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Three Rivers Music Society |
Important Update from
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The future of TRMS
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TRMS's recent concerts |
A celebration of Bach's music
AFTERNOON UNACCOMPANIED CELLO CONCERTS
by Purcell School Students
and
EVENING HARPSICHORD SOLO CONCERT
by Julian Perkins
held at the Baptist Church
Monday, 25 March 2024
Bowing out with a day of Bach
The finale of TRMS's 2023-24 season was perhaps the most remarkable day of music-making that the society has ever staged.
The three recitals held in Rickmansworth Baptist Church on Monday, March 25 were timed to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach, who entered this world in late March,1685.
The concerts also marked the anniversary of TRMS's founding in 1976 and the much-regretted departure of the society's programme director, Dr Steven Halls, who has helped to attract many top-class musicians to our concerts since 2016 and provided programme notes for every concert.
During the two afternoon recitals, six brilliant young sixth-formers from the Purcell School in Bushey, the country's oldest music school, played all the suites that Bach wrote for the unaccompanied cello.
Pablo Casals, the great Spanish cellist, apparently practised the six suites for 13 years before playing them in public. The Purcell students did not have that luxury but they offered their audience some remarkably sensitive and mature interpretations nonetheless.
In the evening, Julian Perkins, artistic director of the Cambridge Handel Opera, gave a bravura performance of the Goldberg Variations, perhaps the most ambitious composition ever written for the harpsichord.
Each recital was preceded by a witty talk by Dr Halls that sketched out the highlights - and lowlights - of Bach's life and career, while also dispelling some dogged misconceptions and offering up some surprising facts.
No, it's not really likely that Bach wrote the Goldberg Variations to help cure a Polish count's insomnia, he said. That is almost certainly an apocryphal tale. But yes, it is true that Bach was imprisoned for a month when he agreed to take a post with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Kothen without asking for permission to leave another nobleman's service.
It seems incredible that anyone could have treated the immortal Bach so disrespectfully. But we have the consolation of knowing that our March 25 recitals may have helped - in a very small way - to make up for the indignity he experienced more than 300 years ago.
contribution by David Budge...
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in G major BWV1007 |
in D minor BWV1008 |
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in C major BWV1009 |
in E flat major BWV1010 |
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in C minor BWV1011 |
in D major BWV1012 |
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Piano Voice Duet
Alexandra Lowe-soprano
and
Emma Abbate-piano
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Monday, 12.02.2024
Classical music was once seen as an all-male, and largely German-speaking, club. But as the latest Three Rivers Music Society concert in Rickmansworth demonstrated, those days are well and truly over.
The guest artists - soprano Alexandra Lowe and pianist Emma Abbate - presented an evening of 'Women in Song', devoted to songs written for, by and about women.
Alexandra was recently described by The Times as "stunningly assured and superbly expressive" while Emma has been hailed as "amazingly talented" by the leading Italian music magazine, Musica.
Their concert on Monday, February 12 included some works by male composers - Claude Debussy, George Bizet and Richard Strauss - but the majority of the programme will be given over to songs written by 19th and 20th-century female composers.
The best known of them, Nadia Boulanger, taught many of the leading male composers and musicians of the 20th century. Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Astor Piazzolla and Daniel Barenboim were among her students.
The music was received enthusiastically by the loyal and discerning audience at the Baptist Church concert on Monday February 12.
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Evening Jazz Concert
John Donegan
and
His Sextet
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Monday, 15.01.2024
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One of the acclaimed jazz pianist and composer John Donegan and his sextet performed from his recently publishe dalbum called Light Dreams
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Tenor/Soprano Saxophone |
Trumpet and Flugelhorn |
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Alto Saxophone |
Drums |
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Bass |
John Donegan |
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Evening Concert - Piano solo
Tim Horton
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Monday, 04.12.2023
From Pole to Pole - musically speaking
One of the country's leading classical pianists performed master works by Frederic Chopin at a concert in Rickmansworth on Monday, December 4.Tim Horton, who has played at the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall and performed with major UK orchestras, introduced his audience to compositions by Chopin's fellow Pole, Karol Szymanowski.
Though less well known than Chopin, Szymanowski is highly regarded by many musicians. The conductor Sir Simon Rattle has described him as "one of the greatest composers of the 20th century".
The programme included two nocturnes and four scherzos by Chopin and three pieces by Szymanowski that were inspired by legendary figures: Scheherazade, the Arabian Nights storyteller; Tristan, the doomed lover of Isolde; and Don Juan, the legendary Spanish womanizer.
