Music in the Topsham Art Room Sunday 30 October

Visitors to Deborah Woods' new Topsham Art Room will have been struck by the stunning artwork on display in the latest exhibition. The bold colours and fascinating local themes (from Somerset and the Mendips) jump out from every image. A quick trip to the new Art Room (now in Topsham Strand) becomes an exciting opportunity to discover a glorious new vision of the local people and landscape.


Martin Bengham RWA, Dry Stone Wall repairs Mendip February, 2007
Oil on Linen, 41x66 inches

Martin Bentham was born in Aldershot, Hampshire in 1961. Martin studied first on a foundation course at Weston-super-mare (1979-81) and then at Exeter College of Art and Design (1982-85) where he qualified with a fine art degree.

He then embarked on a full time painting career (supplemented by various agrarian labouring jobs on the Mendips) holding his first one-man show in 1993 and consecutively in 1995, 97, 99, 2006 and 2008.

Before and during this time he exhibited regularly at the Royal West of England Academy Autumn exhibition and at the Royal Academy Summer exhibition in London in 1989. Also the Bath Society of Artists Centenary Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath; the Mall Gallery, London; the Cowleigh Gallery and Malvern Theatre, Malvern; the Royal Bath and West Show Art Exhibition, Somerset and the Brewhouse Open in Taunton, among others.

In 2007 he won the Daler Rowney Oil Painting Prize at the RWA Autumn Exhibition and first prize at the Royal Bath and West Show Art Exhibition. The following year he won first and second prize in the Viewer’s Choice award, also at the R.W.A.

He was elected an RWA Academician in 2009 and the same year served on the selection committee.  He had his first one-man exhibition in the RWA New Gallery in 2010.

Currently his paintings evolve from the landscape of the Mendips, its people and their work. 


Deborah's personal favourite:
Martin Bengham RWA, Walnuts on slate 2, 2011
oil on canvas bd, 7x11 inches


In the Tradition of Topsham Art Room, Deborah has invited a professional musical ensemble to provide an early evening concert combining music and art. The Sulis Woodwind Trio will give a recital in the Art Room at 6.30pm this Sunday. There is room for fifty people but seats may already be sold out.

To avoid disappointment contact Deborah Woods for bookings and to receive information about future 'Music in the Art Room' concerts.


The Sulis Wind Trio:
Clarinet: Wayne Wilkins, Bassoon: Jean Crook, Oboe: Peter Rees

The Sulis Trio live and work in Bath and have performed together since 2006. Jean Crook is regular bassoonist with the Bath Symphony Orchestra. Their beautiful sound will perfectly match Martin Bentham's beautiful artwork.

Music in the Art Room

Topsham Art Room

Sunday 30 October 6.30pm

Sulis Wind Trio

Oboe: Peter Rees

Clarinet: Wayne Wilkins

Bassoon: Jean Crook

Mozart, Smetana, Dvorak

Victor Herbert, James Hook

Tickets £10 (including wine/refreshments)

- advance bookingessential

e.theartroom@elipse.co.uk

http://www.theartroomtopsham.co.uk/

Chris Gradwell and Friends - 'Le Jazz' Quartet, with Poetry and Sketches Cellar Bar Kennaway House Sidmouth Sunday 30 October

 'Le Jazz' Quartet:

Double Bass Mike Thorne,

Keyboard Andrew Daldorph

Clarinet Chris Gradwell,

Guitar Andrew Barrett

Poetry:

John Torrance

















 

Sketches:

Rowland Molony

Kairen Hooker

 

Music Deco

Piano Andrew Daldorph,

Clarinet Chris Gradwell,

Voice Kate Walker







Following the superb sell-out perfromance by 'Chris Gradwell and Friends' at their 'Le Jazz' evening at Kennaway House on 28th September (details) the quartet are returning for two more concerts, one in October, one in November.

The doors of the Cellar Bar at Kennaway House in Sidmouth will open at 6.45pm on Sunday 30th October for a 'Le Jazz' concert which will begin at 7.30. Booking tickets in advance will be important as this group are extremely popular.

The evening's entertainment will include only three members of the jazz quartet. (No guitar playing by Andrew Barrett on this occasion). However, Chris Gradwell, Andrew Daldorph and Mike Thorne will be joined by the superb soprano vocalist Kate Walker, who performed with Chris and Andrew in 'Music Deco' on Sunday 28th August (details).

