CITY MUSIC SOCIETY
Lunchtime Concerts
Thursdays at 1.05 pm at St Bartholomew the Great,
West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE


We look forward to welcoming audiences to our concerts in St Bartholomew the Great.

This Notice contains important information about our concerts and the Covid-related measures that will be in place. If you intend to attend a concert, it is important that you observe and adhere to these measures.

Note: The following arrangements were in place at the time of posting of this page but may be subject to change according to Government regulations at the time of the concerts.

 
 
Doors open at 12.30pm.
We respectfully ask you NOT to attend if:
you or anyone in your household are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19 (raised temperature, new persistent cough, headache, runny nose, sore throat, breathlessness or loss of/change to your sense of taste or smell)
you have in the last 14 days been contacted by NHS Test and Trace as a 'close contact' to someone experiencing COVID-19
you have visited any country outside the UK in the last 14 days and been required by the UK authorities to quarantine on return.
 
In addition we ask you to:

wear a face covering at all times in the church (unless you are exempt)
sanitise your hands on arrival
maintain social distancing from others who are not in your household
follow one-way signs and indications from our stewards
keep your belongings to a minimum and with you at all times
notify us by email to leslie.east1@btopenworld.com if you develop Covid-19 symptoms or test positive
within 7 days of the concert.
 
We will continue to review the situation and adapt these measures where necessary to respond to any changes in Government guidance.

 



Printed programmes
Printed programmes will be available at the concerts.
 

Admission to all lunchtime concerts is Free.

The City Music Society Young Artists Series celebrates the amazing talent of musicians performing and studying in the UK.

Many of our artists are major prize winners, emerging from the UK's leading conservatoires, while some of the concerts mark the role of The Worshipful Company of Musicians in supporting and encouraging outstanding young musicians as they begin their careers.


Four living composers grace our Spring series while at the other end of the historical scale we will hear compositions of an 18th-century Prussian princess and a trio sonata by a mysterious ‘Mrs Philarmonica’. Altogether over 40 different composers appear in our programmes with the great Classical names – Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms – taking their place alongside some of the great French masters – Debussy, Dukas, Ravel, Ibert. And to leaven the traditional forms of concert giving we will hear unusual combinations of harp and violin and saxophone and guitar to give an extra spice to City Music Society’s Young Artists series.

A collection is made at the end of each Young Artists concert to help finance future City Music Society Young Artists concerts.

Seats cannot be guaranteed after 1.00pm.

Limited standing is permitted at the discretion of the Society.

Latecomers are only admitted during a suitable pause in the programme.

All programmes are subject to change at short notice.

The City Music Society reserves the right to refuse admission.

Please note that City Music Society concerts are not suitable for children under the age of 8 and the Society reserves the right to refuse entry to children under that age.


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30th January 2025
Roelof Temmingh piano

 Roelof Temmingh piano
Beethoven
Sonata in D (Pastorale) Op.28
Suk
About Mother Op.28
Prokofiev
Sonata No.3 in A minor (From old notebooks) Op.28

South African pianist Roelof Temmingh completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music, studying with Nigel Clayton and Dina Parakhina, and was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal. In 2022 he was The Musicians’ Company’s Constant and Kit Lambert Junior Fellow at the RCM. An enthusiastic chamber music performer he has appeared in solo and piano quartet concerts in South Africa, UK, USA, France, Spain, Sweden and Austria. His programme explores the 28th Opus of three very different composers.

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6th February 2025

Clio Trio
James Gilbert clarinet
Inis Oirr Asano viola
Alexia Eleftheriadou piano


Clio Trio
   
Mozart
Trio in E flat K498 (‘Kegelstatt’)
Bruch

Eight Pieces (V) Romanian Melody (VI) Nightsong Andante con moto

Schumann
Märchenerzählungen Op.132


Clio Trio comprises three outstanding soloists. James Gilbert is often a guest principal for major London orchestras including the LSO, BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra. Inis Oírr Asano is violist in the Elmore Quartet alongside frequent freelancing with ensembles including Glyndebourne Touring Orchestra, 12 Ensemble, and the London Mozart Players. She was The Musicians’ Company’s Biddy Baxter and John Hosier Scholar in 2022. Alexia Eleftheriadou is an award-winning Greek pianist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music and was winner of The Musicians’ Company Harriet Cohen Bach prize.


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13th February 2025

Duo 51
Oliver Wass harp
Gabriela Ockacka violin

Duo51
Link to the website of Duo 51
   

Ravel

Pavane pour une Infante défunte 

Misha Mullov Abbado

Treachery
Tarrega
Recuerdos de la Alhambra 
Enescu
Languir me Fais 
Ravel
Tzigane


Playing instruments that between them possess 51 strings, Duo 51 perform amazing transcriptions of familiar works such as Ravel’s Tzigane in this programme. But they are also passionate advocates of contemporary works for their combination, such as Misha Mullov Abbado’s Treachery, written specially for them. Oliver Wass was the first harpist to win the Guildhall School’s Gold Medal and a recipient of The Musicians’ Company Silver Medal.



