Canterbury Music Club BLOG

Hello music lovers! We'll be bringing you the latest news on Canterbury Music Club activities and on artists who will be performing with us this Season as well and those from past Seasons.

19^th February 25

Many of you will remember the exceptional young pianist Tomos Boyles who accompanied Ewan Millar, oboe for our Canterbury Festival recital the October before last.

It has just been announced that Tomos will perform a solo recital for the Faversham Classical Coffee Concert on 22nd February at the Church of St Mary of Charity at 10.45am. His programme will be:

Sofia Gubaidulina  Chaconne
Alexander Scriabin  Etudes Op. 42 Nos. 4 in F# and 5 in C# minor
Johannes Brahms  Sonata No. 3 in F Minor Op. 5

Not one to miss!!

19^th February 25

Follow the link for the full Concert Programme of songs and performance ofFaҫade by Matthew Rose, Linda Hirst and Anna Tilbrook this Sunday afternoon - 23rd February, as noted below.

7^th February 25

The detailed programme for the Kyan String Quartet is now published on their concert page and will include Quartets by Schubert, Mozart, Shostakovich, and Beethoven, with a piece by Caroline Shaw.

7^th February 25

While making the rounds delivering posters and flyers in Canterbury, one new recital was found for Valentine's Day Music - as below:

      14th Feb  6.00 pm, St. Thomas' Catholic Church, Canterbury: Elizabeth Sillo, mezzo-soprano and Kevin Kay-Bradley, piano and trumpet will perform music for Saint Valentine's Day.

7^th February 25

Straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, Grenville Hancox informed us last night that the songs for the first half of our concert on 23^rd February will be performed by both Matthew Rose, bass AND Linda Hirst, mezzo soprano - both to be accompanied by Anna Tilbrook on the gorgeous Steinway piano of the Collyer-Fergusson Hall. The final selection of songs by Vaughan Williams, Schubert and Britten is due to be announced any time now. The final programme for the Kyan String Quartet on 16^th March is also due to be agreed shortly.

31^st January 25

Apart from our own Canterbury Music Club concert on 23rd February (see below) there is a plethora of concerts and recitals in and around Canterbury during February, some of which are noted below - if you would like to be included please use our contact page to let us know:

    1st Feb 10.45 am, St Mary of Charity:  Faversham Classical Coffee Concert - Nathan Tinker, Piano with his Programme of original compositions from his new album.

    1st Feb 7.30 pm, Mote Hall, Maidstone: Maidstone Symphony Orchestra -

Ben Goldscheider, horn - Bernstein, Overture - Candide; Glière - Horn Concerto; 
Shostakovich - Symphony No.10.

    2nd Feb 3.00 pm, Assembly Rooms, Faversham: Faversham Music Club - David Knotts and Alasdair Nicolson - piano duets by Fauré, Mozart, Warlock, arrangements of Bach by the Hungarian composer Kurtág, the Australian composer Mary Howe, the Tudor composer Thomas Tomkins and a set of pieces by Scottish composer, Hamish McCunn.

    6th Feb 7.30 pm, The Grand: Folkestone New Music - Fiona McCapra, violin and Adrian Bradbury, cello - a brilliant display of the unusual duo of violin and cello - with a programme of music rarely heard.

    8th Feb 7.30 pm, St Paul's Church, Canterbury: MASP - Charlotte Rowan, violin and 

Charlotte Stevenson, piano with a delightfully varied programme.

    8th Feb 7.00 for 8.00 pm, Eastwell Park, Boughton Lees, Ashford TN25 4HR: Newly formed Country Manor Concerts craft each concert to reflect the uniqueness and elegance of a bygone music era, inviting lifelong music lovers and newcomers alike to experience the delights of classical music. Tonight they present a recital in the historic Eastwell Manor by internationally acclaimed pianist Evgeny Samoyloff with works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.

    22nd Feb, 3.00 pm, Bayle Music, Folkestone: as for Canterbury Music Club, below.

    22nd Feb, 7.30 pm, Whitstable Music Society: Claire Barnett-Jones, mezzo soprano and Rebecca Cohen, piano in a recital with songs by "Mahler's Circle of Muses".