The show will also include a short play 'The Jilly Cooper Effect' with actors Kairen Hooker and James Pellow, and poetry recital with John Torrance and Rowland Molony. A feast of entertainment for a Sunday evening.

http://www.kennawayhouse.org.uk/calendar/19/696-Chris-Gradwell-and-Friends.html

Chris Gradwell and Friends

Cellar Bar, Kennaway House, Sidmouth

Sunday 30 October 6.45 for 7.30pm

'Le Jazz' with Poetry and Sketches

Sax & Clarinet: Chris Gradwell

Keyboard: Andrew Daldorph

Double Bass: Mike Thorne

Featuring:

James Pellow,Wally Cotgrave, Barbara Farquharson, Kairen Hooker,

Frances Lee, Rowland Molony, Trudi Morgan, John Torrance

Tickets: £10  Reservations: Glyn Holford  07583 796855

glyn.holford@sky.com

More Tasty Music: Hilary Boxer and Susan Steel - Sonatas Spirited and Serene - 'Cello and Piano - Wednesday 19 October

Two very talented musicians
'Cellist Hilary Boxer and Pianist Susan Steele

In the far-off early days of the 'Classical Journey' listeners became familiar with the voice of 'Cellist Hilary Boxer, founder and driving force of the 'Tasty Music' concert series. Following the huge success of 'Mellow 'Cellos' which Hilary performed with fellow 'cellist Julie Pirie on Monday 11th October (It was Wonderful!), Hilary teamed up with pianist Susan Steele for 'Sonatas Spirited and Serene' on Monday 6th December (And it came to pass . . . - scroll down for details).

Hilary and Susan played Bach, Beethoven and Boccherini sonatas and, following a respectful period for rehearsal, Susan reappeared in Barnstaple's Queen's Theatre on Thursday 10th February for a simply spectacular performance of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto with the North Devon Sinfonia (Classical journey Tuesday 15 February - scroll down).

With the launch of this year's 'Tasty Music' concert series, with several exciting new venues, new music, and an exciting new featured artist - flautist Ruth Avis - it could only be a matter of time before Susan Steele made a welcome return for more 'Sonatas Spirited and Serene' with Hilary Boxer.

Susan's first appearance with Hilary was at the Queen's Theatre in Barnstaple on Wednesday 5th October for a lunchtime concert of - Bach and Beethoven Sonatas! On Wednesday 19th October the spirited sonatists played a repeat lunchtime performance at Glenorchy United Reformed Church in Exmouth.

The concert included not one, but two glorious sonatas. The first was composed in 1721 by the 36 year old Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Kothen, Johann Sebastian Bach. The 'Gamba Sonata in D major' was the second of three sonatas for 'cembalo' (harpsichord) and 'cello that Bach composed in that year - the year of his joyous marriage to the nineteen year old soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a year after the tragic death of his first wife Barbara.

The opening adagio was slow and deceptive, giving no hint of the excitement to come. Susan opened with just her left hand playing the bass line. Together they played a gentle and stately movement, under total control, before launching into the amazingly lively allegro. Despite the speed and complexity of the music, Susan's piano playing was incredibly slick - brilliant.

The andante was equally challenging, with both players giving everything to the performance. The short piano solos along the way, and the long 'cello trills were utterly delightful. The final allegro was once again full of excitement, but controlled excitement. The short gentle section half way through was played gorgeously and the huge leaps between bass notes on the 'cello, which came more and more often, were hugely impressive and enjoyable.

Incredibly spirited playing from Hilary Boxer
- and Susan Steele

In addition to the inspired music of Bach, Hilary and Susan also played music written nearly a century later  by the 38 year old Kapellmeister to Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, Ludwig van Beethoven, in the Royal Court at Kassel in 1808. Sonatas at the time were normally scored for piano with 'instrumental accompaniment'. In this great year, however, during which Beethoven completed his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, he also wrote two piano trios, his Violin Concerto, and the beautiful Third 'Cello Sonata.

Initially Susan got all the action on the piano,with impressively complex trills and cascading downward runs over a sustained 'cello note. Although Susan had ample opportunity to display her virtuoso talent - which she used to good effect - Hilary also got her chance to play gorgeous solo passages on the 'cello.

The Scherzo was incredibly passionate and vigorous with Hilary bowing and plucking the strings of the 'cello with a will. On the piano Susan switched from bouncy staccato to serious passages in powerful leaps. Her almost endless trills were incredibly beautiful. Finally the adagio cantibile was gentle and smooth as expected, with both players applying total concentration to create a deliciously coordinated sound. Still things couldn't stay calm for long. As Hilary's 'cello notes got longer and longer, Susan's piano playing got faster and more vigorous. The concert had finished with a song - but what a song!

