Author: danwyn

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Phil Bonser BMus (Hons) AKC
Phil read music at King’s college, London from 1990-1993, studying clarinet with the wonderful Angel Malsbury at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After two years as a primary school teacher in London he escaped into the world of corporate IT working for Marks & Spencer then Debenhams. In 2009 he set up his own business – The Friendly Computer Man. Musically, Phil has continued to teach and play since graduating from King’s and now enjoys giving regular concerts with Dorothy as his accompanist. Since 2016 he has played a highly prized Peter Eaton “Elite” clarinet. His favourite lunch is cheese (with tomato) on toast and he likes to wear rainbow socks.

Dorothy Raven GRSM
Dorothy trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she studied Piano, cello and organ. A year at London University led to teaching in secondary schools. Dorothy enjoys choral conducting and has been Conductor of Buckingham Choral Society, and church choirs in Buckingham, Hertford and Albury a small village and small but enthusiastic choir. Dorothy’s main love is accompanying (particularly Phil). She is married to Rev Tony Raven who is also a pianist, organist and highly prized page turner

ROGRAM OF MUSIC

Biography

At only twenty-four years old, emerging young artist Adam Heron has already captivated audiences in over fifteen countries with his exceptional pianism. Born in Hong Kong of Nigerian-Filipino descent, he is a prize-winning musician who commands awards throughout the UK and overseas, including the esteemed Harriet Cohen Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music. His Topsham Music Festival debut purveys an enticing programme of elusive keyboard works by the eighteenth-century Guadeloupean Creole composer and virtuoso violinist Chevalier de Saint-Georges, as well as alluring classics by J. S. Bach, Brahms, and Chopin. This is a piano recital that promises to be truly special.

BIOGRAPHY

Chiara Lordi is twenty years old and originally from Italy but has lived in Scotland her whole life. She started playing the piano at the age of 6 with private tutor, Erica Salvatore. From the age of 12 to 18 she was a student at the City of Edinburgh Music School studying with Lynda Cochrane at one of the UK’s specialist music schools. 
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A first prize winner of the James Waterhouse Piano Competition, Chiara had the opportunity to play at Steinway Hall in London. She also received First Prize in various competitions at the Edinburgh International Festival and has performed as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival numerous times. She has also competed in the BBC Young Musician of the Year. In 2015, she performed as a soloist in the prestigious concert venue in Edinburgh, the Usher Hall, where esteemed pianists such as Steven Osbourne, Yuja Wang and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet have performed. She has also given solo recitals around the UK, including the Queens Hall in Edinburgh and the C. Bechstein Centre in Manchester. Chiara has been invited to perform at Saint Ann’s Church in Manchester in the Autumn.
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Chiara has received masterclasses from distinguished pianists, including Steven Osbourne, Margaret Fingerhut, Katya Apekisheva and Elise Richard. Chiara’s repertoire varies from Baroque to 20th Century but she feels especially connected to the Romantic era.
 
Chiara joined the Royal Northern College of Music in the year 2020 as a first year undergraduate student in Manchester and is now studying with Helen Krizos. She is looking forward to enjoying all the many performing and learning experiences she will receive during her studies.
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In addition to her love of the piano, Chiara is also a singer and songwriter who is fluent in English and Italian but can also speak French and Spanish. 

Photos: Mary Cridell

DAVID HEYES 

David Heyes studied double bass with Laurence Gray and Bronwen Naish, later at the Royal College of Music in London, and completed his post-graduate studies in Prague with František Pošta (Principal Bass, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra) between 1986-91. He has given recitals and masterclasses in 20 countries over the past few years and has been a juror at many international performance and composition competitions.

David’s collaborative work gained him a prestigious award from the David Walter Charitable Trust of New York for his pioneering activities as a soloist, teacher, publisher and commissioner of new music. He works with composers throughout the world to expand the double bass repertoire by commissioning new music alongside rediscovering forgotten works and since 1990 more than 700 works have been written for him, music from one to twenty basses and from beginner to virtuoso. He has premiered ten contemporary concertos with orchestra.

