Programme for Season 2022
This season has now concluded. We include it for your interest.
Ben Goldscheider
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Erdem Misirlioglu & Emre Engin
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Elodie Chousmer-Howelles
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Iyad Sughayer
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The Jubilee Concert on 5 June 2022 will be a fundraiser for Wethersfield Church, to help pay for the recently completed new roof and limewashed interior. The Churchwardens look forward to welcoming you to this extra concert. |
Sunday 10 April 2022 at 4pm
Ben GoldscheiderHorn
Richard Uttley Piano
Programme
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Artist BiographyAt the age of 18 Ben was a Concerto Finalist in the BBC Young Musician Competition performing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. Highlights since then include his debut at the BBC Proms in 2018, appearances as soloist with the Lucerne Symphony, Britten Sinfonia, Aurora Orchestra, English Chamber, City of London Sinfonia, Manchester Camerata, the Prague Philharmonia and Sinfonie Orchester Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2018 his debut album was released to critical acclaim, and he was selected as a BBC Music Magazine Rising Star and Gramophone Magazine One to Watch. He was selected for representation by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2019. A committed chamber musician, Ben has collaborated with Julian Prégardien at Wigmore Hall, Sergei Babayan at the Verbier Festival, Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich at Salzburg Festival (Haus Für Mozart) and in Buenos Aires, Matthias Pintscher at the Pierre Boulez-Saal and with Elena Bashkirova and Karl-Heinz Steffens at the Intonations Festival in Berlin. Nominated by the Barbican as an ECHO Rising Star, during the 2021/22 season Ben gives recitals at major concert halls including the Concertgebouw, Musikverein, Elbphilharmonie and Koln Philharmonie, including an especially commissioned new work by Mark Simpson. This autumn he makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo at the Barbican performing Ruth Gipps Concerto and in 2022 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ed Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall performing the Knussen Concerto. In 2022 he returns to the Pierre Boulez Saal to give a solo recital and to Wigmore Hall with Mahan Esfahani, Nicholas Daniel and Adam Walker. Highlights over the last year have included the release by Three Worlds Records of Legacy: A Tribute to Dennis Brain, and a solo concerto recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra to be released this autumn. He returned to Wigmore Hall and made his debut at the Aldeburgh Festival. Ben is a member of the Pierre Boulez Ensemble and principal horn of the West- East Divan Orchestra. Born in London, in 2020 Ben completed his studies with honours at the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin with Radek Baborák.
British pianist Richard Uttley studied at Cambridge University, graduating from Clare College with a Double First in Music, and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Martin Roscoe. Noted for the integrity of his musicianship as soloist, chamber musician and recording artist in a wide range of repertoire, Richard has been recognised for his ‘musical intelligence and pristine facility’ (International Record Review), ‘amazing decisiveness’, and ‘tumultuous performance’ (Daily Telegraph). His playing has frequently been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and has featured on BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC World Service, Classic FM and Sky Arts. He won the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2006 and was a prize winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust International Auditions in 2011. Richard has released several solo recordings to critical acclaim and appeared at venues and festivals including Auditorium du Louvre, Banff Centre, Bath Festival, Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Klangspuren Festival, Konzerthaus Berlin, Modulus Festival (Vancouver), Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, and has toured in China and Columbia. Highlights this season include appearances at Kings Place and Wigmore Hall. Richard’s long-term chamber music collaborators include composer-clarinettist Mark Simpson, violinists Savitri Grier and Callum Smart, and horn player Ben Goldscheider. He also works with artists such as cellist Leonard Elschenbroich, trumpeter Simon Höfele, trombonist Peter Moore, and oboist Olivier Stankiewicz, and has participated in Open Chamber Music at the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove. In 2019 Richard won the Yvar Mikhashoff pianist/composer commissioning prize with composer Kate Whitley.
Programme Notesare available here
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Sunday 24 April 2022 at 4pm
Erdem Misirlioglu & Emre EnginViolin and Piano Duo
Erdem Misirlioglu - PianoEmre Engin - Violin
Programme
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Artist BiographyBritish-Turkish pianist Erdem Misirlioglu is in demand as a solo recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist. He frequently appears in UK venues such as Barbican Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Snape Maltings and Wigmore Hall and has had numerous invitations to play across Europe, North and South America and Asia. In 2006, Erdem was a prize-winner in the International Rachmaninov Competition for Young Pianists and in 2008 went on to win the piano section of BBC Young Musician of the Year, subsequently performing Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 2011, Erdem was awarded 1st prize in the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe's intercollegiate piano competition. A passionate chamber musician, Erdem is also a member of “Trio Isimsiz”, a piano trio formed with friends at GSMD. In 2013, they were selected by Young Classical Artists Trust for representation and in 2015, they won first prize and the audience prize in the Trondheim International Chamber Competition. They have released two CDs, which have gained wide critical acclaim. Erdem completed his undergraduate and postgraduate courses in performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied with pianists Martin Roscoe and Ronan O’Hora. He was awarded the Lord Mayor’s Prize for the highest scoring final recital. During this time, he also enjoyed lessons with distinguished pianists including Richard Goode, Stephen Kovacevich, Lang Lang, Menahem Pressler and Andras Schiff..
