Song Recital
Soprano: Alice Bishop
Piano: David Elwin
Soprano: Alice Bishop
Piano: David Elwin
Composer |
Title |
Roger Quilter (1877-1953) from Seven Elizabethan Lyrics Op 12 |
My life’s delight By a fountainside |
Roger Quilter (1877-1953) from Three Pastoral Songs Op 22 |
Cherry Valley I wish and I wish |
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) Poeme d’un jour Op 21 |
Rencontre Toujours Adieu |
Claude Debussy (1861-1918) from Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire |
Le jet d’eau Recueillement |
Frank Bridge (1879-1941) |
Come to me in my dreams Mantle of blue Love went a-riding |
4th June
Lunaire String Quartet
Lunaire String Quartet
Title |
Composer |
Fugues 5, 2 and 7 from Book 2 of The Well-Tempered Clavier |
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) arr. W A Mozart |
Scherzo, Capriccio and Fugue from Four Pieces for String Quartet Op. 81 |
Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847) |
Quartet Op. 18 No 4 in C Minor
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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) |
The performers - Lunaire String Quartet
Steve Collisson – ‘Cello
Stelios Chatziiosifidis - Violin
Mackenzie Richards - Violin
Julian Latham - Viola
The Lunaire Quartet was formed in 2013 as a result of a shared passion for chamber music. The musicians attended the Royal Academy of Music and The Royal Northern College of Music and currently have busy freelance schedules consisting of session work and playing with orchestras such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Southern Sinfonia. The members are also highly involved with educational and academic work, teaching students at both school and university levels.
As a group they have a focus on bringing lesser-known works to audiences and give regular recitals in London and in Kent. They are also building on their work with new composers and are keen to inspire the next generation to become involved with music.
Stelios Chatziiosifidis - Violin
Mackenzie Richards - Violin
Julian Latham - Viola
The Lunaire Quartet was formed in 2013 as a result of a shared passion for chamber music. The musicians attended the Royal Academy of Music and The Royal Northern College of Music and currently have busy freelance schedules consisting of session work and playing with orchestras such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Southern Sinfonia. The members are also highly involved with educational and academic work, teaching students at both school and university levels.
As a group they have a focus on bringing lesser-known works to audiences and give regular recitals in London and in Kent. They are also building on their work with new composers and are keen to inspire the next generation to become involved with music.
Oboe recital
David Gladstone oboe with Keith Beniston organ and piano
David Gladstone oboe with Keith Beniston organ and piano
Title |
Composer |
Concerto in F for Oboe
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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) |
Arioso for Oboe and Keyboard |
Joseph-Hector Fiocco (1703 – 1741) |
Sonata for Oboe and Piano, op. 166 |
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921) |
Aria (arranged for Cor Anglais and Organ) |
Flor Peeters (1903 – 1986) |
Couvre Feu for Oboe and Piano |
Adrien Barthe (1828 – 1898) |
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Programme notes for the Oboe Recital 28 May 2021
Concerto in F for Oboe - JS Bach
This concerto was created from a re-working of pre-existing material drawn from a number of sources. These include cantata movements, and those for strings occurring elsewhere in Bach’s music and the oboe concerto was not the only re-use of the same music. Baroque composers were never shy at borrowing from themselves or others. Sections of it may even have featured as part of a music test paper for his sons! The music was freely transposed into other keys to suit the limitations and capabilities of the instruments playing. A somewhat chequered history then, but enjoyable and effective in the format heard today, with the organ playing the orchestral parts.
We shall be playing the first two movements (of three). The opening quick movement is energetic and so very typical of the 18th century rhythmic Baroque sound characterised by its arpeggiated and scalic melodies, frequently running along atop “walking” bass lines. The second movement is a Siciliano which, by definition is “an elegant slow dance in 6/8 time, usually in a minor key”. The bass notes, placed off the main beats throughout, provide a consistent anchor. There are, for the period, some quite unusual modulations and harmonies as the movement progresses.
Arioso for Oboe and Keyboard - Joseph Hector Fiocco Arranged by Arthur Bent and Norman O’Neill
Fiocco was born in Brussels of a musical family. Active in the late Baroque era, he was known as a composer, organist and harpsichordist with a particular gift of melody. He had a varied career, including working, for a time, as a teacher of Latin and Greek. From 1731-37 he was in charge of the music at Antwerp Cathedral. This little miniature is all about graceful melody writing and may well have started life as an organ solo. The melody is well suited to the oboe which sings sweetly and expressively over the gently pulsing chords beneath. The piece features some typical ornamentation, associated with the style. Given the date, the keyboard part originally intended for this piece would probably have been the harpsichord or organ (as available) with the bass reinforced by a cello or double bass – a combination known as the Continuo, and almost universally present in Baroque ensembles. The plucking action of the harpsichord was less robust at sustaining the tone than the organ or indeed the modern piano. The organ will accompany today.
Sonata for Oboe Op166 - Camille Saint-Saëns
Saint-Saëns needs no introduction, being famous for numerous enduring compositions including the Carnival of the Animals and the so-called Organ Symphony (No3) amongst many others. His writing for the piano as soloist or within ensembles is fluent, yet transparent with charming melodies consistent with the distinctive French style. Berlioz once said of Saint-Saëns, "He knows everything, but has a complete lack of inexperience". Perhaps the most famous of his instrumental sonatas are those for the clarinet, and the oboe. We hear the second of the three movements today. It begins with a leisurely and free song for the oboe over sustained chords, with this idea returning at the end. In the complete sonata it acts like a link between the outer movements. The movement then blossoms into a charming Allegretto in 9/8 time, creating a feeling of long bars with unhurried flow. The melody has that quintessentially light and carefree picture of Parisian cafes and graceful boulevards. Saint-Saëns is a master of texture and harmony with an imaginative harmonic language manipulated to appear deftly simple. This is a real “feel good” little piece.
Aria - Flor Peeters Arranged by Keith Beniston
Flor Peeters was a Belgian composer, organist and teacher. He was organist at Mechelen Cathedral from 1923 until his death 1986- well over 60 years! His home area was very close to the Dutch border, and his music has a very “Scandinavian” feel, somewhat akin to Sibelius. His harmonic language always has lots of “added notes” - ones that don’t quite belong to the basic chords to which they are added, also a feature of the language of Jazz. This piece is the second movement of the Trumpet Sonata but is heard at least as often in the version for Organ solo. This arrangement is for Cor Anglais, accompanied by the organ. The Cor Anglais (English Horn) is the alto member of the oboe family, pitched a fifth lower- in the same key as the modern French Horn. Both Cesar Franck and Dvorak wrote beautiful melodies for the Cor Anglais in their symphonies.
Couvre Feu - Adrien Barthe
This composer was French and, in his time, quite popular and prolific, writing music in several genres including opera. He seems to have lost confidence in himself and published nothing of significance after 1865, becoming a teacher. He left a number of unpublished manuscripts at his death at 70. Couvre Feu (literally, “cover the fire”) means “Curfew” and was amongst the few published in his lifetime. It is one of six pieces for piano and oboe. Historically, it refers to an ancient practice of covering open fires in houses at night in Norman times to avoid setting the whole place on fire.
The piece is in ABA form. An energetic opening section is in A Minor with a jaunty oboe melody over an insistent ostinato-like repeated dotted rhythm in the bass. This is definitely a modern piano accompaniment. The middle section slides easily into the submediant key of F Major, always an effective key-juxtaposition loved by composers like Schubert throughout the 19th century. There is a more lyrical tune here, imitated in the tenor register in the piano part. Not content with doing it once, Barthe moves briefly into the Submediant of F, being D flat major. A more agitated and dramatic section based on the opening melodic idea, finally returning to the original key, A Minor. A joyful final section follows, with the last few bars full of cheeky humour, almost as if the piano and oboe are vying to finish last and quietest! Appropriately, the oboe has the last note.
Concerto in F for Oboe - JS Bach
This concerto was created from a re-working of pre-existing material drawn from a number of sources. These include cantata movements, and those for strings occurring elsewhere in Bach’s music and the oboe concerto was not the only re-use of the same music. Baroque composers were never shy at borrowing from themselves or others. Sections of it may even have featured as part of a music test paper for his sons! The music was freely transposed into other keys to suit the limitations and capabilities of the instruments playing. A somewhat chequered history then, but enjoyable and effective in the format heard today, with the organ playing the orchestral parts.
We shall be playing the first two movements (of three). The opening quick movement is energetic and so very typical of the 18th century rhythmic Baroque sound characterised by its arpeggiated and scalic melodies, frequently running along atop “walking” bass lines. The second movement is a Siciliano which, by definition is “an elegant slow dance in 6/8 time, usually in a minor key”. The bass notes, placed off the main beats throughout, provide a consistent anchor. There are, for the period, some quite unusual modulations and harmonies as the movement progresses.
Arioso for Oboe and Keyboard - Joseph Hector Fiocco Arranged by Arthur Bent and Norman O’Neill
Fiocco was born in Brussels of a musical family. Active in the late Baroque era, he was known as a composer, organist and harpsichordist with a particular gift of melody. He had a varied career, including working, for a time, as a teacher of Latin and Greek. From 1731-37 he was in charge of the music at Antwerp Cathedral. This little miniature is all about graceful melody writing and may well have started life as an organ solo. The melody is well suited to the oboe which sings sweetly and expressively over the gently pulsing chords beneath. The piece features some typical ornamentation, associated with the style. Given the date, the keyboard part originally intended for this piece would probably have been the harpsichord or organ (as available) with the bass reinforced by a cello or double bass – a combination known as the Continuo, and almost universally present in Baroque ensembles. The plucking action of the harpsichord was less robust at sustaining the tone than the organ or indeed the modern piano. The organ will accompany today.
