Our next concert is Rhossili Duo—Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Alumni Gabriella Alberti & Cai Charles on Saturday May 10th 7:30pm 2025 at St. Michael & All Angels, Cwmdu, NP8 1RW.
More information here and via our newsletter (subscribe above).
Tickets available online.
Hay Music: The Golden Age of Harp
Friday, April 4th 7:00 PM–9:15 PM The Castle, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5DG. Doors open 6.30pm
‘The Golden Age Of Harp’: Alis Huws and Members of Sinfonia Cymru
Experience the rare magic of a harp quintet. Former Royal Harpist and Classic FM Rising Star Alis Huws returns to Sinfonia Cymru to lead an ensemble of harp, flute, violin, viola and cello in a programme featuring French and Belgian gems from the golden age of harp music.
Rhossili Duo
Our next concert: Saturday, 10th May 7:30 pm St Michael and All Angels, Cwmdu, NP8 1RW
Rhossili Duo—Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama alumni Gabriella Alberti (Bute Wind Quintet) and Cai Charles, who perform as a flute and guitar duo–their programme will be ‘Last Tango’.
Image: Rhossili Duo
Programme
Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzola
Romanian Dances by Bela Bartok arranged by Arthur Levering
Mazurka Appassionata by Agustin Barrios Mangore (for solo guitar)
Interval
Image by Eugene Bozza (for solo flute)
Dafydd y garreg wen and Suo gan (Welsh Folk Songs) arranged by Stephen Goss
Sonatina by Castelnuovo-Tedesco
First Milonga, Last Tango by Stephen Goss
Our Artists-in-residence will be:
Emma Bevan & Francesca Kay of The Makers.
Our March 2025 Nantwen Ensemble concert
We were treated to an inspiring and varied programme by the wonderful Nantwen Ensemble (website) on the 8th March.
Nantwen Ensemble preparing for their concert.
Firstly the imaginative sound world created with some unusual string techniques by composer Caroline Shaw in Plan & Elevation, her musical drawing of Dumbarton Oaks, and then the beautiful and hypnotic Verses by Ólafur Arnalds. Then Nantwen’s own commission, Songs without Words composed to complement the Schubert string quintet, from Welsh composer John Metcalf. This set the scene perfectly for the concert’s second half with its closing hymn-like prayer.
In his introduction, Daniel said that each time he prepares the Schubert Quintet with different colleagues, they each bring something new to the work with their ideas and interpretations. Schubert’s mastery of writing for all the instruments and the sheer beauty and scale of the work meant that time almost stood still for us. It’s a work that never seems to date or lose its popularity.
Our Artist-in-residence, Helen of InSpired Pottery—“Beautifully handcrafted wares for everyday use” had a stunning display of her work. (Website).
Display with the artist, Helen.
Hay Music: Connect Four
Saturday, March 15th 7:00 PM–9:00 PM St Mary’s Church, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5EB.
Doors open 6.30pm. Refreshments.
Nigel Clayton and Imma Setiadi: Connect Four
Image: Connect Four
A magic combination of four hands on one keyboard, this extraordinary piano duo brings us a monumental arrangement of Holst’s The Planets in the first half with a delightful selection of pieces after the interval. We welcome Imma for the first time but Nigel is not a stranger to Hay Music and we look forward to his return.
Tickets and full details at haymusic.org.
Nantwen Ensemble
Saturday, 8th March 7:30 pm 2025, St. Michael & All Angels, Cwmdu.
Image: Nantwen Ensemble
In March we had a stunning performance to a capacity audience by the Pembrokeshire-based Nantwen Ensemble. This versatile quintet, described as “a breath of fresh air” in the Western Telegraph, brings old and new to Cwmdu, including music by Schubert, Caroline Shaw, a very special commission by Welsh composer John Metcalf and a short work by Ólafur Arnalds.
The Nantwen Ensemble was founded by cellist Daniel Davies, who studied at the Royal College of Music with one of the finest cellists of his generation, Leonid Gorokhov. Daniel brings together an exceptional group of players - Lisa Obert & Lily Whitehurst (violins), Patricia Reinoso (viola) and fellow cellist, Nicola Thomas. They promise “to share their love and enthusiasm for chamber music without being stuffy.”
The ensemble will perform Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, D. 956, his last and arguably most popular chamber work. It is often referred to as the Cello Quintet because it is scored for a classic quartet plus an extra cello – perfect for the Nantwen line-up.
They also perform Plan & Elevation by American composer, Caroline Shaw, a commission to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Dumbarton Oaks, an historic estate in Washington DC, perhaps best known for its association with Stravinsky. Plan & Elevation combines Shaw’s two great loves, music and drawing, resulting in a five-movement ‘musical drawing’ of the grounds – The Ellipse, The Cutting Gardens, The Herbaceous Border, The Orangery and The Beech Tree.
