We have had an amazing year in 2018, including the privilege of a recital by Gerald Finley and an incredible performance of Handel's Messiah. Over the last 12 years we've welcomed a host of wonderful performers, and, for the record, here they all are:
Adrian Bradbury | Adriano Graziani | Aiso Quartet | Alessandra Testai | Alex Metcalfe | Amanda Pitt | Ann Beilby | Anthony Zerpa-Falcon | Archaeus String Quartet | Archduke Trio | Barbirolli Quartet | Callum Smart | Cambridge Taverner Choir | Cantabile | Cellists of the RPO | Charles Wiffen | Chelys Viol Ensemble | Chris Hatt | Christopher Sayles | Clio Gould | Daniel Auchinloss | David Chatterton | David Campbell | Daniel Edgar | Daniel Tong | David Owen-Norris | David Maw | David Owen Norris | Decimus Consort | Diane Moore | Dulcinea Quartet | Eleanor Alberga | Ellen Smith | English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble | Felicity Lott | Follia | Frances Yonge | Gary Branch | Gerald Finley | Giles Davies | Gilfillan family | Greg Tassell | Guy Johnstone | Hugh Webb | Ibrahim Aziz | Jamie McVinnie | Jane Gomm | Jennifer Snapes | Jong-Gyung Park | Julius Drake | Karen Jones | Karina Lucas | Kate Andrews | Kate Semmens | Katharine Johns | Katie Stillman | Kokoschka Trio | Konevets Quartet | Ken Aiso | King Charles Singers | Lianna Jeffrey | Liz Partridge | London Bridge Ensemble | Marcus Andrews | Margaret Faultless | Marie-Noelle Kendall | Martin Fogel | Masahiro Yamaguchi | Matchbox Opera | Merry Opera | Michael Bacon | Michael Collins | Michael Grant | Michael McHale | Miriam Cox | Nigel Clayton | Oliver Davies | Owen Rees | Paul Clark | Paul Jeffrey | Paul Guinery | Pentagon Ensemble | Peter Arnold | Peter Barker | Rachel Godsill | Rachel Stroud | Raphael Wallfisch | Richard Egarr | Richard Uttley | Robert Gibbs | Robin Jeffrey | Roselyne Martel-Bonnal | Rose Trio | Royal Tunbridge Wells Male Voice Choir | Ruth Beedham | St Andrews University Madrigal Group | Sam Haywood | Sara Lois Cunningham | Sarah Stuart-Pennink | Sasha Grynyuk | Schubert Ensemble | Simon Lane | Sophia Lisovskaya | Steve Pierce | Steven Devine | Temenos Chamber Choir | Teresa Caudle | Tim Gill | Tim Lines | Tom Bowes | Tom Foster | Tom Lilburn | Trajecti Voices | Trevor Eliot Bowes | Twilight Ensemble | Unexpected Opera | William Bass | William Summers | Yeo Yat Soon | Yukiko Shinohara
30.12.18
22.12.18
Handel in Tunbridge Wells
It is likely that at this time Handel was visiting the town more for its social scene and entertainments than for medical reasons, this also being the year when Beau Nash took over as Master of Ceremonies. According to Samuel Derrick (Nash’s successor) “the best musical performers of the age, often come down hither from London, and form elegant concerts, for which they are generally well paid”. Derrick was less complimentary about the fiddlers “scraping away” in the Music Gallery on the Pantiles during the hours of water-drinking – “I cannot say they yield very delightful strains.”
Nash’s Rules and Regulations recommended, among rules for dancing, card-playing and donating to the water-dippers, that visitors should make voluntary contributions to pay for the minister at King Charles the Martyr; “It is hoped he may rely with confidence for the reward of his labours, on the benevolence of those who reap the benefit of them”. Handel evidently followed this advice as his name appears in the subscription list for the Church of King Charles the Martyr in 1755.