    23rd Feb, 11.00 am, The Great Hall, Godinton House, Ashford: Ignas Maknickas, piano - Schubert, Carl Vine and Chopin. 

    23rd Feb, 3.00 pm, Canterbury Music Club: Matthew Rose, bass, Linda Hirst, mezzo soprano and Anna Tilbrook, piano with the Grand Mansions Ensemble directed by Anna Tilbrook - Songs by Vaughan Williams, Schubert and Britten, followed by "Faҫade - An Entertainment" with words by Edith Sitwell and music by William Walton.

28^th January 25

 A New Year and what a wonderful opening we had with the London Bridge Trio on January 19^th. Such sensitive piano playing by Daniel Tong who totally tamed the mighty Steinway which was so appreciated for the Beethoven Trio, while the clarity of bowing by both Ben and Cara was outstanding.

Now we look forward to an extraordinary concert put together by Grenville Hancox for our concert in February. The first half of the programme will consist of Matthew Rose and Anna Tilbrook performing songs by Vaughan Williams ("Songs of Travel"), Schubert and Britten. The second half will be a performance of Sitwell and Walton’s "Faҫade Suite" for narrators (Linda Hirst and Matthew Rose) and instrumental ensemble (flute, sax, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, cello) directed by Anna Tilbrook.

The concert will be in memoriam Anne Hancox as all the material was performed by her at some time during Anne and Grenville's marriage, and all the musicians were great friends. In addition we shall make a collection for research into Motor Neurone Disease at the end of the concert, with all monies going to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

13^th December 24

Do come to our Christmas Concert on Sunday 15th December with Alex Rider, harp for a programme of early 20th Century French harp music for Christmas - followed by Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" given by Grenville Hancox's "Festive Chorale" - sopranos from both Canterbury Cantata and Folkestone Cantata with an Interlude played on the harp by Alex. Among other delights is a new piece for solo pedal harp by the English composer Lauren Scott to be played after the interval - Flight of the angel (behind the mask). This was   commissioned by Alex Rider and performed by him at the Three Palaces Festival in Malta in November 2024. See the main programme entitled "Les Rois Images” - “Journey of the Magi” as well as the programme notes.

13^th December 24

What a wonderful performance by Rachel Podger, Baroque violin, Marcin Świątkiewicz, harpsichord, and Elizabeth Kenny, lute, last month of Biber's 1681 Sonatas. I'm sure we look forward to their release on CD next year. We have now been told by Catrin Slater of the Rachel Podger Foundation that Brecon Baroque's recording of Bach "Goldberg Variations Re-imagined" arranged by Chad Kelly - which they all premiered for us in September 2022  - is now available from Amazon at https://amzn.eu/d/7fkjL8k . It may be possible to have a copy before Christmas!

11^th October 24

Please see the concert page for Rachel Podger's recital with Members of Brecon Baroque here where we have just posted her detailed programme of Biber's 1681 Sonatas.

9^th October 24

We regret that that our Christmas concert with Passamezzo "Old Christmas Returned" has had to be postpones to 2025 for medical reason. We are delighted, however, that Alexander Rider, harp and the Festive Chorale, director Grenville Hancox, will present a programme “LES ROIS MAGES” or “JOURNEY OF THE MAGI”. As Alex describes it “Harp music and accompanying words in a programme chosen to evoke the grandeur of the plains of central Asia and from thence the Journey of the Magi, and angelic voices in a star-littered sky” See the full programme of seasonal French harp music, which concludes with Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" for harp and chorale.

9^th October 24

The Programme for the London Bridge Trio's recital on 19th January 25 is now posted, with trios by Beethoven, Fauré and Dvořák.

19^th September 24

A short biography for Craig Ogden and detailed programme notes are now linked to Craig's concert page for his recital on 29^th September or can be accessed here.

11^th September 24

Watch Ewan Millar, oboe and Tomos Boyles, piano play Clara Schumann Romance No. 1 on YouTube from the Tillett Trust website here. Ewan and Tomos play for our Club on 20^th October 2024 - see their concert page.

