Art is testimony of the human condition, and, according to Ben Crick, the composer and conductor of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, classical music is the “most beautiful” art that humanity has ever created.
And Ben is determined you will hear it. And, if you’re not already, be transformed by it.
Throughout his career, the Huddersfield born classically trained cellist (who now lives in Skipton) has doggedly avoided the repeated asks to relocate to London for his career.
Ben has been a BBC music fellow, founded the Skipton Building Society Camerata, and in 2022, re-booted the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra which disbanded in the 1950s – an orchestra loved in its heyday by Alan Bennett and David Hockney.
Continuing the YSO’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes, Ben is producing ‘Yorkshire Calling’ – a celebratory concert that will re-open another institution saved from the ashes: Bradford Live, a 3,000+ theatre in the beautiful Art Deco building at risk of dereliction and closure.
Ben Crick in Bradford. Lorne Campbell / Guzelian
‘Yorkshire Calling will be full of approachable, fun, melodic art,’ Ben says. ‘It’s art for everyone. I genuinely think this distinction between low art and high art is unnecessary. There’s no reason we can’t have art of the highest quality that’s also immediate and entertaining, and this gig does this.’
Ben is not the stereotype of a composer, and that’s part of his mission: to strip away its perceived elitism. He says people are put off by classical music because of the formality surrounding it. But ultimately, everyone knows a classical piece (from a wedding, funeral, TV advert, or film score), and everyone is unfailingly moved by it.
‘People turn to classical moments at big moments in life. We’re all subliminally aware that it’s important, and big and grand, and tells this universal story. But we just need to realise that there’s a greatness in the every day, we don’t have to wait for seminal moments, there’s a heroic to the everyday that can be celebrated as well.’
For Ben, that everyday quality is found in the place he’s from: Yorkshire. Yorkshire runs through Ben’s veins. When he’s not composing or conducting pieces inspired and performed here, he’s climbing its hills or caving. He once said: ‘There’s Yorkshire and not Yorkshire and that essentially covers the universe.’
Ben adds: ‘You write what you know. The point of my art is to tell the story of the place I’m from through the vehicle of classical music, which I believe is the most beautiful art form that humanity has ever created. What I want to do is tell the story from where I’m from using that artform, that’s the point of my art.’
The first half of the concert will be a series of acts featuring the ‘best that Yorkshire has to offer’ including the BBC’s Bantam of the Opera Choir and Leeds based international concert pianist, Yuanfan Yang.
The renowned broadcaster, is known for his distinctive voice and engaging storytelling and says: ‘I see these poems as steps across the Yorkshire landscape, each step singing with the power of possibility and the joy of creativity. Guy Fawkes has a plan dark as a flat cap, Emily Brontë wakes to write at the Wuthering Hour, and J.B. Priestley has a voice like parkin. Set to Ben’s music, it’s a powerful and uplifting piece.’
The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra’s patron is Alan Bennett, who used to regularly attend their concerts in his youth, as did the Bradford-born artist, David Hockney.
Ben adds: “It’s fitting that the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, which we reformed in 2021 after it disbanded in 1955, is performing at a venue that was also saved from closure, and that it’s happening in the City of Culture year. This night is like a phoenix from the ashes. Yorkshire truly gets to show off, and we hope audiences will come and join us for what promises to be a spectacular and uplifting musical celebration.’
The Bantam of the Opera choir features fans of Bradford City AFC, known as ‘the Bantams’ who have been taught to sing opera to celebrate Bradford’s UK City of Culture year, as part of a BBC Radio Leeds programme.
The world-renowned BBC Singers have supported the choir during their development, with support from Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, opera singer Lesley Garrett and sporting legend Chris Kamara.
The concert is part of wider celebrations being held in the district with Bradford and Ilkley hosting this year’s Yorkshire Day, which is celebrated annually on August 1, a tribute to the county’s rich heritage, culture, and identity.
Ben hopes audiences will come, and hints at further big name acts to be announced at the celebration of Yorkshire’s finest talent on Yorkshire Day in the UK City of Culture. In fact, this concert is supported by Bradford City of Culture 2025.
‘We’ve got this iconic venue opening which is going to welcome acts from all over the world, but it’s right and proper that we start with something that celebrates us.’ Ben says.
For Yorkshire Calling tickets and more information, visit: https://booking.trafalgartickets.com/en/bradford-live-bradford/buyingflow/tickets/29797/58692/ or call 0343 310 0026