Charles Burney wrote in 1785 that during the last years of his life, Handel constantly attended public prayers, twice a day, winter and summer, both in London and Tunbridge Wells. William Coxe reported that that during his visit in 1755 Handel had a quarrel with John Christopher Smith senior (Handel’s first copyist in London who he summoned from Germany in 1712). Smith left Handel “in an abrupt manner, which so enraged him, that he declared he would never see him again”, though Handel stayed friends with his son who acted his secretary and amanuensis and conducted the performances of his late oratorios.
The last references to Handel visiting Tunbridge Wells are in August 1758, when he is mentioned as being with William Morrell, librettist of Judas Maccabeus and other late oratorios. On this occasion Handel underwent couching (a form of cataract treatment) at the hands of John “Chevalier” Taylor, a notorious travelling oculist. (Taylor had in 1750 performed a botched operation on JS Bach in Leipzig, leaving Bach continuously ill for six months afterwards). Taylor celebrated the operation in his ode “On the Recovery of the Sight of the Celebrated Mr Handel, by the Chevalier Taylor”. One of the opening verses reads: “Great Father of Music and every Science / In all our Distresses, on thee our reliance; / Know then, in yon villa, from pleasures confin’d, / Lies our favourite, Handel, afflicted and blind.” The poetry does not improve, and neither did Handel’s eyesight. Later in his diaries Taylor admitted that “upon drawing the curtain” (i.e. removing the supposed cataract) the back of the eye was found to be “defective, from a paralytic disorder”.
The 1985 television film “God Rot Tunbridge Wells!”, written by John Osborne, portrays Handel’s riposte to an appalling performance of Messiah by the Tunbridge Wells Ladies Music Circle, but sadly there is no historical foundation to this scene.
Programme notes by Patrick Glencross
11.12.18
A truly magic evening
It was Director Steven Devine’s vision that had paid off. Bringing together superb players mainly of the OAE with world-class soloists from the world of opera, and a small, dynamic choir, his interpretation focused tenaciously on the meaning of the text’s juxtapositions of scripture. Not only was the performance of terrifically high quality, the audience were truly taken on an emotional journey that no-one there will forget.
“The best performance of Messiah I have ever heard.”
“Privileged to be there.”
“The intimacy of the setting gave us all the opportunity to feel that we were part of it. I shall never hear a better Messiah. A truly magic evening.”
“How amazing tonight was. One of the best musical experiences ever, in King Charles or anywhere. I and all the people I spoke to were pretty much lost for words.”
“I was moved afresh by the extraordinary scriptural truths of this extraordinary piece of inspired genius and the dramatic setting... overall one of my top 10 musical experiences ever.”
"It was a-ma-zing."
With thanks to the whole cast:
Soprano: Kate Semmens. Alto Tom Lilburn. Tenor: Dan Auchinloss. Bass: Trevor Eliot Bowes
Violin 1: Daniel Edgar (leader), George Clifford, Sophie Simpson. Violin 2: Stephen Rouse, Mark Seow. Viola: Jan Schlapp. Cello: Kinga Gaborjani. Double bass: Kate Brook. Oboe: James Eastaway, Geoff Coates. Trumpet: Tamsin Cowell, Kirsty Loosemore. Timpani: Stephen Birke. Harpsichord: Stephen Devine. Organ: Robin Bigwood. Directed by Steven Devine.
Decimus Consort - Soprano: Kate Faber, Caroline Preston Bell, Ellen Smith, Polly Walton. Alto: Christina Astin, Nicholas Perkins, Ben Toombs. Tenor: Alex Churchill, Stephen Pritchard, Philip Mills. Bass: Keith Bryant, Patrick Glencross, Rupert Preston Bell.
12.11.18
Handel Messiah for Christmas
(Note early start time)
Directed by Steven Devine, co-principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and also the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band, Apollo and Pan, The Classical Opera Company and performs regularly with many other groups around Europe, including the Academy of Ancient Music.
With four world-class soloists
Kate Semmens, soprano
Mark Chambers, counter-tenor
Daniel Auchinloss, tenor
Trevor Eliot Bowes, bass
Tickets are available here. Advance booking recommended.
Suiting the early Baroque interior of King Charles church and its excellent acoustic, this performance of Handel's masterpiece with a small orchestra and a choir of just 12 singers aims to recreate something of his original conception.