Tim Horton is a founder member of the internationally acclaimed Leonore Piano Trio and has been a regular guest pianist with the Nash Ensemble. This was his second performance for Three Rivers Music Society.
Contribution by David Budge
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Evening Concert - Flute & Harp Duet
Daniel Ephgrave-flute
and
Valeria Kurbatova-harp
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Monday, 14.11.2023
Valeria Kurbatova on Harp and Daniel Ephgrave on flute played wonderful recitals for TRMS in the evening of Monday 14 November and delighted 50+ discerning local audience with sublime music by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Ravel.
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Evening Concert
by Symphonia Academica
led by Peter Bussereau
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Monday, 16.10.2023
Symphonia Academica Ensemble
Peter Bussereau and
Marcus Broome violins
Judit Kelemen viola
Jacqueline Phillips cello
Nicola Summerscales flute
Michael Briggs keyboard
They played -
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony No.104 in D major "The London Symphony", arranged for Flute, String Quartet and keyboard by Johann Peter Salomon (1745-1815)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Orchestral Suite No.2 in B minor, BWV 1067
1. Ouverture; 2. Rondeau; 3. Sarabande; 4. Bourree; 5. Polonaise; 6. Menuet; 7. Badinerie
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Flute quartet in DK285
1. Allegro; 2. Adagio; 3. Rondeau
Mozart Overture to Don Giovanni, arranged for string quartet by Joseph Kuffner (1776-1856)
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Andante Cantabile and Juba from String Quartet in A minor
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Afternoon Concert
by David(piano) and Steven(cello)
Halls
with Daphne Moody(violin)
held at 1.00pm in the Baptist Church
Friday, 15.09.2023
Concert celebrating music by
Dimitri Shostakovich, Frank Bridge, David Halls
and Felix Mendelssohn
A first love immortalised in music
A piece of music that the Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich wrote for his first love when he was only 16 was played at an afternoon concert that Three Rivers Music Society held in Rickmansworth on Friday, September 15.
The astonishingly precocious Shostakovich entered St Petersburg's leading music school when he was only 13 but his studies were interrupted by tuberculosis three years later and he was forced to convalesce in a Crimean sanatorium. It was there that he met Tatyana Glivenko, the girl to whom he dedicated his Piano Trio No.1 after completing the work on his return to St Petersburg in 1923.
The concert was given by a trio who are popular with the music society's audience -- pianist and composer David Halls, director of music at Salisbury Cathedral, his cellist brother Steven, and violinist Daphne Moody.
Their concert also featured a set of three charming miniature compositions by Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten's teacher, and a fourth miniature that David Halls recently wrote as a tribute to Bridge. This will be the first-ever public performance of this new work.
The other works on the concert programme were by Felix Mendelssohn (Piano Trio No.2 in C minor) and the 17th-century Italian violinist Arcangelo Corelli (Sonata in D minor).
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Evening Concert
by Thomas Bowes (violin)
narration by Dr Steven Halls
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Monday, 14.06.2023
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Stunning performance by Britain's violin virtuoso
Thomas Bowes, one of the UK's top violin virtuosi, held the TRMS audience spellbound on Monday 12 June when he gave us only the second outing of his show Paganini - Mystery, Myth and Magic. Based on performances of the first twelve of the 24 Caprices for solo violin, op.1 ("'Utterly unplayable" was the consensus when they were first published in 1821), Tom gave fascinating insights on the technical challenges each presented, then executed them brilliantly.
The performances were dotted among a thoroughly researched and well written (again by Tom) account of Paganini's life, life, loves, setbacks and triumphs all over Europe. The Narrator was the TRMS Programme Director, Steven Halls, who added amusing asides to his clear and moving delivery. The final Question & Answer session gave a further reason to applaud Tom, who modestly accepted them on behalf of himself and Paganini. Definitely an unforgettable night.
Contribution by Sue Howse.
The Programme included -
From Paganini's 24 Caprices opus 1 in the following order of play:
Nos 10,3,1,2,12 and 5
interval
Nos 9,4,7,8,11 and 6
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Evening Concert
by Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins
4 hands:1 piano
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Saturday, 13.05.2023
4 hands make light work of piano masterpieces
In Rickmansworth Baptist Church on Saturday, May 13, husband and wife pianists Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins gave a commanding classical performance not only as a good alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest but also was a superb display of agility, tonality and faultless co-ordination coupled with sublime music.
Emma and Julian presented 'Duality: four hands on one piano', a programme that included some of the finest compositions ever written for duetting musicians.
