LAITON TRUMPET QUARTET on 17th December 2024 at 7.30 pm at Boston Grammar School PE21 6JE. Tickets are £12 at the door or in advance by contacting 01205 366018 or bostonconcertclub@gmail.com . Children and Students attend free of charge. There is ample parking at the entrance off Rowley Road.

BIOGRAPHY – LAITON TRUMPET QUARTET

The Laiton Trumpet Quartet are Grace Harman, Erin McLellan, Charlotte Nuta and Isabel Thompson who have all recently graduated from The Royal Northern College of Music. The ensemble has enjoyed success performing in several lunchtime concerts in and around Manchester and the North West. They have taken part in masterclasses, coaching and performance within the RNCM. In June 2023 and 2024 the group made it to the finals of the RNCM Philip Jones Brass Prize and were commended for their innovative and creative programme. All four members of the Quartet are based in the North West and continue to perform as soloists in ensembles, workshop leading as well as teaching. It is regretted that Isabel Thompson will be unable to perform at this concert. The Quartet are very grateful to Seb Williman for stepping in to perform with them. Seb came to the Concert Club two years ago with Rosamund Brass, playing at that December concert.

PROGRAMME

Fanfare for an Angel – James Stephenson

Solitude – Duke Ellington arr. Murray Grieg

Amazing Grace – John Newton arr. Andrew Reid

The Lazy Trumpeter – Edrich Siebert

Someday my Prince will Come – Miles Davis arr. Erik Veldkamp

Intrada – Hansen arr. Murray Grieg

Away in a manger – tradition arr. Peter Graham

Chorale and Fugue – Bach arr. Henry Mancini

The Seal Lullabye – Eric Whitacre arr. Isabel Thompson

Part 1 Encore: Tico Tico

INTERVAL

Rockin Robin – Jackson 5 arr. Grace Harman

Georgia on my Mind – Ray Charles arr. Erin McLellan

Eleanor Rigby – John Lennon/Paul McCartney arr. Grace Harman

Killer Queen – Queen arr. Grace Harman

Someone to watch over me – George Gershwin arr. Joseph Turrin

Dynamite – Christopher Bond

The Seal Lullabye – Eric Whitacre arr. Isabel Thompson

Basin Street Blues – Louis Armstrong arr. Grace Harman

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Frank Sinatra arr. Grace Harman

Caprice – Bernard Fitzgerald

Encore – Jingle Bells

EMMA JOHNSON (Clarinet) & GREGORY DROTT (Piano) this Concert is in memory of the late Chairman of Boston Concert Club, Rev. Jenny Dumat. The concert will take place at the Grammar School, Boston on 19th November 2024 at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £12 in advance or at the door. Children and Students enter free of charge. To order your ticket in advance telephone 01205 366018 or email bostonconcertclub@gmail.com. There is ample parking at the entrance off Rowley Road and for this concert there will be additional parking in the lower car park, there will be someone there to help you park.

EMMA JOHNSON – Clarinet

Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have established a career as a solo performer which has taken her to venues all over the world. Emma grew up in London and her career was launched when at the age of 17 she won BBC Young Musicians in front of a TV audience of 12 million, followed by the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York.

Johnson has made 30 recordings to date; her album English Fantasy has been streamed 5 million times on Spotify whilst Voyage and The Mozart Album both reached the top of the classical charts. She recently released a recording with Gloucester Cathedral choir of her own composition, Songs of Celebration. A passionate advocate of the clarinet as a solo instrument, Emma has commissioned new works from composers such as Sir John Dankworth, Sir Michael Berkeley and Jonathan Dove. She also enjoys giving concerts with her own group, Emma Johnson and Friends and is known for her eclectic programming which has ranged from Mozart with Sir Yehudi Menuhin to Klezmer at the Jazz Café and Jazz with Dame Cleo Laine.

Emma Johnson’s compositions and arrangements have been published by Chesters and Faber Music. Her composition for clarinet and choir, Songs of Celebration, was recently performed in Dublin, London and Tokyo and her clarinet concerto, Tree of Life, a response to the climate emergency, is touring in 2024.

