CLEVELAND Chamber Orchestra starts its 2018-19 season with a celebration of the music of Handel at Stokesley Methodist Church on Sunday, September 23, at 3pm.

The concert will include performances of two of Handel’s most popular works, The Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. Written to entertain, these works will make for a concert full of ceremony, joy and energy.

Vocal fireworks will be provided by soprano Raphaela Papadakis, a passionate recitalist and concert singer who made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2014.

This year she has appeared at the Oxford Lieder Festival, the Beethoven Woche in Bonn, Musicfest Aberystwyth and St John’s Smiths Square.

Her awards include the York Early Music Festival Prize at the London Handel Festival, 1st Prize and Audience Prize at the Clonter Opera Competition and 1st Prize at the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards.

Handel was a superb composer for the voice and provides a rich and challenging repertoire for singers. Ms Papadakis has chosen four arias with moods from gentle and delicate, heartbroken to fiery anger.

Cleveland Chamber Orchestra is a long-established and well-respected orchestra, with an enthusiastic following – and a reputation for delicious home-baked cakes. Concerts are informal and children are welcome. The church has comfortable chairs, good sightlines and free parking nearby. For more information and tickets, visit clevelandchamberorchestra.co.uk.