David’s compositional career began in 2013 and he has had music performed, recorded and broadcast in 28 countries, across five continents. He has received commissions from many leading bassists and festivals, has been Featured Composer a number of times, and several works have been used as the imposed work for competitions in Spain and Slovakia. His solo and ensemble music for young bassists has been particularly successful and his use of colour, alongside a wealth of playing techniques and effects, has created a unique body of work which has endeared it to students and teachers alike.

In 1986 David founded the publishing company Recital Music, which now has the largest catalogue of double bass music in the world, and he has written articles and reviews for the leading specialist music magazines including The Strad, Bass News, Music Teacher, Double Bassist, ESTA News & Views, Classical Music and Bass Magazine.Online.
David Heyes is proud to be a D’Addario Performing Artist..
“… a dazzling display of the instrument’s bel canto qualities” [Music & Musicians magazine]

“You are doing excellent work for the Bass World. Your students and the Wells Cathedral School students are lucky!!” [Simon Garcia, Spanish composer-bassist] “David Heyes…inspirational Godfather of the international double bass world.” [Katrina Gordon, Scottish composer and inspirational teacher and educator]

“For anyone unfamiliar with David’s work, he’s an internationally regarded soloist, educator, publisher, festival organiser, prolific composer, innovator and strong supporter for double bass in every way, shape and form. A very inspirational person indeed.” [Elsen Price, Australian bassist and composer]

“You are an amazing “Renaissance Man” in the world we bassists inhabit, and we are so grateful for the music and joy you bring to our world!” [Wilmer Fawcett, USA]

SARAH POOLE (Soprano)

Sarah Poole enjoys a successful career as a soloist and has appeared at many leading festivals throughout Great Britain and abroad. She is recognised for her recital and concert work, alongside exuberant and sophisticated performances of the Broadway repertoire, and has given over 100 solo concerts at London’s prestigious Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall.

A wide-ranging repertoire encompasses music from J.S. Bach to the present day, including works by Mozart, Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, Fauré, Rutter, Pergolesi, Lloyd Webber, Dvořák, Puccini, Brahms, Rossini and Bellini. Sarah has also gained recognition and acclaim for her performances of the Broadway ‘classics’ by Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, Kern, Weill, Arlen and Sondheim.

Sarah has performed as a soloist with many leading orchestras and ensembles notably RPO Concert Orchestra, The Vienna Collection, English Sinfonia, National Symphony Orchestra, String Orchestra of the Rockies (USA), London Chamber Soloists, Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernardi Chamber Orchestra, NSO ‘Leading Lights’, London Gala Orchestra and The English National Baroque. Recent solo concerts have taken Sarah throughout Britain and to Germany, Dubai, Netherlands, Italy, USA, Spain, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Albania, Turkey and Portugal alongside performances with Ensemble Bassissimo, of which Sarah is a founder member. In October 2016 she recorded her first CD for Prima Facie Records featuring songs written for her and by composers she has collaborated with for many years.

Sarah is a passionate and inspirational teacher, also directs masterclasses and workshops, and has a particular interest and specialism in English Art Song.

“… a soprano of innocent radiance” [The Times] “… charismatic Sarah Poole, whose infectious smile and voice embraced the whole audience.” [East Anglia Daily Times] “… the beauty of soprano Sarah Poole’s voice brought us the spine-tingling purity of Canteloube’s Bailero.” [The Stage] “… spellbinding performances…” [David Noble/Noble Concert Productions]

BIOGRAPHY

Duncan Honeybourne enjoys a diverse profile as a pianist and in music education. Commended for his “gripping performances” (The Times), “suave confidence” (International Piano) and “great technical facility and unfailing imagination” (Musical Opinion), he is best known for his interpretations of 20th and 21st century British piano music. Following his concerto debuts in 1998 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, he made recital debuts in London, Paris, and at international festivals in Belgium and Switzerland.

Duncan has toured extensively in the UK, Ireland and Europe as soloist and chamber musician, appearing at many major venues and leading festivals. He has broadcast for over 20 years on BBC Radio 3 and more than 20 radio networks worldwide, including French, Swiss and Austrian Radio, ABC (Australia) and Radio New Zealand. He has premiered over 70 new piano works, including John Joubert’s Third Piano Sonata, John Casken’s Tempus Plangendi, Cecilia McDowall’s Notes from Abroad and the Andrew Downes Piano Concerto at Birmingham Town Hall. Duncan has also revived many forgotten scores by composers of earlier generations, and his discography includes premiere recordings of piano works by Baines, Bainton, Gurney, Armstrong Gibbs, Greville Cooke and Walford Davies. In 2021 he was invited by the BBC to give the first performance of two rediscovered piano preludes by English romantic composer Susan Spain-Dunk in a recital broadcast live on Radio 3 from St David’s Hall, Cardiff.