In 2020 she received the Cobbett Medal from the Musicians’ Company Guild in the City of London for distinguished services to chamber music. She was honoured by the Queen with an M.B.E. in 1996.

Emma Johnson plays a clarinet made by the English instrument maker, Peter Eaton.

In her spare time, Emma likes running and birdwatching – but not necessarily at the same time!

For more details please visit www.emmajohnson.co.uk

Follow Emma on Twitter: @ClarinetEmmaJ

PROGRAMME

Emma Johnson – Three Perspectives (Echoes – Solace – Senegal Spirit)

Schumann – Fantasiestucke Op.73 (Zart und mit Ausdruck – Rasch und mit Feuer)

Poulenc – Clarinet Sonata

Interval

Rebecca Clarke – Impetuoso

Mozart – Larghetto and Variations K581a

Bliss – Pastoral

Bechet – Petite Fleur

Ellington – Medley

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSIC – 600 years of musical history in 90 minutes! With Chris Green and Sophie Matthews at Boston Grammar School on 15 October 2024 at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £12 on the door or in advance from 01205 366018 or email bostonconcertclub@gmail.com. There is plenty of parking at the entrance to the Grammar School off Rowley Road.

The latest show from acclaimed musicians Chris Green and Sophie Matthews takes in 600 years of musical history in 90 minutes! Beginning in the Middle Ages and ending up in the 20th century (and incorporating everything in between!) this fun and fast-moving show is a whistle-stop tour of Western musical history.

Featuring long forgotten songs and tunes (not to mention jokes!) Chris and Sophie paint a vibrant and vivid picture of our musical DNA, mixing the familiar and the obscure, the raucous and the reflective and the courtly and the commonplace.

The show combines the vigour of the medieval period, the musical intricacy of the Renaissance, the grandeur of the Baroque and the pomp and bombast of Victoriana. Add to that the wit of Blackadder and 1066 And All That and the stage is set for a veritable musical feast!

Complete with a bewildering array of instruments such as cittern, rauschpfeife and virginal (and that’s just the first 100 years!), “A Brief History of Music” uses tunes, songs and humour to take you on a musical journey from

which you won’t want to return!

“You guys are awesome!” Bill Barclay, Director of Music at Shakespeare’s Globe

“Eclectic and enjoyable… a bewildering range of instruments” English Dance and Song Magazine

CONCERTS FOR 2024/2025

15 October 2024

Chris Green and Sophie Matthews

“A Brief History of Music”

600 years of musical history in 90 minutes!

19 November 2024

Emma Johnson (cl) and Gregory Drott (p)

Clarinet and piano

This concert is in memory of our Chairman The Rev. Jennifer Dumat who died in December 2023

Proposed programme:

Emma Johnson – Three Perspectives (Echoes – Solace – Senegal Spirit)

Schumann – Fantasiestucke Op.73 (Zart und mit Ausdruck – Rasch und mit Feuer)

Poulenc – Clarinet Sonata

Interval

Rebecca Clarke – Impetuoso

Mozart – Larghetto and Variations K581a

Bliss – Pastoral

Bechet – Petite Fleur

Ellington – Medley

17 December 2024

From RNCM

Laiton Trumpet Quartet

Proposed programme: (to come)

SJB / v3 / 7 July 2024 / p1

21 January 2025

From RNCM

Heartwood String Quartet

)

Proposed programme: (to come)

18 February 2025

Eira Lynn Jones

Harp

Proposed programme: (to come)

18 March 2025

Sofia Sacco

Solo piano

Proposed programme:

D. Shostakovich – 3 Preludes and fugues op. 87

M. Clementi – Sonata op. 40 n. 2

O. Respighi – Nocturne

M. Ravel – La Valse

Interval

F. Couperin – Les Barricades Mystérieuses

L.C. Daquin – Le Coucou

J. P. Rameau – Gavotte et Six Doubles

J.S. Bach – Toccata in E minor

D. Shostakovich – 3 Preludes and Fugues op.87

SJB / v3 / 7 July 2024 / p2

TOM DALE – Guitar this concert will be on 19th March 2024 at 7.30 pm at Boston Grammar School. Tickets are £12 at the door or in advance. Students and children have free entry to all concerts. To order tickets in advance please telephone 01205 366018 or contact bostonconcertclub@gmail.com. There is ample parking at the entrance off Rowley Road.