Sonata for Oboe Op166 - Camille Saint-Saëns
Saint-Saëns needs no introduction, being famous for numerous enduring compositions including the Carnival of the Animals and the so-called Organ Symphony (No3) amongst many others. His writing for the piano as soloist or within ensembles is fluent, yet transparent with charming melodies consistent with the distinctive French style. Berlioz once said of Saint-Saëns, "He knows everything, but has a complete lack of inexperience". Perhaps the most famous of his instrumental sonatas are those for the clarinet, and the oboe. We hear the second of the three movements today. It begins with a leisurely and free song for the oboe over sustained chords, with this idea returning at the end. In the complete sonata it acts like a link between the outer movements. The movement then blossoms into a charming Allegretto in 9/8 time, creating a feeling of long bars with unhurried flow. The melody has that quintessentially light and carefree picture of Parisian cafes and graceful boulevards. Saint-Saëns is a master of texture and harmony with an imaginative harmonic language manipulated to appear deftly simple. This is a real “feel good” little piece.
Aria - Flor Peeters Arranged by Keith Beniston
Flor Peeters was a Belgian composer, organist and teacher. He was organist at Mechelen Cathedral from 1923 until his death 1986- well over 60 years! His home area was very close to the Dutch border, and his music has a very “Scandinavian” feel, somewhat akin to Sibelius. His harmonic language always has lots of “added notes” - ones that don’t quite belong to the basic chords to which they are added, also a feature of the language of Jazz. This piece is the second movement of the Trumpet Sonata but is heard at least as often in the version for Organ solo. This arrangement is for Cor Anglais, accompanied by the organ. The Cor Anglais (English Horn) is the alto member of the oboe family, pitched a fifth lower- in the same key as the modern French Horn. Both Cesar Franck and Dvorak wrote beautiful melodies for the Cor Anglais in their symphonies.
Couvre Feu - Adrien Barthe
This composer was French and, in his time, quite popular and prolific, writing music in several genres including opera. He seems to have lost confidence in himself and published nothing of significance after 1865, becoming a teacher. He left a number of unpublished manuscripts at his death at 70. Couvre Feu (literally, “cover the fire”) means “Curfew” and was amongst the few published in his lifetime. It is one of six pieces for piano and oboe. Historically, it refers to an ancient practice of covering open fires in houses at night in Norman times to avoid setting the whole place on fire.
The piece is in ABA form. An energetic opening section is in A Minor with a jaunty oboe melody over an insistent ostinato-like repeated dotted rhythm in the bass. This is definitely a modern piano accompaniment. The middle section slides easily into the submediant key of F Major, always an effective key-juxtaposition loved by composers like Schubert throughout the 19th century. There is a more lyrical tune here, imitated in the tenor register in the piano part. Not content with doing it once, Barthe moves briefly into the Submediant of F, being D flat major. A more agitated and dramatic section based on the opening melodic idea, finally returning to the original key, A Minor. A joyful final section follows, with the last few bars full of cheeky humour, almost as if the piano and oboe are vying to finish last and quietest! Appropriately, the oboe has the last note.
Organ recital
Ken Martlew - Organ
Ken Martlew - Organ
| MASJ Lunchtime Programme 21 May 2021.pdf |
Piano recital
Anna Le Hair - Piano
Anna Le Hair - Piano
Three Spring Miniatures - William Lloyd Webber (1914 – 1982)
Gossamer (A Little Waltz)
Willow Song (A Lament)
Tree Tops (A Toccatina)
Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este (The fountains at the Villa d’Este) - Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886)
Sonata in F minor (Appassionata) - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Allegro assai
Andante con moto
Allegro ma non troppo
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This concert is the second to be published in the present series
If not already on our mailing list, please give us your email address so that we can keep you informed – email it to us on masj@stjohnsboxmoor.org.uk
The performer
Anna Le Hair – piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring.
She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia.
In recent months, Anna has enjoyed teaching and playing via Zoom and Skype and has even acquired some new pupils! She is looking forward to when concerts with live audiences can resume, but in the meantime is very happy to be able to find alternative means of communicating her love of music with others.
More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
Anna Le Hair – piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring.
She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia.
In recent months, Anna has enjoyed teaching and playing via Zoom and Skype and has even acquired some new pupils! She is looking forward to when concerts with live audiences can resume, but in the meantime is very happy to be able to find alternative means of communicating her love of music with others.
More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
| MASJ Lunchtime Concert Programme 14 May 2021.pdf |
Music for two pianos
Linden Innes-Hopkins and Matthew Woodward piano duet
To view and listen to the recording Click here, enjoy
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New Years Eve Run/Walk is Going Digital in 2020
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and the predicted hardening of the current COVID-19 regulations, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the 9th running of the New Years Eve 10K Run / 5K Walk.
The run has become a bit of a tradition with many of the runners / walkers who attend, (one of whom has attended all 8 previous runs and many have attended at least 6.) and it is also an important fundraising event for Music at St John's having raised close to £10,000 since its first running in 2012. Therefore we have taken the decision to host a virtual event for 2020.
The run has become a bit of a tradition with many of the runners / walkers who attend, (one of whom has attended all 8 previous runs and many have attended at least 6.) and it is also an important fundraising event for Music at St John's having raised close to £10,000 since its first running in 2012. Therefore we have taken the decision to host a virtual event for 2020.
Below the link which contains photos and comments from the New Year’s Virtual Run/Walk.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2755987531346249/?active_tab=discussion
What does that mean?
Our goal is to get a minimum of 200 people to take part in the event and raise at least £1,500 for Music at St John’s to continue their work which includes giving financial support to young local musicians
Peter Garner.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2755987531346249/?active_tab=discussion
What does that mean?
- We are asking people to take the time to go out for a run / walk on New Year’s Eve (the distance is not important)
- We would like people to share a picture /short video of them running onto the 2020 New Years Eve Virtual Run/Walk Facebook Event Page which will be launched in Mid November.
- We would then ask that people make a donation of £5 or £10 (or whatever you can afford) to Music at St John's via the Just Giving Page. Details of the Just Giving page will be available on the Music @ St John's Face book Page, or on the 2020 New Years Eve Virtual Run/Walk Facebook Event Page following this link:- https://justgiving.com/campaign/MASJ-RUN-or-WALK
Our goal is to get a minimum of 200 people to take part in the event and raise at least £1,500 for Music at St John’s to continue their work which includes giving financial support to young local musicians
Peter Garner.
2020 MASJ LUNCHTIME CONCERTS
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RECORDED LUNCHTIME CONCERTS
Normally held at St John’s Church, Station Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1JY Summer 2020 series As a church, St John’s Boxmoor has a long established music tradition, with a choir of high standard. Since the closure of the ‘Pavilion’ in Hemel Hempstead, the church has become a popular venue for several local choirs including The Aeolian Singers and The Dacorum Community Choir. Other choirs and orchestras from the Dacorum area also use our wonderful facilities. LUNCHTIME CONCERTS offers a wide variety of ‘musical fare’ and we do hope that you will support as many of these events as you possibly can to continue the music tradition at St Johns. Newly recorded concerts will be made available each Friday at 12:30 pm. Access is through the links provided in the programme list below: |
Date |
Artiste(s) |
Access Link |
26th June 2020 |
Doug Coleman trombone and Elliot Launn piano |
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3rd July 2020 |
Opus III : comprising: Jane McClelland violin, Simon Lillystone viola & violin and Louise Brecknell violoncello |
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10th July 2020 |
Arwen Newband violin and Anna Le Hair piano |
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17th July 2020 |
Matthew Woodward, piano |
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24th July 2020 |
Laura Cahillane, organ |
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31st July 2020 |
Anna Le Hair, piano |
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7th August 2020 |
Keith Beniston, Organ (light music) |
We hope that they will be able to make recordings for our next series in the Spring 2021. Check this website for further information.
Access to the recordings is free but we hope that listeners will be inspired to make a donation. The suggested minimum donation is £3 per concert. You can do this by visiting our "JustGiving" page – just click the link below:
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/MaSJ-Recorded-Concerts
Net proceeds from all of the Friday lunchtime concerts and recordings will be used to support the charitable aims of Music at St John’s: promoting music in the church and the local community, including provision of bursaries for local young musicians. (see www.masj.org.uk for details)
Access to the recordings is free but we hope that listeners will be inspired to make a donation. The suggested minimum donation is £3 per concert. You can do this by visiting our "JustGiving" page – just click the link below:
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/MaSJ-Recorded-Concerts
Net proceeds from all of the Friday lunchtime concerts and recordings will be used to support the charitable aims of Music at St John’s: promoting music in the church and the local community, including provision of bursaries for local young musicians. (see www.masj.org.uk for details)
If not already on our mailing list, send us your email address so that we can keep you informed – email it to us on masj@stjohnsboxmoor.org.uk
For more information contact: Paul Davies on: 07802 442908 or email: masj@stjohnsboxmoor.org.uk
For more information contact: Paul Davies on: 07802 442908 or email: masj@stjohnsboxmoor.org.uk
Friday 7th August 2020
Keith Beniston - Organ
A recital of Light Classical Music
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This concert is the seventh and last to be recorded in the present series.
The next series of Music at St John’s Friday Lunchtime Concerts will commence on Spring 2021.
Title |
Composer |
Trumpet Voluntary |
Jeremiah Clarke (1674 – 1707) |
The Last Spring Op. 33 No.2 |
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) |
Sarabande (from Holberg Suite) Op. 40 No.2 |
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) |
Chanson de Matin Op. 15 No. 2 |
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) |
Andante Cantabile |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) arr. WS Lloyd Webber (1914 to 1982) |
Nocturne (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Op.21 |
Mendelssohn (1809 to 1847) |
Elizabethan Serenade |
Ronal Binge (1910 – 1979). arr. WS Lloyd Webber |
Extemporisation on “Hyfrydol” |
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“Smoke gets in your eyes” |
Jerome Kern (1885 – 1945) |
Alla Danza (from The Water Music Suite No 1) |
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) |
The performer
Keith Beniston - Organ
Keith Beniston has been Director of Music at St John’s since 2018. His career has embraced school and college teaching, examining, adjudicating, conducting and playing the organ. For over twenty years he was Director of Music at Central Hall Westminster, and he was for eight years Chief Examiner in Music at Trinity College London. Keith remains as an examiner for ABRSM.