23.10.18
Fauré Requiem 11 November
6:30pm
In place of the usual Sunday evening service, this will be a devotional performance with prayers to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
There will be a retiring collection for the Royal British Legion.
In place of the usual Sunday evening service, this will be a devotional performance with prayers to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
There will be a retiring collection for the Royal British Legion.
19.10.18
Alex Metcalfe Trio
Saturday 20 October, 7:30pm
Tickets available from https://ticketsource.co.uk/mkctw
Katy Johns (violin)
Miriam Cox (cello)
Alex Metcalfe (piano)
Schubert Trio in B Flat
Shostakovich Trio no.2
Tickets available from https://ticketsource.co.uk/mkctw
Katy Johns (violin)
Miriam Cox (cello)
Alex Metcalfe (piano)
Schubert Trio in B Flat
Shostakovich Trio no.2
6.10.18
Frisson 12 October - Festival highlight
Friday 12 October, 7:30pm | Tickets
A highlight of the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival this year is the concert at King Charles by Ensemble Frisson, with Karen Jones (whose fabulous flute playing was chosen for the Harry Potter films and May’s royal wedding), Ann Beilby (viola) and Hugh Webb (harp). Their enchanting programme includes music by Debussy, Bax, Richard Rodney Bennett and others.
Hugh Webb (harp)
Hugh Webb studied with Renata Scheffel-Stein, Sioned Williams and Susan Drake. He has worked extensively in the contemporary music field and Javier Alvarez, Robert Keely and Ian Dearden have all written solo works for him with funding from the Arts Council of England. Hugh’s CD recordings include Bax’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Harp and String Quartet with the Academy of St Martin’s Chamber Ensemble (Chandos); a collection of French music for flute and harp; Villa Lobos’s Quartet (Clarinet Classics); and Bax’s Fantasy Sonata (Koch International). He gave the first performance of Cyril Scott’s Celtic Rhapsody as part of Sidonie Goossens’ 100th Birthday Celebrations at the Wigmore Hall. Hugh Webb also plays jazz on the harp and has given recitals at the European Harp Symposium and the World Harp Congress. He is active in the commercial world of television, film and popular music, devised a children’s show which toured very successfully in 1998 and has written music for a version of The Snow Queen. He has given many masterclasses and has lectured at London’s Royal Academy of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, the Sweelinck Conservatoire in Amsterdam and with Telynor Morgannwg in Wales.
Annie Beilby (viola)
Australian violist Ann Beilby made her solo debut in the Sydney Opera house aged 19. She has since won many awards and prizes, both as a solo and as a chamber musician, including the Schott & Co Publishing Prize at the 2006 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and the Cecil Aronowitz, Lionel Tertis and Lesley Alexander Prizes at the RCM (2009). Annie was also a finalist in the RCM String Player of the Year Award in 2009, and joint winner of the 2007 RCM Autumn Concerto Competition String section. Having graduated from the Royal College of Music’s MMus programme with Distinction in 2010, Annie now enjoys a rich and varied musical life freelancing with the leading London symphony and chamber orchestras. She is eternally grateful for the support of here mentors Guenter Pichler, Alex Todicescu (Sydney Conservatorium of Music) and Ian Jewel (RCM, London), as well as the Worshipful Company of Musicians in London; the Musicians Benevolent Fund; the Leverhulme Trust; the Richard Carne Trust; the Meyer Foundation; the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia; the Australian Music Foundation; and the Royal College of Music. She plays on a wonderful modern viola made for her in 2011 by David Milward.
