It has been decided that due to the continuing situation and in consideration of the health and wellbeing of all concerned, and after careful consideration Boston Concert Club will not have a Season of Concerts until October 2021.
Thank you for your support and understanding during these trying times. We hope very much that we shall be able to have a Season during 2021/2022.
09 October 2020
Rosanna is a harpist and gave a wonderful concert for the Club in November. Rosanna is giving a live-streamed performance on 18 April at 19.00 as part of the At Home with LMP programme. Rosanna says that this is the best way that music can be brought into people’s homes at the moment. The concert will be up for about a week and if you would like to watch it the link is :
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) – 17th MARCH CONCERT CANCELLATION
In light of the current situation and Government Advice it is with regret and disappointment that we have made the decision to cancel our concert this evening.
Tempest is an award winning, London based flute trio founded at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in 2010. Determined to stand out from the crowd and to showcase the flute trio as a credible and versatile ensemble, Tempest aimed to expand the repertoire for 3 flutes and to deliver innovative performances. The trio has now performed all over the world, covering a wide spectrum of music including 20 new works and their own arrangements. Tempest’s award successes include winning Royal Overseas League Chamber Music Competition 2013 and Second Prize in the 14th International Kuhlau Flute Competition 2013. They also won the RNCM Contemporary Music Award, the RNCM Ensemble of the Year Competition, the RNCM Woodwind Chamber Music Competition, Trevor Wye Prize and were semi-finalists for YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust). After auditions, they were selected to be artists for the Park Lane Group Concert Series and the Manchester Midday Concert Society. In 2011 Tempest won the Nonclassical “Battle of the Bands” competition for contemporary classical music. Tempest performed as featured artists in the National Flute Association Annual Convention in Las Vegas and the British Flute Society Convention in Manchester. Other highlights include recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and tours in Italy, Germany and Switzerland where they opened the Lucerne Chamber Music Series. The trio also deliver workshops and are members of the “Live Music Now!” scheme, a charity, which for over thirty years, has been putting into practice the visionary ideals of its founders, Yehudi Menuhin and Ian Stoutzker; bringing the joy and inspiration of live music to those who have limited access to conventional music-making. Much of Tempest’s success as a trio is fuelled by each member’s determination, originality and accomplishments as individuals. All three lead busy orchestral freelance careers as well as working as soloists, chamber musicians, teachers and workshop leaders.
Holly Melia – Biography:
Born in Ilkley, Yorkshire, Holly Melia graduated with a first class honours degree from the Royal Northern College of Music having studied with Katherine Baker, Richard Davis and Wissam Boustany. She began playing the flute at the age of eight, winning a scholarship to study at Chetham’s School of Music in 2003.
As a solo artist, Holly was a finalist in the 2013 Royal Overseas League competition. She has won the RNCM concerto competition (2010 and 2013), the RNCM Gold Medal – the highest award for performance at the RNCM (2010), the British Flute Society Performance Plus competition, the Craxton Memorial Award and the Martin Musical Scholarship. In 2007 she was a woodwind semi-finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. She was a member of Southbank Sinfonia in 2014, where she performed as a concerto soloist with the orchestra.
Orchestral credits include performing with the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, City of Birmingham Symphony, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera North, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Welsh National Opera Orchestra. She currently holds the flute chair on ‘The King and I, UK and International Tour, and is on trial for the Principal piccolo position with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Helena Gourd – Biography
As an orchestral flautist, Helena works with orchestras including the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, English National Ballet, Philharmonia Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Opera House, Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and St. Petersburg Ballet. Throughout 2016, she was a member of the Southbank Sinfonia with whom she performed in venues such as the Barbican, Glyndebourne, Cadogan Hall and the Notre Dame in Paris. Helena studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Pole Superieur de Musique et Danse in Bordeaux with Karen Jones, Sam Coles and Jutta Pulcini. She was winner of the RAM Flute competition in 2013 as well as the Violet M Wallace award and the Joyce Anne Beckett Prize. She was also a 2014 winner of the Philharmonia Orchestra Martins Music Scholarship Fund. Recent highlights include performing Memoriale by Pierre Boulez for a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as well as an orchestral tour of Japan in 2019 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Helena divides her time between orchestral freelancing across the UK and teaching flute at the Lady Eleanor Holles School.