As an encore the duo played something familiar - 'Oblivion', composed for orquesta in 1982 by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. The Beacon Piano Trio played this last week in their own special arrangement, but the piece has recently been made famous by Julian Lloyd Webber in the arrangement he composed for 'cello and piano and recorded with John Lenehan in November last year.

This arrangement without violin was different but equally lovely. And why the sudden interest in 'Oblivion' and Julian Lloyd Webber? Obvious really - the man himself was in Exeter to rehearse Elgar's 'Cello Concerto with the Young Musicians' Orchestra of the Swan for a celebrity concert the following night. What a fitting tribute, and a very special end to another superb selection of Sonatas Spirited and Serene.

Susan Steele will not be playing in concert again in the immediate future but Hilary Boxer's 'Tasty Music' Concert Series continues with Cello+Cello and Cello+Flute:

'Cello Chaconne
Hilary Boxer & Jane Pirie (also 'cello) - classical/ trad/folk/jazz
originally heard on Monday 11th October last year
details: 'It was Wonderful!' 11/10/10
Wed 9 Nov, 12.30pm, Bicton College (with lunch) 01395 562300
Sun 13 Nov, 4pm, The Corn Barn (Yta Batchelor 01884 32107)

Festive Flute
Hilary Boxer & Ruth Avis (flute) - Bach, Villa-Lobos, seasonal tunes
A new collaboration for Hilary, but Ruth is a well known local artist -
details: 'Songs for Flute and Piano' with pianist James Keefe 25/10/10
Also scroll down 'A Week of Music' 7/11/10 for details of
Ruth's 'Piazzolla Duo' concert with guitarist Clive Betts
Sun 4 Dec, 4pm, The Corn Barn (Yta Batchelor 01884 32107)
Wed 7 Dec, 12.30pm, Bicton College (with lunch) 01395 562300
Full details of all 'Tasty Music' concerts are available at http://www.tastymusic.org/

John Lill, 'Classical Concert Series' - First Concert - Exeter Northcott Theatre, Sunday 24 October

John Lill introduces himself

 The Northcott 'Classical Concert Series' made a welcome return on Saturday night (24th October) with a celebrity recital by piano virtuoso John Lill. John's musical mastery and sheer presence filled the trademark bare stage at the Northcott Theatre.

Big enough to stage Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana' with full orchestra, choir and dancers (), the stage is a daunting space for a solo instrumentalist. Despite this John's presence dominated the space - and the audience. His opening Mozart sonata needed no introduction and was a joy from the outset. Beethoven's Waldstein sonata completed an inspired first half.

After the interval John moved on to 'romantic' music with Chopin's Ballade No 4, and a final spirited masterpiece - Sonata in B minor by Franz Liszt.

The music was entrancing and wonderfully energetic. John led the audience on a very special 'journey' through the nineteenth century, and finished the concert with a very special encore - Alexander Scriabin's 1894 Étude in D sharp minor Opus 8 No 12. This extremely taxing - and literally stretching study (involving eleven note stretches) was all in a day's work for John, and pure joy for the audience.

and plays brilliantly

Less is most definitely more. One man, one piano and a bare stage were the setting for the perfect 'Classical Concert'. Over the next few months more musicians will come to the Northcott to add their music to the 'Classical Concert Series'.


Exeter Northcott Theatre - Classical Concert Series - Opening Concert
Piano Recital - John Lill CBE - Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt
Sunday 16 October 7.30pm Tickets: £16.50 all seats (student standby £8)
Box Office: Northcott Foyer 01392 493493 10am-6pm Mon-Sat
www.exeternorthcott.co.uk     boxoffice@exeternorthcott.co.uk
Concert Series Saver: All four concerts: £48 / three concerts: £36 - book before 16th October
(Concerts still to come: Tim Lowe & James Baillieu 'Cello & Piano - Sun 27 Nov
                                             Sitkovetsky Piano Trio - Sun 5 Feb 2012
                                                Navarra String Quartet - Sun 4 March 2012

David Acres' Counterpoint Choir and Counter-Tenor James Bowman (with Lutenist Dorothy Linell) - An Amazing Concert of Modern and Renaissance Music at Buckfast Abbey Saturday 15 October

A sweet celestial sound:
The Counterpoint Choir
(Soprano Denise Kehoe)

What a special night for the Counterpoint Choir at Buckfast Abbey on Saturday night.  We were possibly seing one of the last appearances here by the great counter-tenor James Bowman. (James' performance of counter-tenor and harpsichord songs by Handel, Purcell etc. at Wigmore Hall in May was his final London performance.) We also heard the very first performance of a new choral work, 'I am the True Vine', by a local composer, Matthew Cann, who also sang in the choir as a bass.