Karen Jones (flute)
Karen Jones studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Peter Lloyd and subsequently won a Fulbright Scholarship and Harkness Fellowship to study in Vienna with Wolfgang Schulz and in New York with Thomas Nyfenger. Her early successes include winning the woodwind section of the BBC TV Young Musician of the Year competition and the Gold Medal in the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Scholarship. Whilst completing her studies in the USA, she was appointed principal flute of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, a position she held for five years before returning to London. Karen is in great demand as guest principal flute with all the major London orchestras and ensembles including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia and London Sinfonietta. In addition, she is principal flute of both the London Chamber Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia, and in 2014 was invited to play with the World Orchestra for Peace. She combines this with regular solo engagements, chamber music projects and commercial studio work including the film scores to Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd and Bridget Jones. Previously having held teaching posts at the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity College of Music, London, Karen has a busy schedule as one of the UK’s leading flute teachers giving masterclasses across the country, as well as coaching for orchestras such as the National Youth Orchestra and Kent Youth Orchestra. In 2004 Karen became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
Hugh Webb (harp)
Hugh Webb studied with Renata Scheffel-Stein, Sioned Williams and Susan Drake. He has worked extensively in the contemporary music field and Javier Alvarez, Robert Keely and Ian Dearden have all written solo works for him with funding from the Arts Council of England. Hugh’s CD recordings include Bax’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Harp and String Quartet with the Academy of St Martin’s Chamber Ensemble (Chandos); a collection of French music for flute and harp; Villa Lobos’s Quartet (Clarinet Classics); and Bax’s Fantasy Sonata (Koch International). He gave the first performance of Cyril Scott’s Celtic Rhapsody as part of Sidonie Goossens’ 100th Birthday Celebrations at the Wigmore Hall. Hugh Webb also plays jazz on the harp and has given recitals at the European Harp Symposium and the World Harp Congress. He is active in the commercial world of television, film and popular music, devised a children’s show which toured very successfully in 1998 and has written music for a version of The Snow Queen. He has given many masterclasses and has lectured at London’s Royal Academy of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, the Sweelinck Conservatoire in Amsterdam and with Telynor Morgannwg in Wales.
Annie Beilby (viola)
Australian violist Ann Beilby made her solo debut in the Sydney Opera house aged 19. She has since won many awards and prizes, both as a solo and as a chamber musician, including the Schott & Co Publishing Prize at the 2006 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and the Cecil Aronowitz, Lionel Tertis and Lesley Alexander Prizes at the RCM (2009). Annie was also a finalist in the RCM String Player of the Year Award in 2009, and joint winner of the 2007 RCM Autumn Concerto Competition String section. Having graduated from the Royal College of Music’s MMus programme with Distinction in 2010, Annie now enjoys a rich and varied musical life freelancing with the leading London symphony and chamber orchestras. She is eternally grateful for the support of here mentors Guenter Pichler, Alex Todicescu (Sydney Conservatorium of Music) and Ian Jewel (RCM, London), as well as the Worshipful Company of Musicians in London; the Musicians Benevolent Fund; the Leverhulme Trust; the Richard Carne Trust; the Meyer Foundation; the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia; the Australian Music Foundation; and the Royal College of Music. She plays on a wonderful modern viola made for her in 2011 by David Milward.
Karen Jones (flute)
Karen Jones studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Peter Lloyd and subsequently won a Fulbright Scholarship and Harkness Fellowship to study in Vienna with Wolfgang Schulz and in New York with Thomas Nyfenger. Her early successes include winning the woodwind section of the BBC TV Young Musician of the Year competition and the Gold Medal in the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Scholarship. Whilst completing her studies in the USA, she was appointed principal flute of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, a position she held for five years before returning to London. Karen is in great demand as guest principal flute with all the major London orchestras and ensembles including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia and London Sinfonietta. In addition, she is principal flute of both the London Chamber Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia, and in 2014 was invited to play with the World Orchestra for Peace. She combines this with regular solo engagements, chamber music projects and commercial studio work including the film scores to Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd and Bridget Jones. Previously having held teaching posts at the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity College of Music, London, Karen has a busy schedule as one of the UK’s leading flute teachers giving masterclasses across the country, as well as coaching for orchestras such as the National Youth Orchestra and Kent Youth Orchestra. In 2004 Karen became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
5.10.18
Twilight Ensemble 5 October
In partnership with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival, we present the Twilight Ensemble: singers Sarah Dacey, Ciara Hendrick, Greg Tassell and James Oldfield, and pianist Belinda Jones, with guest pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen.
Highlights of the programme will include Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes Op. 52, and humorous songs by Tom Lehrer and Flanders & Swann.
