Connaught Brass | Afternoon Concert | 20 July 2025 (15:00)
Aaron Akugbo trumpets
Harry Plant trumpets & flugelhorn
Zoë Tweed french horn
Chris Brewster trombone
Aled Meredith-Barrett tuba
Programme:
Holst — Jupiter from The Planets
Gabrieli — 2 Canzonas (1 & 2)
Elgar — Salut d’amour
Florence Price, arr. Blair — Adoration
Vivaldi — Concerto in F major
Tielman Susato — Dance Suite
Fauré, arr. Foster — Pavane
Gabrieli — 2 Canzonas (3 & 4)
Gershwin — 3 Preludes
This concert takes place at Haslemere Education Museum, 78 High St, Haslemere GU27 2LA.
Tickets available to purchase via the Tickets page. There is a ticket discount for two adults bringing up to four children. Young people are free under 25, funded by Cavatina.
HHH Concerts Haslemere invite you to a celebration of fine classical music from a top brass quintet ensemble. The programme is both family-friendly and seriously professional. All the players will be delighted to mingle with the audience after the concert and showcase their instruments for any young ones in attendance.
This is an open air concert. Please bring hats and/or sun protection appropriate for July. You are invited to bring folding garden chairs, rugs and a picnic, but please take away any rubbish. If you bring a parasol then please sit in a position that does not hinder the view for others. Toilets can be found in the Museum.
We cannot predict the weather. If the weather is good for the musicians to play, the concert will go ahead. If the weather is so bad that the musicians cannot play then ticket holders will be reimbursed in full, promptly.
Do come and enjoy a family afternoon with fine music.
Connaught Brass are supported by Kirckman Concerts.
Winners of the Inaugural Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Competition and the Royal Overseas League Competition, Connaught Brass seek to redefine how brass chamber music is perceived. Blending a deep respect for the genre’s rich heritage with a fresh, youthful perspective, their performances are not only marked by vibrance and boldness, but with warmth and approachability, reflecting the strong camaraderie at the heart of the ensemble. Through brand-new commissions, audience-favourite arrangements and a commitment to originality, Connaught Brass breathe new life into tradition, offering a unique and engaging concert experience with the ultimate goal of bringing brass chamber music to the forefront of today’s musical world.
The Connaughts have shared their music-making widely across the UK and Europe at venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, the Lucerne Festival, De Doelen Rotterdam, Societá Filarmonica Trento, Snape Maltings, Kings Place, St George’s Bristol, Hidden Doors Arts Festival Edinburgh and Music for Wexford Ireland. Additional highlights include performing live on radio from the Concertgebouw’s Spiegelzaal and regularly on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme. The 24/25 season will see the group make debut performances at the Barbican Centre in London and in Wales at Cowbridge Music Festival, return to Ferrandou Musique Festival in France and undertake an exciting collaboration project with pianist Zeynep Özsuca, alongside an extensive performance schedule across the rest of the UK.
In previous years, the quintet have become artists of the Tillett Trust, City Music Foundation, Kirckman Concert Society and Britten Pears Chamber Music Residency. They also take great pride in undertaking masterclasses at conservatoires and education work in primary and secondary schools across the UK and Europe, including that supported by the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust and the Musicians Company.
Having been principal players and members of the European Union Youth Orchestra, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, members of Connaught Brass perform regularly on the professional orchestral circuit. They have performed with prestigious orchestras and companies, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Sinfonia of London, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, English National Ballet, Opera North, Welsh National Opera, and Ulster Orchestra. In addition to their classical work, they are also in high demand commercially, collaborating with high-profile artists such as Stormzy, Jamie Cullum, Bruno Mars, Florence and the Machine, Alison Sudol, and Cody Fry.
https://www.connaughtbrass.com
https://www.instagram.com/connaughtbrass
Élisabeth Pion (piano) | Afternoon Concert | 12 October 2025 (15:00)
Programme:
Ravel — Miroirs M. 43
Chopin — 12 Études Op. 25
This concert takes place at Hindhead Music Centre, Hindhead, GU26 6BA.
Tickets (including tea and cakes in the Conservatory) are available to purchase via the Tickets page.
Élisabeth Pion loves chamber music. Her partners on stage include Dame Imogen Cooper in four-hands duets, Juliana Koch (Principal Oboe, London Symphony Orchestra), Julie Price (Principal Bassoon, BBC Symphony Orchestra), Quatuor Cobalt, Vertavo Quartet, vocal ensemble Les Rugissants, and tenor Mark Padmore. She has been invited to perform as part of chamber music festivals such as IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, Leeds International Concert Season and Midsummer Music.
She also cultivates a partnership with Greek mezzo-soprano Alexandra Achillea Pouta, with whom she has notably performed at the Barbican as well as Carnegie Hall. She was previously the pianist of the De Beauvoir Trio (2020-23), a Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme Ensemble in residence, and prize-winner of both the 2022 Stasys Vainiunas Competition and the 2021 Virtuoso & Bel Canto Competitions.