Lutenist Dorothy Linell


A very exciting additional feature on the programme was the lute playing of Dorothy Linell, who accompanied James Bowman in a series of renaissance English songs - a little concert within a concert.

In the first half of the concert modern choral works sung by the choir bracketed a superb mini-recital by James and Dorothy:

Counterpoint Choir:

Orlande de Lassus - Timor et tremor (Late 16th century)

Morten Lauridsen - O nata lux (from ‘Lux Aeterna’ 1997)

Howard Skempton - Ave Virgo Sanctissima (from '3 Motets' 2008)

Countertenor Solos by James Bowman:

Plainchant - Salve Regina ('Hail Holy Queen' St Anselm of Lucca 1080)

Richard Farrant - Hide not thou thy face (Late 16th)

Thomas Campion - Never weather-beaten sail (1613)

Henry Purcell/John Dryden - Fairest Isle ('King Arthur' 1691)

Counterpoint Choir:

Eric Whitacre - Lux Aurumque (2009)

John Tavener - Funeral Ikos (1981)

Dorothy Linell accompanies Counter-Tenor James Bowman

James and Dorothy complemented each other perfectly, and James' voice was as soft and beautiful as ever. The sweet, and surprisingly audible, sound of Dorothy's lute introduced James' singing, which he began from the back of the quire, before walking forward to stand by Dorothy and sing - magnificently.

Every song, whether sung by the choir or by James Bowman, was unalloyed bliss. Most moving - and most tragic - was John Tavener's 'Funeral Ikos', a tender song for the dead which moved many to tears. The tenor and bass opening led into a gorgeous division into two bass lines which then came together - before dividing again - heavenly. The chorus of 'Alleluia' from the sopranos took things to an even higher level of etherial excellence.



David Acres separates the Counterpoint Choir into two . . .


After the interval, Conductor, David Acres split the choir in a new way.  He formed up two mini-choirs to sing two lines each in Matthew Cann's 'I am the True Vine'. What a magnificent choral work that is. The opening lines of the fifteenth chapter of the Christian St John Gospel, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman," continuing, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you."

The last words of the piece are the same as the first - "I am the true vine" - with the final word "vine" held and overlaid by the words, "says the Lord" with the last word held for a further bar on an exquisite top A. The soloist, who sang that ending so perfectly on Saturday, was Denise Kehoe. (See headline picture above.)

The judiciously selected words, carefully constructed harmonies, and sublime singing, remind us of the positive potential of sincere faith. Historically, music like Matthew's has always represented the perfect conflation of music and religious faith.

. . . to sing 'I am the True Vine'
composed by Bass, Matthew Cann

'I am the True Vine' by itself was a masterpiece which served as a focus for a supremely inspiring recital. However, Matthew Cann's work was just the beginning of another extraordinary recital of choral music which made up the second half of the concert.

Eric Whitacre's musical arrangement of Charles Anthony Silvestri's poem, 'Sleep', beautifully and eerily expressed the sentiments of the words, longing for rest but afraid of darkness and nightmares. A very clever piece beautifully sung.

David Acres conducts the Counterpoint Choir

Premiere performance of a piece written for Counterpoint:

Matthew Cann - I am the true vine (John Gospel chapter 15 2011)

Counterpoint Choir:

Cipriano de Rore - Parce mihi (early 16th)

Countertenor Solos by James Bowman:

Thomas Tallis - O nata lux de lumine (1575)

William Ballett/Charles Wood -

Sweet was the song the virgin sung (Lute Book 1600)

John Dowland - I saw my lady weepe

(Second Book of Songes or Ayres, late 16th)

Gibbons/Phineas Fletcher - Drop, drop slow tears

(Poetical Miscellanies 1633)

Counterpoint Choir:

Eric Whitacre – Sleep (2009)

Gabriel Jackson - The Lord’s Prayer (2002)

Kiev Melody: Kontakion for the Departed

(Eastern Orthodox Memorial Service 1800)

(Arranged Hutchings/Translation Birkbeck)

Sir Edward Elgar  - Lux Aeterna (Nimrod, Enigma Variations - 1899)

(Arr John Cameron 1998)



The Counterpoint Choir share the audience's appreciation of their second set
 - Counter-Tenor James Bowman and Lutenist Dorothy Linell


John Bowman and Dorothy Linell gave another mini-concert of renaissance music, including songs by John Dowland,  Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tallis. An amazing performance. This time the divided choir were able to range themselves around James and Dorothy and enjoy the songs along with the audience.

