become part of the Phil’s new On Demand streaming service from October 21 onwards.

The Liverpool Phil’s revised season of live performances is being announced month by month and audience numbers are restricted to a capacity of 240 in the 1,700-seat auditorium with strict Covid-safe measures in place. Each concert is around an hour in length with no interval.

Along with taking first place at the La Maestra competition, Tong also received the Arte Prize and French Concert Halls and Orchestras Prize, impressing a jury headed by Ewa Bogusz-Moore and including conductors Marin Alsop and Lionel Bringuier.

Tong was due to appear with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in April before the pandemic led to the concert hall being closed.

For more details on this week’s concerts including ticket availability, visit the website HERE