The Programme included -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Sonata for piano four hands in C Major K. 521
1. Allegro; 2. Andante; 3 Allegretto
John Field (1782-1837)
Variations in A minor on a Russian Air
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Fantasia in F minor, D.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Ma mere l'Oye
1. Pavane de la Belle au Bois dormant; 2. Petit Poucet;
3. Laideronnette; 4. Imperatrice des Pagodes;
5. Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bete; 6. Le jardin feerique
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Summer Dreams, op.47
1. The Brownies; 2. Robin Redbreast; 3. Twilight;
4. Katy-dids; 5. Elfin Tarantelle; 6. Good Night
Stephen Dodgson (1924-2013)
Tournament for twenty fingers, part 2
1. Allegretto in F major; 2. Cradle Song; 3. A Bohemian Entertainment
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Evening Concert
by John Donegan Jazz Sextet
held at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church
Wednesday, 05.04.2023
The John Donegan Jazz Sextet played a selection of tunes from their recent albums.
Steve Fishwick, Trumpet
Alex Western-King, Tenor Saxophone
Jamie O'Donnell, Alto Saxophone
Paul Jefferies, Bass
Clark Tracey, Drums
John Donegan, Piano (Composer)
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A Lunchtime Concert
by Purcell School Students
held at 1.00 pm in the Baptist Church
Wednesday, 01.03.2023
A taste of classical music at lunchtime
Students from the Purcell School in Bushey, who are among the most talented teenage musicians in the UK, returned to Rickmansworth on Wednesday, March 1 to give another of their hugely popular lunchtime recitals.
The Purcell School is the country's oldest specialist music school and it has produced no fewer than three recent winners of the BBC Young Musician competition.
This will be the ninth in a remarkable series of concerts that the school has given for Three Rivers Music Society.
The one-hour concert included music by Dvorak, Bach, Chopin and Rachmaninov, as well as works by two lesser-known composers, Marseille-born Henri Tomasi, one of the first conductors to perform on the radio, and Belgium's Eugene Ysaje, known as the "King of the Violin" in the early years of the 20th century.
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AGM
Three Rivers Music Society
held at 2.15pm in the Baptist Church
Wednesday, 01.03.2023
TRMS AGM took place on Wednesday 1 March at 2.15pm
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A Lunchtime Concert
by Purcell School Students
held at 1.00 pm in the Baptist Church
Wednesday, 07.12.2022
The Purcell School once again provided a selection of their supremely gifted pupils at TRMS's final concert of 2022. A large audience, including 40 extremely well-behaved pupils of Shepherd Primary School at Mill End, were entertained first by Tessa Ractliffe on the Saxophone, an instrument rarely heard in the concert hall. Movements from the JS Bach Sonata in C major BWV 1033 originally for flute were followed by a movement from Lawson Lunde's intriguing Sonata for Saxophone.
Even rarer at TRMS than the Sax is the Accordion, and it was a treat watching and listening to the Russian accordionist Mikhail Pankinion tackle the Second Sonata by Zolotaryov, like Lunde, a composer never before encountered at a TRMS concert, and the playing and the work itself delighted everybody.
Two pianists followed, playing widely contrasting works: Anastasia Gould tackling Ravel's impressionistic Jeux d'Eau with atmospheric finesse followed by Zev Sebastian playing the first two movements of Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 in C minor, op.13, 'Pathetique', which was written in 1798 when the composer was 27 years old. The enthusiastic applause clearly indicated the audience would have liked to hear the last movement as well.
Max Bruch's famous Kol Nidrei, op.47 for cello and piano was sensitively played by Ivanna Oliinyk and the concert was brought to a superb end by Shlomi Shahaf's virtuosic rendition of the Adagio and Fugue from JS Bach's Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor.
All in all, a fitting end to our first full post-Covid season, and the presence of performers from both Russia and Ukraine lent a poignancy to the event, showing once more that music transcends national boundaries.
contribution by Steven Halls.
