A new academic year begins at the YST Conservatory. As we welcome our 15th cohort of students, we are also excited to present this semester’s events calendar!

This year represents the 150th anniversary of Strauss’ most famous waltz – the Blue Danube, offering an opportunity to consider works written along perhaps what is musically one of the most important of Europe’s waterways. It is also interesting to explore the political ramifications of the river, which has both linked and divided communities, as well as the historical transformations through time, economically and politically. As an extension, we explore the theme of nature which not only offered Strauss such inspiration but also many others through time, not least Handel whose pastoral opera Acis and Galatea features this semester as our first ever opera performance. We hope you will enjoy the mix of programmes, spanning 400 years, drawing on the inspiration of meadows, birds, seasons, atmospheres and the Danube.