Leamington Music Autumn Season 2021

Leamington Music

October to December 2021 String Quartets in Leamington Early Music in Warwick Songs, Brass, and a Christmas Festival

Book Now!

Call 01926 334418 or go online

www.leamingtonmusic.org

Welcome

Leamington Music concerts resume for the Autumn as our audiences would expect and, if the Midsummer Music Festival is anything to go by, are very much needed.

Stile Antico returns to open the Early Music at St Mary’s Warwick series and Joglaresa is back for the Christmas Concert. In between, the Binchois Consort comes for the first time, celebrating Josquin des Prez born five hundred years ago. The Sacconi Quartet opens the Investec International String Quartet series, followed by the Marmen, which first played in Warwick in summer 2016 and the ever-popular Carducci Quartet. The Jubilee Quartet provides a bonus with a lunchtime concert in the City of Culture and an evening in the Royal Pump Rooms, each featuring Tauský’s Coventry as we remember the blitz that destroyed the Cathedral.

Roderick Williams is back too, with an evening of English Song to celebrate the opening of the new music department at King’s High, and Leamington Music continues its happy association with The Dream Factory for the virtually annual visits of The Mellstock Band and The York Waits.

The Waits are followed by The Carice Singers for the third concert in our Christmas Festival.

Leamington Music does not stand still and a first for us is the "Brass Explosion!" at the Royal Spa Centre on 31 October. Two brass bands come together for the premiere of a commission

by Stephen Roberts and the concert includes Volcano, an iconic work by Robert Simpson, the Leamington-born composer whose centenary we celebrate this year.

Much of 2022 is planned and we will be publicizing the Spring Season and the Leamington Music Festival (29 April to 3 May) in the New Year. The monthly series will start on 25 January with the Monteverdi String Band and on 28 January with the Consone Quartet. There will also be Ensemble 360’s annual double concert day and the return of Kosmos. Onward and upward!

Richard Phillips MBE Festival Director

Leamington Music Festival Weekend

Royal Pump Rooms | Leamington Spa 23 - 26 September 2021 Coull Quartet Martin Outram Leonore Piano Trio Richard Watkins Magnus Johnston Michael McHale Mark Bebbington Christopher Cromar Peter Donohoe Roman Kosyakov Dante Quartet Benjamin Frith Celebrating the centenary of Leamington-born composer Robert Simpson principal sponsor

Featuring his music and works by the composers he championed, including Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and more.

St Mary's Church Warwick CV34 4RA

Tuesday 5 October at 7.30pm

Toward the Dawn Stile Antico return to Warwick, bringing a new programme that charts a course from twilight to sunrise, echoing both the rhythms of church liturgy and the mediaeval experience of night - both seductive and unsettling in equal measure.

Taverner's mighty Ave Dei Patris Filia, based on a chant for Matins, stands at the end of a delicious sequence of sacred music, chansons, and madrigals by both English and Continental composers such as Tallis, Byrd, Lassus and Monteverdi, and featuring Allegri's ethereal Miserere Mei. www.stileantico.co.uk

£25 | £18 | £12

The singing is staggeringly beautiful

– The Sunday Times

Royal Pump Rooms Leamington CV32 4AA

Friday 8 October at 7.30pm

SACCONI QUARTET Ben Hancox and Hannah Dawson violins Robin Ashwell viola, Cara Berridge cello

Haydn Quartet in C Op 54 No 2 Shostakovich Quartet No 8

in C minor Op 110 Beethoven Quartet in C sharp minor

Op 131 Celebrating twenty years this season, the Sacconi Quartet were due to open the 2020 Leamington Music Festival. Now, ten years since their last appearance in Leamington, the Quartet come back with a connoisseur’s programme, part of a busy Autumn, prefaced

by Festivals in County Mayo and Beverley. www.sacconi.com

£25 centre | £15 sides

Series sponsor

King's Hall, King's High School Banbury Rd, Warwick CV34 6YE

Friday 15 October at 7.30pm

"The Great Outdoors..."

RODERICK WILLIAMS baritone SUSIE ALLAN

piano

This concert brings Roderick Williams to the new King’s High School campus for the first time. It is a chance to celebrate King’s Hall as a new venue for Warwick and also the new Music Department building for King's High School and Warwick Prep too.

Williams has been hailed as a national treasure and a supreme interpreter of English Song.

This programme of works by the great English masters - Butterworth, Ireland, Warlock, Gurney, Vaughan Williams and Britten shows Roderick at his absolute best.