All but one of today’s musically accessible pieces are transcriptions or music not originally written for organ. The exception is the extemporisation on “Hyfrydol”.
Keith Beniston - Organ
Keith Beniston has been Director of Music at St John’s since 2018. His career has embraced school and college teaching, examining, adjudicating, conducting and playing the organ. For over twenty years he was Director of Music at Central Hall Westminster, and he was for eight years Chief Examiner in Music at Trinity College London. Keith remains as an examiner for ABRSM.
All but one of today’s musically accessible pieces are transcriptions or music not originally written for organ. The exception is the extemporisation on “Hyfrydol”.
The aerial view of St John’s Church was filmed using a drone by Oliver Webby.
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LUNCHTIME CONCERTS at St John's - Admission by donation (suggested minimum £3). Net proceeds from these Friday lunchtime concerts will be used to support the charitable aims of Music at St John’s: promoting music in the church and the local community, including provision of bursaries for local young musicians. Please ensure that mobile phones are silenced during the concert. The induction loop (setting “T”) will be used for programme and announcements. Applause is welcomed.
Lunches are available in the church hall after the concert (suggested minimum donation £2).
Please obtain lunch tickets before the concert starts, so that the correct number of plates can be prepared, and hand in tickets when collecting your lunch.
Lunches are available in the church hall after the concert (suggested minimum donation £2).
Please obtain lunch tickets before the concert starts, so that the correct number of plates can be prepared, and hand in tickets when collecting your lunch.
Friday 31st July 2020
Anna Le Hair
Piano Recital
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This concert is the sixth to be recorded in the present series
Title |
Movement |
Composer |
Moonlight sonata |
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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) |
The Madonna of Frydek |
Leoš Janáček (1854 – 1928) |
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Waltz op. 64 no. 1 ‘Minute’ |
Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849) |
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Prelude in E flat major op. 23 no. 5 |
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 – 1943) |
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Nocturne |
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) |
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Wedding Day at Troldhaugen |
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) |
Anna Le Hair - piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor.
Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia.
In recent months, Anna has enjoyed teaching and playing via Zoom and Skype, and has even acquired some new pupils! She is looking forward to when concerts with live audiences can resume, but in the meantime is very happy to be able to find alternative means of communicating her love of music with others. More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor.
Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia.
In recent months, Anna has enjoyed teaching and playing via Zoom and Skype, and has even acquired some new pupils! She is looking forward to when concerts with live audiences can resume, but in the meantime is very happy to be able to find alternative means of communicating her love of music with others. More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
Friday 24th July 2020
Laura Cahillane
Organ recital
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV546
J S Bach (1685 – 1750)
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This concert is the fifth to be recorded in the present series
Laura Cahillane
Organ recital
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV546
J S Bach (1685 – 1750)
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This concert is the fifth to be recorded in the present series
Today’s performer
Laura Cahillane – organ
After graduating from London College of Music with piano as her principal study, Laura worked as an accompanist (alongside various other jobs) for choirs, amateur operatic societies and individual instrumentalists and singers.
Her piano repertoire includes:
She plays at various churches on an ad-hoc basis.
In today’s recital Laura is ably assisted in the turning of pages by her daughter, Amy.
Laura Cahillane – organ
After graduating from London College of Music with piano as her principal study, Laura worked as an accompanist (alongside various other jobs) for choirs, amateur operatic societies and individual instrumentalists and singers.
Her piano repertoire includes:
- Brahms' second piano concerto
- Messiaen's Vingt Regards
- Chopin's sonata no. 2 in B-flat minor
She plays at various churches on an ad-hoc basis.
In today’s recital Laura is ably assisted in the turning of pages by her daughter, Amy.
Friday 17th July 2020
Matthew Woodward - Piano
Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E♭ Major, BWV998
J S Bach (1685 – 1750)
Adagio in G major, Hob.XV:22
Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
Allegro de concert, Op. 46
Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
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This concert is the fourth to be recorded in the present series
Matthew Woodward - Piano
Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E♭ Major, BWV998
J S Bach (1685 – 1750)
Adagio in G major, Hob.XV:22
Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
Allegro de concert, Op. 46
Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
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This concert is the fourth to be recorded in the present series
Friday 17th July 2020 - Performer
Matthew Woodward – piano
Matthew grew up in St Albans and was a John Clough Music Bursary winner at St Albans School. He studied the piano with Isabel Beyer and more recently with Karen Dore and went on to read music at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (now Royal Holloway University of London) graduating in 1995. After a brief spell in the catering industry Matthew trained as a teacher and, until 2004, taught class music at a large secondary school in St Albans.
He now teaches the piano privately in Biggleswade and St Albans. He joined the instrumental staff at Heath Mount School, Watton-at-Stone in 2005, and is the school’s resident accompanist for concerts, examination candidates and choirs, featuring in their recent appearances on the BBC Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year. Matthew also acts in a similar capacity at St Albans School. In addition to his teaching, he is in regular demand as a repetiteur for the St Albans Chamber Opera. He is also the accompanist for the Hardynge Choir.
Recent performances include the Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Beethoven Sonata op.110 and Chopin B minor Sonata and Grande Polonaise Brillante.
Matthew Woodward – piano
Matthew grew up in St Albans and was a John Clough Music Bursary winner at St Albans School. He studied the piano with Isabel Beyer and more recently with Karen Dore and went on to read music at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (now Royal Holloway University of London) graduating in 1995. After a brief spell in the catering industry Matthew trained as a teacher and, until 2004, taught class music at a large secondary school in St Albans.
He now teaches the piano privately in Biggleswade and St Albans. He joined the instrumental staff at Heath Mount School, Watton-at-Stone in 2005, and is the school’s resident accompanist for concerts, examination candidates and choirs, featuring in their recent appearances on the BBC Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year. Matthew also acts in a similar capacity at St Albans School. In addition to his teaching, he is in regular demand as a repetiteur for the St Albans Chamber Opera. He is also the accompanist for the Hardynge Choir.
Recent performances include the Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Beethoven Sonata op.110 and Chopin B minor Sonata and Grande Polonaise Brillante.
| MASJ - Friday Lunchtime Concert - 17th July 2020.pdf |
Friday 10th July 2020
Violin and Piano recital
Arwen Newband – Violin and Anna Le Hair - Piano
Sonatina op. 137 no. 1 - Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Allegro molto
Andante
Allegro vivace
Sonata op. 12 no. 2 - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Allegro vivace
Andante piu tosto Allegretto
Allegro piacevole
*************
This concert is the third to be recorded in the present series, full recording below.
Violin and Piano recital
Arwen Newband – Violin and Anna Le Hair - Piano
Sonatina op. 137 no. 1 - Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Allegro molto
Andante
Allegro vivace
Sonata op. 12 no. 2 - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Allegro vivace
Andante piu tosto Allegretto
Allegro piacevole
*************
This concert is the third to be recorded in the present series, full recording below.
Friday 10th July 2020 - Performers
Arwen Newband – violin
Arwen Newband was born in Auckland, New Zealand and attended Auckland University before gaining a scholarship which enabled her to study with Emanuel Hurwitz in London. She freelanced with various orchestras in England and New Zealand before deciding to concentrate on her solo and chamber music career.
She has performed various concertos, is in much demand as a chamber musician and has a duo with pianist Anna Le Hair with whom she performs frequently. She is also a committed teacher, enjoying sharing her passion for the violin with children (and adults) of all ages and abilities.
Anna Le Hair - piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor.
Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more...’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia.
In recent months, Anna has enjoyed teaching and playing via Zoom and Skype, and has even acquired some new pupils! She is looking forward to when concerts with live audiences can resume, but in the meantime is very happy to be able to find alternative means of communicating her love of music with others. More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
Arwen Newband was born in Auckland, New Zealand and attended Auckland University before gaining a scholarship which enabled her to study with Emanuel Hurwitz in London. She freelanced with various orchestras in England and New Zealand before deciding to concentrate on her solo and chamber music career.
She has performed various concertos, is in much demand as a chamber musician and has a duo with pianist Anna Le Hair with whom she performs frequently. She is also a committed teacher, enjoying sharing her passion for the violin with children (and adults) of all ages and abilities.
Anna Le Hair - piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor.
Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more...’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia.
In recent months, Anna has enjoyed teaching and playing via Zoom and Skype, and has even acquired some new pupils! She is looking forward to when concerts with live audiences can resume, but in the meantime is very happy to be able to find alternative means of communicating her love of music with others. More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
Opus III
Jane McClelland violin, Simon Lillystone viola & violin and Louise Brecknell violoncello
Click to play or copy the link into your browser: https://youtu.be/weXxcCcUSwI or see the recording below.
Jane McClelland violin, Simon Lillystone viola & violin and Louise Brecknell violoncello
Click to play or copy the link into your browser: https://youtu.be/weXxcCcUSwI or see the recording below.
| masj_boxmoor_lunchtime_03th_july_2020.pdf |
Trombone recital - Fridays at 12:30pm - 26th June 2020
(Recorded on 18th June at St John’s Church - Boxmoor)
Click to play or copy the link into your browser: https://youtu.be/My9bVuq_NLE
(Recorded on 18th June at St John’s Church - Boxmoor)
Click to play or copy the link into your browser: https://youtu.be/My9bVuq_NLE
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MASJ NEW YEAR CONCERT 2020
St John’s Church, Boxmoor, HP1 1JY
Saturday 4th January 2020 at 7:30pm
A concert of popular light music for Orchestra including music by Johann Strauss and others...