Élisabeth is a regular guest artist with orchestras such as the Orchestre Métropolitain, Toledo Symphony, Victoria Symphony, Arion Orchestre Baroque, and Orchestre Classique de Montréal. She has collaborated with conductors such as Kensho Watanabe, Roberto Tibiriçá, Andrés Felipe Jaime, Elizabeth Vergara, Alain Trudel, Mathieu Lussier, Jacques Lacombe, Geneviève Leclair & Gordon Gerrard, and has also fostered a close collaboration with conductor Thomas Le Duc-Moreau and the Ensemble Volte. She enjoys performing a broad range of concerto repertoire, engaging with known masterworks whilst simultaneously bringing unknown masterpieces to audiences.
An experienced recitalist, Élisabeth has performed in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. She can be heard on CBC/Radio-Classique, BBC Radio 3 and France Musique. Élisabeth is an alumna of the Imogen Cooper Music Trust and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she worked with Professor Ronan O’Hora and graduated with the Junior Fellowship, Artist Diploma & Artist Masters with highest honours. She has also studied conducting from the keyboard with Ricardo Castro at the Scuela di Musica di Fiesole, and worked with Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo. She previously worked in Canada with Francine Lacroix, Suzanne Goyette and André Laplante.
She is grateful for the guidance of the wonderful artists with whom she has had the privilege to work throughout her journey, such as Robert Levin, Yulianna Avdeeva, Alfred Brendel, Boris Berman, Leif Ove Andsnes, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Anne Queffélec, Bertrand Chamayou, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Cédric Pescia, Jonathan Biss, Maggie Cole, Christian Blackshaw, Stephen Hough, Joanna MacGregor, Richard Goode, Akiko Ebi, Paul Lewis, Adrian Brendel, Anthony Marwood, and David Takeno.
Piatti Quartet w/ Simon Callaghan (piano) | 20 September 2025 (19:30)
Michael Trainor violin
Emily Holland violin
Miguel Sobrinho viola
Jessie Ann Richardson cello
Simon Callaghan piano
Programme:
Ravel — String Quartet in F major
Schumann — Piano Quartet in E flat major Op. 47
Dvořák — Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major Op. 81
This concert takes place at St Christopher's Church, Church Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
This concert is sponsored by Stephen and Gina Dennison in celebration of their golden wedding.
Tickets are available to purchase via the Tickets page.
Piatti Quartet
Resident Quartet at Kings Place, London, the distinguished Piatti Quartet are widely renowned for their ‘profound music making’ (The Strad) and their ‘lyrical warmth’ (BBC Music Magazine). Since their prizewinning performances at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, they have performed all over the world and made international broadcasts from many countries.
The Piattis are famed for their diverse programming and for passionate interpretations across the spectrum of quartet writing, and have commissioned and recorded some of the most major and impressive works added to the quartet canon in recent years.
Contemporary music has been ever present in their repertoire and leaving a legacy to the quartet genre through commissions is one of the quartet’s central tenets. Major commissions and dedications have stemmed from Mark-Anthony Turnage, Emily Howard, Charlotte Harding, and Joseph Phibbs whilst they have premiered a mesmerising number of new works over the years beginning with Anna Meredith back in 2009. The Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Flagey Radio Hall Brussels, Wigmore Hall London, and the Aldeburgh Festival are some of the high profile occasions where new music has been presented and recordings of Turnage’s quartets 1-4 and Gavin Higgins’ chamber music has also been extensively lauded by critics.
The quartet’s name is dedicated to Alfredo Piatti, a 19th Century virtuoso cellist who was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music (the alma mater of the founder’s of the quartet) and also a major exponent of chamber music and contemporary music of his time.
Simon Callaghan
Simon Callaghan performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, in parallel with a highly successful career as a recording artist. A favourite performer at the internationally-renowned Husum Festival of Piano Rarities in Germany, Callaghan’s recent sell-out concert was praised by VAN Magazine as a “cleverly curated recital full of discoveries” and by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “technically brilliant”. Callaghan has developed a wide following and appears on a regular basis in the UK’s major concert halls, and on tours to Asia, North America and Europe.
Simon Callaghan’s distinguished and eclectic discography includes recordings for Hyperion, Nimbus and Lyrita. He has a strong profile on BBC Radio3 and on a variety of streaming platforms, his most recent single on Apple Music with Coco Tomita surpassing 1 million streams in the first month of its release. He is a strong social media enthusiast, using it as a form of promotion for classical music in general but seeing it as a particular tool in his advocacy of the rare and unexplored.
Callaghan’s broad repertoire encompasses the standard works of the 19th and 20th centuries and increasingly concentrates on much that is little known, examples including Bernhard Scholz, Josef Rheinberger and Carl Reinecke. A cornerstone of his work is his commitment to British music, and he has begun a series on Lyrita, recording world premieres of British concertos with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Callaghan has also made first recordings of the complete piano music by Rebecca Clarke, George Dyson and William Busch. He has recorded four albums for Hyperion’s celebrated The Romantic Piano Concerto series. His first disc for Hyperion, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins, formed part of his PhD at the Royal Northern College of Music and was praised by BBC Radio 3’s Andrew McGregor: “I have nothing but praise for the performances... impressive pianism”.