The real marvel of the whole concert must be the final 'Lux Aerterna' by Sir Edward Elgar. The words of the 'Mass for the Dead' set to the tune of 'Nimrod' from the 1899 'Enigma Variations'. Nimrod is dedicated to Augustus Jaeger, and the opening music is from Beethoven's 'Pathetique' sonata which Elgar and Jaeger had enjoyed and discussed together.

In eight parts, this choral setting by Elgar is an amazing piece for a choir to sing - and the Counterpoint Choir sang it magnificently - matching, if not excelling, the tenderness and emotion of their performance of Taverner's 'Funeral Ikos' in the first half of the concert.

The basses - including Julian Rippon (far left)

Whether you heard the Counterpoint Choir and want to hear more, or missed it and wish you could have been there to enjoy this amazingly high quality choral music, there are several more opportunities coming up to hear magnificent choral music in Devon.

The Reading Phoenix Choir (from Reading naturally) will be performing choral music from the renaissance to the present day at St Peter's Church in Tiverton this Saturday, 29th October, at 7.30pm. Their organist Christopher Enston will not only accompany them in some of their songs (when they aren't singing a capela . . . ) he will also play some organ solos including Charles-Marie Widor's 'Toccata'. Details below. (Regular listeners will remember hearing the Reading choir's performance of Elgar's 'Lux Aeterna' on the last 'Classical Journey'.)

and sopranos

Counterpoint will be out of the UK from 26th October, performing last Saturday's concert programme in Brittany at concerts in Notre Dame des Carmes in Pont-l'Abbé and Notre Dame de Locmaria in Quimper at 8.30pm on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th October respectively. The choir will also sing at Mass at Notre Dame des Carmes in Pont-l'Abbé at 10.30am on Sunday 30th October - quite an itinerary!

The Counterpoint Choir will be back in the UK for a Christmas carol service at Buckfast Abbey at 3pm on Saturday 17th December. No charge, so everyone can come and enjoy the service.

Next year on Saturday 11th February at 7.30pm Counterpoint will perform (by popular request) the 'In Memoriam' to Henry Prince of Wales. Not to be confused with Prince Harry, this son of James I lived at the beginning of the seventeenth century. His memorial includes music by:

Thomas Morley (1558-1602)

Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656)

Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)

Robert Ramsay (1590-1644)

Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (1590-1664)

Nicolas Gombert (1495-1560)

On Saturdy 19th May 'Counterpoint' will be at Exeter Cathedral to sing Mozart's Requiem - and the whole of Lauridsen's 'Lux Aeterna' (in support of the Cathedral Choristers). What a fabulous concert that will be!

On Saturday 7th July next year 'Counterpoint' will be at Buckfast Abbey to perform a very special 'journey' from the Mediaeval to the Renaissance (third concert in this series) which will take in more than ten composers from the mediaeval world.

On 13th October the choir will sings Handel's 'Chandos Anthems' with the Divertimento Ensemble - and another star appearance by counter-tenor James Bowman.

Details?

01392 490398

www.counterpoint.org.uk

CounterpointVox@aol.com



Reading Phoenix Choir
St Peter's Church Tiverton
Saturday 29 October 7.30pm
Sacred and Secular Choral Music
from 1500 to the present day
Special Guests:
Organist: Christopher Enston
Widor: Toccata in F major
Pipe and Tabor: Didier Garcon
Traditional Music from Provence
Tickets: £10 (advance booking recommended)
contact Sue North 01884 253494

Beacon Piano Trio Glenorchy Wednesday 12 October preview of a concert to be performed next weekend - The Old Music Room, Queen's College, in Taunton Sunday 30 October 3pm

A very interactive ensemble - The Beacon Piano Trio
Piano: Joyce Clarke, Violin: Anna Cockroft, 'Cello: Ruth Lass

The Beacon Piano Trio were at Glenorchy United Reformed Church in Exmouth for a lunchtime concert on Wednesday 12th October.

Joyce Clarke, who was our guest at Phonic FM on 20th October, was the pianist with Anna Cockroft and Ruth Lass playing violin and 'cello. Joyce introduced the opening piece which one of the exceptional piano trios composed by the thirty year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1786, a year when he was composing to his full potential, and was just starting to enjoy success as a composer - 'The Marriage of Figaro' opened at Vienna's Burgtheater in May of that year.