Dave Ruff – Biography
David studied classical flute with a scholarship at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining both his BMus (2008-2012 David studied classical flute with a scholarship at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining both his BMus (2008-2012) and MMus (2012-2014 David studied classical flute with a scholarship at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining both his BMus (2008-2012) and MMus (2012-2014). David regularly plays with orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Oxford Philharmonic, New London Sinfonia, The Army of Generals and The British Paraorchestra.
David plays in the West End and recently was the chair holder on Me and My Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre 2018), Young Frankenstien (West End 2017-2018.
PROGRAMME
Claude Debussy 1862-1918 – (arranged Tempest) “Syrinx“
Lucy Pankhurst b 1981 “Kokopelli”
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750 (arranged Ann Cherry) Sonata in C Minor
Helen Wilson “There’s Something About Maggie”
Friedrich Kuhlau 1786-1832 Trio in G Minor opus 13 No 2 Allegro non tanto Allegro con moto
Georges Bizet 1838-1875 (Arranged M Orris) “The Gypsies Chorus”
Interval
Edmund Jolliffe “Tempus Fugit”
Leonard Bernstein 1918-1990 (Arranged Helen Wilson) West Side Story Suite “Somewhere” “Maria” “I Feel Pretty”
Eddie McGuire b 1948 “Celtic Knotwork”
Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741 (Arranged Dominique Gauthier) “La Tempesta di mare” Largo, Presto
Billy Strayhorn 1915-1967 (Arranged Helen Wilson) “Take the A Train”
Claude Debussy (Arranged Helen Wilson) “Clair de lune”
All concerts are held at Boston Grammar School PE21 9QF and they begin at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £12 and may be purchased at the door or ordered in advance from Mrs V Robinson 01205 366018, children and students may attend the concerts free of charge.
Joseph Tong and Waka Hasegawa are widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading piano duos, they were prize winners at the Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition in 2003 and at the Schubert International Competition held in the Czech Republic. The Duo has given recitals in Japan, Germany, Spain and the USA as well as broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. Since their critically acclaimed London debut for the Park Lane Group in 2002, Piano 4 Hands has performed regularly at Wigmore Hall including several Recitals under the auspices of the Kirckman Concert Society. Joseph and Waka have performed at many of the major concert venues around the UK and at festivals including Buxton, Cheltenham, Bury St Edmunds, Oundle and Presteigne. The Duo’s debut CD of Debussy piano duets for the Quartz Label was chosen as Album of the Week in The Independent, followed by recordings of Schubert and McCabe which have drawn similar critical praise.
Piano 4 Hands has commissioned new works from composers including Dai Fujikura, Rob Keeley, Nicola LeFanu, David Matthews, Edwin Roxburgh and the late John McCabe, whose piano duet Upon entering a painting (2009) they premiéred at Wigmore Hall. In July 2018 Joseph and Waka gave a recital at the newly reopened Purcell Room in London promoted by the Park Lane Group, marking the Debussy Centenary with a performance of La mer alongside the London Premiéres of Daniel Kidane’s Jungle and David Matthews’ Variations on a theme by Haydn Op. 144. These two new works were co-commissioned with the Cheltenham Music Festival, Piano 4 Hands giving their premiéres at the Pillar Room, Cheltenham Town Hall in July 2017.
