Win tickets and drinks to Royal Northern Sinfonia at Sunderland's new Fire Station Auditorium

The UK’s only full time chamber orchestra will be performing at Sunderland’s new £18m Fire Station Auditorium on Sunday, December 12, and we’ve teamed up with the venue to give away a pair of tickets, as well as a bottle of wine in the new foyer bar.

The candlelit Christmas concert will feature new leader Maria Wloszczowska and will combine classical festive favourites with nods to The Fire Station’s history and a special symphony composed in Sunderland.

Founded in 1958, RNS, based at Sage Gateshead, has built a worldwide reputation.

The orchestra regularly flies the flag for the region at major festivals, including the BBC Proms, most recently performing Handel’s Water Music at Stage @theDock in Hull – the first Prom performed outside of London since 1930.

They appear frequently at venues and festivals in Europe, including La folle journée in Nantes. In recent seasons they have toured to Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul and Tokyo.

The Sunderland performance will feature music by Herschel – Symphony No. 8 in c minor ‘Sunderland’ (12’); Vivaldi – Concerto ‘Alla Rustica’ in G major RV 151 (4’); Bach – Sinfonia from ‘Christmas Oratorio’ (6’); Handel – Water Music Suite No. 1 (Overture, Aria, No. 3) (12’); Vivaldi – Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C Major (7’); Corelli – Concerto grosso op. 6 No. 8 ‘Christmas Concerto’ (15’) and Haydn – Symphony No. 59 ‘Fire’ (18’).

The Christmas concert is part of the opening Firestarters season at the city’s newest venue.

Built on the site of a former car park adjacent to the existing Fire Station arts venue, the auditorium has a capacity of 550 people seated or 800 standing, and lies between the size of the neighbouring 2,000-seater Empire and smaller music venues such as Independent.

A mid-size venue that should stamp Sunderland on the touring circuit route for a host of gigs and other performances, it will also have an outdoor space for socially-distanced performances.

Set to be a major cultural asset for the city, the venue will programme up to 300 events a year in music, theatre, comedy and dance. It’s operated by Sunderland Culture on behalf of Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Trust.

The venue’s Engine Room bar and bistro also recently reopened its doors with a new menu and management team.

WIN

To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets, plus a bottle of wine in the foyer bar, to the RNS concert on December 12 answer this question: where is the home of RNS?

::A. Sage Gateshead

::B. Theatre Royal

::C. Newcastle Arena

Email your answer, along with your name, address and contact details to [email protected] by Monday, December 6.

Usual JPI Media competition rules apply.

Ticket holders will be required to comply with the latest government Covid-19 guidance at the time of the event and will be informed prior to the event of any additional safety procedures that are in place.

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