Daniel Davies is known for championing the work of Welsh composers whenever he can and John Metcalf’s String Quintet, Songs without Words, was commissioned by Nantwen in 2023. The work is inspired by three things: Strata Florida Abbey, the former Cistercian abbey near Tregaron; a Welsh hymn; and the simple prayer, Hallelujah. Daniel says it’s a work they love to play and describes the piece as “extraordinary” and “very special to us.”
And finally, an absolute must-hear is Verses, by the Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds. Verses is the introductory piece from his award-winning 2015 album, The Chopin Project. He takes the right-hand motif of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No 3 (Largo) and arranges it for a string quartet. It’s breathtakingly beautiful - have a sneak peek here:
Our last concert of 2024
In October we had a fabulous concert from composer, vocalist and violinist Claire Victoria Roberts with string players Treske Quartet and Swansea-based keyboardist and jazz band leader Dave Cottle.
Claire Victoria Roberts is a composer, vocalist and violinist–blurring the boundaries of jazz, contemporary and singer-songwriter genres. https://www.clairevictoriaroberts.com/
Treske Quartet–Oli Baily & Mollie Wrafter (violins), Abigail Hammett (viola), Robert Wheatley (cello)–is an emerging ensemble based in Manchester, UK. https://www.treskequartet.com/
Dave Cottle formed the Dave Cottle Band in 1985. Swansea’s Lord Mayor Awarded Dave for his services to music in the City at a Gala dinner in the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea November 2018. https://www.davecottlemusic.com
See our 2025 calendar for next year’s events.
Very enjoyable RWCMD concert from The Bute Wind Quintet
On Saturday 11th May, graduates of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama The Bute Wind Quintet gave us a fabulous concert on an evening with balmy weather.
The performers were introduced and we also updated the audience with a salutary description of the state of music funding in Wales; for example the Welsh National Opera and their orchestra who have had funding by both Arts Council in England and Wales significantly cut.
Even closer to home and relevant in particular to this evening’s activity has been a recent threat to “Young RWCMD” whose Young Acting and Young Music activities provide the opportunity for promising new performers to develop their individual talents. A reminder that “As music lovers we cannot afford to be complacent”.
There is a petition about the RWCMD threat.
Also one for the Welsh National Opera.
The night’s programme gave us an insight into the range of the Quintet, including a soaringly lyrical Milhaud La cheminée du roi René, Celia McDowall’s Subject to the Weather—commissioned for the Presteigne Festival in 2010 and evoking the countryside and birdsong. After the interval works included cinema composer Nino Rota’s theme for Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet and Szervánszky’s Wind Quintet. The evening concluded with Brazilian composer Júlio Medaglia’s Tango from suite Belle Epoque en Sud-America.
Our Artist/Maker in residence Rebecca ‘Becky’ Way displayed a stunning collection of work.
A great evening which highlighted how lucky we are to have RWCMD’s graduates and students on our doorstep.
The Bute Wind Quintet are playing at Gŵyl Beaumaris Festival on 25th May details, and Fishguard Festival of Music/Gŵyl Gerdd on 22nd July details.
IWD Hero Isata Kanneh-Mason
For International Women’s Day, here are a couple of snippets to celebrate the work of pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason.
"…in great demand internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She offers eclectic and interesting repertoire with recital programmes encompassing music from Haydn and Mozart via Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, Chopin and Brahms to Gershwin and beyond."
—Kanneh-Mason website.
Firstly a YouTube video of a performance of Clara Schumann’s Scherzo No.2 in C Minor. (Note: YouTube may include adverts for everyone’s benefit 🤦🏽.)
Clara Schumann’s Scherzo No.2 in C Minor
And then an episode of BBC Radio’s “Add to Playlist” programme with Isata Kanneh-Mason as a guest.
Add to Playlist with Isata Kanneh-Mason
BBC announces new classical music programming
The BBC has announced updated schedules for Radio 3 and a new TV series about Mozart. Highlights include the return of Clemency Burton-Hill, and a weekday afternoon programme Classical Live presented by Elizabeth Alker, Tom McKinney, Linton Stephens and Fiona Talkington.
Karl Jenkins birthday
Happy 80th Birthday, Sir Karl Jenkins! Born and raised in Penclawdd, Gower.
Image: St David Awards 2017, CC BY 3.0
His initial musical instruction was from his father, who was the local schoolteacher, chapel organist and choirmaster. Initially a jazz and jazz-rock musician, he played with legendary Canterbury Sound band Soft Machine.
He’s had a prodigious choral classical output, including Cantata Memoria: For the children, a response to the 1966 Aberfan disaster.
Currently BBC Radio3 Composer of the Week.