David Atherton

David Atherton OBE, (born 3 January 1944) is an English conductor and co-founder of the London Sinfonietta.

Background

Atherton was born in Blackpool, Lancashire into a musical family. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School. His father, Robert Atherton, was the Music Master at St Joseph's College, Blackpool and was also a conductor. His mother was a singer.

Atherton studied music at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge.

Career

In 1967 Atherton was co-founder of the London Sinfonietta and, as its Music Director, a position he held until 1973, gave the first performance of many important contemporary works. It is now widely regarded as one of the world's leading chamber orchestras. Also in 1967 he was invited to join the music staff of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, by Sir Georg Solti. In 1968 he became the youngest conductor ever to appear there, conducting Il trovatore. He spent twelve years as Resident Conductor, giving over 150 performances. Also in 1968 he was the youngest conductor in the history of the BBC Proms and subsequently appeared in thirty consecutive seasons.

David

David (/ˈdeɪvɪd/; Hebrew: דָּוִד, Modern David, Tiberian Dāwîḏ;ISO 259-3 Dawid; Arabic: داوُد‎ Dāwūd; Syriac: ܕܘܝܕ‎ Dawid; Ancient Greek: Δαυίδ; Latin: Davidus, David; Strong's: Daveed) was, according to the Books of Samuel, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel, and according to the New Testament, an ancestor of Jesus. His life is conventionally dated to c. 1040 – 970 BCE, his reign over Judah c. 1010–970 BCE.

The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the only Old Testament sources of information on David, although the Tel Dan Stele (dated c. 850–835 BCE) contains the phrase בית דוד (bytdwd), read as "House of David", which many scholars confirm to be a likely plausible match to the existence in the mid-9th century BCE of a Judean royal dynasty called the House of David.

Depicted as a valorous warrior of great renown, and a poet and musician credited for composing much of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms, King David is widely viewed as a righteous and effective king in battle and civil justice. He is described as a man after God's own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22.

SS London (1864)

SS London was a British steamship which sank in the Bay of Biscay on 11 January 1866. The ship was travelling from Gravesend in England to Melbourne, Australia, when she began taking in water on 10 January, with 239 persons aboard. The ship was overloaded with cargo and unseaworthy, and only 19 survivors were able to escape the foundering ship by lifeboat, leaving a death toll of 220.

History

London was built in Blackwall Yard by Money Wigrams and Sons and launched on the River Thames on 20 July 1864, and had a 1652 ton register.

From 23 September 1864 she undertook sea trials and on 23 October 1864 started her first voyage to Melbourne via Portsmouth and Plymouth. During the voyage a boat crew was sent to locate a man overboard, but this boatcrew was lost, and later rescued by the Henry Tabar. London arrived in Cape Town on 5 December 1864 and set sail again on 7 December, arriving in Melbourne on 2 January 1865.

On 4 February 1865 she left Melbourne for the return trip to London with 260 passengers and 90,000 ounces (2,600 kg) of gold, and arrived back in Gravesend on 26 April 1865.

London Sinfonietta

The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London.

The London Sinfonietta’s mission is to place the best contemporary classical music at the heart of today’s culture; engaging and challenging the public through inspiring performances of the highest standard, and taking risks to develop new work and talent.

The ensemble is Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre with headquarters at Kings Place, and continues to take the best contemporary music to venues and festivals across the UK and worldwide with a busy touring schedule. Since its inaugural concert in 1968 – giving the world premiere of Sir John Tavener’s The Whale – the London Sinfonietta’s commitment to making new music has seen it commission over 300 works, and premiere many hundreds more.

The core of the London Sinfonietta is 18 Principal Players, representing some of the best solo and ensemble musicians in the world. In September 2013 the ensemble launched its Emerging Artists Programme, which gives brilliant professional musicians at the start of their careers the opportunity to work alongside those Principal Players on stage across the season.

Homes Under the Hammer

Homes Under the Hammer is a British factual renovation and auction series that originally screened on BBC One as part of the BBC's morning television schedule, the series has been running since 2003. Its main presenters are Lucy Alexander, Martin Roberts, and (from 2015) Dion Dublin although in series three Marc Woodward and Jasmine Birtles alternated presenting duties with Alexander and Roberts. The series is the BBC's most successful show in the 10:00 AM slot, regularly attaining a 30% market share for new episodes.

Format

Each episode of the show follows three properties (or two per half-hour show) which were bought at auction, often ones that require significant refurbishment. A cross-section of properties is featured, including residential, commercial, rural and plots of land. The programme follows a set format. One of the presenters views the property prior to going up for auction, giving their opinion on it and its potential problems as well as attractive features. A local estate agent is also invited to give their opinion on the property. The auction is then shown and the final sale price finally revealed.