PROGRAMME

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)

Cinq Preludes
- Prelude no.1
- Prelude no.2
- Prelude no.3
- Prelude no.4
- Prelude no.5

Cyril Scott (1879-1970)

Sonatina for Guitar
- I: Adagio, quasi introduzione – Molto Moderato
- II: Allegretto Pensoso
- III: Finale

Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909)

Lagrima

Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)

Rumores de la Caleta

Interval

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Sarabande

Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014)

From Kakadu
- I: Grave
- II: Comodo
- III: Misterioso
- IV: Cantando

Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982)

Madronos

Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996)

Folios
- I
- III

John Lennon (1940-1980) & Paul McCartney (1842-)

Here, There and Everywhere (arr. Takemitsu)
Michelle (arr. Takemitsu)
Yesterday (arr. Takemitsu)

JAMES BLACKFORD – Euphonium and RUTH HOLLICK – Piano will give a concert at Boston Grammar School, PE21 6JE at 7.30 pm on 20 February 2024. Tickets are £12 in advance or at the door. In advance telephone 01205 366018 or email bostonconcertclub@gmail.com

BIOGRAPHIES

Based in Melbourne, Australia, James Blackford is a Besson Sponsored Artist and one of Australia’s most eminent and versatile euphonium players. He is the solo euphonium player with the Royal Australian Air Force Band, teaches euphonium at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and regularly travels around Australia and the world performing as a soloist.

He holds a Master of Music from the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester, where he studied under the guidance of David Thornton and Steven Mead. Whilst at the RNCM, James won the college’s concerto competition and received the highly commended award at their prestigious Gold Medal final. James’ studies were proudly supported by the Australian Music Foundation, through the AMF Overseas Study Award, and the Tait Memorial Trust, through the Tait White Loewenthal Award. He is the first euphonium player ever to receive an award from either foundation.

Whilst in the U.K., James won the Philip Jones Brass Prize at the Royal Over-Seas League’s Annual Music Competition. He was later invited to compete in the competitions ‘Overseas Final’, where he was awarded the ROSL trophy for the most Outstanding Musician from Overseas. In the same year, following a performance of the Martin Ellerby Euphonium Concerto at the prestigious RNCM Festival of Brass, James was invited to join The Cory Band to perform and compete with them at the 2023 European Championships, in Malmo, Sweden. James is a strong advocate for the virtuosic capabilities of the euphonium, and he looks forward to continuing to push the boundaries of euphonium performance in the years to come.

Ruth Hollick BMus(Hons) PGdip PPRNCM

Ruth studied Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music for six years, graduating in 2005 with postgraduate qualifications in Solo Performance , Piano Accompaniment and Chamber Music, in addition to her undergraduate degree. She was offered a job at the RNCM as a Staff Pianist soon after graduating and still works there, alongside a similar role at the University of Salford.

As part of her performing and teaching career, Ruth enjoys working with choirs; she is currently Principal Accompanist of Haydock Male Voice Choir and Bolton Choral Union.

In addition to the piano, Ruth has played various Brass instruments since a very young age and now enjoys it as a hobby, playing in a Championship section Brass Band. Ruth considers herself fortunate to be able to combine her career as an Accompanist with her passion for Brass Bands; she regularly performs with Brass soloists in recitals, for recordings and competitions.

PROGRAMME

Charles Villiers-Stanford

Caoine (arrangement of 2^nd movement)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel

Fantasy

Ernest Bloch

Prayer (the first of 3 movements from “a Jewish Life”

P Tchaikovsky

Variations on a Rococo Theme

INTERVAL

Anthony Brahe

Tour de Force (an Australian work written for James)

Astor Piazzola

Cafe 1930

Martin Ellerby

Euphonium Concerto movements 3 & 4

Philip Sparke

Harlequin

CHANGE TO CONCERT ON 19th MARCH

We are sorry to report that Chris Green and Sophie Matthews have had to cancel their proposed visit and give us their concert “A Brief History of Music”. However, we hope that they will be able to come to us next season. We are delighted that Tom Dale will appear instead. Tom is a very fine guitarist and members will recall that he has visited us previously as part of a guitar duo.