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Verona Maier
Evening Piano recital on
Wednesday 16 November 2022
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John Donegan Jazz Sextet
Evening concert on
Wednesday 19 SOctober 2022
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Maggini String Quartet
Evening concert on
Friday 29 September
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Purcell School Students
lunchtime concert on
Wednesday 29 June
Musical talent at young age
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Samuel Bristow
lunchtime organ concert on
Thursday 29 May
A rare treat
on Thursday 26 May we welcomed that seldom-seen creature, an organist, to play in one of our lunchtime concerts. Samuel Bristow, now of Salisbury Cathedral and formerly from St. Paul's is more used to the mighty (and recently gloriously refurbished) Willis organ in Salisbury's vast acoustic, but he produced colour and variety on the Baptist Church's much more modest instrument, making light of any deficiencies of the instrument and giving us a performance to savour. |
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Commencing majestically with two Bach masterpieces, the Prelude and Fugue in C minor and the Chorale Prelude 'Schmucke dich', he moved onto rarities by Wolfgang Mozart: the Fantasie in F minor and his own Chorale Prelude arrangement of 'Ach Gott vom Himmel' from The Magic Flute. It was disarming to hear a virtuoso admitting the technical difficulty of these works, which latter was not apparent at all to my ears, so he must have overcome them with ease.
Felix Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata in D was a fine conclusion to the first, 'serious' half of the programme which was made more notable by Samuel's fluent and expert introductions to the works in the concert.
contribution by Steven Halls...
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Symphonia Academica
afternoon concert on
Saturday 2 April
Symphonia Academica came back to TRMS, Rickmansworth for the 3rd time and put on another exhilarating performance including Interpretation of Four Seasons by two composers almost 300 years apart..
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The Programme included Vivaldi's Four Seasons successively intermingled with Piazzolla's Buenos Aires version of Four Seasons. They ended their performance with two short pieces of encore.
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Daphne Moody (violin) Steven Halls (cello) David Halls (piano)
afternoon concert on
Wednesday 9 March
Daphne and David appeared in October 2019 to begin the cycle of Dvorak's piano trios and returned to TRMS, Rickmansworth with the more tragic No.2. David is Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral and received national media attention with his organ playing for the queues receiving their Covid jabs in the Cathedral.
The Programme included Vivaldi's Sonata in C minor for Violin, Cello and Continuo, Bridge's Three Miniatures Set, David Halls's Quodlibet on Bridge's Miniatures and Dvorak's Piano Trio in G minor.
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Rachel Roberts (viola) & Tim Horton (piano)
played at an afternoon concert
on Wednesday 26 February
On Saturday 26th February 2022, we welcomed for the first time to our series the violist Rachel Roberts accompanied by the pianist Tim Horton. Rachel is Professor of Viola at Guildhall School of Music and Drama who has given masterclasses at the Britten Pears Young Artists Programme, Dartington International Summer School, Chethams School of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
They began their recital with Robert Schumann's Marchenbilder, and gave characterful interpretations of these widely differing works.
They then tackled a work never before heard in our series, the Sonata for Viola & Piano in F min. op.120 no.1 by Johannes Brahms. One of the pieces composed in a final flare of creativity, this work was beautifully delivered, with a heart-stopping slow movement.
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TRMS's AGM
Wednesday, 01.12.2021
The Three Rivers Music Society's AGM was held in the Baptist Church, High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EH on Wednesday 1st December 2021 at 12.00 noon. |
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A Lunchtime Concert
by Purcell School Students
held at 1.00 pm in the Baptist Church
Wednesday, 01.12.2021
We at TRMS finished our 2021 concerts on Wednesday 1st December, when the Purcell School presented a concert in a different format from previously: instead of solos with their School accompanist, the marvellously talented pupils took the reins themselves, starting with the string quartet of Yinong Xiao and Maria Noskova (violins), Elsa Rapisarda (viola) and Tianao Pan (cello) performing the first two movements of Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F Major. Starting a little nervily, they really hit their stride in the second movement and we were left regretting they did not play the complete work.
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The same musicians were then joined by clarinettist Lily Payne to perform one of Johannes Brahms' last works, the piercingly beautiful first movement from his Clarinet Quintet in B minor. It might have been the stage layout but the balance was less than ideal making it difficult to hear throughout the excellent playing of Lily Payne, but it is always lovely hearing such musicians tackling one of the pinnacles of the chamber music repertoire.
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Tha advertised programme ended with an immensely stylish and bravura performance by Zaki Osahn (clarinet) and Djordje Jovanovic (piano) of Darius Milhaud's three-movement Scaramouche, the final Brasileira drawing enthusiastic applause.
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The concert ended with the young people from Arnett Hill School, Rickmansworth - and some of the more senior audience - enjoying a question & answer session with the friendly young musicians.
article written by Dr. Steven Halls
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An Evening Concert
by Thomas Bowes (violin) and
Verona Maier (piano)
held at 7.30 pm in the Baptist Church
Wednesday, 06.10.2021
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Thomas Bowes is one of the UK's finest violinists. He is very active in the realm of cinema, and millions have heard him on the soundtracks of his numerous (200+) film credits.