Anna Cocroft delicatedly blends violin with Joyce Clarke's piano playing

The Mozart trio (B flat K502) is possibly his finest, almost a piano concerto for three instruments - all given equal importance. The allegro started with very agile piano, followed by equally agile violin and then Ruth's much deeper, but still very agile, 'cello line.

The larghetto was contrastingly slow and leisurely. Ruth drew out some of her notes for three or four full bow strokes to the accompaniment of a gentle melody by Joyce on the piano. All delightfully sweet.

The Allegretto was a very thrilling interaction between all three instruments - with the violin and 'cello conversing to a piano backing. Very clever stuff.

Ruth Lass draws out the rich notes of Mozart's larghetto

Ruth took over the introductions for three miniatures by early twentieth century English composer Frank Bridge. Not as grand as the allegro energico from Bridge's Piano Quintet which we heard this morning, these miniatures are delightful little morsels of ensemble music. From the set of nine the trio had chosen a minuet, a gavotte, and a hornpipe - all light and pleasing with lovely sections of staccato and pizzicato playing on all three instruments.

Staccato and pizzicato for all three instruments in Frank Bridge's 'Miniatures'

To follow the lighthearted miniatures, Joyce introduces 'something completely different' - a tango by late twentieth century Argentine bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazzolla. This chamber music, transcribed for trio, deftly combines classical and jazz influences. The sound was hauntingly reminiscent of Piazzolla's 'Muerte del Angel' despite having a different tune. All three instruments cry out in anguish the strings doing what the piano cannot - creating a drawn out crescendo on one note. Ruth's top notes on the the 'cello sobbed the song of love and tragedy. Very sad, but gorgeous.

The powerhouse of the piano trio - the hands of pianist Joyce Clarke
powering through Johannes Brahm's fiery Hungarian Dance No 6

Finally, something different again. Ruth introduced Johanne Brahms' 'Hungarian Dance No 6'. All of these dances are exciting and beautiful, but No 6 has a special magic. The trio definitely made it a magical end to their recital. The opening was incredibly abrupt, before slowing down to a teasing pace, and then bursting forth again with all guns blazing. After an abrupt end the whole process starts again. And again. Joyce's piano playing was startlingly percussive as this majestic and grandiose dance became more and more expansive. Glorious stuff to finish a highly entertaining piano trio recital.

Many thanks to the Beacon Piano Trio for a gorgeous recital - bravo!

At the end of the concert it did seem that the trio could have played on for quite a bit longer - and they will! They will be in the Old Music Room at Queen's College in Taunton on Sunday 30th October for a full scale concert including additional music by Georg Frederick Handel and Sergei Rachmaninov - from baroque to modern. That will be something to hear!


The Beacon Piano Trio
The Old Music Room, Queen's College, Taunton
Sunday 30 October 3pm
Piano: Joyce Clarke
Violin: Anna Cockroft
'Cello: Ruth Lass
(in association with Taunton Association of Performing Arts)
Handel, Mozart, Rachmaninov
Tickets: £12 (student £5)
Box Office: 01823 336344
events@tauntondeane.gov.uk
http://www.tauntondeaneleisure.co.uk/tdbcsites/hos/events/ticketevents.asp

Classical Journey Tuesday 18 October

The Two Moors Festival continues for the rest of this week. A great day out in Tiverton - The Vasari string quartet plays on a barge on the Tiverton canal, followed by David Davies organ recital at St Peter's - and in the evening Julian Lloyd Webber and the Orchestra of the Swan will be at Exeter Cathedral..

Friday at Ashburton is just as varied. The young musicians platform winners concert includes percussionist Molly Lopresti Richards' marimba recital. Then, following an afternoon masterclass with Harvey Davies, the Two Moors Ensemble play Spohr and Mahler - that Spohr nonette with be really something.

Other concerts continue as usual. The BSO will be at the new-look University Great Hall. (Only the outside has changed - inside the hall is still the great venue it always has been.)

The St Stephen's Project bring two great opera singers to St Mary Arches, while the Exeter Philharmonic Choir sing Handel's Messiah with Andrew Daldorph and David Davies at the Mint Methodist Church in Fore Street.

Next week there is big excitement as the Reading Phoenix Choir make a very special appearance at St Peter's in Tiverton. Dartington Great Hall hosts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. The Beacon Piano Trio play Queens' College Taunton. Deborah Woods invites the Sulis Wind Trio for another magical early evening session of 'Music in the Art Room' in Topsham. Finally, to finish October off in style, 'Le Jazz' will give another of their sell-out concerts at Kennaway House in Sidmouth.

