This Season’s Programme
Due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation, we are unable to proceed with a 2020-21 season.
Our 2019-2020 season introduction is presented below
This Season’s Programme
I am thrilled to welcome you to a new season of the Abbotsholme Arts Society – my first as Artistic Director. This season brings some familiar friends and some new faces to Abbotsholme and I cannot wait to introduce them to you.
Since its foundation by Gordon Clark, and now under the Patronage of the world-renowned cellist, Steven Isserlis CBE, Abbotsholme Arts Society has hosted some of the finest artists on the international musical scene and is today regarded as one of the foremost music clubs in the country. Set in the beautiful rural setting of the Staffordshire countryside near the cathedral city of Lichfield, our concerts mainly take place in the Abbotsholme School Chapel, where audiences enjoy hearing and seeing artists perform in a close and intimate atmosphere.
Our season begins with Leon McCawley, one of Britain’s leading pianists, who recently had a tremendous success at the BBC Proms playing John Ireland’s piano concerto. From his early days at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, Leon’s career has taken him all over the world to great acclaim, and I am delighted that he is making his debut recital at Abbotsholme this October.
In February we are privileged to welcome the outstanding Macedonian pianist, Simon Trpceski, whose programme of German and Russian masters includes Prokofiev’s powerful 7th piano sonata, ‘The Stalingrad’. The opportunity to hear this magnificent work in the intimate surroundings of Abbotsholme School Chapel is not to be missed!
Chamber music is at the heart of the Abbotsholme tradition, and we have two very different ensembles this season. The Brodsky Quartet is known as one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished string quartets. Their performances of one of Beethoven’s extraordinary late string quartets together with Debussy’s much-loved quartet, will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the season. Our other quartet, 4 Girls 4 Harps, bring us a varied and imaginative programme of music for four harps – a heavenly vision indeed!
I first met Jeni Bern when she was a student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and it has been a pleasure to follow her career on the operatic and concert stages. She is a charming and engaging performer, and will bring a varied programme of art song to entertain us. Her performance has been sponsored by a legacy gift from the estate of Margaret A Spooner, a longtime supporter of Abbotsholme Arts Society.
It is a great pleasure to be able to honour our Founder, Gordon Clark, with an appearance by the recipient of the 2019 Gordon Clark Scholar, the talented young violinist, Irène Duval, and we will also be presenting an afternoon of entertainment in the school theatre, given by the Derby Academy of Classical Dance.
Tickets can be purchased in advance or you can join the society with a subscription that will provide a saving on all the concerts. Further details including information about subscriptions and ticket prices can be obtained from the Secretary, Stuart Tetley, email: aas@tetley.org.
I look forward to seeing you at our concerts!
Simon Crookall
Artistic Director