£20 unreserved inc. glass of wine

Few voices are so flawlessly sustained as that of Roderick Williams – The Times

Royal Pump Rooms Leamington CV32 4AA

Friday 29 October at 7.30pm

Concert generously sponsored by

Marmen Quartet

Mozart Quartet in E flat K428 Simpson Quartet No 1 Brahms Quartet in C minor

Op 51 No 1 Chosen by Peter Cropper as the very first winners of Music in the Round's Bridge scheme, the Marmen Quartet return to the area for the first time since 2016, having won the Grand Prize of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2019 as well as the First Prize of the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

The Quartet made their BBC Proms debut this August, performing Robert Simpson's Quartet No 1, which they bring now to the town of his birth in this powerful programme. www.marmenquartet.com

£25 centre | £15 sides

Johannes Marmen and Ricky Gore violins Bryony Gibson-Cornish viola, Sinéad O’Halloran cello Series sponsor

Royal Spa Centre Leamington CV32 4HN

Sunday 31 October at 7.30pm Sparks will fly when these two outstanding brass bands - the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Brass Band (Ian Porthouse conductor) and The Shirley Band (Tom Stoneman conductor) - combine for an evening of explosive brass music.

BRASS BAND

"Brass Explosion!"

The concert includes music by John Williams, a virtuosic tour de force, Volcano, written

by Leamington-born composer, Robert Simpson, and the premiere of a new work for double brass band by Stephen Roberts, celebrating the return of live music postlockdown.

An unmissable opportunity to hear two of the Midlands' finest brass bands combine as they raise the roof and turn brass into gold!

£20 (£1 students/children)

Concert generously supported by The Arts Society Royal Leamington Spa

Josquin des Prez 500

St Mary's Church Warwick CV34 4RA

Founded by conductor Andrew Kirkman in 1995, The Binchois Consort have performed widely in Europe and the USA, and recorded thirteen discs on Hyperion Records to stunning critical acclaim. The Consort's recordings have won numerous music industry awards, including Recording of the Month and Early Music Disc of the Year in Gramophone, and Diapason d’Or in Diapason.

Tuesday 9 November at 7.30pm

In recent years pieces accepted as being by Josquin have been falling like dominoes, yet Josquin’s reputation – the reason we still care about him today – was built on a very broad range of music.

Early 'musicking' at its finest.

– Gramophone

This programme shines a light on pieces both

by Josquin and attributed to him, to celebrate his centenary year. It offers a powerful insight into some of his grandest works and those now attributed to others, but were once considered so great they could only have been composed by the master himself. www.binchoisconsort.com

THE BINCHOIS CONSORT Andrew Kirkman conductor

£25 | £18 | £12

Friday 12 November at 12.30pm Drapers’ Hall, Bayley Lane, Coventry CV1 5RN

JUBILEE STRING QUARTET Tereza Privratska and Julia Loucks violins Lorena Cantó Woltèche viola, Toby White cello

Tauský Coventry: A Meditation Mendelssohn Quartet in A minor Op 13 A programme based on the very moving work that Vilém Tauský wrote in November 1940 after going into Coventry with a Czech Free Army ambulance and seeing the smouldering ruins of the cathedral.

The Drapers’ Hall only yards away survived intact and, following renovations, opens this October as a music venue.

£10 | Booking for this concert only from www.historiccoventrytrust.org.uk TAKING PLACE IN

Royal Pump Rooms Leamington CV32 4AA

Friday 12 November at 7.30pm

JUBILEE QUARTET Tauský Coventry: A Meditation Mendelssohn Quartet in A minor

Op 13 Schubert Quartet in D minor D810

'Death and the Maiden' The Jubilee Quartet bring the programme over to Leamington, where Tauský was stationed with the Czech Free Army.

We add Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' to complete this journey of reflection in Coventry's year as the UK City of Culture. www.jubileequartet.co.uk

£25 centre | £15 sides Concert generously supported by the Low-Beer Trust

The Dream Factory, Playbox Theatre Warwick CV34 6LE

Tuesday 16 November at 7.30pm

The Shepherd's Calendar

The Mellstock Band return to Warwick to celebrate merrymaking and courtship through the country year.

THE MELLSTOCK BAND Dave Townsend concertina Caroline Butler violin Tim Hill clarinet Phil Humphries serpent

In costume, evoking the times of Thomas Hardy, the members of the band all sing as well as offer a rare opportunity to hear instruments like the concertina and serpent.