In 2020, Simon recorded L’histoire du Babar with actor Miriam Margolyes. The album received five stars from The Independent, reviewer Michael Church commenting that: “here, thanks to Harry Potter actor Miriam Margolyes’s artistry and Simon Callaghan’s excellent pianism, is Poulenc’s delightful musical response. And as I listened to this recording, I found the original drawings reappearing in my mind with all their detail intact – extraordinary. It lasts just 30 minutes, but my god does it resonate.” Simon Callaghan’s reputation and experience in chamber music led to his appointment as Artistic Director at London’s celebrated Conway Hall, only the sixth incumbent since the founding of the series in 1887. He is Professor of Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music, and was elected a Steinway Artist in 2012.
Bellot Ensemble | 25 October 2025 (19:30)
Olivia Petryszak recorders
Edmund Taylor violin
Maxim Del Mar violin
Lucine Musaelian viola da gamba & soprano
Nathan Giorgetti viola da gamba
Daniel Murphy theorbo & baroque guitar
Matthew Brown harpsichord
Programme:
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger — Libro quarto d'intavolatura di chitarrone - Toccata prima
Barbara Strozzi — Cantate, ariette, e duetti - “Amor Dormiglione”
Tarquinio Merula — Canzoni a quattro voci - “La Lusignola”
Claudio Monteverdi — “Sì dolce è'l tormento”
Marco Antonio Ferro — Sonate a due, tre & a quattro - Sonata decima à 4
Marco Uccelini — Sonate, arie et correnti- “l’Emenfrodito”
Francesco Cavalli — Il Xerse, Act I - Sinfonia & “Ombra mai fu”
Giovanni Legrenzi — La Cetra - Sonata sesta a quattro
Tarquinio Merula — Curtio precipitato libro Secondo - “Sentirete una Canzonetta”
Tarquinio Merula — Canzoni overo sonate concertate - Chiacone
Stefano Landi — Il secondo libro d’arie musicali - “A che più l’arc tendere”
Marco Uccellini — Sonate, arie et correnti - Aria quinta sopra “La Bergamasca”
Barbara Strozzi — Arie - “Che si può fare”
This concert takes place at St Christopher's Church, Church Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available to purchase via the Tickets page.
Bellot Ensemble are supported by The Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists Award from Making Music.
As a group, Bellot Ensemble pride themselves on the energy and passion they give each and every performance along with their style specific improvisations. The group specialise in 17th century repertoire with research into written divisions and the contextual texts of the time. This practical research is always greatly influenced by their work with talented singers in their regular collaborations with consorts, choirs and opera societies.
Bellot Ensemble took part in the Brighton Early Music Festival live scheme 2023/24, and have been working extensively with Sussex choral and opera societies ever since, the ensemble toured across the UK performing John Frederick Lampe’s “The Dragon of Wantley” with New Sussex Opera in 2024 conducted by Toby Purser (Head of Conducting at the RCM). The group has also been selected for the Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist scheme 2024/25 thanks to BREMF! Bellot Ensemble also became Featured Artist in 2024 in the Overstrand Early Music Festival, collaborated with Norwich Baroque for a concert alongside a production of Dido and Aeneas at the festival. Recent notable performances include Festival Oude Musiek Utrecht, Newbury Spring Festival and recently at London Early Music Festival as finalists for their early music young ensemble competition.
Bellot Ensemble are incredibly excited that Continuo Foundation has awarded the group funding for their recently recorded album ‘Cupid’s Ground Bass’ an exploration of 17th century love arias with a focus on their own instrumental written divisions and will be recording with the incredibly talented Lucine Musaelian (Soprano & Viola da Gamba) and Kieran White (Tenor). This CD will be launched alongside a concert tour in 2025.
Víctor Braojos (piano) | 15 November 2025 (19:30)
Programme:
Granados — Escenas Románticas
Chopin — Fantasie in F minor Op. 49
Schubert — Sonata in B flat major D960
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available for purchase via the Tickets page.
Usually praised for his poetical, intense and original performances, Víctor Braojos obtained his BMus (Hons) at Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona), working with Jordi Masó and Pierre Reach and supported by a scholarship by the Anna Riera Foundation. He later moved to London, where he pursued his Master in Piano Performance and Artist Diploma (Distinction and Concert Recital Diploma) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, working with Martin Roscoe and thanks to an Excellence Scholarship Award given by this institution.
Over these years, he has completed his musical formation working regularly with world-acclaimed performers such as Dame Imogen Cooper, Sir Stephen Hough, Paul Lewis CBE, Robert Levin and Stephen Kovacevich, being chosen at the same time to join the roster of artists supported by renowned institutions, such as the Imogen Cooper Music Trust, Talent Unlimited and the Keyboard Charitable Trust.