REV. JENNIFER DUMAT

It is with great sadness that the Committee of the Club announce the death of our Chairman and Concert Secretary, Rev. Jenny Dumat. Jenny died on 23rd December 2023. Her funeral will take place at Swineshead Parish Church on Tuesday 16th January at 1.00 pm. We should like to express our sincere condolences to her husband David, and to her family.

AMBER EMSON: Violin & LEAH NICHOLSON: Piano will give a concert at Boston Grammar School at 7.30 pm on 16th January 2024. Tickets are £12 either at the door or in advance from 01205 366018, children and students are admitted free of charge. There is ample parking at the entrance to the Grammar School off Rowley Road PE21 6JE.

PROGRAMME

Sergei Prokofiev Sonata for violin and piano No.2 Op. 94a in D Major (24’)

I. Moderato

II. Presto

III. Andante

VI. Allegro con brio

César Franck Sonata for violin and piano in A major (29’)

I. Allegro ben moderato

II. Allegro

III.Ben moderato: Recitative-Fantasia

IV.Allegro poco mosso

Plus two smaller pieces:

Lili Boulanger 2 Morceaux: Nocturne and Cortège (5’)

Maurice Ravel – Tzigane

Biographies

Amber Emson, Violin

Amber (18) started playing violin at the age of 5 as a pupil of Margaret Norris and later Natasha Boyarsky; in 2009 she joined RAM’s Junior Department. As a student at Chetham’s School of Music 2014-16, she won the school’s Concerto Competition resulting in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Chetham’s Sinfonia at Manchester Cathedral, and the Catherine Perkins Chamber Music Prize. Between 2016 and 2019 Amber was member of the Royal College of Music’s Junior Department continuing her violin lessons
with Maciej Rakowski. Since 2020 she studies at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of So-Ock Kim. Amber actively participated in a number of mastercourses, amongst these with Pavel Vernikov, Maurizio Fuks (International Violin Mastercourse Kronberg Academy) and Kolja
Blacher (Carl Flesch Akademie Baden-Baden). In 2018, Amber was awarded the 2nd prize at the X. International Competition for Violin and Viola “Szymon Goldberg” in Meissen. In June 2019 she won 1st prize in the National Round
of Germany’s “Jugend Musiziert” competition, and in the same year she won 1st prize at the International Music Competition Hohenpriessnitz.
Invitations to perform as soloist with orchestras included Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole with the Orchestra of the City, the Sussex Concert Orchestra and with the Richmond Orchestra. In June 2019 she was invited as soloist of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No 2 with Reed’s School Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, followed by Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Sussex Concert Orchestra in Bexhill Festival, with Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra and, in November 2021,
with Sutton Symphony Orchestra. In November 2019 she made her debut playing Dvorak’s Violin Concerto with Enfield Chamber Orchestra. In 2020/21, Amber returned to Richmond Orchestra as a soloist, performing Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. Amber is a passionate chamber musician; together with her duo partner cellist Willard Carter, she won the RCM JD Chamber Music Competition and performed at the Wigmore Hall in June 2017 as part of their annual Young Artists’ showcase concert. Amber participated in the ‘Mit Musik – Miteinander’ Chamber Music course at Kronberg Academy in September 2018. Since August 2019, she is a member of LGT Young Soloists, performing in major concert halls worldwide as a soloist as well as part of the group. Recent tours have
taken her to Rheingau Musikfestival, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berliner Philharmonie and Musikverein Wien, as well as a 2.5 weeks’ tour to Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta) and a CD recording. During the years, Amber’s musical activities have been supported by generous grants from
Awards for Young Musicians, EMI Music Sound Foundation, the Gerald Finzi Trust, the Rhona Reid Charitable Trust, the Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust, the Kathleen Trust and the Spoff’s Chamber Music Scholarships; she is a 2017, 2018 and 2019 Junior Scholarship recipient at the Hattori Foundation. Amber plays on a fine violin by Matthew Taylor from 1806.