Last Autumn, Joseph and Waka gave the first performance of Airs of the Seasons by Ailsa Dixon at St George’s, Bristol. Other recent recitals have included the Schubert Society of Britain and Luton Music Club, as well as the National Gallery in London. Joseph Tong and Waka Hasegawa were elected Associates of the Royal Academy of Music in 2008. Future projects include a new commission from the British composer Edwin Roxburgh and a series of concerts with the Bath Camerata, performing the Brahms German Requiem with their conductor Benjamin Goodson in Malmesbury Abbey and other venues including the Sherborne Abbey Festival and Bath Festival in Spring 2020. Joseph and Waka will also be leading a course devoted to piano duets and two piano repertoire at Benslow Music in Hertfordshire this summer.
Thanks to Joseph and Waka for these biographies.
PROGRAMME
Schubert : Allegro in A minor, D947 “Lebennsturme”
Robert Schumann : “Pictures from the East” Opus 66 1848
Mendelssohn : Andante with Variations in B flat, Opus 83a
INTERVAL
Schubert: Rondo in A major, D951
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Three Pieces for Four Hands
Clara Schumann: March in E flat
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Opus 23 1861 11 Variations.
All concerts are held at Boston Grammar School PE21 9QF and they begin at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £12 and may be purchased at the door or ordered in advance from Mrs V Robinson 01205 366018, children and students may attend the concerts free of charge.
Amy Roberts is a British Oboist with a rich and varied career. She has recently featured as a guest principal with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC NOW, BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and she has performed all over Europe with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester . Other orchestras include the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. She is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician having become a 2019 featured artist with “Making Music”, recorded the Villa Lobos Concerto Grosso and performed concertos by Albinoni, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Martinu and MacMillan. Her Quintet Moriarty Winds perform across the UK in a variety of concert and educational contexts and are proud to have been Chamber Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music and resident ensemble for Wigmore Hall Chamber Tots. She recently graduated from The Royal Academy of Music where she received a First Class MA with Chris Cowie, Ian Hardwick and Melanie Ragge. Previously she studied on the prestigious Joint Course between the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester studying oboe with Jonathan Small and baroque oboe. She received a First from both institutions and won the RNCM Concerto Competition. Whilst at the Academy she also won the Evelyn Rothwell Oboe Prize, Janet Craxton Memorial Prize and Barry Grimaldi Prize.
Gamal Khamis. After gaining a degree in Mathematics from Imperial College, London Gamal completed his formal musical education at the Royal College of Music. He first performed at the Wigmore Hall at the age of ten, and has since appeared at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Cadogan Hall, Sage Gateshead, Oxford Lieder Festival, Buxton Festival and Chipping Campden Festival, as well as across Europe, North America and Oceania. Gamal has won major prizes for both solo and collaborative playing, including at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition and the Ferrier Awards. He has performed concertos with orchestras all over England, and has worked with many of Britain’s leading composers. His playing is regularly broadcast on BBC Radio and Television and in Europe, America and the Middle East. Upcoming plans include recitals across Denmark, a return to the Flatirons Chamber Muisc Festival in Colorado, USA, and a tour of “Odyssey – words and music of finding home”, his new narrative recital with the actor Christopher Kent. Gamal is an artist with the Concordia Foundation, Park Lane Group, Samling and DEBUT, and he is a member of the award-winning Lipatti Piano Quartet, who recently made their Wigmore Hall, King’s Place and Southbank Centre debuts. Gamal would like to thank the Carne Trust for their continued generous support.
“The highlight of the evening was pianist Gamal Khamis, whose sensitivity and imagination shone out of his three performances”. Financial Times.
PROGRAMME
Georg Philipp Telemann Sonata in A minor TWV 41:a3
Franz Schubert Die Vŏgel, D691
Camille Sain-Saens Oboe Sonata, op 166
Interval
Malcolm Arnold Sonatina for Oboe and Piano, op 28
Gustave Faurė Nocturne in B, op 33 No 2
Helen Grime Oboe solo “Arachne”
Henri Dutilleux Oboe Sonata
The Concert will be held at Boston Grammar School, PE21 9QF. Tickets are £12 and may be ordered in advance from bostonconcertclub@gmail.com or by telephoning o1205 366018. Children and Students may attend free of charge.
