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.
Michael Collins MBE is one of the most complete musicians of his generation. He received the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2007. With a continuing, distinguished career as a clarinet soloist, he has in recent years also become highly regarded as a conductor. He is Artistic Director in Residence of the London Mozart Players, and from 2010 – 2018 he was the Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia. Recent highlights have included worldwide appearances as a soloist and a conductor. In 2017 Michael was awarded a Grammy for his disc 'Shakespeare Songs' with Ian Bostridge and Sir Antonio Pappano.
Michael is in great demand as a chamber musician, performing regularly with Sir András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. He has appeared at prestigious events such as the Proms, the Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh Festival, City of London Festival, Cheltenham International Festival and the Bath Mozartfest. During the 2019-20 season he was Artist in Residence at the Wigmore Hall which included concerts with Stephen Hough, as well as tonight's pianist, Michael McHale.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2015, Michael Collins was awarded an MBE for his services to music. He plays on Yamaha clarinets.
Belfast-born Michael McHale has established himself as one of Ireland's leading pianists and has developed a busy international career as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. He has performed at some of the most well-known concert halls in the world such as the Wigmore Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, the Boston Symphony Hall, the Pesti Vigadó in Budapest and the Lincoln Center in New York. He has performed and recorded as a soloist with the Hallé Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, London Mozart Players and all five of the major Irish orchestras. He has played at many of the most prestigious festivals such as the BBC Proms, the Tanglewood Festival and the Tokyo Spring Festival.
Michael collaborates regularly with Sir James Galway, Dame Felicity Lott and Michael Collins with whom he has recorded eight duo recital albums. A commitment to new music has seen Michael give first performances and recordings of music by composers including John Tavener, Arvo Pärt and Luke Bedford. He has won many piano competitions including the Terence Judd/Hallé Award, the Dublin International Piano Competition, and in 2016 a Major Individual Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. He studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
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Both as a soloist and chamber musician, pianist Samson Tsoy has appeared in many of London's most prestigious venues in London such as the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and during the summer of 2020 Samson performed at the Wigmore Hall's Lockdown Recital Series. All of his recitals have been highly praised by the press with 5-star reviews in The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Observer and The Arts Desk. He has also performed in the Aldeburgh Festival, the Verbier Festival and the Rostropovich Festival. In September 2019, together with his partner Pavel Kolesnikov, he launched a "seriously edgy, admirable and a must-see" (quote Classical Music Magazine) festival in East London called the Ragged Music Festival which received a 5-star review in The Independent.
Lauded for the originality and intense drama of his interpretations, Samson has already performed with renowned conductors including Valery Gergiev with the Mariinsky Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Diego Masson as part of Philharmonia Orchestra's "Stravinsky: Myths and Rituals" series.
Samson Tsoy graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory,then the Royal College of Music in London. He has also worked under the guidance of Imogen Cooper, Maria João Pires and Elisabeth Leonskaja. He has won many awards and piano competitions. In 2008 he was awarded the prestigious National President's Order "Young Talent of Russia".
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