Described as 'exceptionally good' and 'full of personality' Twilight Ensemble have quickly established themselves as a brilliant vocal quartet group dedicated to performing a cappella and accompanied works.
They have a wide range of repertoire, from rare French and German Romantic quartets through to light and comic songs, and have built an excellent reputation for their compelling sound, artistry and communication with audiences. Its members are outstanding singers and musicians, working regularly for companies such as the Royal Opera House, English Touring Opera, Glyndebourne, and the OAE and performing at venues including the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, the Wigmore Hall, and Royal Festival Hall.
As a group, they have appeared at a variety of venues and festivals including Brandenburg Choral Festival, Rye Arts Festival, Lamberhurst Festival, Queens Tennis Club and Drapers Hall, and have also recorded for Music Sales Ltd. As well as discovering and performing older works, the group are also dedicated to arranging and writing their own pieces and commissioning new works.
29.9.18
Soloists for December's Messiah
We're delighted to announce the soloists who will be singing in our performance of Handel's Messiah on 8th December, directed by Steven Devine.
Find out more about them from these links:
Kate Semmens, soprano
Mark Chambers, counter-tenor
Daniel Auchinloss, tenor
Trevor Eliot Bowes, bass
Tickets are available here.
Find out more about them from these links:
Kate Semmens, soprano
Mark Chambers, counter-tenor
Daniel Auchinloss, tenor
Trevor Eliot Bowes, bass
Tickets are available here.
27.9.18
Remarkable Rachmaninoff
Many thanks to Ruth Beedham and Marcus Andrews for a super concert raising funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital, and to our lovely audience who helped them raise over £500. What an incredible piece is Rachmaninoff's Sonata for Piano and Cello (in that order, according to the composer!). We went away humming the tunes to the 2nd Piano Concerto...16.9.18
Music Festival coming soon
We're delighted once again to join forces with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival.
Download the flyer here or see the website www.tunbridgewellsfestival.co.uk.
We are jointly promoting two of the concerts, including the opener on Friday 5th October, in which the entertaining Twilight Ensemble present, among others, Brahms Liebeslider, and songs by Holst, Britten, Poulenc, Coward, Skellon and Flanders & Swann. We're particularly looking forward to Tom Johnson's "Four Note Opera"...
8.6.18
Autumn concerts 2018
 |
| Twilight Ensemble |
Saturday 1 September, 7:30pm
William Bass (cello) and Masahiro Yamaguchi (piano) perform music by Debussy, Stravinsky and others.
Wednesday 26 September, 7:30pm
Ruth Beedham (cello) and Marcus Andrews (piano)
Programme includes Rachmaninov's Sonata in G Minor for cello and piano.
Friday 5 October, 7:30pm
Twilight Ensemble: singers Sarah Dacey, Ciara Hendrick, Greg Tassell, James Oldfield and pianist Belinda Jones, plus guests, perform Brahms Liebeslieder and arrangements by Faure, Holst and Flanders and Swann, amongst others.
In partnership with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival.
 |
| Hugh Webb, Ann Beilby, Karen Jones |
Frisson: Karon Jones (flute), Ann Beilby (viola) and Hugh Webb (harp) with an enchanting programme of Debussy, Bax, Richard Rodney Bennett and others.
In partnership with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival.
Saturday 20 October, 7:30pm
Piano Trio: Alex Metcalf (piano), Katy Johns (violin), Miriam Cox (cello)
Programme includes Shostakovich's second piano trio. Written in the midst of World War II, this work is an outpouring of grief for the death of his friend Ivan Sollertinsky and is the most heartfelt masterpiece of all of his chamber music.
Sunday 11 November, 6:30pm
Requiem – Gabriel Faure
A devotional performance in place of the evening service to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, with the King Charles Special Services Choir and the King Charles Singers.
 |
| Steven Devine |
Messiah – G F Handel
Four world-class soloists, with the Decimus Ensemble and the orchestra of Devine Music – principal players of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The Academy of Ancient Music and others, directed by Steven Devine. This Christmas performance aims to capture the raw spirit and energy of Handel’s original conception by using forces similar to those he envisaged.