‘Good Cheer for New Year’
featuring the
St John’s Ensemble with Zoë Martlew cello
conducted by Keith Beniston
St John’s Ensemble, leader Krista Caspersz
The St John’s Ensemble mostly comprises instrumental teachers and freelance professional players largely drawn from the local area, coming together on an occasional basis to form the orchestra for this evening and other occasions.
‘Good Cheer for New Year’ - Programme
St John’s Church, Boxmoor, HP1 1JY
Saturday 4th January 2020 at 7:30pm
A concert of popular light music for Orchestra including music by Johann Strauss and others...
‘Good Cheer for New Year’
featuring the
St John’s Ensemble with Zoë Martlew cello
conducted by Keith Beniston
St John’s Ensemble, leader Krista Caspersz
The St John’s Ensemble mostly comprises instrumental teachers and freelance professional players largely drawn from the local area, coming together on an occasional basis to form the orchestra for this evening and other occasions.
‘Good Cheer for New Year’ - Programme
| MASJ New Year Concert 2020 Programme |
PROGRAMME - Part 1 Title |
Composer / Arrangement |
PROGRAMME - Part 2 Title |
Composer / Arrangement |
Whitehall |
Haydn Wood (1882-1959) |
Suite no. 1 in G, BWV1007 |
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) |
By the sleepy lagoon |
Eric Coates (1886-1957) |
Prélude - Allemande – Courante – |
Sarabande – Menuetto I and II - Gigue |
March from The Little Suite |
Trevor Duncan (1924-2005) |
Vanity Fair |
Anthony Collins (1893-1963) |
Gabriel’s Oboe |
Ennio Morricone (1928) arr. Keith Beniston |
Sailing by |
Ronald Binge (1910-1979) |
Barwick Green |
Arthur Wood (1875-1953) |
Last of the Summer Wine |
Ronnie Hazelhurst (1928-2007) arr. Keith Beniston |
Moon River |
Henry Mancini (1924-1994) arr. Keith Beniston |
The Blue Danube |
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) |
Elégie, op. 24 |
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) |
Radetzky March |
Johann Strauss (1804-1849) |
BIOGRAPHIES
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Keith Beniston
Keith Beniston, Director of Music at St John’s Church since January 2018, has always loved so-called “Light Music.” Though readily accessible in style it is easy to overlook the art of the orchestrator and arranger, so often the unsung hero, which underlies so many of these pieces. Many of the items heard tonight became famous for their use as radio and TV or film themes, though some items were originally written for that purpose. The concert includes two items which hint at the famous New Year’s Day concert held at the Vienna Musikverein, the fabulous golden concert hall. David Gladstone (oboe) Is a long-standing Hertfordshire woodwind teacher, performer and music educator. He is a regular performer in a variety of orchestras and ensembles, and having already played in numerous concerts and recitals in this church is warmly welcomed back. David can be heard playing both the oboe and the cor anglais in tonight’s concert. |
Zoë Martlew
Cellist, performer, composer, educator, broadcaster and concert narrator, the increasingly un-categorisable Zoë Martlew, a Patron of Music at St. John’s, travels the world as soloist and with some of the world’s most renowned contemporary music ensembles, chamber groups, improvisation, film, electronica, multi-media, pop and rock artists, dance and theatre companies, and with her own one-woman cabaret show Revue Z. She was a judge on BBC TV’s Maestro and Young Musician of the Year; regular guest commentator/presenter for BBC Proms and Radio 3 and part of the UK panel for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Zoë’s music is published by Schott and recent commissions include pieces for Birmingham Contemporary Music Ensemble, clarinettist Mark Simpson and Britten Oboe quartet. Recent performances in 2019 include her string trio “Völuspá” at Tanglewood Music Festival, USA, cello/tape piece with dancers at 92Y, New York, song cycle “Musae” at Cheltenham Festival. She is host of London Sinfonietta’s new digital channel podcast series “The Music That Made Me”. Much in demand for educational activities, Zoë teaches and lectures around the world as Artistic Director of the Saigon Chamber Music Festival, Vietnam, a National Youth Orchestra cello tutor, and a regular jury member for international competitions including the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. Further information can be found at www.zoemartlew.com. |
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Carols by Candlelight at St Francis of Assisi Church
Glenview Road, Hammerfield, HP1 1TD Tuesday 17 December 2019 at 6.00pm Entrance Free - Donations to The Hospice of St Francis |
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Hemel Hempstead Singers Christmas Concert
at St Francis of Assisi Church in Boxmoor (HP1 1TD) Festive cheer in Hemel Hempstead – a classical concert of carols and music for Christmas The Hemel Hempstead Singers will be performing its Christmas concert, with music by Vivaldi and Charpentier, together with carols, on Sunday 8 December, 7.30pm at St Francis of Assisi Church in Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, and are inviting people to come and enjoy it. Tickets are £12, and are available on the door. Accompanied by a small musical ensemble, the choir will be singing Charpentier’s Te Deum, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and a range of Christmas carols from the Tudor to modern times. Musical Director Simon Pusey said: “Our choir sings in four part harmony, and together with a small musical ensemble, we are looking forward to performing and giving some festive cheer to our audience. St Francis of Assisi Church has an intimate atmosphere and a great acoustic, and is a lovely setting for our Christmas concert”. For further information contact: Kathryn Stillman - Kathryn.stillman@btinternet.com - Tel. 07824 429117 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hemel Hempstead Singers The Hemel Hempstead Singers are a small friendly choir that sings a wide range of choral music. Although auditions aren’t held, some knowledge of sight reading is an advantage. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings 8-10pm at The Friends Meeting House, The Alleys, off George Street, Old Town, Hemel Hempstead HP2 5ZB. www.hemelhempsteadsingers.org.uk Email: hemelsingers@gmail.com - Facebook: Hemel Hempstead Singers - Twitter: @HemelSingers Simon Pusey – Musical Director Simon has been the Conductor of Hemel Hempstead Singers for 17 years and is a choral conductor, organist, pianist and singer. He has also taught the organ and piano. His early music education was as a treble in the residential choir school attached to All Saints’, Margaret Street, where he had his first organ lessons from Michael Fleming. He was a Tenor Choral Exhibitioner at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read music. St Francis of Assisi Church Address: Glenview Road, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1TD |
Dacorum Community Choir 10th Anniversary Concert at St John the Evangelist, Boxmoor
on Saturday 9th November 2019
Dacorum Community Choir is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Tickets for the concert are £10 each (children free.) Donations at the event will be in aid of Dacorum Community Trust (the choir’s charity of the year), a local charity dedicated to helping those most in need within the Dacorum area.
Dacorum Community Choir 10th Anniversary Concert at St John the Evangelist, Station Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1JY
on Saturday 9th November 2019
Dacorum Community Choir is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
- The choir has gone from strength to strength and now numbers over 100 members. The pinnacle of the celebrations is to be a very special concert at St John’s Church, on Saturday 9 November at 6.30 pm. (See poster below.)
- The varied concert will feature the first ever performance of ‘Were I not to Sing,’ a song written specially for the occasion by Rufus Frowde (Musical Director) and Revd. Austin Janes, Vicar of Grovehill (Librettist.)
- There will also be pieces performed by The Gildas Quartet and Martin Hindmarsh (tenor.)
Tickets for the concert are £10 each (children free.) Donations at the event will be in aid of Dacorum Community Trust (the choir’s charity of the year), a local charity dedicated to helping those most in need within the Dacorum area.
Dacorum Community Choir 10th Anniversary Concert at St John the Evangelist, Station Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1JY
2019 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS Series
Date(s) |
Artiste(s) |
20 September 2019 |
Alan Dorn piano (a Spanish themed programme) |
27 September 2019 |
John Wyatt organ |
4 October 2019 |
Michael Cayton piano - followed by MASJ Annual General Meeting (after lunch) |
11 October 2019 |
David Gaster violin and Anna Le Hair piano |
18 October 2019 |
Just A Cappella award-winning local close harmony choir |
25 October 2019 |
Classic Cabaret Family duo / trio piano / voice |
1 November 2019 |
Adrienne Walters soprano |
8 November 2019 |
Anna Le Hair piano |
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Downloadable PDF with Autumn Lunchtime Concert 2019
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Friday at 12:30pm 8th November 2019
Piano Recital
Anna Le Hair piano
Piano Recital
Anna Le Hair piano
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Anna Le Hair - piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. She has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband. Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and completed her first international examining tour for ABRSM in summer 2019 to Malaysia. More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk |
Friday at 12:30pm 1st November 2019
Adrienne Walters – Soprano
Title |
Composer |
Let the Florid Music Praise |
Benjamin Britten ( 1913-1976) |
If Music be the food of Love |
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) |
Music for a while |
Henry Purcell |
Piano solo |
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The Harmonious Blacksmith – |
George Frederic Handel |
On Wings of Song |
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) |
Orpheus with his Lute |
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) |
Ständchen |
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) |
Wie Melodien zieht es mir – Johannes Brahms |
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) |
Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht |
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) |
When I have sung my songs |
Ernest Charles (1895-1984) |
Piano solo |
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An evening in Transylvania |
Bela Bartok (1881-1945) |
E strano….Sempre libera |
Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901) |
Adrienne Walters-Soprano
Adrienne has studied singing with Margaret Hallworth , Gwyn Griffiths (WCMD), Ian Kennedy (GSMD) and currently with Deborah Miles-Johnson.
Since childhood she has sung in a variety of genres from oratorio and opera to Gilbert and Sullivan. Operatic roles include Marcellina, Cherubino and Susanna from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, the Prince in Massenet's Cendrillon, Frugola in Puccini's Il Tabarro and Second lady, Second boy and Pamina in Mozart's Magic Flute. She has also sung Nanetta in Verdi's Falstaff, Mimi In Puccini's La Bohème , Dorabella in Mozarts’s Cosi fan Tutte , Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, and Olympia in Tales of Hoffmann. She has recently sung the title roles in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
She is currently revelling in the opportunity to sing art songs and with her accompanist she has performed in a number of venues in and around London recently. These include St Andrews Holborn, St John’s Northwood, St John’s Greenhill, St George’s Headstone, St Lawrence’s Bovingdon and Charterhouse Square, London.
