We won't be having season tickets in 2021/2022 in case the regulations change and indoor events cannot be held.
It is already possible to give you all of the confirmed dates to put in your diaries in order that you will keep those evenings free and be able to support us throughout the whole season.
As usual, all are on Saturdays and will be starting at 7.30pm.
We will be returning to the Bawtree Hall, Hazelwood School for these concerts.
The award-winning Sacconi Quartet are recognised as a compelling ensemble, consistently communicating with a fresh and imaginative approach. They are known throughout the world for their creativity and integrity of interpretation, performing with style, commitment, energy and enthusiasm.
Formed in 2001, their four founder members continue to demonstrate a shared passion for string quartet repertoire from Haydn to present day. The Sacconi enjoy a busy international career, performing regularly across the world, at Europe's major venues, in recordings and on radio broadcasts.
The name Sacconi Quartet comes from the outstanding twentieth-century Italian luthier and restorer Simone Sacconi, whose book The Secrets of Stradivari is considered an indispensable reference for violin makers. Ben Hancox plays a 1932 Sacconi violin and Robin Ashwell a 1934 Sacconi viola, both made in New York. Hannah Dawson plays a 1927 Sacconi violin made in Rome, and Cara Berridge plays a Nicolaus Gagliano cello from 1781.
Our Society is especially pleased that the The Sacconi Quartet are coming to perform here on February 26th as they celebrate their 20th Anniversary in this 2021-22 season.
The Neapolitan pianist Emma Abbate enjoys a demanding career as a piano accompanist and chamber musician. Described as "an amazingly talented pianist" by the leading Italian magazine Musica, she has performed in duo recitals for international festivals and concert societies in Austria, Portugal, Italy, Poland, and USA, and at many prestigious UK venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Royal Opera House, St John's Smith Square and at the Aldeburgh Festival, in addition to broadcasts on BBC Radio 3.
Emma also cultivates an active interest in historical keyboards, and has performed and recorded on a range of original instruments at Hatchlands Park and the Russell Collection.
Based in London, Emma is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a staff coach at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She has been elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of her 'significant contribution' to the music profession.
Interval
The Society is very grateful to the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust for their support of this recital, which enables us to offer free entry for under 25s.
This will be an evening filled with Brazilian-themed jazz played by a quintet of great repute. A gig with this theme is a new and exciting project of Pat's. He will have a residency during December 2021 where he'll be experimenting with various jazz musicians, incredible sounds and some different instrumentation. Pat's career as a drummer has taken him all over the world to places as far afield as New York, Hong Kong, Cape Town and Paris. He's a session musician with many years of experience, a very talented composer, a proficient arranger and a well-known band leader of many different-sized ensembles.
Because of his wide-ranging experience he also takes courses and tutorials at the Academy of Contemporary Music and Trinity College of Music.
The final line-up will be announced nearer the date of the gig, but will include Pat on drums, a pianist, a bass player and 2 other supporting stars, all of international repute.
British-Russian baritone Theodore Platt is an alumnus of the Verbier Festival Academy and the Royal College of Music Opera Studio. He received the Munster Trust Star Award and Help Musicians UK Opera Award.
He is member of the Bayerische Staatsoper's Opernstudio for the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons, where his roles include Fiorello in Barbiere di Siviglia, Conte Ceprano in Rigoletto, Lakai in Ariadne auf Naxos, Yakuside in Madama Butterfly, Première Sentinelle in Les Troyens, and Guccio in Gianni Schicchi.
Theodore has had success in numerous competitions, winning Second Prize in the 64th Kathleen Ferrier competition at the Wigmore Hall, First Prize in the 2018 Lies Askonas Competition, First Prize in the 2020 Joan Chissell Schumann Competition, and the Prix Thierry Mermod (Verbier Festival).
He attended the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie, which led to performances with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and a recital of Schubert Lieder broadcast on German radio. Theodore read Music at St John's College, Cambridge, graduating in 2016 and throughout his studies he participated in numerous masterclasses, most notably with Dame Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender, Dame Sarah Connolly, Thomas Quasthoff, Dimitri Platanias and Barbara Frittoli.
An avid recitalist, Theodore made his Wigmore Hall debut in 2019 as part of Graham Johnson's Songmakers Recital series and looks forward to reappearing at Wigmore with Malcolm Martineau in 2022. Other forthcoming highlights on the recital platform include his debut at the Oxford Lieder Festival along with performances in Copenhagen, Munich, Helsinki, and at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, all with regular duo partner Keval Shah. Theodore is flying in from Munich and Keval from Helsinki especially for this concert with O&LMS. We are extraordinarily lucky that they have been able to find a date for us in their extremely busy schedule.
In 2018/19 Theodore was a participant in the inaugural French Song Exchange at Wigmore Hall, working closely with Dame Felicity Lott and François Le Roux, culminating with recitals in London and Paris.
Praised as 'exceptional… deft and responsive' Keval Shah has quickly established himself at the forefront of a new generation of collaborative pianists. Recitals in the 2020/2021 season include performances in London, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Berlin, as well as performances of Winterreise with Roderick Williams. Highlights of previous seasons include recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, as well as at the Oxford Lieder Festival, Leeds Lieder Festival, Aldeburgh Festival and Heidelberger Frühling. In 2018, Keval embarked on a project to perform the complete songs of Hugo Wolf, an endeavour which has met with much critical acclaim.
Away from the concert platform, Keval is active as a broadcaster and researcher. Since being selected for BBC Radio 3's Next Generation Voices scheme, Keval is now a regular contributor to programmes on Radio 3 including Essential Classics and Inside Music. He also holds an Edison Fellowship at the British Library, where he is researching changing trends in the recorded performances of Hugo Wolf's songs in order to better understand the composer's place in 21st-century concert culture.
Keval read Music at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and then studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating from both institutions with distinction, and from the Academy with the prestigious DipRAM in 2017. He studied with Michael Dussek, Audrey Hyland, and Malcolm Martineau, and completed his training as a Britten-Pears Young Artist. In September 2019, Keval was the official pianist of the Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera International Song Competition.
Theodore and Keval will be performing songs composed by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Maurice Ravel, Samuel Barber, Hugo Wolf and Leonard Bernstein.
The Society is very grateful to the Countess of Munster Musical Trust for their support of this recital.
This talented piano trio have been playing together since 2017 and have built up a wide repertoire plus an ever-increasing reputation for their excellent musicianship. They are coming to us to perform a programme of renowned pieces for piano trios. The Mithras Piano Trio have performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the UK and have won many international competitions. They have participated in recitals for the Imogen Cooper Music Trust. The Trio's pianist, Dominic Degavino, is an alumni of her Trust's annual mentoring scheme which holds masterclasses at a rural retreat in Provence. Imogen provides one-to-one tutoring and intensive study to gain in-depth insights into a wide range of works by the major composers.
The pieces to be performed will be announced shortly.
Announced on 26th July 2021. The Mithras Piano Trio is now included in the 2021-2023 intake of the prestigious BBC New Generation Artist scheme.
The BBC New Generation Artist Scheme is the most prestigious scheme of this sort in the world. It will bring the Trio a high level of exposure through performing in the best UK venues, including the Wigmore Hall. Their experience of live performances will also extend to international venues. The Trio will be supported in the recording of at least 2 CDs. Another huge boost to their career is the amount of air-time they will be given on Radio 3. It is a real coup that they have been engaged to perform at the Oxted & Limpsfield Music Society.
The Society is very grateful to the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust for their support of this recital, which enables us to offer free entry for under 25s.