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.