Adrienne has studied singing with Margaret Hallworth , Gwyn Griffiths (WCMD), Ian Kennedy (GSMD) and currently with Deborah Miles-Johnson.
Since childhood she has sung in a variety of genres from oratorio and opera to Gilbert and Sullivan. Operatic roles include Marcellina, Cherubino and Susanna from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, the Prince in Massenet's Cendrillon, Frugola in Puccini's Il Tabarro and Second lady, Second boy and Pamina in Mozart's Magic Flute. She has also sung Nanetta in Verdi's Falstaff, Mimi In Puccini's La Bohème , Dorabella in Mozarts’s Cosi fan Tutte , Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, and Olympia in Tales of Hoffmann. She has recently sung the title roles in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
She is currently revelling in the opportunity to sing art songs and with her accompanist she has performed in a number of venues in and around London recently. These include St Andrews Holborn, St John’s Northwood, St John’s Greenhill, St George’s Headstone, St Lawrence’s Bovingdon and Charterhouse Square, London.
Friday at 12:30pm 25th October 2019
Classic Cabaret
Family duo / trio piano / voice
Family duo / trio piano / voice
Piano solos
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Performers
KEVIN O’DONNELL began his singing career at St Albans Abbey with Peter Hurford before studying with Robert Vivien and gaining his Associate of the Royal College of Music in singing performance. His extensive repertoire of oratorio works has resulted in solo engagements at many of the UKs’ major concert venues including the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican, St John’s Smith Square, the Snape Maltings and in great houses for the National Trust concert series.
In his early career he performed in opera where his roles included Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Marcello in Puccini’s La Boheme and the Count in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (Holland Park Opera). Kevin regularly appears at music clubs and festivals at home and abroad.
He also performs as guest soloist and compere with dance bands and in a more popular style with renowned band Con-Fusion. He has made many solo radio broadcasts most recently performing Vaughan Williams mystical song “Rise Heart” with the Orchestra of the Swan.
He has also been a regular guest soloist on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night where his lighter classical, humorous/a cappella numbers have been highly acclaimed. In recent years he and his wife Cynthia, his accompanist in more ways than one, have enjoyed performing their unique blend of light classical and cabaret songs to audiences all around the world - often afloat!!
CYNTHIA O’DONNELL studied piano and organ at the Royal College of Music. After graduating she was much in demand as one of our leading lady organists in the country performing recitals in London and the UK at major concert halls, churches and our great cathedrals where her playing, especially of the baroque repertoire, was highly acclaimed.
She also played continuo in oratorio works for various choral groups and orchestras but in more recent years she has been specialising in piano accompaniment.
Cynthia regularly accompanies Kevin in recitals throughout the UK and on cruises. They have also both performed as one half of the “Let’s Do It” cabaret/revue show both at home and abroad from the cool of Norway to the heat of Kenya.
During the past few years she has worked particularly with Kevin to develop their unique repertoire of concert programmes mixing classical, lighter, humorous and cabaret.
KEVIN O’DONNELL began his singing career at St Albans Abbey with Peter Hurford before studying with Robert Vivien and gaining his Associate of the Royal College of Music in singing performance. His extensive repertoire of oratorio works has resulted in solo engagements at many of the UKs’ major concert venues including the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican, St John’s Smith Square, the Snape Maltings and in great houses for the National Trust concert series.
In his early career he performed in opera where his roles included Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Marcello in Puccini’s La Boheme and the Count in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (Holland Park Opera). Kevin regularly appears at music clubs and festivals at home and abroad.
He also performs as guest soloist and compere with dance bands and in a more popular style with renowned band Con-Fusion. He has made many solo radio broadcasts most recently performing Vaughan Williams mystical song “Rise Heart” with the Orchestra of the Swan.
He has also been a regular guest soloist on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night where his lighter classical, humorous/a cappella numbers have been highly acclaimed. In recent years he and his wife Cynthia, his accompanist in more ways than one, have enjoyed performing their unique blend of light classical and cabaret songs to audiences all around the world - often afloat!!
CYNTHIA O’DONNELL studied piano and organ at the Royal College of Music. After graduating she was much in demand as one of our leading lady organists in the country performing recitals in London and the UK at major concert halls, churches and our great cathedrals where her playing, especially of the baroque repertoire, was highly acclaimed.
She also played continuo in oratorio works for various choral groups and orchestras but in more recent years she has been specialising in piano accompaniment.
Cynthia regularly accompanies Kevin in recitals throughout the UK and on cruises. They have also both performed as one half of the “Let’s Do It” cabaret/revue show both at home and abroad from the cool of Norway to the heat of Kenya.
During the past few years she has worked particularly with Kevin to develop their unique repertoire of concert programmes mixing classical, lighter, humorous and cabaret.
Saturday 19th October 2019 - Classic Silent Film accompaniment by Organ Music at St John the Evangelist, Station Road, Boxmoor
Friday at 12:30pm 18th October 2019
Just A Cappella
award-winning local close harmony choir
award-winning local close harmony choir
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Just a Cappella is a mixed voice choir singing popular songs in close harmony, and are based in Hemel Hempstead.
The group was formed in 2003 and support the local community with their many charitable performances. They are a friendly sociable group and have a great deal of fun singing together. Their programme will include pop standards such as My Girl, Blue Moon, Wimoweh, Summertime Blues and Sway. |
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Friday at 12:30pm 11th October 2019
Violin and Piano Recital
David Gaster violin and Anna Le Hair piano
David Gaster violin and Anna Le Hair piano
Title |
Movements |
Composer |
Violin Sonata in E♭ major, K302 |
Allegro Rondeau – andante grazioso |
W. A. Mozart (1756 – 1791) |
Sonata for violin and piano in F, Op. 14 |
Allegro moderato Larghetto Vivace - prest |
Alexander Tcherepnin (1899 – 1977) |
Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82 |
Allegro Romance - Andante Allegro, non troppo |
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) |
David Gaster
David Gaster was born into a musical family and started piano at the age of 6 and violin aged 11. He was interested in composition as a teenager and composed several chamber works, some of which were performed. He went on to read music at Sussex University, later specializing in violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, gaining diplomas in teaching and performing.
Like many music graduates, David found it hard to make a living in music, so he re-trained in IT, in which he worked from 1989 until 2012. He kept his music going in his spare time by joining the Kingston and District Chamber Music Society (of which he is currently the chairman), where he met Anna. Together, they have explored the more unusual repertoire for violin and piano, such as the Tcherepnin sonata they are playing today.
David enjoys attending chamber music courses, particularly with the Maggini, one of the foremost string quartets in the UK. He also studies with Gina MacCormack and Susanne Stanzeleit.
He plays a French violin of about 1885 made by H C Sylvestre.
Anna Le Hair
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the ‘Piano and more..’ concert series in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble and the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and embarked on her first international examining tour for ABRSM this summer to Malaysia.
For more details see www.annalehair.co.uk
About the music
Mozart’s violin sonata K302 was written in Mannheim in 1778. It was one of a set dedicated to the Electress of the Palatinate, which are known as the Palatine Sonatas.
Alexander Tcherepnin was born in St Petersburg, son of a composer who had been a pupil of RimskyKorsakov, and two of his sons and two grandsons were (or are) also composers. After the 1917 revolution his family settled in Paris where he began his career as a pianist and composer, but in 1948 he emigrated to America. His violin sonata dates from 1922, but he is chiefly remembered for his four symphonies.
Elgar's violin sonata was one of the three chamber works he wrote, along with the cello concerto, at Brinkwells, West Sussex, inspired by the peace and tranquillity of the richly wooded countryside. This is what he himself said about the sonata: “The first movement is bold and vigorous, then a fantastic, curious movement with a very expressive middle section; a melody for the violin they say it is as good or better than anything I have done in the expressive way … the last movement is very broad and soothing, like the last movement of the Second Symphony.”
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David Gaster was born into a musical family and started piano at the age of 6 and violin aged 11. He was interested in composition as a teenager and composed several chamber works, some of which were performed. He went on to read music at Sussex University, later specializing in violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, gaining diplomas in teaching and performing.
Like many music graduates, David found it hard to make a living in music, so he re-trained in IT, in which he worked from 1989 until 2012. He kept his music going in his spare time by joining the Kingston and District Chamber Music Society (of which he is currently the chairman), where he met Anna. Together, they have explored the more unusual repertoire for violin and piano, such as the Tcherepnin sonata they are playing today.
David enjoys attending chamber music courses, particularly with the Maggini, one of the foremost string quartets in the UK. He also studies with Gina MacCormack and Susanne Stanzeleit.
He plays a French violin of about 1885 made by H C Sylvestre.
Anna Le Hair
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband.
Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the ‘Piano and more..’ concert series in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble and the Icknield and Arensky Trios. She has recently joined the Pisces Ensemble, based in North Wales, with whom she gave a well-received concert at the Criccieth Festival in June 2019, and embarked on her first international examining tour for ABRSM this summer to Malaysia.
For more details see www.annalehair.co.uk
About the music
Mozart’s violin sonata K302 was written in Mannheim in 1778. It was one of a set dedicated to the Electress of the Palatinate, which are known as the Palatine Sonatas.
Alexander Tcherepnin was born in St Petersburg, son of a composer who had been a pupil of RimskyKorsakov, and two of his sons and two grandsons were (or are) also composers. After the 1917 revolution his family settled in Paris where he began his career as a pianist and composer, but in 1948 he emigrated to America. His violin sonata dates from 1922, but he is chiefly remembered for his four symphonies.