And the end of October means Halloween - and Louis Ravensfield and his Exeter Alternative Theatre have another run of 'Grand-Guignol' macabre plays at the Barnfield Theatre, ending on Halloween night.

Tuesday's 'Journey' will travel the centuries taking inspiration from all the wonderful music that has been going on in Exeter and Devon - and the music still to come!

1626    John Dowland                 Orlando Sleepeth

1700    Tomaso Albinoni             Trio Sonata

1836    Frederick Chopin            Ballade No 1

1874    Bedrich Smetana             Vltava

1888    Gilbert & Sullivan            I have a Song to Sing, O!

1893    Sergei Rachmaninov        A Dream

1899    Edward Elgar                  Lux Aeterna

1912    Frank Bridge                   Piano Quintet

1936    Heitor Villa-Lobos           Bachianas Brazileiras

1947    Benjamin Britten              Come you not from Newcastle?

1950    Pablo Cassals                  El Cant del Ocells

1963    Benjamin Britten              Nocturnal

1976    Benjamin Britten              I will give my Love an Apple

1991    Evelyn Glennie                 Light in Darkness

1992    John Tavener                   Last Sleep of the Virgin

2010    Phil Henry                       Snow Dove/Cuckoos Nest

Concert Run-Down for the End of October

Sonatas Spirited and Serene
Glenorchy United Reformed Church Exmouth
Wednesday 19 October 12.30pm
Beethoven, Bach and Boccherini
'Cello: Hilary Boxer
Piano: Susan Steele
(a 'Tasty Music' production)
Admission Free, retiring collection
(BTW the information given on the 'Journey'
 on Tue 20 Sept was wrong.
Mary O'Shea is not singing at this concert.
She will be at Glenorchy on Wed 9 Nov.
See details below)



Opera Through the Ages
St Mary Arches Church
Wednesday 19 October 7.30pm
Baritone: Alex Poulton
Soprano: Wing Wing Lam
Tickets: £10 (includes wine and refreshments)
01392 851207
proceeds in aid of the St Stephen's Project
Future Concerts:
Schubert's 'Winterreise' Wed 23 Nov
Exeter Chamber Choir Tue 20 Dec


Exeter Philharmonic Choir
Mint Methodist Church Exeter
Wednesday 19 October 7.30pm
Handel's MessiahConductor: Andrew Daldorph
Organist: David Davies
Tickets: £10 (student £8)
EPC Tickets: 01392 499211
Phoenix: 01392 667080
http://www.exephil.org.uk/ 



Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Exeter University Great Hall
Thursday 20 October 7.30pm
Conductor: Michal Sworzynski
Piano Soloist: Boris Giltburg
'Romantic Power'
Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
Chopin: Piano Concerto No 1
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 6 "Pathetique"
Tickets: £11.50 - £35
Phoenix Box Office: 01392 667080
purchase.tickets.com
http://www.bsolive.com/


Two Moors Festival Concert
Exeter Cathedral Thursday 20 October 7.30pm
Orchestra of the Swan
Condutor: David Curtis
'Cello: Julian Lloyd Weber
Elgar:
Introduction and Allegro for Strings
'Cello Concerto
Enigma Variations
Tickets: £10-23
Box Office: 01643 831006


Newton Abbot and District Society of Arts (nadsa)
Courtenay Centre Newton Abbot
Friday 21 October 7.30pm
Viola: Sarah-Jane Bradley (Honeymead Quartet - q.v.)
Piano: Christian Wilson
Edgar Bainton: Sonata for Viola and Piano
Theodore Holland: Suite in D for Viola and Piano
Granville Bantock: Viola Sonata in F major
Frederick Delius: Caprice and Elegy
Edward Elgar: Chanson de Matin
Tickets: £14 (students under 21 £2)
from Opus Classical (Exeter Guildhall) 01392 496196


Endelion String Quartet
St Peter's Church Budleigh Salterton
Saturday 22 October 7.30pm
Violin: Andrew Watkinson, Ralph de Souza
Viola: Garfield Jackson
'Cello: David Waterman
Josef Haydn Opus 20 No 5 in F minor (1772)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No 14 in C# minor Op 131 (1826)
Michael Tippett String Quartet No 2 in F# major (1942)
Tickets: £15