He has won several prizes and awards in national and international piano competitions, among which we could highlight, the Best Spanish Pianist Award at the 68th Maria Canals International Piano Competition 2023, the 1st Prize in the Catalunya Piano Competition (youngest winner ever in the 50 years of history of this competition), the 1st Prize in the Barcelona Piano Competition, the 1st Prize in the Girona Musical Competition or the 2nd Prize at the prestigious “El Primer Palau Music Competition”.
Along his career he has performed in several venues across Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Russia or the UK, among which we could remark concerts at emblematic venues such as the Palau de la Música Catalana, the National Auditorium of Barcelona, London Steinway Hall, Instituto Cervantes de Palermo or the Frédéric Chopin Museum in Warsaw. His most recent and future engagements include internationally acclaimed concert halls and festivals, such as the Münchener Künstlerhaus (Germany), the London National Liberal Club, the “International Masters Concert Series” at the Auditorio Ciudad de León (Spain), the Conservatoire International Concert Series at South Hill Park and the Melodomia Music Society (France).
In September 2022, Víctor was appointed Junior Fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Hathor Duo | Lunchtime Concert | 18 November 2025 (13:00)
Meera Maharaj flute
Lucy Nolan harp
Programme:
A musical story-telling concert, to include enchanting repertoire for flute and harp by Sibelius, Saint-Saëns, along with Scottish folk music by Donald Grant and more...
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher’s Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available for purchase via the Tickets page.
Hathor Duo enjoys exploring the enchanting range of repertoire available to the pairing of flute and harp, spanning from their own arrangements of popular works and folk music to contemporary works. Meera Maharaj and Lucy Nolan both studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and have since given frequent duo recitals across the UK, from North Yorkshire to Devon. Hathor Duo recently performed at Kings Lynn and Beaminster Festivals. They are both passionate chamber musicians and have performed at venues including Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, Stoller Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
As Live Music Now artists, they also bring performances into the wider community across the country. Outreach is an intrinsic element of musical life for both Meera and Lucy and they enjoy giving interactive concerts in schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and in care homes.
Meera Maharaj enjoys a diverse performing career. Her duo with pianist Dominic Degavino has enjoyed much success, featuring as Countess of Munster Recital Scheme, Tunnell Trust and Park Lane Group artists. Since 2013, she has frequently performed with guitarist James Girling, as the Meraki Duo. They recently won the II Concurs Internacional de Música Cambra Flauta & Guitarra and they were finalists in the 2019 Royal Overseas League competition (mixed ensembles category), as well as International Guitar Foundation Young Artists. Competition successes include first prize in the Royal Academy of Music Flute Competition and Dutch International Flute Competition, plus the Sussex Prize for Woodwind in the 2023 Royal Overseas League competition. She graduated with Distinction in her Masters, studying with Michael Cox at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2017, she graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music (First Class honours), studying with Wissam Boustany and Laura Jellicoe.
Graduating from Oxford University and the Royal Northern College of music with Distinctions in postgraduate degrees, Lucy Nolan was the recipient of a number of prizes and a finalist in the RNCM’s Gold Medal weekend, the highest accolade awarded for performance. As well as featuring in performances for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4, she regularly works with orchestras such as the Hallé, Manchester Concert Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia and has been invited to perform in renowned music venues such as the The Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, The Sage and Bridgewater Hall. Lucy is particularly passionate about developing new music for the harp and was recently awarded a Developing Your Creative Practise Grant from the Arts Council and a Do It Differently Award from Help Musicians to fund composing her own and commissioning new works for harp. She was a guest artist at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, performing a new work by Paul Patterson and is a founding member of the contemporary music group, SHOAL, who recently composed music for a short film for Channel 4 and premiered works at New Music North West Festival, Bury Light Festival and Hull City of Culture. Lucy’s collaboration with Carnatic singer, Supriya Nagarajan, has led to performances at the Royal Albert Hall, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Lambeth Palace and Jaipur Literature Festival.
https://meeramaharaj.co.uk/hathor-duo.html
https://www.instagram.com/hathor_duo/
Elfida Su Turan (violin) & Katy Grabova (piano) | Lunchtime Concert | 19 November 2025 (13:00)
Elfida Su Turan violin
Katya Grabova piano
Programme:
Enescu — Impressions d’enfance
Vaughan Williams — Lark Ascending
Adnan Saygun — Horon
Bartók — Romanian Folk Dances
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available for purchase via the Tickets page.
Elfida Su Turan is a Turkish violinist who has performed as a soloist with Turkey’s national and numerous state symphony orchestras since the age of 10. Over the past five years, she has appeared with prominent ensembles including the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, İzmir State Symphony Orchestra, Eskişehir Symphony Orchestra, Docklands Sinfonia, and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. Her most recent orchestral appearance was with the AIMA Chamber Orchestra in September 2024.