With the words of John Clare, the Somerset parson John Holland, as well as Hardy, the readings and songs take the audience through the festivities of the four seasons in the rural year. The Band have enjoyed more than twenty years of sold-out performances in Warwick, so do not delay your booking!

£20 unreserved Royal Pump Rooms Leamington CV32 4AA

CARDUCCI QUARTET

Friday 3 December at 7.30pm Haydn Quartet in E flat Op 33 No 2

'The Joke' Shostakovich Quartet No 7 in

F sharp minor Op 108 Beethoven Quartet in A minor Op 132 Back for their seventh concert with Leamington Music, the Carducci Quartet have always, since they first came in January 2009, impressed our audiences with their committed and musical performances.

The Quartet’s Shostakovich cycles have been rightly crowned by a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. www.carducciquartet.com

£25 centre | £15 sides

Matthew Denton and Michelle Fleming violins Eoin Schmidt-Martin viola, Emma Denton cello Series sponsor

Lullay Myn Lykynge

St Mary's Church Warwick CV34 4RA

Celebrate Yule effervescently with Joglaresa and chase out the chill from the Celtic fringes of Europe - with traditional carols and wassails from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.

With fidel, harp, bells, bagpipes and voices, Joglaresa ring in Christmas and New Year in this joyful programme of carols, lullabies, dance tunes and wassails.

Tuesday 7 December at 7.30pm

JOGLARESA directed by Belinda Sykes

Joglaresa's cleverly imaginative programming transcends the limits of what is often thought of as early music. Directed by Belinda Sykes, this London-based ensemble have been playing since 1992, and made regular visits to Warwick over the years - they gave our last concert of 2020 before lockdown put paid to the rest of the season, and we are delighted to welcome them back. www.joglaresa.com ...compulsive rhythmic energy... luxuriantly ornamental solos.

– The Telegraph

The Waits' Wassail Firm favourites in Warwick, The York Waits' return is eagerly awaited!

The Waits celebrate the Festive Season with songs, carols and dances from across medieval and renaissance England and Europe, performed on loud and quiet wind consorts, bowed and plucked strings, and the rustic bagpipes and vielle.

The programme includes many well known favourites such as In dulci jubilo, Ther is no Rose, Noel Nouvelet, Quem Pastores, Ninna, nanna Dormi Figlio and The Waits’ Wassail.

The “grete noyse” of shawms and sackbuts will herald a sequence of atmospheric music that the Waits and Deborah Catterall have developed over many years of collaboration. www.theyorkwaits.org.uk

£20 unreserved

inc. mullled wine & mince pies

£25 | £18 | £12

inc. mulled wine & mince pies

The Dream Factory, Playbox Theatre Warwick CV34 6LE

Wednesday 15 December at 7.30pm

THE YORK WAITS Tim Bayley, Lizzie Gutteridge, Anna Marshall Susan Marshall and William Marshall with Deborah Catterall singer

St Mark's Church Leamington CV32 6DL

THE

Tuesday 21 December at 7.30pm

Christmas with The Carice Singers

CARICE SINGERS George Parris director Adrian Moore organ

The Carice Singers have been making waves and they come back to Leamington for a third time at Christmas.

George Parris, having finished his studies in Helsinki, now has posts in Croatia, Finland and Portugal and will work with Ex Cathedra in 2022 as an Associate Conductor. He has chosen a beautifully balanced programme of favourites like Silent Night and O Come all ye faithful to works by living English composers, Victoria, Berlioz and Sibelius and other Finnish composers. www.thecaricesingers.co.uk

£23 | £18 | £12

Concert generously sponsored by

inc. mulled wine & mince pies

Education Programme The Leamington Music Education Programme offers schools throughout the county the possibility of musicians appearing in the Autumn and Spring Seasons visiting them to give workshops or special concerts. Leamington Music works in partnership with Warwickshire Music and with further funds made available through trusts and donations, particularly from the Friends of Leamington Music, is able to provide highly subsidised sessions for the schools.

During the 2021/22 Autumn Season, there are possible sessions from the following musicians in the Education Programme: Sacconi Quartet, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Brass, Binchois Consort, Jubilee Quartet, The Mellstock Band, Carducci Quartet, Joglaresa, and The York Waits.

Leamington Music is always looking for new schools to visit and we are keen to hear from teachers, governors, parents and carers if you'd like your school to be involved - please make contact with the Leamington Music office by calling 01926 497000 or by emailing Helen Beecroft on helen@leamingtonmusic.org.

Join the Friends!