A graduate of Maestro Pinchas Zukerman’s prestigious violin class, Emre Engin has won a number of awards including the 2012 International Istanbul Music Festival ‘Young Soloist of the Year’, ‘Best Emerging Artist’ by Donizetti Classical Music Awards and 1st prize at the Ilhan Ozsoy Presidential Violin Competition, among others. Since completing his bachelor’s degree at the Royal College of Music with the generous support of the Yehudi Menuhin Award Scholarship and his master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship, he recently earned his doctoral degree from the State University of New York, Stony Brook University Music Department. Emre was appointed concertmaster of the New York City based orchestra New Manhattan Sinfonietta by conductor Gurer Aykal in 2018 and has performed solo and chamber performances around the world, including Mozart’s Violin Concerto no.5 “Turkish” with Tekfen Philharmonic at the opening concert of 2020 International Istanbul Music Festival. Emre is a fellow tutti member of the 1st violin section at the English National Opera since 2021.
Programme Notesare available here
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Sunday 8 May 2022 at 4pm
Elodie Chousmer-HowellesViolin
Stella Marie Lorenz - Piano
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Artist BiographyViolinist Elodie Chousmer-Howelles is establishing herself as one of the most versatile young musicians of her generation. She was recently awarded the Len Lickorish Memorial Prize for ‘a string player of promise’ in the string final of the 2021 Royal Overseas League competition. Upcoming concerto performances will see her as soloist with The Orchestra of St. John’s Smith Square in Coleridge-Taylor’s violin concerto and The Brentwood Philharmonic Orchestra in Glazunov’s violin concerto. Last year’s calendar included noteworthy performances, leading the Chineke! Quartet for the 2020 Booker Prize ceremony, and collaborations with high profile pop artists, including 2020 Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, Becky Hill, Kano and Freya Ridings. A 2018 BBC Young Musician category finalist, the following year saw her make her BBC Radio 3 debut with The BBC Singers, performing an arrangement of 'The Lark Ascending' , for solo violin and mixed choir. Elodie has showcased her talents in a variety of musical settings, including appearing at the opening show of BBC One's 2019 Strictly Come Dancing season. Chamber performances have taken her to The House of Lords, Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall's Elgar Room. A keen advocate for music education, Elodie is currently an Ambassador for the Benedetti Foundation. A Calleva Trust Scholar at The Royal Academy of Music, Elodie is currently under the tutelage of Sasha Sitkovetsky and is now in her final year of undergraduate study. She began violin studies with Michael Gurevich and Jan Repko at The Chetham’s School of Music. She later went on to study with Maciej Rakowski and in 2017, was chosen to lead the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She has received guidance from distinguished artists; Chloë Hanslip and Nicola Benedetti. Elodie is grateful to have received support from Future Talent, The David Randall Foundation and Awards for Young Musicians. Stella Marie Lorenz is a German chamber musician and song accompanist who has performed on international stages in Germany, Austria (Konzerthaus Wien, Musikverein Wien), France, Spain and the UK, at The Leeds International Concert Series and the Wigmore Hall. In Vienna, she was awarded a Master of Vocal Accompaniment with first class distinction at the University of Music and Performing Arts. Having previously studied with Roger Vignoles, Gerold Huber and Markus Hadulla, she has participated in master classes with Graham Johnson, Helmut Deutsch and Christa Ludwig. Stella is passionate to juxtapose the known and unknown in classical music, encouraging listeners to engage and discover new music. Regularly playing classical standards alongside 20th/21st century music, she has performed several world premieres. In 2021, she was awarded the Historical Female Composer Prize, a Help Musicians Postgraduate Award and was named, A Young Artist at the Leeds Lieder Festival. Currently supported by a generous scholarship, Stella is completing her Advanced Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music with professors Malcolm Martineau, Michael Dussek and James Baillieu.
Programme Notesare available here
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Sunday 5 June 2022 at 4pm
Iyad SughayerPiano
Programme
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Artist BiographyChosen as ‘One to Watch’ by International Piano Magazine, Iyad’s debut album - Khachaturian Piano Works for BIS Records was released in November 2019 to critical acclaim. The album was described by Gramophone as ‘exhilarating and delivered with perfect clarity’ and ‘an outstanding debut’ by BBC Music Magazine. In 2021 Iyad was a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions. This autumn he recorded his second CD for BIS with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Andrew Litton including Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto and Masquerade. As soloist Iyad has appeared with leading orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Cairo and Amman Symphony Orchestras. He has given recitals at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall & Stoller Hall in Manchester (broadcast by BBC Radio 3), Leeds Town Hall, the Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), Festival Musique D’Abord (France), Steinway Hall (New York), Castleton Festival (Virginia) and Kings Place in London, among many others. Recent highlights include an invitation to contribute to the BBC Arabic documentary ‘London Lockdown’, in which he took part as a character and recorded the soundtrack for the music. Born in Amman, the Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad studied at Chetham’s School of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where he won the College’s prestigious Gold Medal. He completed his International Artist Diploma at the RNCM in 2019 with Murray McLachlan, Martino Tirimo and Graham Scott and in the same year became a City Music Foundation Artist. Iyad Sughayer is an inaugural YCAT Concordia Artist.
Programme Notesare available here
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