Archived News for September 2011
A Boy is Born: Christmas Music by Candlelight
01 Sep 2011
The programme is settled for December’s concert with the Renaissance Singers, which it is a privilege to be guest conducting. 'A Boy is Born' is a sequence of Tudor and Jacobean music, moving from Advent to Christmas, combining the glories of Renaissance polyphony with the intricacies of Jacobean verse writing, the latter directed from the chamber organ. Looking forward to getting stuck in!
Music at St Peter's - October
08 Sep 2011
Details for October's concert in the Music at St Peter's series are confirmed - we will welcome Jeremy Kenyon (countertenor) in a programme of Purcell and Handel plus settings of Shakespeare texts through the ages; then we have James Turnbull (oboe) returning, joined by Clare Wheeler (violin) in Bach's double concerto for oboe and violin, with performances of Rubbra's beautiful oboe sonata and Vaughan Williams' ever-popular The Lark Ascending. This marks the beginning of the third season of this popular series at St Peter's Church, Ardingly, in West Sussex.
New term
16 Sep 2011
The new term has kicked off in its various guises now - at the Academy (as Shinn Fellow in the opera department, and doing a little undergraduate teaching too), in private vocal coaching (an increasing part of the weekly pattern!), and at Eton (teaching piano each week). Here goes....
Competition season
23 Sep 2011
Competitions seem to happen in fits and bursts over the year, and September, like February, is one of those bursts! Last weekend was crammed with playing for three days of the Hampshire Singer of the Year preliminary rounds, as one of the two official accompanists (with Marc Verter). Newly relaunched as a national competition with significant status and prize money, this opportunity has attracted a high level of vocal talent, so congratulations to those through to the next stage in October. Hot on its heels was the Pavarotti opera prize at the Academy (again the official accompanist), hotly contested with arias ranging from Handel to Stravinsky, via Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz and Britten (an exercise in playing most of the hardest orchestral reductions in one evening...), but deservedly won by Ruth Jenkins. Just a few Glyndebourne auditions to play for next week...
September recitals
25 Sep 2011
As ever, a pleasure to perform recitals with two longer-standing duo partners in the last ten days - Die schöne Müllerin at Curry Rivel Music Club with Marcus Farnsworth (which we are looking forward to repeating in the Oxford Lieder Festival), and oboe works by Lutoslawski, Colin Matthews and Rubbra at The Forge in Camden last week, with James Turnbull (some of which we are reprising at the next Music at St Peter's concert next month).