After receiving top prizes in national and international competitions, Elfida was named Turkey’s ‘Best Emerging Musician’ in 2017. An avid chamber musician, she has performed in renowned festivals and concert halls across three continents, including the Bastille Opera House (France), Auditorio de Zaragoza, Menuhin Hall, İş Sanat, and Zorlu PSM Turkcell Stage. Through these engagements, she has had the privilege of working with distinguished violinists and mentors such as Maxim Vengerov, Dora Schwarzberg, Itzhak Rashkovsky, Rodney Friend and Vilde Frang.
Elfida began her musical education in the UK in 2016 with a full scholarship to The Yehudi Menuhin School. She currently studies at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor So-Ock Kim. During her undergraduate years, she was awarded the David Martin/Florence Hooton Concerto Prize (2023) as a prize-deal, she had the privilege to play the ‘Lark Ascending’ with the 12 ensemble in Duke’s Hall. In her final year of undergraduate studies she has won the Homi Kanga Prize for the highest final recital mark in her department, as well as the Clarence Myerscough Award.
Most recently, Elfida was named joint first prize winner of the 2025 Haslemere International Strings Competition alongside double bassist Levi Andreassen. Their duo debut with the London Mozart Players is scheduled for early May 2025. Elfida is looking forward to attending the Aspen Music Festival in Summer 2025 on a full scholarship. She is grateful to be supported by Talent Unlimited.
https://www.instagram.com/elfidasuturanofficial/
Concert pianist Katya Grabova was described as a “…very fine young artist, who quite simply loves the piano” after her recent solo recital at St. Mary Perivale. Her interpretations earned recognition for its “remarkable musical and technical perfection.” (Christopher Axworthy Music Commentary)
Highlights of next season include her solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall in November 2025.
Katya has participated in and performed at major international festivals, including the Rheingau Music Festival (Germany), Tel-Hai Piano Masterclasses (Israel), “Bezszady bez granic” (Poland), and the Bowdoin Music Festival (USA). She has performed at well-known concert series such as Leeds International Concert Season and the Summer Piano Festival at Royal Academy of Music.
As a recognition of her achievements, Katya has won numerous competitions, including “Mlody Virtuos” (Poland), “Sforzando” and the Rubinstein International Music Competition (Germany), and the “Steps to Mastery,” Neuhaus Music Festival, and Nutcracker TV Competition for Young Musicians (Russia). Additionally she was honoured to receive the First Prize Grant from the Mayor of Moscow.
Sarah Williamson (clarinet) & Simon Callaghan (piano) | Lunchtime Concert | 20 November 2025 (13:00)
Sarah Williamson clarinet
Simon Callaghan piano
Programme:
Finzi — Five Bagatelles for Clarinet & Piano Op. 23
Poulenc — Sonata for Clarinet & Piano FP 184
Weber — Grand Duo Concertant Op. 48
Gershwin — Girl Crazy: I got rhythm
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available for purchase via the Tickets page.
“And the ‘icing on the cake’ was the clarinet tour de force on the concluding Weber composition from the highly acclaimed Sarah Williamson, the sheer range and magnificent technique of her performance making a fitting climax to an evening of wonderful music”
David McPhie, Buxton Festival Fringe
Sarah Williamson has toured the world, playing at major concert venues and collaborating with numerous leading orchestras. Sarah achieved international fame in 2002 following her success in the BBC Young Musician Competition and Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians. Sarah Williamson studied at Le Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with Pascal Moraguès, principal clarinettist of the Orchestre de Paris, Jean-Francois Verdier and Olivier Derbesse, graduating with the Premier Prix and a ‘Laureate’, the highest honour. She is active in the field of contemporary music, championing the music of Edward Longstaff, Philip Grange, Joseph Phibbs, Graham Fitkin, and Benjamin Baczewski. Sarah Williamson has performed and toured extensively with The Academy of St Martins in the Fields, the City of London Sinfonia, the BBC Concert orchestra, the LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra (broadcast live), the European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Brighton Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic (Classic FM live broadcast) and the Orchestra of the Swan. Sarah continued her studies at Le Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Dance de Paris, graduating with the Premier Prix and where she was awarded a ‘Laureate’, the Conservatoire’s highest honour in recognition of her reflecting her ability and musicality.
https://sarah-williamson.co.uk/
Simon Callaghan performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, in parallel with a highly successful career as a recording artist. A favourite performer at the internationally-renowned Husum Festival of Piano Rarities in Germany, Callaghan’s recent sell-out concert was praised by VAN Magazine as a “cleverly curated recital full of discoveries” and by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “technically brilliant”. Callaghan has developed a wide following and appears on a regular basis in the UK’s major concert halls, and on tours to Asia, North America and Europe.
