Music at St Peter’s

Last night was a fantastic end to the second year of the Music at St Peter's series, with superb performances from the Hampden Quartet and from soprano Sara Lian Owen.  The first half of the concert saw a programme of Welsh songs, ranging from Dilys Elwyn Edwards' Caneuon y Tri Aderyn, a beautiful cycle about birds, to more familiar folk songs and the sumptuous tunes of Ivor Novello! This was followed in the second half by Dvorak's Piano Quintet, a glorious highlight of the piano quintet repertoire, and such fun to play. Based at St Peter's Church in Ardingly, West Sussex, these concerts have developed a very loyal following; each works on the basis of bringing talented emerging professionals down from London to beautiful rural Mid Sussex, and each raises money for a different local cause.  Looking back at the array of performers to date, it has been a hugely varied lineup: Alexandra and Charlotte Reid (violins), Alexandra Kidgell (soprano), James Turnbull (oboe), Carris Jones (mezzo-soprano), Lucia Siwy Capilla (violin), Peter Davoren (tenor), Fiona Slominska (flute), Sam Queen (baritone), Matthew Lowe (cello), Laura Kelly (mezzo-soprano), and then last night the Hampden Quartet (the return of the Reid sisters!) and Sara Lian Owen (soprano).  What a pleasure to perform with all these people in such a beautiful setting, and to have raised money for Hands of Hope in Uganda, Family Support Work in Mid Sussex, Ardingly Old Jeshwang Association in the Gambia, Tearfund Pakistan Floods Appeal, St Peter's Church Centre Appeal, and St Peter and St James Hospice in Sussex.  Here's to the next year of this series!