IT'S a long way from home for Tenby-born conductor Grant Llewellyn as he prepares to conduct his first performance of The Messiah with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston in Sounds Welsh (Monday, February 11, 9.15 pm, BBC 2W).
For Llewellyn it's a great pleasure and a challenge.
"It's the most important repertoire for the Handel and Haydn Society in a year, and this is only the second time that I've ever conducted the piece - ever!" he confesses.
"It's an enormous responsibility, but a thrill, too. The music is familiar, but to actually get a hand on the totality of it, to steer the evening's performance is a different kettle of fish. But I can relax and enjoy it, and think about shape, nuance and inflection. It would go on without me if I got lost," he joked.
But Llewellyn is not very fond of the common habit of singing along with the Messiah. "I come from a country of singalong, but there's a time and a place. Time is post-concert and place is a bar near you."
Llewellyn flew into Boston airport on September 10, and sat in horror and incredulity the following day.
"I'd like to think we've been through so much trauma that maybe on the back of this Messiah people can look forward optimistically," he said. "We won't forget the recent past, ever, but let's hope we can turn it into a positive future."
Before joining the Handel and Haydn Society, Llewellyn was with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.