8^th September 24 - 4.00pm

Coming in from a walk in torrential rain I was delighted to switch on BBC Radio 3 and find  Clare Hammond making her debut Proms appearance taking on Rachmaninov's 'devilish' "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" in her characteristic demur style - beautiful to listen to, and followed by a charming encore. This is the Prom's first appearance from Nottingham, with the BBC Concert Orchestra brilliantly conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing. Following Eric Korngold's classic film music for local hero Robin Hood, Anna-Maria leads her orchestra in a symphony of 'ecological awakening' from her Finnish compatriot Jean Sibelius, his Symphony No. 3. Listen on 'BBC Sounds'   (Ian Lane)

3^rd September 24

Great news - we have now received the detailed programme for Craig Ogden's recital on Sunday 29th September - please see the concert page here.  Detailed programme notes will be posted shortly.

30^th August 24

We are delighted that Ewan Millar, oboe will be joined on 20^th October by rising Welsh musician Tomos Boyles who is rapidly carving out a career as a young and exciting concert pianist. Described as possessing a ‘romantic flair and passion that only comes from intense involvement’ (Carol Nixon, LMC), he has performed at numerous prestigious venues including St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square, the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, St David’s Hall in Cardiff, and the Wales Millennium Centre.

29^th August 24

Craig Ogden, our first recital this season on 29^th September, is talking with Sean Rafferty and playing music on BBC Radio 3 "In-Tune" from 5.00 - 6.30pm - Tonight!  You can tune in to BBC Sounds if you miss the live broadcast.

16^th July 24

Our favourites the Salomé Quartet will perform a a programme of Nielsen, Puccini, Purcell, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Webern, and John Woolrich as the final event of a celebration of the work of John Woolrich at 70 sponsored by Folkestone New Music at the The Green Room, The Grand, CT20 2XL at 6.00pm. Click here for the whole programme of concerts and booking.

The full programme for the Salome Quartet on Sunday 21^st July is :
Purcell Chacony (1680)
Puccini Cristantemi (1892)
Nielsen At the Bier of a Young Artist (1910)
John Woolrich The Voices of Dust
Shostakovich Adagio and Allegretto (1931)
Stravinsky 3 Pieces (1914)
Webern Langsamer Satz (1905)
John Woolrich Ending Up

Note that earlier on Sunday afternoon at 4.00pm there will be a special collaboration between violin students of Floriane Peycelon and Jo Saul with Salomé Quartet’s Haim Choi to play Berio's Duetti.

12^th July 24

Philip Gambrill 1961-2024

It is with great sadness that we have learned from Maxine Gambrill that Philip passed away suddenly on 19^th June. Philip was a long time supporter and sponsor of Canterbury Music Club. Maxine tells us that the last concert they attended together was with awardees of the Kent and Medway Young Musicians Trust in April of this year, and that the family requests  donations in Philip's memory to be made to the Kent and Medway Musicians Trust and the British Heart Foundation. The Committal will take place at Herne Bay Crematorium on 18th July - please request further details through our contacts page.

29^th June 24

Coming up from Canterbury Festival - Alexander Rider, harp
Thursday 18^th  July, 7pm at the beautiful Barham Church.

Members will recall that Alexander has played for the Club on several occasions. He is noted for his affinity with French music at the turn of the last century, and for his work on original instruments of the period. Alexander will bring a programme of French composers, and a new piece for harp composed by Paul Lewis. See the Festival page here.

24^th June 24
Wihan Quartet on BBC Radio 3 ‘In Tune’
The Wihan Quartet appears on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ today to talk about a performance at Wigmore Hall that celebrates one of their biggest supporters and the Czech composers whose works are at the heart of their repertoire. The recording should now be available through the BBC website.

15^th June 24

We have just received the links for booking through the Gulbenkian Box Office, so all the links for buying tickets are now LIVE!

David and Karen of RVPVideo will still be video recording all concerts for live streaming, with the recorded stream available for four weeks - subject to agreement of artists and their agents. However this will only be accessible to our Members.

21^st May 24

Great News! Our website for our 83^rd Season is now LIVE!