Duncan was a prizewinner at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with First Class Honours and completing his studies with the Russian pianist Mikhail Kazakevich on a scholarship from the Sheepdrove Trust. He teaches at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Academy, the University of Southampton and Sherborne School, and is Founder/Artistic Director of the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts near his home in Dorset.

Sam Lightwing is a multi-instrumentalist currently freelancing in Manchester. He finished his
studies at the RNCM last year, achieving a 1st on a condensed intensive three-year degree.
When COVID hit in 2020, Sam turned his attention to jazz as he always loved playing,
singing, and listening to this style. This gradually took over his musical outlook, and over the
course of his degree he changed from full classical lessons to purely jazz under the
tutorage of Mike Hall, Iain Dixon and Steve Berry as well as maintaining tuition with Rob
Buckland and Andy Scott on the classical side. This very mixed programme has resulted in
a versatility to play many styles of music. Sam currently plays and teaches around
Manchester, his first teaching job coming this year at the Music Place in Altrincham, which
he enjoys greatly. He plays regularly with both his jazz duo and quartet at venues around
Manchester such as Matt and Phreds, Fuel-Bar Café, Exhibition and Sonata, as well as
going further afield to play with many different function bands at weddings and various other
functions. He also joined the Manager’s big band last year on tenor 1, and has played with
the Northern Jazz Orchestra and ‘The Best of The Big Bands’ with Paul Barry. Sam also
plays clarinet and flute, and this year has many musicals lined up, including Sweeney Todd,
Hello Dolly in York, alongside Avenue Q and ‘And the World Goes Round’ which saw his
play 5 instruments!

Sam is also a keen singer, seeing this more as a hobby which he thinks is very important for
the soul. He sang with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain for many years, rising
through the ranks to eventually reach the main choir and even the chamber choir on one
occasion. Since then he sang with the RNCM Chamber Choir, being one of only two
students not to study singing in the choir that year, and currently sings with Somnium in
Manchester.

Sam looks forward to bringing a varied programme for this completely unaccompanied
performance. Classical music is still a love for him, and so most of the music is notated.
Most notably are the two pieces by Andy Scott, a tutor and friend for Sam during his time at
RNCM, which both have large classical influences. ‘Home’ is almost reminiscent of Bach at
times, testing the high limits of the saxophone whilst ‘Westland’ feels like one never-ending
cadenza, showcasing the Multiphonics on the Saxophone. There will be a UK premiere for
this performance also, a piece by Bob Mintzer, entitled ‘Off the Cuff’ which he never
released, but which Sam got hold of through Andy Scott, who is a friend of Bob’s. Marius
Neset is an incredible Norwegian saxophonist and composer, and the two short pieces by
him are from a solo album he released recently in 2021. Quite contrasting to the other
pieces, Sam transcribed both by ear, a challenging but very satisfying process, especially
with ‘Old Poison’. Finally Sam will improvise two pieces on the spot, this being what he
studied mostly, and makes money from!

Also Performing is pianist Max Rosen

Max Rosen is an upcoming young pianist, currently studying music at the University of Manchester. He is heavily involved in the Manchester jazz scene, performing frequently at venues such as The Thirsty Scholar, Haus Fallowfield, Matt and Phred’s and every month at the Boar’s Head in Middleton. As well as this he performs monthly at Sonata Jazz and Cabaret Lounge, and at Exhibition every fortnight for the “Jazz and Soul Sundays”, providing live jazz and soul throughout Manchester’s newest and most exciting venues. Max has worked with names including Ed Kainyek, Grant Russell, John Sandham and Linda Jennings as well as playing keys for Indie-pop band Inego, who have recently headlined The Deaf Institute in Manchester. Max also plays in London regularly for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra under Mark Armstrong and rose up through the NYJO academy over the past 3 years.