The Aluna Duo.
The Aluna Duo recently formed this year at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Classical guitarist, Rafael Onyett graduated with a degree from the RNCM studying under renowned guitarist and teacher Craig Ogden. After winning a highly coveted Postgraduate Award from Help Musicians UK to assist in funding, Rafael is currently studying a Masters degree at the RNCM. Rafael has performed in many venues across the UK, both as a soloist and member of a tango group known as the Chuva Collective.
Flautist Lily Vernon-Purves completed her undergraduate studies at the RNCM with renowned flautist Kevin Gowland, and is now studying a Masters degree at the RNCM under world-class flautist and teacher Susan Milan. As an experienced orchestral and chamber music player, Lily has performed all throughout Europe, most recently touring with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra in Montepulciano, Italy. Lily has also performed with her flute quartet, Calla Flutes, in private and public performances across Manchester.
As the Aluna Duo, Rafael and Lily are both excited to share their debut performance together at St Ann’s Church, showcasing their love of Spanish/Latin inspired music. Biographical notes courtesy of Lily and Rafael.
THE “ALUNA DUO” APPEAR WITH THE KIND PERMISSION AND COOPERATION OF THE ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC We appreciate the support of the Duo in visiting local primary schools as arranged by Boston Concert Club.
PROGRAMME
Jaques Ibert ” Entr’acte”
Astor Piazzolla “Histoire de Tango”
Arranged by A Adam “O Holy Night”
Mario Castel-Nuovo-Tedesco “Sonatine” op.205
Gregorian “O come, O come Emmanuel”
Roland Dvens “Felicidade” Solo by Rafael Onyett
INTERVAL
Astor Piazzolla “Invierno Porteno” Solo by Rafael Onyett
Manuel de Falla “7 Canciones Populares Espanolas”
Felix Mendelssohn “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”
Bela Bartok “Six Romanian Dances”
Manuel de Falla “La Vide Breve”
Tickets are £12 on the door or they may be ordered in advance from bostonconcertclub@gmail.com or by telephoning 01205 366018. Children and Students have free entry to every concert.
PROGRAMME
C.P.E Bach – Sonate for Harp wq. 139
L. Spohr – Fantasie for harp Op. 35
D. Scarlatti – Sonate in A major K209
F. Godefroid – Etude de Concert
C. Debussy – Valse Romantique
Interval
M. de Falla – Spanish Dance from ‘La Vida Breve’
L. Berio – Sequenza II for solo harp
G. Connesson – Tocatta
B. Smetana arr. Trenecek – the Moldau
Tickets are £12 at the door or may be ordered in advance from bostonconcertclub@gmail.com or by telephoning 01205 366018
15 October 2019
The English Piano Trio (Jane Faulkner Violin, Pal Banda Cello and Timoth Ravenscroft Piano) a Programme to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Two Beethoven Trios and a Trio by Haydn.
19 November 2019
Rosanna Rolton – Harp. Programme to include music by Bach, Spohr, Scarlatti, Debussy and De Falla.
17 December 2019
Guitar and Flute Duo – Programme to be confirmed
21 January 2020
Amy Roberts – Oboe with piano accompanist – Programme to include music by Telemann, Schubert, Schumann, Arnold and Debussy.
18 February 2020
Piano 4 Hands – Joseph Tong and Waka Hasegawa Piano – Programme to celebrate the music known to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert including compositions by that musical couple Robert and Clara Schumann.
17 March 2020
The Tempest Flute Trio – Hannah Grayson, Holly Melia and Helen Wilson – Programme to include music by Bach, Debussy and commissioned works.
All concerts are at Boston Grammar School PE21 9QF and begin at 7.30. Tickets are £12 and may be ordered in advance from Mrs V Robinson 91205 366018 or bostonconcertclub@gmail.com. Children and students may attend free of charge.
