Celebrate the closing weekend of Nottingham Castle’s acclaimed Forest exhibition with a captivating musical event set in the heart of the Robin Hood gallery. Songs from Sherwood Forest features a newly commissioned programme of songs inspired by the region’s natural beauty, from the legendary Major Oak to the flowing banks of the River Trent.
The new songs were written and composed by Professor Elizabeth Kelly and poet Dr Matt Welton from the University of Nottingham. The performance brings together a quintet of locally based, but internationally renowned, musicians for the first time including:
- Marcus Farnsworth – Baritone
- László Rózsa – Recorders
- Tamaki Higashi – Violin
- Carmen Flores – Viola
- Tim Smedley – Cello
After the performance, the audience is welcome to interact with the artists before enjoying the rest of the exhibition, which features scientific contributions and research from specialists at the University of Nottingham. All ages welcome!
About the composers:
Elizabeth Kelly
Elizabeth is an American-British composer based in Nottingham, UK where she is Professor of Music Composition at the University of Nottingham. Her music has been commissioned by a broad spectrum of leading international ensembles including orchestras, choirs, bands and new music ensembles and performed/broadcast across North America and Europe. In 2024, she was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 to compose 'Lace Machine Music', which the BBC Concert Orchestra premiered at the first BBC Proms weekend in Nottingham. She is passionate about empowering young people’s musical creativity, and she has led inclusive music composition education initiatives across the UK and US.
Matthew Welton:
Matt was born in Nottingham, where he now lives and teaches at the University of Nottingham. His fifth book of poems, Small Birds Singing, will be published by Carcanet in 2026. His work takes a playful approach to poetic form, and much of his writing has been made in collaboration with composers, artists and other poets.