Elgar's violin sonata was one of the three chamber works he wrote, along with the cello concerto, at Brinkwells, West Sussex, inspired by the peace and tranquillity of the richly wooded countryside. This is what he himself said about the sonata: “The first movement is bold and vigorous, then a fantastic, curious movement with a very expressive middle section; a melody for the violin they say it is as good or better than anything I have done in the expressive way … the last movement is very broad and soothing, like the last movement of the Second Symphony.”
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Piano Recital
Michael Cayton piano
4th October 2019
Goldberg Variations (BWV 988 - 1741) |
J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750) |
Aria Var. 1 for 1 keyboard Var. 2 for 1 keyboard Var. 3 Canone all'Unisono for 1 keyboard Var. 4 for 1 keyboard Var. 5 for 1 or 2 keyboards Var. 6 Canone alla Seconda for 1 keyboard Var. 5 Al tempo di Giga for 1 or 2 keyboards Var. 8 for 2 keyboards Var. 9 Canone alla Terza for 1 keyboard Var. 10 Fughetta for 1 keyboard Var. 11 for 2 keyboards Var. 12 Canone alla Quarta in moto contrario for 1 keyboard Var. 13 for 2 keyboards Var. 14 for 2 keyboards Var. 15 Canone alla Quinta - Andante for 1 keyboard |
Var. 16 Ouverture for 1 keyboard Var. 17 for 2 keyboards Var. 18 Canone alla Sesta for 1 keyboard Var. 19 for 1 keyboard Var. 20 for 2 keyboards Var. 21 Canone alla Settima for 1 keyboard Var. 22 alla breve for 1 keyboard Var. 23 for 2 keyboards Var. 24 Canone all'Ottava for 1 keyboard Var. 25 Adagio for 2 keyboards Var. 26 for 2 keyboards Var. 27 Canone alla Nona for 2 keyboards Var. 28 for 2 keyboards Var. 29 for 1 or 2 keyboards Var. 30 Quodlibet for 1 keyboard Aria da Capo |
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Michael Cayton – piano
After training at Kneller Hall, Michael served with the Grenadier Guards as a trumpeter before studying piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained his BMus and ARCM and won the Hilda Anderson Deane prize for conducting and improvisation. While completing postgraduate répétiteur studies he was appointed the first organ Scholar at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Since his debut as an organist at the Royal Festival Hall in 1988, Michael has been in demand as a recitalist and accompanist and has appeared all over the country and in Europe, with notable London appearances at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster Abbey, Blackheath Concert Halls and the Wigmore Hall. Since 2003 he has simultaneously held the posts of Director of Music at St John’s Wood Church, organist at Belsize Square Synagogue and conductor of the Chiltern Choir. He has conducted the Watford Philharmonic Chorus, Goldsmiths Choral Union, City Chamber Choir, Aeolian Singers and English Chamber Choir and has broadcast on Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 5 Live, the World Service and on BBC1’s Songs of Praise. His church music is published by Redemptorist, the responsorial psalms now a staple of parish churches up and down the country. With broad musical tastes, a hunger to learn new styles and a particular talent for improvisation, he may often be found performing jazz, German cabaret and Judeo-Spanish Ladino music as well as fusion and funk. |
Michael Cayton
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20th September - Piano Recital - ‘The Spanish Connection’
Alan Dorn piano
Alan Dorn piano
Title |
Movements |
Composer |
Three Sonatas |
K380 in E: Andante commodo K87 in B minor K141 in D minor: Allegro |
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) |
Ibéria, Book 1 (1908) |
Evocation El Puerto (the Port) Fête-Dieu à Seville (the Feast of Corpus Christi) |
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) |
Three Cançons i danses (Songs and dances) |
No. 1: Quasi moderato; Allegro non troppo (1921) No. 7: Lento; Danza (1946) No. 3: Modéré; Sardana – temps de marche (1926) |
Federico Mompou (1893-1987) |
Alborada del gracioso (the Morning-song of the Jester) |
from Miroirs (1905) |
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) |
Alan Dorn – piano
Hertfordshire resident Alan Dorn performs regularly in solo and chamber repertoire in London and the south east. He enjoys constructing themed recital programmes and appeared previously at St John’s in 2017 with a flower-themed programme of music by Scott Joplin to mark the annual flower festival.
Alan currently studies classical piano with Dorian Leljak and jazz piano with Marco Marconi. He has received advice from artists such as Leslie Howard, Philip Fowke and Christine Stevenson, and holds a Fellowship diploma in piano performance from the Royal Schools of Music.
2019 SPRING LUNCHTIME CONCERTS
Date |
Artiste(s) |
10th May |
J50 Brass Quintet (part of the annual Music Festival) |
17th May |
Ken Martlew organ |
24th May |
Camilla Bignall flute with jazz piano/trio |
31st May |
Linden Innes-Hopkins and Matthew Woodward piano duets |
7th June |
Anna Le Hair piano (background music during Flower Festival) |
14th June |
Marion Garrett violin, Gavin Clements cello and Anna Le Hair piano |
21st June |
Alice Bishop Soprano and Simon Marlow piano |
28th June |
Pupils of Lockers Park School |
5th July |
Arwen Newband violin and Anna Le Hair piano |
12th July |
Will Hollands double bass, Mark Wilson bassoon and Huw Jones piano |
19th July |
Ian Kelleher classical guitar |
Ian Kelleher
classical guitar
Friday at 12:30pm 19th July 2019
Title |
Composer / Arrangement (s) |
Retrato Brasileiro (Brazilian Portrait) |
Baden Powell (1937-2000) |
Prélude No.1 |
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) |
Prélude No.1 in C |
Johann S Bach (1685-1750) arr Hager |
Introduction and Variations Op.9 |
Fernando Sor (1778-1839) |
Gnossienne No.1 |
Erik Satie (1866-1925) arr Dyens |
Milongueo del Ayer |
Abel Fleury (1903-1958) |
Verano Porteño |
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) arr Benitez |
Asturias (Leyenda) |
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) arr Segovia |
Ian Kelleher
Ian Kelleher`s formal guitar study culminated with the completion of the prestigious Advanced Solo Studies Course at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama way back in 1990! Since then he has developed his passion for teaching and continued to pursue his performing interests in both solo and ensemble playing. He has enriched his musical understanding with travel and two Masters Degrees. Ian`s recent project is running the Great Dunmow Guitar Club to help players develop their performance skills and to promote the guitar and its music. He currently teaches in Essex and Hertfordshire. Ian recorded his first CD “Imagens” with guitarist Sue Williams in 2012. His first solo CD “Far from Home” was released in 2014 and his latest recording “Time and Place” was released in April 2016. The last few years have seen an increasing concert schedule in the South-East both as soloist and in a duo with cellist Charles Ellis. Concerts of note include Wimpole Hall (National Trust) Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, Lauderdale House (London), The Foundling Museum (London), Southend Civic Theatre. Forthcoming solo recitals include Chelmsford Cathedral and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
www.iankelleher-guitar.co.uk
Ian Kelleher`s formal guitar study culminated with the completion of the prestigious Advanced Solo Studies Course at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama way back in 1990! Since then he has developed his passion for teaching and continued to pursue his performing interests in both solo and ensemble playing. He has enriched his musical understanding with travel and two Masters Degrees. Ian`s recent project is running the Great Dunmow Guitar Club to help players develop their performance skills and to promote the guitar and its music. He currently teaches in Essex and Hertfordshire. Ian recorded his first CD “Imagens” with guitarist Sue Williams in 2012. His first solo CD “Far from Home” was released in 2014 and his latest recording “Time and Place” was released in April 2016. The last few years have seen an increasing concert schedule in the South-East both as soloist and in a duo with cellist Charles Ellis. Concerts of note include Wimpole Hall (National Trust) Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, Lauderdale House (London), The Foundling Museum (London), Southend Civic Theatre. Forthcoming solo recitals include Chelmsford Cathedral and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
www.iankelleher-guitar.co.uk
Will Hollands double bass, Mark Wilson bassoon and Huw Jones piano
Friday at 12:30pm 12th July 2019
Friday at 12:30pm 12th July 2019
Recit, Sicilienne et Rondo – Eugène Bozza (1905-1991)
Concerto No. 2 in A Minor – Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889)
Konzertstück – Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
Duo - Teppo Hauto-Aho (1941-present day)
- Although he was originally a violinist by trade, Bozza is often remembered for the large quantities of wind music he composed. Some of these pieces were used as test pieces for entry into the Paris Conservatory of music. This piece is one of those. Each section is very distinct, with the recit being out of tempo at points, and the more rigid sicillienne that follows gives nice symmetry to the first half of the piece. The Rondo at the end feels unlike a traditional rondo, instead lots of similar motifs that build in difficulty as they move through different keys and tessitura.
Concerto No. 2 in A Minor – Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889)
- Giovanni Bottesini ranks as one of the most famous double bass virtuosi ever to have lived. As a composer his output includes 12 operas and an oratorio. However, his bass works often controversial as Bottesini was a terrible gambler and used to sell his manuscripts to buy back his gambling dept. As a conductor he was approached by Giuseppe Verdi to conduct the premier of Aida in Cairo on December 24th, 1871, in his conducting career he would often play interludes on the double bass during the intervals of acts and would play variations and themes on the operas in question including; Fantasia on Bellini's "Norma", Fantasia on Bellini's "Beatrice di Tenda", Fantasia on Bellini's "I Puritani" (1st version), Fantasia on Bellini's "The Stranger", Fantasia on Bellini's "La Sonnambula" (1849),Gran Fantasia on Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" to name a few.
- The second concerto is one of the best-known works by Bottesini, used often for orchestral auditions it is in 3 movements
- I. Moderato, with a triplet rhythm sprung amongst the solo bass line and up far into the high register of the bass and ending with a huge complicated cadenza for the solo bassist.
- II. Andante, a much slower mood to the first movement, the portamento style of singing on the bass with possible influences by Italian opera singers, this movement recollects a love moment within an operatic scene.