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20th February 2025

Trio Havisham
Magdalena Riedl violin
Seth Collin cello
Zany Denyer piano


Trio Havisham
The Musicians’ Company Maisie Lewis Young Artist Concerts
   
Nico Muhly
Common Ground
Schubert
Adagio in E flat major D897
Brahms
Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor Op. 101

Trio Havisham is an award-winning ensemble, founded by Zany Denyer and Magdalena Riedl in 2019, with Seth Collin joining in 2024. Their performances have been described as having ‘real flair while never losing that sense of balance’. They enjoy a diverse concert activity across the UK, and were awarded The Musicians’ Company Maisie Lewis Concerts Award in 2023.

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27th February 2025

Nikita Burzanitsa piano

Nikita Burzanitsa
   
Beethoven
Sonata No.32 in C minor Op.111
Skoryk
Prelude and Fugue in F major
Brahms
Variations on a Theme of Paganini (Book 1) Op.35
J S Bach arr. Myra Hess
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring


Ukrainian-born Nikita Burzanitsa was awarded the Beethoven Medal by The Musicians’ Company in 2022. Hailing from Donetsk and pursuing studies at Wells Cathedral School and the RCM, Nikita has won major prizes in competitions in Italy, France and Austria. His programme includes works that were favourites of Dame Myra Hess whose birthday was on 25th February and who is celebrated in a new biography by Jessica Duchen
.

Concert sponsored by Kahn & Averill
Kahn+Averill




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6th March 2025

RCM Wind Ensemble
Marie Lloyd director

RCM Windf Ensemble

   
Dukas (arr Kerry Camden)
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Simon Bainbridge
Paths and Labyrinths
Paul Patterson
Three Little Pigs Op.92
 
For its annual visit the RCM Wind Ensemble brings one of the most familiar orchestral works in a sparkling arrangement for winds alone.
Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a remarkable character piece, made famous in Disney’s Fantasia. Paths and Labyrinths is a fascinating piece for double reed instruments – oboes and bassoons – while Paul Patterson’s musical version of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhyme will round off the concert with humorous and surprising turns of phrase.

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13th March 2025
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CONCERT WILL TAKE PLACE IN ST GILES CRIPPLEGATE, FORE STREET, BARBICAN, EC2Y 8DA

Ensemble Augelletti
Olwen Foulkes recorders
Ellen Bundy violin
Carina Drury cello

Toby Carr lutes
Zany Denyer harpsicord

Ensemble Augelletti
 
‘In Friendship’

Anna Amalia of Prussia

Fugue in D Major

J F Fasch

Sonata in D major. FaWV N:D1

Mrs Philarmonica

Trio sonata in D major

Geminiani

‘Lady Ann Bothwell’s Lament’ and ‘Sleepy Body'
(from A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Musick)

J S Bach

Sonata no.6 in C major BWV530

Telemann

Concerto no.1 in G major TWV43:G1

Founded in 2019 Ensemble Augelletti are current BBC Radio 3 New Generation artists and are also City Music Foundation Artists. They specialise in creating innovative programmes related to every-day stories of people living in the 18th century. The Ensemble performs regularly in festivals throughout the UK and released their debut CD in 2022.


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20th March 2025

The Tondo Duo
Sophia Elger saxophone
Declan Hickey guitar


The Tondo Duo
   

Debussy

La fille aux cheveux de lin
Piazzolla
Histoire du Tango
C P E Bach
Oboe Sonata H.549
Ibert
Entr’acte
Fauré
Dans les ruines d’une Abbaye - Après un reve

Stephen Goss

Motherlands

Gershwin

I Got Rhythm


A graduate of the Royal College of Music and a former Musicians’ Company Biddy Baxter and John Hosier Trust scholar, Sophia Elger has joined forces with guitarist Declan Hickey to explore an eclectic repertoire with emphasis on the living composer. Here they present a programme with a French tinge plus a touch of Argentinian tango and Gershwin pizazz.



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27th March 2025

Waldstein Piano Trio
Greta Papa violin
Miguel Angel Villeda cello
Christos Fountos piano


Waldstein Piano Trio
 

Beethoven

Trio in C minor Op.1 No.3

Fauré

Trio in D minor Op.120

Winners of several international awards the Waldstein Piano Trio have enjoyed remarkable success since their formation. After winning the Cavatina Intercollegiate Chamber Music Prize in the Wigmore Hall in 2022 they were offered a Fellowship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, and in 2024 they received the Grand Prize in the chamber music category of the Manhattan International Music Competition. This presented them with a debut recital in Carnegie Hall in New York, two years of management and funding for a CD recording.

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City Music Society concerts resume on Thursday 18th September 2025 at 1.05pm at
St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE.
 
 
18th September 2025

THE MUSICIANS’ COMPANY CONSORT
Adrian Butterfield director

Batterfield
   

J S Bach

A programme of cantatas by J S Bach
 
 
 

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For further information about these concerts please contact
Leslie.East1@btopenworld.com

Latest update: 02 January 2025