Recital partners have included Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Nicholas Daniel, Adrian Brendel, Feng Ning, Raphael Wallfisch, Ruth Rogers, Samuel West, Prunella Scales and Timothy West. BBC Young Musician of the Year Finalist Coco Tomita and Callaghan have a successful duo partnership which saw their second record released in 2024 on Orchid Classics. He is also a founding member of the London Piano Quartet, joining colleagues from the renowned Piatti Quartet to showcase the repertoire for piano quartet with a particular focus on revivifying works that have fallen into obscurity.
He has a strong profile on BBC Radio 3 and on a variety of streaming platforms, his most recent single on Apple Music with Coco Tomita surpassing 1 million streams in the first month of its release. He is a strong social media enthusiast, using it as a form of promotion for classical music in general but seeing it as a particular tool in his advocacy of the rare and unexplored.
In 2020, Simon recorded L’histoire du Babar with actor Miriam Margolyes. The album received five stars from The Independent, reviewer Michael Church commenting that: “here, thanks to Harry Potter actor Miriam Margolyes’s artistry and Simon Callaghan’s excellent pianism, is Poulenc’s delightful musical response. And as I listened to this recording, I found the original drawings reappearing in my mind with all their detail intact – extraordinary. It lasts just 30 minutes, but my god does it resonate.” Simon Callaghan’s reputation and experience in chamber music led to his appointment as Artistic Director at London’s celebrated Conway Hall, only the sixth incumbent since the founding of the series in 1887. He is Professor of Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music, and was elected a Steinway Artist in 2012.
London Chamber Ensemble | 13 December 2025 (19:30)
Madeleine Mitchell violin
Gordon MacKay violin
Bridget Carey viola
Roger Chase viola
Joseph Spooner cello
Kirsten Jensen cello
Programme:
Schubert — String Quintet in C major D956
Brahms — String Sextet No. 2 in G major Op. 36
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available to purchase via the Tickets page.
The London Chamber Ensemble includes the UK’s most experienced chamber musicians. It was founded by violinist Madeleine Mitchell in 1992 at the request of the Vale of Glamorgan Festival to perform Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps, going on to perform at the BBC Proms. Their recording of the Messiaen with Joanna MacGregor, along with Krauze Quatuor pour la Naissance, was the widely recommended version of the work for many years. “An all star group which manages to outdo all its rivals” Gramophone
Madeleine was asked by the Alwyn Trust to put together an album for Naxos of William Alwyn Chamber Music and Song, all first recordings including Roger Chase, violist. This was followed by the London Chamber Ensemble album for Naxos/BMS of chamber music by Grace Williams (2019), all world premiere recordings, listed as Guardian CD of the Week and no.2 in the Classical Charts: “Passionate and persuasive advocacy, gripping interpretations..more please” Gramophone
The LCE were invited to appear in the Southbank Centre’s International Chamber Music Season 2020/21 in Mitchell's programme 'A Century of Music by UK Women' 1921-2021 (on youtube). This was live streamed from St John's Smith Square on International Women's Day, supported by the RVW and Ambache Trusts, with wide media coverage on BBC Radio 4, Radio 3, Classic FM, Scala Radio, The Guardian, The Independent, BBC Music Magazine, The Strad Premiere of the Month and Musical Opinion: “very fine performances of a broad range of fresh and rewarding repertoire…the players brought energy, precision and interpretative imagination”.
For the past six years the core has been a permanent string quartet with violinists Madeleine Mitchell and Gordon MacKay, violist Bridget Carey and cellist Joseph Spooner including late Beethoven for the 250th anniversary and Schubert Quintet with cellist Kirsten Jenson for the Schubert Society of GB. Madeleine Mitchell won a Royal Philharmonic Society Enterprise Award in 2022 for her creative project linking art and music in film – see youtube, including her Anglo-Russian LCE String Quartet introduced concert programme with the V&A exhibition Fabergé: Romance to Revolution. A return invitation followed, again sold out, for their quartet concert ‘French Impressions’ with the V&A Chanel exhibition. Other recent quartet engagements include the Worshipful Company of Glaziers, the Highgate Festival and recording a work by Effy Efthimiou. They opened Kensington & Chelsea Music Society season with the Quartet no.5 by Joseph Horovitz in tribute to the composer and Brahms Clarinet Quintet:
“superb high-quality chamber music-making” Musical Opinion.
In October 2024 their premiere recordings of Herbert Howells’s Quartet ‘In Gloucestershire’, 2 short pieces arranged by Madeleine, and Howells’s teacher Charles Wood’s quartet were released by SOMM to high critical acclaim: “The playing of the slow movement is perfection…the finale thrillingly realised” Gramophone recommended recordings 2024, “Full of vitality…expertly played”, Fiona Maddocks, The Observer. They performed in the international Red Violin Festival and made successful tours of South Wales and Scotland. In 2025 concerts include Music in Country Churches and Pinner Music Festivals and in 2026, Three Choirs and English Music Festivals.
Duo Ekeš | Coffee Concert | 24 January 2026 (11:00)
Ezo Sarici violin
Deniz Cengiz piano
Programme:
Szymanowski — Pieśń Kurpiowska and Pieśń Roksany
Lili Boulanger — Nocturne et Cortège
Paul Schoenfeld — Four Souvenirs
This concert takes place at St Bartholomew’s Church, Church Hill, Haslemere, GU27 1BW.
