First concert back after an Easter break is the launch concert tomorrow with James Turnbull for The English Oboe: Rediscovered, recently launched on Champs Hill Records, featured on BBC Radio 3's In Tune, and reviewed warmly by the Observer. Tickets are still available here.
Great to be involved in kick-starting this week's education project run by the Berkeley Ensemble in a Camden primary school, performing and reworking Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale.
Looking forward to tomorrow's trip back to Oxford, to give the first concert of this year's Passiontide at Merton festival, the brochure for which can be seen here. The programme is based around Britten's captivating canticle Abraham and Isaac, which we'll present alongside songs by Tippett, Britten and Purcell.
Lots of chamber music with the Berkeley Ensemble this month – a rehearsal patch in Somerset, a clarinet trio concert in Bradford last night (Beethoven, Ireland, Bruch, Brahms), a performance of the Bridge Phantasy Quartet and Michael Berkeley's Fierce Tears in Luton coming up on Monday, more clarinet trios in Didcot next weekend, and then Beethoven Archduke and Mendelssohn D minor piano trios the following week in Surrey.
A very warm Observer review for The English Oboe: Rediscovered yesterday – "there is no disputing the technical facility of James Turnbull or the warm, sensitive pianism of Libby Burgess". See here for the full review.
The third Winterreise of 2013 with Marcus Farnsworth yesterday, this time at the Great Hall of Southwell Minster. It's been fantastic to live with the piece a bit this winter and really get under the skin of it!
Tom Bell's new recital disc, Masters of the Monarchs' Music, for which I was producer at Durham Cathedral back in the autumn, was launched this weekend at the London Organ Day at the Royal Festival Hall. The disc, on Regent Records, features a breathtaking performance of Malcolm Williamson's epic Symphony for Organ, alongside works by Bliss and Elgar. Radio 3's James Jolly featured it on his Sunday Morning programme, which can be heard on BBC iPlayer here until 3rd March (relevant section at 2:51:00).
Looking forward to tutoring on the Berkeley Ensemble's chamber music course in April. Suitable for advanced musicians (ABRSM Grade 8 or equivalent and above) playing piano, strings or winds, the course will include individual tuition, time with a pianist, ensemble coaching and informal performance opportunities. It will begin with a concert given by the tutors. The course will be held in The Old Rectory, a fifteenth-century house set in stunning grounds, and it promises to be a refreshing and inspiring weekend of happy music-making. See here for further details – there are a couple more weeks to get your application in!
Back from a delightful trip to Monkton Combe School, where I was guest conducting a rehearsal on the Mozart Requiem for Monkton Choral Society. A relatively new choral society, this was an impressive and lovely group. More details about the choir, including a write-up of the evening, can be found on their blog here.
Great to be back in the In Tune studio at BBC Radio 3 yesterday, with oboist James Turnbull, playing and chatting live in promotion of our new CD The English Oboe: Rediscovered. The programme can be heard on iPlayer here until Friday 22nd February.