Nicolas Altstaedt and The Carice Singers
An Ode to Our Planet
Earth Unwrapped
| Bach | Cello Suite No. 1 |
|---|---|
| Ben Nobuto | Sol |
| Raquel García-Tomás | Vols brisés (UK premiere) |
| Bach | Cello Suite No. 5 |
| Dobrinka Tabakova | Turn our Captivity, O Lord |
| Josephine Stephenson | Fire, river, garden (world premiere) |
| Nicolas Altstaedt | cello |
|---|---|
| The Carice Singers |
Join Nicolas Altstaedt and The Carice Singers as they weave Bach’s introspective Cello Suites with new works by Josephine Stephenson and Raquel García-Tomás, music that questions our true connection with Earth and its vulnerable state.
The climate crisis we are living through demands that we think differently about our place in the world, understand the effect we have on our environment and that it has on us, and recognise our historical context both in terms of what has come before us and what the future is likely to hold. Join French-British composer Josephine Stephenson, and Spanish composer Raquel García-Tomás, alongside award-winning cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and The Carice Singers for an evening of new music that questions our relationship with an increasingly threatened environment.
Bach’s Cello Suites Nos 1 and 5, performed by the exceptional German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, one of today’s most sought-after and versatile artists, bring moments of purity and introspection. Around these solo meditations, voices from The Carice Singers, praised by The Times for their ‘poised professionalism and beautiful sound’, join in presenting a rich sequence of contemporary choral and instrumental works.
Ben Nobuto’s Sol is a playful ode to the sun and the energy that sustains life, while Dobrinka Tabakova’s Turn our Captivity, O Lord offers a serene plea for renewal and hope. New works by Raquel García-Tomás and Josephine Stephenson explore our fragile relationship with the planet, bringing the programme’s environmental reflections into the present moment.
This event will last approximately 70 minutes, including an interval.
Josephine Stephenson’s work has been commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society, through the generous support of an anonymous donor. Raquel Garcia-Tomas’s work has been commissioned by Palau de la Musica and the Royal Philharmonic Society, through the generous support of an anonymous donor.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
About Nicolas Altstaedt
German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, conductor and artistic director. His acclaimed debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Gustavo Dudamel at the Lucerne Festival launched collaborations with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and NHK Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Ivan Fischer, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lahav Shani, François-Xavier Roth, Gianandrea Noseda and Paavo Järvi. Altstaedt often performs on period instruments and regularly collaborates with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Jean Rondeau and Thomas Dunford.
Joint appearances and premieres with Thomas Adès, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, Jörg Widmann, Fazıl Say, Heinz Holliger and Liza Lim make him a passionate advocate for contemporary music. Altstaedt was chosen by Gidon Kremer as Artistic Director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival in 2012 and is Artistic Partner of the Tapiola Sinfonietta for the next three seasons. His recordings have received numerous accolades, including the BBC Music Magazine Concerto Award and a Gramophone Classical Music Award.
About The Carice Singers
The Carice Singers, praised by The Times for its ‘poised professionalism and beautiful sound’ (2024) and by The Guardian for being ‘fearless’ (2025), is making a strong impact on the UK’s choral landscape with performances of repertoire from the 20th and 21st centuries. Named after Elgar’s daughter, the choir offers new ways to honour the UK’s rich musical heritage, regularly collaborating with today’s composers.
Recent projects have included a performance of Kaija Saariaho’s masterpiece Reconnaissance at London’s Kings Place and the world premiere of Daniel Kidane’s N’dehou at the 2025 New Music Biennial in Bradford. This Autumn, The Carice Singers’ Arvo Pärt at 90 series features concerts at St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’ Church in Chipping Campden, Barbican, and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. The group also runs a summer composer academy at the Cheltenham Music Festival, and has commissioned works from Alex Groves, Electra Perivolaris, Evelin Seppar, and Aníbal Vidal.