Register for free entry via the Tickets page. There will be a retiring collection in favour of The Hunter Centre for Dementia.
Duo Ekeš, featuring violinist Ezo Sarici and pianist Deniz Cengiz, is an emerging violin-piano duo praised for their compelling performances and comedic interaction with their audiences.
Duo Ekeš are dedicated to exploring the underplayed corners of the classical repertoire, with a particular passion for works by Turkish composers whose music remains largely unknown. Their performances as a duo have taken them to venues such as Duke’s Hall, the Austrian Consulate of Istanbul, and Gregynog Hall in Wales, where they hold a residency.
They have earned recognition for their artistry and musical collaboration, connecting audiences with both familiar and lesser-known works.
The duo have had several concert tours in the UK and Turkey, with the latest in December 2024 and March 2025. These included performances in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, London, Wales, and Scotland, continuing their mission to share their unique repertoire and dynamic performances with diverse audiences.
Ezo Sarici, born in 2002, is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where she now continues her Master’s degree under Professor Roman Simovic. Ezo’s career spans solo and chamber performances across Europe, with highlights including festivals such as the Sardinia International Music Festival and Aberystwyth Music Festival. She has performed at major venues such as the Royal Festival Hall and Barbican Centre and is also an emerging composer, with her folk-inspired works set to premiere at the Barbican Centre in 2025.
Deniz Cengiz, born in 2003, began her musical education in Istanbul before receiving a full scholarship to the Purcell School of Music. She is currently studying Solo Piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig with Prof. Markus Tomas and Chamber Music with Prof. Boris Kusnezow. Deniz has performed as a soloist with orchestras performing Clara Schumann Piano Concerto and has appeared at venues including Wigmore Hall and Duke’s Hall. She has received multiple awards in international piano competitions and is an experienced recitalist and chamber musician.
Elmore Quartet | Coffee Concert | 11 February 2026 (11:00)
Xander Croft violin
Miles Ames violin
Inis Oirr Asano viola
Felix Hughes cello
Programme:
Bartók — String Quartet No. 3 Sz.85
Beethoven — String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major Op. 127
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available for purchase via the Tickets page.
Elmore Quartet are supported by Kirckman Concerts.
“Style, assurance and direction from the first bar – an interpretation whose confidence and polish didn't preclude a sense of real drama"
Richard Bratby, classical writer and critic
Recipients of the prestigious Tunnell Trust Award in 2021, the Elmore Quartet is a young award-winning ensemble founded in 2017 at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Since their formation, the Elmore Quartet has been guided by some of the world's foremost chamber musicians, including Donald Grant (Elias Quartet), Petr Prause (Talich Quartet), Henk Guittart (Schoenberg Quartet), David Waterman (Endellion Quartet), and Marc Danel (Quatuor Danel).
The Elmores accepted the position as Studio Quartet at the RNCM in 2020 and in the same year, were awarded second prize in the CAVATINA Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition at Wigmore Hall. Their journey continued with their appointment as Junior Fellows in Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music from 2021 to 2023.
Over the past two years, the Elmore Quartet has recorded for BBC Radio 3 and has performed at renowned UK venues, including Wigmore Hall, Conway Hall, the Pitville Pump Room, and Oxford’s Holywell Music Room.
Adding to their accolades, the Quartet proudly launched the Elmore Chamber Music Festival in 2020, and it has since become an annual event held in the village of Elmore in Gloucestershire every August.
In 2023 the Elmores were finalists in the Irene Steels-Wilsing International String Quartet Competition in Germany, and became members of the esteemed Netherlands String Quartet Academy (NSKA). They also received multiple festival invitations, including Casa del Quartetto (Italy), Crans Montana Master Classes (Switzerland), Residart Festival (Italy) and are looking forward to attending the Vibre Festival (France) in the spring of 2024.
Presently, holding the position of Hans Keller Chamber Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, the Elmore Quartet have enjoyed a busy past year performing across the UK and Europe. Noteworthy collaborations have included performances with the Jerusalem Quartet, Elias Quartet as well as pianists Keigo Mukawa and Victor Lim.
Sitkovetsky Trio w/ Julian Bliss (clarinet) | 28 February 2026 (19:30)
Alexander Sitkovetsky violin
Isang Enders cello
Wu Qian piano
Julian Bliss clarinet
Programme:
Clara Schumann — Andante from Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor Op. 17
Chaminade — Piano Trio No. 2 Op. 34
Messiaen — Quatuor pour la fin du temps
This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
This concert is kindly sponsored by Mrs Hilary Jenkins.
Tickets are available to purchase via the Tickets page.
Sitkovetsky Trio
The Sitkovetsky Trio has established itself as an exceptional piano trio of today. Their thoughtful and committed approach has brought the ensemble critical acclaim and invitations to renowned concert halls around the world, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Palais des Beaux Arts, Musée du Louvre, l’Auditori Barcelona, Wigmore Hall or Lincoln Center New York.