28.5.18
Next season preparations
We're looking forward to another varied programme of concerts at King Charles this autumn, which will include top class chamber music as usual, both instrumental and choral, and culminates with a performance of Handel's Messiah on Saturday 8 December, which will be directed by Steven Devine.
Along with everybody else this month, we've been tidying up our mailing list, and will be sending details of concert dates, and members' discounts, quite soon.
And we have news from our last concert, with Gerald Finley and Julius Drake - thanks to our generous sponsors and an enthusiastic audience, we raised over £2,000 for the Hospice in the Weald.
In the meantime, we're delighted to recommend two concerts taking place in June by our friends:
A Baroque Bouquet
Sunday 17 June, 7:00pm
St Dunstan's Cranbrook
Kathryn Bennetts (recorder), Yeo Yat-Soon (harpsichord) and Ibrahim Aziz (viola da gamba)
Summer Serenata
Friday 29 June, 7:30pm, at St Denys' Church Rotherfield
Alessandra Testai (soprano) and Richard Black (piano)
Along with everybody else this month, we've been tidying up our mailing list, and will be sending details of concert dates, and members' discounts, quite soon.
And we have news from our last concert, with Gerald Finley and Julius Drake - thanks to our generous sponsors and an enthusiastic audience, we raised over £2,000 for the Hospice in the Weald.
In the meantime, we're delighted to recommend two concerts taking place in June by our friends:
A Baroque Bouquet
Sunday 17 June, 7:00pm
St Dunstan's Cranbrook
Kathryn Bennetts (recorder), Yeo Yat-Soon (harpsichord) and Ibrahim Aziz (viola da gamba)
Summer Serenata
Friday 29 June, 7:30pm, at St Denys' Church Rotherfield
Alessandra Testai (soprano) and Richard Black (piano)
14.4.18
Finley and Drake delight in Tunbridge Wells
But then King Charles the Martyr, Tunbridge Wells, is no ordinary church....
Read the rest of this review by Stephen Pritchard at Bachtrack.
8.3.18
12 April: Celebrity concert for the Hospice
Gerald Finley (baritone) and Julius Drake (piano)
Music by Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov'
Canadian baritone Gerald Finley is joined by collaborative pianist Julius Drake in a stunning programme of Germanic and Russian art song. The first half focuses on Beethoven and Schubert settings of Goethe, including Schubert’s breakout version of “Erlkönig.” The second half features songs and romances of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov - literature that displays the beautiful traditions of Russian song-writing.
Book tickets here
All profits donated to the Hospice in the Weald. An interval drink is included in the ticket price. We expect to sell out and seating is unreserved so please arrive in good time. Directions, information about parking and venue facilities.
31.1.18
6 March: Ken Aiso and Sam Haywood
Tuesday 6th March, 7:30pm
Ken Aiso (violin) and Sam Haywood (piano)
Booking information
Tickets £11 in advance (£12.50 on the door, no charge for under-18s)
Ken Aiso is internationally recognized as one of today’s most musical and versatile violinists. His playing is praised not only for his singularly beautiful tone, but also for the unique atmosphere of intimacy he evokes as he draws in his audiences.
As recitalist and chamber musician, Ken has performed widely in Europe, the US and Japan with appearances at prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls in London. In 2003 he was honoured to appear before the Emperor and Empress of Japan. In recent years, performing and teaching have also taken him to Georgia, Bolivia, Moldova, Serbia and Kazakhstan.
Ken has been invited to renowned music festivals in Europe, India and Bolivia, and has been a faculty member at Montecito Summer Music Festival in Southern California since 2008. He is a member of Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and has regularly appeared with Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, performing in all major concert venues in Europe and USA in this capacity. He was elected an Associate at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2005.
Ken is currently a teaching faculty of Violin and Viola at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and La Sierra University in Riverside. He has co-founded Soundness Festival which brings awareness of classical music as healing medium, working with vibration in music meditation, singing and improvisation workshops. His work includes music at hospitals and institutions for special needs children.