The Last Night of the Proms
The Methodist Church, Sidwell Street, Exeter
Saturday 22 October 7.30pm
Mezzo Soprano: Jacqueline Palmer
Organ & Piano: Wensleigh Palmer (q.v.)
Admission: £5 
In aid of Devon Air Ambulance
& the Church Music Fund



Opera Gala
(a repeat of the concert at Poltimore on Fri 8 July)
St Margaret's Church Topsham
Saturday 22 October 7.30pm
Piano: Joyce Clarke
Soprano: Janet McDonald
Mezzo Soprano: Anneke Freeland
Tenor: Chris Hunt
Bass: Julian Rippon
Tickets: information to come
(Soprano Mary O'Shea is not able to appear
at this performance. She will sing at Glenorchy
on Wed 9 Nov - see details below)



Honiton Festival
St Paul's Church Honiton
Friday 28 October 1pm
Piano: Sam Armstrong
Schubert: Sonata in A D664
Debussy: Two Etudes
Brahms: Klavierstucke Op 116
Tickets: £9
(lunch on sale from 12.00)
Next Concerts:
Oboe: James Turnbull, Piano: Craig White - Fri 25 Nov
Violin: Yuka Ishizuka, Piano: Nadav Hertzka - Fri 17 Feb
http://www.thehonitonfestival.co.uk/events.php

Hannahs at Seale Hayne
Big Red, Seale Hayne College, Newton Abbot
Wednesday 26 October 7pm
Leo Records International Tour
- The Joy of Making Music -
'Karate'
Saxophone: Alexy Kruglov (Russia)
Guitar: Jaak Sooaar (Estonia)
'Light and Shade'
Voice: Katja Kruz (Austria)
Piano: Carolyn Hume (UK)
Tickets: £10 (early bird £8)
01626 325800
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/132500


Reading Phoenix Choir
St Peter's Church Tiverton
Saturday 29 October 7.30pm
Sacred and Secular Choral Music
from 1500 to the present day
Special Guests:
Organist: Christopher Enston
Widor: Toccata in F major
Pipe and Tabor: Didier Garcon
Traditional Music from Provence
Tickets: £10 (advance booking recommended)
contact Sue North 01884 253494


Sidmouth Music
Manor Pavilion Theatre Sidmouth
Saturday 29 October 7.30pm
Emperor String Quartet
Violin: Martin Burgess & Clare Hayes
Viola: Fiona Bonds
'Cello: William Schofield
Purcell ed Britten: Chacony (1948/63)
Britten: String Quartet No 2 in C Op 36 (1945)
Schubert: String Quartet No 15 D887 (1826)
Tickets: £12.50 (student standby £2)
Opus Classical (Exeter Guildhall) 01392 496196



Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Dartington Great Hall Sunday 30 October 3pm
Elgar: Serenade
Finzi: Romance
Mozart: Symphony No 17 in G
Musgrave: Aurora
Mozart: Symphony No 29 in A
Tickets: £18 (student £5)
01803 847070
http://www.dartington.org/

The Beacon Piano Trio
The Old Music Room, Queen's College, Taunton
Sunday 30 October 3pm
Piano: Joyce Clarke
Violin: Anna Cockroft
'Cello: Ruth Lass
(in association with Taunton Association of Performing Arts)
Handel, Mozart, Rachmaninov
Tickets: £12 (student £5)
Box Office: 01823 336344
events@tauntondeane.gov.uk
http://www.tauntondeaneleisure.co.uk/tdbcsites/hos/events/ticketevents.asp

Music in the Art Room
Topsham Art Room
Sunday 30 October 6.30pm
Sulis Wind Trio
Oboe: Peter Rees
Clarinet: Wayne Wilkins
Bassoon: Jean Crook
Mozart, Smetana, Dvorak
Victor Herbert, James Hook
Tickets £10 (including wine/refreshments)
- advance bookingessential
e.theartroom@elipse.co.uk

 

http://www.kennawayhouse.org.uk/calendar/19/696-Chris-Gradwell-and-Friends.html

Chris Gradwell and Friends

Cellar Bar, Kennaway House, Sidmouth

Sunday 30 October 6.45 for 7.30pm

'Le Jazz' with Poetry and Sketches

Sax & Clarinet: Chris Gradwell

Keyboard: Andrew Daldorph

Double Bass: Mike Thorne

Featuring:

James Pellow,Wally Cotgrave, Barbara Farquharson, Kairen Hooker,

Frances Lee, Rowland Molony, Trudi Morgan, John Torrance

Tickets: £10  Reservations: Glyn Holford  07583 796855

glyn.holford@sky.com