The Friends of Leamington Music play an invaluable role in helping to sustain the leading music promoter in the area. If you are not already a Friend, please think about joining up to enjoy a very sociable group of music lovers. Your support helps to pay for the annual Leamington Music Prize and the Leamington Music Education Programme.

The Friends of Leamington Music benefit by being the first to receive publicity about future events, have priority booking for the Leamington Music Festival and the Winter Season and through the year, there are a number of special events unique to the Friends. There are also many ways in which Friends can be involved in voluntary capacities.

The Friends' year runs from 1 April to 31 March and the annual subscription is £25 for a single person, £40 for a couple.

Visit www.leamingtonmusic.org to download an application form or call the Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for further details.

Get involved Leamington Music is very lucky to have wonderful support from many more volunteers than most people realize, and there are several ways to get involved in our organization: • Stewarding at concerts • Providing accommodation for visiting musicians • Stuffing envelopes for mailings • Distributing and displaying leaflets and posters • Driving musicians to schools as part of the Education Programme • ...and so much more!

If you would like to join the team, why not get in touch today using the details below?

Mailing lists - email and snail mail Keep in touch with Leamington Music by joining our emailing list, which sends out regular newsletters or ask to be put on the mailing list which posts our leaflets.

Call 01926 497000, email helen@leamingtonmusic.org or sign up via our website.

Leamington Music, Northgate, Warwick CV34 4JL www.leamingtonmusic.org | 01926 497000 Registered Charity No 1117723 facebook.com/leamington.music

@leamingtonmusic

Leamington Music reserves the right to change artists and programmes if necessary

How to book To ensure audience safety, all seats for concerts in the Royal Pump Rooms are numbered and are reserved at time of booking; we also encourage you to wear a face covering in line with current Government guidelines.

Box Offices:

Leamington Visitor Information Centre, Royal Pump Rooms, Parade, CV32 4AA Visit Warwick, The Court House, Jury Street, Warwick CV34 4EW

Telephone:

01926 334418

Hours:

Monday to Friday: 10am - 4pm Saturday & Sunday: 10am - 3pm

Book online:

www.royalspacentreandtownhall.co.uk

Thanks Leamington Music is very grateful for all the support it has received throughout the pandemic from the Friends of Leamington Music and many others. And we thank the following people and organizations for their help in enabling us to continue since June with the Warwick & Leamington Midsummer Music Festival, the Leamington Music Festival Weekend and this coming Autumn Season.

Sponsors: Bonhams, Investec, Leigh Christou, Presto Music and Wright Hassall Trusts: Grimmitt Trust, Low-Beer Trust, Robert Simpson Society, and RVW Trust.

Individual donations: Janet Ainsworth & Nick Humphris, Marie-Therese Allen, Janet Arthurton, Alan Baker, Hugh & Jane Beale, Chris & Margaret Begg, Michael & Pat Bird, Michael & Halldóra Blair, Murray Campbell, Mary Clark, John & Sally Cohen, Sara Coldicott, Rachel Crowther, Timothy Curnow & Anthony Liddicoat, Bob & Sylvia Fair, Peter Glanfield & Tim Mak, Vicki Goodwin & Ormand Simpson, Jolyon Hall, Charles & Jane Heaton, John Hobley, Helen Hoggarth, Jonathan Holden, Diane Holt, Noel Kohler, Peggy King, Rose Ledlie, Jennifer Lorch, Peter Mack & Vicki Behm, Roger Massie, Georgina Middleton, John & Jean Morgan, David Morris, Angela Nicholls, Guy & Gay Norris, Clive & Gillian Peacock, Margaret Pringle, Peter & Gillian Robinson, Elaine Selwyn, Christine Shipman & Roger Thorpe, Charles & Sally Siewart, Iain Smith, Gordon & Margaret Stokes, Chris & Carolyn Voss, Paul & Jane Watts, Sally Westmacott, David & Gina Wilson, and Julia Winter.

The Arts Society Royal Leamington Spa is a Corporate Patron and the Friends of Leamington Music contribute towards the Education Programme and the Leamington Music Prize.

Grants come from Leamington Town Council, Warwick District Council, Warwick Town Council.

Warwickshire Music contributes to the Education Programme with funds provided by Arts Council England. Music in the Round also receives Arts Council England support.

Leamington Music

October to December 2021 String Quartets in Leamington Early Music in Warwick Songs, Brass, and a Christmas Festival

Book Now!

Call 01926 334418 or go online

www.leamingtonmusic.org