Sam Haywood has performed to critical acclaim in many of the world’s major concert halls. The Washington Post hailed his ‘dazzling, evocative playing’ and ‘lyrical sensitivity’ and the New York Times his ‘passionate flair and sparkling clarity’. He embraces a wide spectrum of the piano repertoire and is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician or with accompanying Lieder. He has had a regular duo partnership with Joshua Bell since 2010 and often performs with cellist Steven Isserlis.
He has recorded two solo albums for Hyperion, one featuring the piano music of Julius Isserlis (grandfather of Steven Isserlis) and the other Charles Villiers Stanford’s preludes. His enthusiasm for period instruments led to a recording on Chopin’s own Pleyel piano.
In 2013 Haywood co-founded Solent Music Festival in UK. The annual Lymington-based festival features highly varied programmes by internationally-renowned artists with projects in the local community. Artists have included the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Alina Ibragimova, Mark Padmore and the Endellion Quartet.
He was mentored by David Hartigan, Paul Badura-Skoda and Maria Curcio. Following his early success in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded him the Julius Isserlis Scholarship. He studied both at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and at the Royal Academy of Music in London, of which he is an Associate (ARAM).
Haywood has written a children’s opera and is regularly involved in family concerts, workshops and master classes. He is on the roster of Musical Orbit, the online teaching website and his invention ‘memorystars®’ can significantly reduce the time needed to memorise a music score. His other passions include literature, physics, natural history, technology, magic, fountain pens and table tennis.
Ken Aiso (violin) and Sam Haywood (piano)
Booking information
Tickets £11 in advance (£12.50 on the door, no charge for under-18s)
As recitalist and chamber musician, Ken has performed widely in Europe, the US and Japan with appearances at prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls in London. In 2003 he was honoured to appear before the Emperor and Empress of Japan. In recent years, performing and teaching have also taken him to Georgia, Bolivia, Moldova, Serbia and Kazakhstan.
Ken has been invited to renowned music festivals in Europe, India and Bolivia, and has been a faculty member at Montecito Summer Music Festival in Southern California since 2008. He is a member of Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and has regularly appeared with Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, performing in all major concert venues in Europe and USA in this capacity. He was elected an Associate at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2005.
Ken is currently a teaching faculty of Violin and Viola at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and La Sierra University in Riverside. He has co-founded Soundness Festival which brings awareness of classical music as healing medium, working with vibration in music meditation, singing and improvisation workshops. His work includes music at hospitals and institutions for special needs children.
He has recorded two solo albums for Hyperion, one featuring the piano music of Julius Isserlis (grandfather of Steven Isserlis) and the other Charles Villiers Stanford’s preludes. His enthusiasm for period instruments led to a recording on Chopin’s own Pleyel piano.
In 2013 Haywood co-founded Solent Music Festival in UK. The annual Lymington-based festival features highly varied programmes by internationally-renowned artists with projects in the local community. Artists have included the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Alina Ibragimova, Mark Padmore and the Endellion Quartet.
He was mentored by David Hartigan, Paul Badura-Skoda and Maria Curcio. Following his early success in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded him the Julius Isserlis Scholarship. He studied both at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and at the Royal Academy of Music in London, of which he is an Associate (ARAM).
Haywood has written a children’s opera and is regularly involved in family concerts, workshops and master classes. He is on the roster of Musical Orbit, the online teaching website and his invention ‘memorystars®’ can significantly reduce the time needed to memorise a music score. His other passions include literature, physics, natural history, technology, magic, fountain pens and table tennis.
3.1.18
St Andrews Madrigal Group
Pre-Burns Night entertainment: concert by the St Andrews University Madrigal Group followed by a reception at 7:00 until 8:00.
The St Andrews University Madrigal Group was founded in 1946 and although it originally confined itself to singing madrigals and secular part songs, over time its repertoire has widened considerably, with a particular fondness for Scottish folksong as well as renaissance and baroque polyphony.
Tickets available here for concert and reception with an early-booking discount.
Coming up...
On Thursday 12 April we will have the exceptional privilege of a recital by the world-famous baritone Gerald Finley, accompanied by Julius Drake. Join our mailing list if you've not already done so to receive notification of discount tickets for this special event.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)