Verona Maier (piano)
Prize-winning pianist, harpsichordist, organist, teacher, academic, prize-jury member and adviser to movie and TV productions, it's hardly surprising that Verona Maier was awarded in 2004, the "Cultural Merit Medal - First Class" by the President of Romania.
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John Donegan Jazz Sextet
performed
at an evening concert
on Wednesday, 22.09.2021
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Jayne Walker(violin)-Steven Halls(cello)
performed
at a lunchtime concert
on Thursday, 08.07.2021
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Iain Farrington and John Reid
(piano duet)
Saturday, 29.02.2020
They performed a wildly exciting programme referred to as Lords of the Dance because it comprised a wide variety of Dance-inspired music. This evening concert was held in the Baptist Church, High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EH on Saturday 29 February. There was also a pre-concert talk. |
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Jayne Walker Piano Trio
Wednesday, 29.01.2020
Jayne Walker Piano Trio returned to Rickmansworth for her second concert.
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Purcell School (5)
11.12.2019
Lunchtime Concert
Lunchtime concert by gifted music students
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Maggini Quartet (6)
29.11.2019
The Maggini Quartet led by Julian Leaper (violin), Ciaran McCabe (Violin), Martin Outram (Viola) and Michal Kaznowski (Cello) returned to Rickmansworth for the 6th time to play Beethoven, Frank Bridge and Mendelssohn string quartets. The concert was held in the the Baptist Church, High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EH on Friday 29 November with the Pre-concert talk by Dr. Steven Halls followed by the main concert at 7.30pm. 
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John Donegan Jazz Sextet
19.11.2019
John Donegan returned with his Jazz Sextet to Rickmansworth including the much acclaimed saxophonist Tomasso Starace. The sextet played John's new compositions from his recently released album called A Kite for Kate dedicated to his youngest daughter Catherine at her wedding in Tuscany in August 2019. The concert was held in the the Baptist Church, High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EH on Tuesday 19 November at 7.30pm. 
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Hallses & Moody Quartet
26.10.2019
For the first time ever, David Halls, Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral, his daughter Caroline and his brother Steven came with their long-time friend and professional colleague, Daphne Moody to present a unique programme on Saturday 26 October and included Dvorak’s first piano trio, a baroque cantata for soprano and strings, Elgar’s obbligati to popular songs written for violin and cello. |
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A string ensemble led by
Peter Nall
13.11.2019
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One of the most remarkable musical compositions of the 19th century was performed in Chorleywood Memorial Hall on Sunday, October 13. It was a huge success; so much so that overflow seating arrangement had to be provided at the packed to capacity Chorleywood Memorial Hall. |
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A solo harp recital
by Louise Thomson
03.052019
Louise Thomson's Harp Recital on Friday 3rd May 2019 at 7.30 pm at the Baptist Church in Rickmansworth was not only the unique first of this type but was a huge success with the full audience thoroughly enjoying the whole programme including in particular, Theme from Tchaikovsky's Opéra Eugène Onégin. |
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A Jazz evening with
John Donegan Jazz Quartet
03.04.2019
TRMS welcomed back the John Donegan Jazz Quartet to Rickmansworth with John himself on the piano, highly-regarded Italian Saxophonist, Tommaso Starace, Steve Riddle (Bass) and Greg McCarthy (Drums) on Wednesday 3rd April 2019 at 7.30 pm.
The concert took place at the Baptist Church, High Street Rickmansworth with full audience who enjoyed new showcase pieces from John's latest composition - Siamsa suite soon to be released. |
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Purcell School
lunchtime performance
on 13.02.2019
TRMS with its longstanding partnership with the internationally well-known Purcell School of Music in Bushey organised yet another, 4th lunchtime concert with its students performing solo recitals on trumpet, cello, flute, piano and violin to a packed audience. We had to use the overflow balcony for the first time in 3 years. As is customary at these concerts, TRMS invited the Year 6 boys and girls from Holywell Primary School to attend the concert and both the primary school pupils as well as the audience were really impressed with the the skills and talent of the Purcell Scool student musicians. |
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The Ferio Saxophone Quartet
evening concert
on 23.01.2019
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Jayne Walker Piano Trio
a lunchtime concert
on 05.12.2018
Piano Trio with David Butterworth (piano), Jayne Walker(violin) and Steven Halls (Cello) in their 3rd appearance at TRMS in Rickmansworth played- |
Franz Schubert |
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