- III. Finale Allegro, a fast finale to end the concerto displaying the whole range of the double bass as the player moves between all the sections. Intersections of the theme played at the beginning of the movement continue to intersect with a large flourish and tierce de Picardie at the end of this monstrous concerto.
Konzertstück – Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
- Berwald was a Swedish born Romantic composer. Unusually, he made his living as an orthopedic surgeon and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory; it was only after his death that he became more appreciated as a composer.
- The concert piece for bassoon originally had orchestral accompaniment but the reduced piano version works very well. Whilst today’s performance is on the modern bassoon, it is important when understanding the writing of this piece to spare a thought for the soloist of the day, who would have had a Romantic instrument with a much more primitive key system and far less tone projection. As a result, there is no bottom B natural anywhere, as such a note didn’t exist on the bassoon yet. The middle section is a theme and variations that uses a rather familiar tune. The piano gets to share some of the melody in this section and it is important for the performer to distinguish between when they are accompanying or the solo outright. This is most apparent in variation II. The final section is a recapitulation with an extended coda and provides a fitting flourish that fully demonstrates the virtuosity of the performer.
Duo - Teppo Hauto-Aho (1941-present day)
- DUO for bassoon (or cello) and double bass was premiered at Teppo-Fest (Wells Cathedral School, Somerset on Sunday 22 May 2011 by Mollie Stallard (bassoon) and Robin Stallard (double bass). Composed for this talented brother and sister, an extended one-movement work offers effective musical and technical challenges for each performer. Each instrument works as both soloist and accompanist and is a work of great invention and atmosphere, typical of much music by this unique Finnish composer.
William Hollands (Double Bass)
Started playing the double bass around age 12 at Tring School, currently in his 3rd year at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the stewardship of Thomas Martin, Anthony Alcock and Julian Atkinson. Through his tenure at the Conservatoire William has had the privilege to play with many international acclaimed double bass players including, Timothy Cobb (New York Philharmonic), Giuseppe Ettorre (La Scala Milan), Artem Chirkov (St. Petersburg Philharmonic) and Edward Francis-Smith (Metropolitan Opera). As well as participating in the Orchestra of the Swan Side by side, Welsh National Opera side by side and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Youth Orchestra acting both as a principal and as a tutti player. Playing under conductors such as Mirga Gražunyė-tyle, Michael Seal, Jac Van Steen and Barry Wordsworth.
William plays a Hawkes and Son double bass Circa 1900 and a bow by Emilie-François Ouchard Circa 1930.
Started playing the double bass around age 12 at Tring School, currently in his 3rd year at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the stewardship of Thomas Martin, Anthony Alcock and Julian Atkinson. Through his tenure at the Conservatoire William has had the privilege to play with many international acclaimed double bass players including, Timothy Cobb (New York Philharmonic), Giuseppe Ettorre (La Scala Milan), Artem Chirkov (St. Petersburg Philharmonic) and Edward Francis-Smith (Metropolitan Opera). As well as participating in the Orchestra of the Swan Side by side, Welsh National Opera side by side and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Youth Orchestra acting both as a principal and as a tutti player. Playing under conductors such as Mirga Gražunyė-tyle, Michael Seal, Jac Van Steen and Barry Wordsworth.
William plays a Hawkes and Son double bass Circa 1900 and a bow by Emilie-François Ouchard Circa 1930.
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Mark Wilson (Bassoon) After he was awarded two scholarships to study, Mark began his studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2015. In 2017 and 2019 he became the proud winner of the Nicholas Hunka bassoon prize and in 2019 was also awarded with a place on the extra work list for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Mark currently splits his time between Modern and baroque bassoon, the latter of which he studies with Andrew Watts and Ursula Leveaux. In 2018 he Joined the extra work list for the Academy of Ancient Music and also plays with Instruments of Time and Truth, Mark is also a counter tenor in the choir of Worcester cathedral and features on numerous CDs, most notably with Birmingham Cathedral Choir and the Lassus Consort. |
Huw Jones (Piano) Huw Jones was born in South Wales into the fourth generation of Cory Band players. At 18 he started four years of tuba / piano study at the Royal Academy of Music. He then worked extensively first with the BBC Concert Orchestra and then the BBC Radio Orchestra / Big Band while also playing with other London Orchestras, Opera and Ballet companies. Huw has been a peripatetic teacher for Hertfordshire Music Service for nearly 40 years. Huw Jones FTCL ARCM (hons.) |
Violin and Piano Recital
Arwen Newband violin and Anna Le Hair piano
Friday at 12:30pm 5th July 2019
Arwen Newband violin and Anna Le Hair piano
Friday at 12:30pm 5th July 2019
Title |
Movement |
Composer |
Sonata op. 12 no. 1 |
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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827) |
El Poema De Una Sanloquena |
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Joaquín Turina (1882 – 1949) |
Arwen Newband - violin
Arwen was born in New Zealand and studied at Auckland University before coming to England. She then embarked on a career which has included freelancing with various English orchestras as well as performing as a soloist and chamber musician. She is also a committed teacher, enjoying sharing her love of music with children (and adults) of all ages and abilities.
Her passion for chamber music has led to the partnership with Anna Le Hair and the formation of the Icknield Trio along with cellist Sarah Boxall.
Arwen was born in New Zealand and studied at Auckland University before coming to England. She then embarked on a career which has included freelancing with various English orchestras as well as performing as a soloist and chamber musician. She is also a committed teacher, enjoying sharing her love of music with children (and adults) of all ages and abilities.
Her passion for chamber music has led to the partnership with Anna Le Hair and the formation of the Icknield Trio along with cellist Sarah Boxall.
Anna Le Hair - piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband. Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna is a Senior House Pianist at AIMS International Summer School and works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios.
More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
LOCKERS PARK SCHOOL CONCERT
directed by Vincent Shaw, Jane McClelland, Charles Phillips and Robin Burgess
Friday at 12:30pm 28th June 2019
directed by Vincent Shaw, Jane McClelland, Charles Phillips and Robin Burgess
Friday at 12:30pm 28th June 2019
Title |
Performers |
Tinga Layo |
Cap’n Jack’s Hornpipe both by Kathy and David Blackwell |
Long time ago AMERICAN TRAD. Arr A Copland |
Alex Leith (treble solo) |
Happy by Pharrell Williams |
LOCKERS PARK SAXOPHONE ENSEMBLE directed by Laura Manship |
Passepied by DELIBES |
Sachin Thakrar (piano solo) |
Partial Eclipse by R Charlton |
LOCKERS PARK GUITAR ENSEMBLE directed by Robin Burgess |
Fire by Jimi Hendrix |
Sergey Umanskiy (drum solo) |
Three movements from Stabat mater by Pergolesi:
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LOCKERS PARK CHAPEL CHOIR directed by Vincent Shaw and Charles Phillips |
Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter Good Vibrations by Brian Wilson and Mike Love |
LOCKERS PARK CHAPEL CHOIR directed by Vincent Shaw and Charles Phillips |
LOCKERS PARK SCHOOL - Lockers Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead | Hertfordshire HP1 1TL
Songs of the Mediterranean
Alice Bishop – Soprano and Simon Marlow - Piano
Friday at 12:30pm 21st June 2019
Composer (s) |
Title (s) / Movement (s) |
Fernando Obradors (1897-1945) |
Canciones Clásicas Españolas La mi sola, Laureola… Al Amor Corazón por que pasais…? El majo celoso Con amores, la mi madre... Del cabello más sutil Coplas de Curro Dulce |
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) Pietro Cimara (1887-1967) Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) |
La conocchia Fiocca la neve Notte Nebbie |
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) |
Siete Canciones Populares Españolas El Paño Moruno Seguidilla Murciana Asturiana Jota Nana Canción |
| For detailed programme, download file below: Songs of the mediterranean Alice Bishop – Soprano and Simon Marlow - Piano.pdf |
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Alice Bishop
Graduated in music from the University of Surrey (BMus (Hons)) and completed the Diploma in Performance Studies at Abbey Opera. Recent solo engagements have included Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Beethoven’s Ah Perfido, Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Mozart’s Ch’io mi scordi di te?, Bruckner’s Mass in F Minor, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Haydn’s Little Organ Mass, Nelson Mass and Salve Regina, Rutter’s Requiem, Mass of the Children and Feel the Spirit, Vivaldi’s Gloria and a recording of a new oratorio by Joe St Johanser. But songs and song recitals have always been at the centre of her interest in singing. Her repertoire ranges from 16th century to contemporary music and she has given many well-received recitals in and around London. She has recently spent an intensive week studying song repertoire with Malcolm Martineau. In addition to preparing recitals, she recently sang the role of Pamina (The Magic Flute) for Scene Change Opera. Simon Marlow Enjoys a busy career with frequent concert appearances in Britain and abroad. He has appeared with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, broadcasted and made several recordings. Simon has worked for many years with the Medici Quartet violist, Ivo-Jan van der Werff, with whom he has toured and recorded – most recently a disc of Britten’s Lachrymae and the Shostakovich Sonata. Simon has also established a recital and recording partnership with the violinist Shulah Oliver, with a particular emphasis on the many marvellous works by English composers. Recently Simon took part in a Dutch project to perform and record music composed by Nietzsche which also included works by other composers inspired by his philosophy. Alice and Simon Have been working together for several years and are now frequently on the concert platform together. Their ever-growing repertoire ranges from 16th century to contemporary music and they like to explore unusual repertoire often including forgotten gems and music by little known composers as well as more familiar treasures of the repertoire. They often arrange their programmes around themes which gives continuity and purpose to their concerts. As a result of some of these explorations, last year they recorded a CD of songs by Respighi and others, including premiere recordings of works by James Francis Brown, Peter Fribbins and Kerry Woodward. |