Leah Nicholson, Piano

Leah Nicholson was born in 2001 and began studying with Galina Sandovskaya in St Petersburg, Russia, before continuing her musical education at Chetham’s School of Music in the UK with John Gough and Dr Murray McLachlan.
In 2018 Leah was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music in Solo Piano Performance Diploma (FRSM with Distinction) and has since won a scholarship to further her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she is studying with Professor Tessa Nicholson. She has won top prizes at numerous competitions internationally and throughout the UK, including the 2014 International Chopin Festival in Mazovia, Poland, Polyphonica International Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Scottish International Youth Piano Competition, the Loretto James Waterhouse Piano Competition, EPTA Piano Competition UK and Chetham’s Bösendorfer Piano Competition. Leah is also the youngest ever winner of the Keldwyth Young Musicians Award.
Leah frequently performs in concerts and has appeared in many venues across Europe including the Wigmore Hall in London, Steinway Hall (UK), Sage Gateshead in Newcastle, Bridgewater Hall and Stoller Hall in Manchester, Petrikirche in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn, Estonia. As a result of winning Chetham’s Concerto Competition, she performed Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 with Chetham’s Orchestra conducted by
David Chatterton, and has also performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 under the baton of conductors such as Ryan Bancroft and Leon Reimer. As a developing artist, Leah has performed in masterclasses for renowned artists such as Christopher Elton, Stephen Hough, Noriko Ogawa, John Gough, Ory Shihor, Peter Frankl, Eugen Indjic, Pas

ANTOINE PRÈAT will give a solo piano recital at Boston Grammar School on Tuesday 10th October 2023 at 7.30 pm

Parking is available at the Rowley Road entrance PE21 6JE. Tickets are £12 in advance or at the door. Children and Students have free entrance to all concerts. To order a ticket in advance please telephone 01205 366018 or send your details to bostonconcertclub@gmail.com

BIOGRAPHY OF ANTOINE PRÈAT

Antoine is a Winner of the Philip and Dorothy Green Award 2020 and a City Music Foundation Artist, Franco-Belgian pianist Antoine Préat is a young artist to watch.

London-based for several years, Antoine has been invited to perform in prestigious venues including the Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, Paris Beaux Arts Museum, Frederyk Chopin Insitute, as well as festivals such as the Nohant Chopin Festival, Lisztomanias, Chopin à Bagatelle, Les Nuits du Piano in Paris, IMS Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove and Encuentro de Santander. He has appeared on BBC Radio 3, France Musique, Scala Radio and TRT Radio 3.

Antoine has performed alongside leading artists and orchestras including Maté Szücs, Manuel Blanco, Sinfonietta Lausanne, Lesley Hatfield, Robin Ireland, the Centre de Musique de Chambre de Paris, Sainsbury Soloists, Academy Festival Orchestra, University Orchestra of Alicante and London Student Orchestra. He is also a founding member of Trio Cordiera with whom he performs regularly.

Throughout his career, Antoine has also been fortunate to receive guidance from Philippe Cassard, Cedric Pescia, Thomas Adès, Robert Levin, Jerome Lowenthal, Richard Goode, Imogen Cooper and Stephen Hough.

After graduating with honours from the Ecole Normale de Paris where he studied with Liudmila Berlinskaia and Guigla Katsarava, Antoine furthered his studies at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Tatiana Sarkissova and Christopher Elton, while studying harpsichord and fortepiano under the guidance of Carole Cerasi.

Antoine was awarded the first prize of the Concours international d’Ile de France and the Los

Angeles Colburn Piano Festival Competition, the honour prize at the New York Début Piano Competition and most recently was a semifinalist at the Clara Haskil Competition 2021.

Antoine is generously supported by Talent Unlimited, the Munster Derek Butler Award, Hattori Foundation and the Winifred Christie Trust Award.

PROGRAMMME

Rameau – Suite en Sol

Schumann – Papillons op 2

Debussy – Images Book I

INTERVAL

Brahms – Klavierstucke op 119

Debussy – Images Book II

Faure – 3 Songs without words