Hornsea Music Society’s 2017/18 season got off to a flying start on Saturday 16th September with a concert from Italian pianist Graziana Presicce and clarinettist Rae Todd. Both the performers are PhD students at the University of Hull, and have played for the Society’s concerts before, so a high standard was assured.
Graziana had had a very busy week, which included her PhD recital, exploring visual imagery in piano music. As a result, it was not practical to play as many items together as the two friends would have liked, so Rae was accompanied by Jakob Fichert for some of his items. The team were ably supported by page turner, Ilina Ivancheva.
The result was a stunning concert. There was a good mixture of music, including well known items from Schumann, Mozart and Debussy, and some lesser known composers such as Alan Ridout. Rae particularly likes to champion composers who are less well known, especially those with local connections. To this end, we heard a bright and lively concertino by Vinter, who is from Rae’s native Lincolnshire.
Some music loses something when arranged for a different set of instruments. Rae showed that the first movement of Mozart’s famous clarinet concerto in A is not one of those pieces. Jakob did an excellent job of representing the entire orchestra to support Rae through almost half of the entire concerto.
Graziana’s selections were influenced by her recent research into visual imagery. Janáček’s In the Mists was a prime example of an emotional piece, written while the composer was living through a difficult time. Different perspectives on the theme of imagery were illustrated by Debussy’s Ondine, which was inspired by some Arthur Rackham illustrations, and a suite describing Naples. Graziana said she couldn’t think of a composer better placed to describe this vibrant city than Poulenc.
Graziana and Rae will be returning to Hornsea on Saturday 24th March for the final concert of the season, with their colleagues from the New International Chamber Ensemble (NICE).
Before then, why not come along to the next concert. Unfortunately, violinist William Dutton has had to cancel, but Scarborough’s keyboard Maestro Frank James will fill the gap. The concert, which will be titled Frank James and Friends, will be at Hornsea United Reformed Church on Saturday 21st October, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10 each, and are available from The Town House in Newbegin, Hornsea, or the Tourist Information Centre in Beverley. Accompanied children are admitted free of charge. The Hornsea Music Society are grateful to The Rotary Club of Hornsea and East Riding for their sponsorship of this concert. Frank James Returns Hornsea Music Society are delighted to welcome Scarborough’s keyboard Maestro Frank James for the October concert.
“We were planning William Dutton, who won the Strings Final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition in April 2014,” says the Society’s Chairman, Roberta Loades. “Unfortunately, he has had to cancel at short notice, owing to unforeseen circumstances. We are very lucky that Frank James has agreed to step into the gap. The details of the concert are sketchy at this stage, but Frank has told us we can get the ball rolling under the title of Frank James and Friends.” Frank trained as a pianist and organist first as a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, then as Music Scholar at Sherborne School, Dorset, where he became an Associate of the Royal College of Music while in the Sixth Form. Having been encouraged to read for a ‘proper degree’ at Oxford (Literae Humaniores – Latin, Greek, Ancient History and philosophy), along with playing a lot of music, he taught in a variety of schools before going freelance as a musician. He has played a number of concertos with local orchestras, including, among others, Rachmaninov 2, Beethoven 3 and 5, and Prokofiev 3.
As well as giving solo piano recitals, which feature a very wide variety of music, Frank is accompanist and Musical Director for the Library Concerts in Scarborough, Official Accompanist for Whitby’s well-established Eskdale Festival, and a regular accompanist for the lunchtime concerts at St John’s Burlington in Bridlington. He is also accompanist for local choirs, and is also well known for his pre-concert talks.
Frank’s local concerts mean that he is well placed to find talented frie3nds to bring at short notice. The concert, which is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hornsea and East Riding, is sure to be a treat.
The concert will be at Hornsea United Reformed Church on Saturday 21st October, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10 each, and are available from The Town House in Newbegin, Hornsea, or the Tourist Information Centre in Beverley. Accompanied children are admitted free of charge. International Pianist and Vocalist Ross Jutsum Fundraiser International Pianist, Ross Jutsum who’s played in over 500 cities worldwide is coming to Hornsea in October. Ross has kindly offered his services to hold a special concert at Hornsea United Reformed Church on Saturday 14th October. The event starts at 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments) and tickets are priced at £6 each available from Bridlington Spa Box office www.bridspa.com or call 01262 678285. All funds raised from the evenings will go towards supporting Hull & East Yorkshire (HEY) Children’s Universities work locally.
Come along and join us for this special evening, listening to many genres of music, classical to rock and roll, jazz to gospel, blues to country, sure to delight young and old alike!
Ross heard about the work of local charity HEY Children’s University, and the impact it has had upon children coming from some of our most rurally isolated communities, as we strive to raise their aspirations for the future by providing a range of unique and exciting outside-the-classroom learning experiences. These include visits into local industry to experience the world of work and careers available, learning where food comes from by visiting Densholme Care Farm in Great Hatfield; to some of our larger experiences as we take full classes of children down to London on the train, having a Kip on a Ship aboard HMS Belfast, to becoming an astronaut for a day on a visit to the Star Centre at Keighley.
HEY Children’s University expanded into the East Riding of Yorkshire in September 2016 working with 10 schools, including 6 schools from Bridlington, Hornsea, Withernsea, Easington and Welton. Over the academic year, Lisa Whitton, East Riding Manager of Hull Children’s University has taken 1,097 children from the East Riding of Yorkshire on 43 learning experiences.
Lisa said, “I am keen to build upon our work locally. It’s been incredible to see children grow in confidence before our eyes on Children’s University experiences. Children regularly tell us they’ve had the best day ever, and words such as wow and epic are a regular feature. As a result of our efforts, teachers report increased levels of motivation towards learning, as we reinforce the importance of their current work in school, and help them believe they can succeed and achieve their dreams for the future.”
The fundraising concerts have been made possible through local farmer, Denys Fell, of Densholme Community Care Farm and friend of Hull Children’s University and Ross Jutsum. Come along and join us for what promises to be a great evening and help support the continuation of our work in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