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Trio Recital
Marion Garrett violin, Gavin Clements cello
and Anna Le Hair piano
Friday at 12:30pm 14th June 2019
Title |
Movements |
Composer |
Trio in B flat major Wo039 |
(one movement) |
Beethoven (1770 - 1827) |
Trio in B major op.8 |
|
Brahms (1833 - 1897) |
Today’s performers
- Marion Garrett - violin
Marion Garrett studied at Watford School of Music with Hilda Parry (Head of Strings). After achieving distinctions in all her violin grade examinations, and a frequent prize winner at the Watford Music Festivals, she then gained a place at the Royal Academy of Music where she studied violin with Rosemary Rappaport. She then taught violin with Hertfordshire Music Service for 40 years and has recently retired from this position. Marion has always been actively involved in music making, and is leader of the Chandos Ensemble, with whom she has also appeared as soloist. She is also leader of Abbots Langley Orchestra, working closely with their conductor, Gonzalo Acosta who is leader of the English National Opera Orchestra. Marion is a member of Watford Symphony Orchestra and is also much in demand as a violinist in other local orchestras and choral society orchestras. As a chamber musician, Marion is leader of the Ridgeway String Quartet. She is a regular soloist with pianist, Peter Stephenson, performing at Music Society and fund raising recitals within Hertfordshire. - Gavin Clements - ‘cello
Gavin Clements learnt the cello with numerous teachers, notably with Elizabeth de la Mare and Bernard Richards, and has taken part in master classes with Christopher Bunting, Guy Johnston and William Bruce. He plays in the Chandos Ensemble, was part of the band for the “Pins and Feathers” production of “Seeing it Through” which toured East Herts in 2016, but particularly enjoys chamber music in all its forms, and last played the Mendelssohn D minor trio in a concert at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1990. - Anna Le Hair - piano
Anna Le Hair gained an honours degree in music at Edinburgh University, and her postgraduate studies were at the Royal College of Music, London. Anna has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand in 2014 with the violinist Arwen Newband. Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna is a Senior House Pianist at AIMS International Summer School and works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at St Peter and St Paul in Tring, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. More details can be found on her website: www.annalehair.co.uk
Anna Le Hair
Piano
Friday 7th June 2019 at 12:30pm
Lunch Time Concert during the St Johns Flower Festival
Piano
Friday 7th June 2019 at 12:30pm
Lunch Time Concert during the St Johns Flower Festival
Images from the St Johns Flower Festival 2019
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Programme
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Anna Le Hair
Anna studied music at Edinburgh University and then at the Royal College of Music, London. She has a busy and varied career as a performer, teacher, accompanist, ABRSM examiner, adjudicator and conductor. Engagements have included recitals, both solo and as chamber musician and accompanist, in many venues in London, including St Martin in the Fields, St Johns Smith Square and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and around Britain and abroad, including a concert tour to New Zealand with the violinist Arwen Newband in 2014. Anna has given performances of several piano concertos and has performed at several festivals in Britain and abroad, including Edinburgh and Buxton, where she was nominated for the title of ‘Performer of the Fringe’. Anna works with several choirs both locally and in London. She teaches piano and accompanies at St Albans School, and she also has a thriving private teaching practice at her home in Tring. She has recently set up the thriving ‘Piano and more..’ concert series at Tring parish church, and is a founder member of the Icknield Ensemble as well as the Icknield and Arensky Trios. More details can be found on her website, www.annalehair.co.uk For a recording of Anna Le Hair piano's concert click the link below.
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Images from the St Johns Flower Festival 2019
Matthew Woodward and Linden Innes-Hopkins
Piano Duet
Friday 31th May 2019 at 12:30pm
Piano Duet
Friday 31th May 2019 at 12:30pm
Title |
Movement |
Composer |
Sonata in C major, KV 521 |
1. Allegro 2. Andante 3. Allegretto |
W A Mozart |
Three pieces from The Little Green Forest |
1. I’ll have another look 6. When the Gypsies go 7. Those wide, deep Vltava pools |
Petr Eben |
An Overheard Tune |
Non |
Witold Lutoslawski |
Poland: No 4 from From Foreign Parts |
Non |
Moritz Moszkowski |
Three Dances from Henry VIII (‘A Merry May’) |
NON |
Edward German |
Flute and Jazz Piano Trio Recital
Friday 24th May 2019 at 12:30pm
Friday 24th May 2019 at 12:30pm
The Bolling Quartet
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Camilla Bignall flute, Neil Drake piano, Roger Hudson bass
and Tim Stephens drums Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio - Claude Bolling (1930 - )
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Today’s performers : The Bolling Quartet
The Bolling Quartet, Camilla Bignall (flute), Neil Drake (piano), Roger Hudson (bass) and Tim Stephens (drums) are performing in St John’s Church, Boxmoor, for the first time. Formed a number of years ago as a casual group to play through Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Trio, they enjoyed the piece so much that they have performed it on a number of occasions, and are hoping to find the time to work on some of his other suites. The Suite consists of seven movements:- Baroque and Blue, Sentimentale, Javanaise, Fugace, Irlandaise, Versatile and Veloce. |
ORGAN RECITAL
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Friday 17th May 2019 12.30 - 1.30pm
The Ride of the Valkyries
Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883) Wagner’s greatest hit, from his opera “Die Walkure”. Arranged for organ by Ken Prelude and Fugue in B minor (“The Great”) BWV 544 J.S.Bach (1685 – 1750) Bach at his profound best Le Banquet Celeste (1928) Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992) A meditation on the Holy Sacrament, by a one-time organist of Notre Dame, Paris Two Noels Louis-Claude D’Aquin (1694 - 1772) Colourful variations by an organist who was legendary in his time Toccata-Prelude on “Vom Himmel Hoch) Garth Edmundson (1892 – 1971) Hold tight to your seat St Johns Parish Church, Station Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1JY Admission by donation to organ fund (£3 suggested), followed by refreshments in the hall |
Ken Martlew organ
Ken started learning the piano at the age of 5 with his mother in Kenya. After coming to the UK aged 8 he took to the organ, playing for church services from the age of 12. He had lessons at Kingswood School in Bath, shared playing for the chapel services with the music staff, and accompanied a performance of the Bach St John Passion. The school offered many other musical opportunities, and Ken also played violin and viola in the Bath Symphony Orchestra. He went to Oxford reading music, but changed direction to study medicine in London. While at medical school he gained his organ diploma, was organist and choirmaster of a North London Church, conducted several choirs, and wrote an opera. Ken came to Hemel Hempstead as a GP in 1971. On-call duties made it difficult to take on full church music commitments, but for 11 years he was assistant organist and choirmaster at St Johns, Boxmoor, at a time when the choir numbered 40, and regularly deputised at St Albans Abbey. He then took on the post of organist and choirmaster at St Mary’s, Hemel Hempstead for 7 years, whilst also conducting the Hemel Hempstead Singers in an ambitious concert schedule. During the 1990’s Ken became increasingly involved with Scottish Country Dancing, playing for it and teaching it countrywide, and indeed in many other countries. Organ playing became more sporadic, but often included accompanying choral society concerts. However, following the terminal illness of his first wife, Bar, he cut down on Scottish dancing commitments. Recently he has enjoyed returning to his first passion, the organ, and especially this lovely instrument at St Johns. Ken is very grateful to his wife, Petula, for her encouragement and help in this. |
DACORUM MUSIC SCHOOL - Music at St. John's Festival
Morning Concert - Saturday 11th May 2019 at 11.00am
Morning Concert - Saturday 11th May 2019 at 11.00am
Performer (s) |
Title |
Composer |
Recorderlicious |
The Merry Peasant The Tyrolean Troll's Trip to Timbuktu Gavotte Green Flag |
Schumann Sally Adams Dave Gordon Sarah Watts |
Flutetastic |
A!legro Somewhere out there Sailors Hornpipe |
Schickhardt Honer Trad. |
Cicely Balch - Recorder |
A Little Latin |
Russell-Smith |
Erin McGurk - Voice |
I feel Pretty |
Leonard Bernstein |
Fenner Balch - Guitar |
Greensleeves |
Anon. 16th Century |
Ishbel O'Brien - Voice |
I Flow my tears |
Josh Dowland |
Reuben Balch - Piano |
Valse Lente |
Oskar Merikanto |
Lianna Fung - Violin |
Symphonie Espagnole - Mvt IV |
Lalo |
Flute Choir |
Radetzky March The Windmills of your mind Poco Adagio |
Strauss Legrand. Schneider |
Recorder Consort |
The tunnel of love Allemande Intrada Pastorale |
James Carey Giles Farnaby Francis Baines Francis Baines |
MASJ MUSIC FESTIVAL
Lunchtime Recital - Friday 10th May 2019
‘J50’ Brass Quintet
Lunchtime Recital - Friday 10th May 2019
‘J50’ Brass Quintet
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J5o Brass were founded in London in 2008. The group have since gone on to perform at the “BBC Good Food Show” and “Gardeners' World Live” (both at Birmingham NEC); charity functions at London Olympia Hilton Hotel and solo concerts across the capital at locations such as Canary Wharf and LSO St Luke's. Their interest in the indigenous folk music of Europe led to a programme of arrangements that were premiered at the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble competition, where they finished runners-up. A keen desire to promote the growing importance of music in the film and video game industry has seen numerous arrangements commission specifically for the group to showcase a genre growing in popularity. They frequently perform varied programmes of baroque and early music; arrangements of popular classics; jazz and world music and original compositions for brass quintet.
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Sarabande - George Friederich Handel
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Adagio and Presto (from "Christus e misere") - Zingarelli
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The Voyage
by Bob Chilcott
7 pm Saturday 23rd March, St John's Church, Boxmoor, HP1 1JY
by Bob Chilcott
7 pm Saturday 23rd March, St John's Church, Boxmoor, HP1 1JY
Alexander Ardakov in Concert at St Johns Boxmoor, 16th March 2019
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