Zimbabwean-American conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni will lead Birmingham Contemporary Music Group for two concerts in Birmingham and Bristol this October.

Described as a conductor of great intensity, Vimbayi is widely sought-after for his depth of approach and his interpretative imagination. He has led many performances with orchestras across the globe, including with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Washington National Opera.He is artistic advisor to the Boston Lyric Opera and artist-in-residence with the International Contemporary Ensemble, amongst many other posts.

This October marks his debut with BCMG, where he leads the ensemble in Songs at Day, Songs at Night, performed at the Elgar Concert Hall at the University of Birmingham on 18 October and St George’s Hall, Bristol, on 29 October.

In this special performance, BCMG perform the world premiere of Daniel Kidane’s Cradle Song, a brand new Sound Investment commission. An exciting voice in the contemporary music scene, Daniel’s previous orchestral works include Woke, which was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with conductor Sakari Oramo at the Last Night of the Proms in September 2019, and Breakbeat, written for the CBSO Youth Orchestra and inspired by Grime music.

The programme also includes Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s enigmatic, final ensemble work …when falling asleep, Hannah Kendall’s Between Carnival and Lent, and the UK premiere of Julian Anderson’s Mitternachtslied. Songs and Day, Songs at Night includes performances by South African tenor singer Thando Mjandana, winner of the Voice of Black Opera’s Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Award in 2022, and British-Pakistani soprano Mimi Doulton.

Full details and tickets are available at bcmg.org.uk