Recently, the Sitkovetsky Trio received the Chamber Music Award from BBC Music Magazine. They were previously first prize-winners of the International Commerzbank Chamber Music Award and recipients of the NORDMETALL Chamber Music Award at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, as well as the Philharmonia-Martin Chamber Music Award. They have been supported by the Hattori Foundation, the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Fidelio Trust and the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation. Last season, the Sitkovetsky Trio received generous funding from the Initiative Musik as part of the Neustart Kultur programme launched by the German government.
Since 2014, a large number of recordings by the Sitkovetsky Trio have been released on the BIS Records label, including a compilation of works by Smetana, Suk and Dvořák, which was enthusiastically received by critics. This was followed by further releases on the Wigmore Live label and recordings of Mendelssohn piano trios, as well as an album with Ravel and Saint-Saëns, which was honoured with the BBC Music Magazine Award, among others.
The Sitkovetsky Trio is currently working on a cycle of all of Ludwig van Beethoven's trio works. Volume 1 has already received the Diapason d'Or ARTE.
Highlights of the 2024/2025 season include concerts in Madrid, London, Istanbul, Hong Kong and at the Heidelberger Frühling. They are also the ensemble in residence at the Beethovenfest Bonn and will be on tour in the USA and Israel.
Alexander Sitkovetsky is playing the 1679 ‘Parera’ Antonio Stradivarius Violin, kindly loaned to him through the Beare’s International Violin Society,; Isang Enders is playing a cello by Carlo Tononi (Venice, 1720) which has been kindly loaned by the J. & A. Beare Violin Society.
https://www.impresariat-simmenauer.de/en/artist/sitkovetsky-trio/
Julian Bliss is recognised as one of the world’s finest clarinettists, celebrated for his versatility as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, jazz artist, and educator. He began playing at the age of four and honed his craft at Indiana University and under the legendary Sabine Meyer in Germany.
Bliss has graced prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, Verbier, Lincoln Center, and Gstaad and performed as a soloist with leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, São Paulo Symphony, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Recent highlights include a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Bournemouth Symphony and the world premiere of Ross Harris’s Clarinet Concerto in New Zealand.
Bliss’s recording portfolio showcases his artistry and range. His recent releases include John Mackey’s Clarinet Concerto and a Schumann recital album, as well as collaborations with the Carducci Quartet and James Baillieu. Past recordings feature works by Brahms, Mozart, and Reich, and his Gershwin-inspired album I Got Rhythm with the Julian Bliss Septet received glowing reviews. The Septet’s vibrant performances of jazz and swing have thrilled audiences worldwide, from Ronnie Scott’s to Jazz at Lincoln Center.
In addition to performing, Bliss is dedicated to expanding the clarinet repertoire. Through Bliss Music, he publishes arrangements such as Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata, which is now featured in the London College of Music syllabus.
Julian is proud to be a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Performing Artist.
Fibonacci Quartet | 21 March 2026 (19:30)
Luna De Mol violin
Krystof Kohout violin
Elliot Kempton viola
Findlay Spence cello
Programme:
Haydn — String Quartet Op. 64 No. 5 in D major ‘The Lark’
Debussy — String Quartet in G minor
Schumann — String Quartet No. 3 in A major
This concert will take place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher’s Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.
Tickets are available to reserve via the Tickets page.
Fibonacci Quartet are supported by Kirckman Concerts.
Originally formed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Fibonacci Quartet are a Resident Ensemble at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid with Günter Pichler and at the Dutch String Quartet Academy in Amsterdam. Following public finals at Wigmore Hall last May, they were selected to join the Young Classical Artist Trust (YCAT) roster.
During the 2024/25 season the Quartet will perform extensively throughout Europe, including concerts in the UK, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and France. They will undertake residencies with ProQuartet in Paris and Britten Pears Arts in Aldeburgh, as well teaching and performing at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff in their position as Resident Quartet.
The Fibonacci Quartet are prolific prizewinners and have received numerous awards including First Prize in the Royal Overseas League Chamber Music Competition, First Prize in the Cavatina Chamber Music Competition, The RPS Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award, First Prize in the International Triomphe de l’Art Competition in Belgium, The Kirckman Society Award, Audience Prize at the Schiermonnikoog Festival and Special Prizes of the Shostakovich Association in Paris and Peermusic in Hamburg.
Additionally, the Quartet regularly give radio and television broadcasts including on Dutch National Television, Dutch Concert Radio, BBC Radio 3 and RAI tv, Italy. They were honoured to work closely with Kaija Saariaho on a new recording of ‘Terra Memoria’ made at the Barbican as part of the BBC Total Immersion series.
The Fibonacci Quartet are generously supported by the Escuela Reina Sofía, the Hattori Foundation, the Cosman Keller Trust, The Frost Trust and Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre in Paris.
