Concerts in the West 2009 International Handelian conductor, Laurence Cummings and soprano, Ana-Maria Rincon,  supported the Concerts in the West series. Thursday 26 February 2009 7.30pm Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset Friday 27 February 7pm Meeting House Arts Centre, Ilminster, Somerset Fundraising concert Brilliant Baroque: Sweeter than Roses Laurence Cummings harpsichord Ana-Maria Rincon soprano Handel Aure soavi, e lieti HWV 84 Purcell Sweeter than Roses Suite in C major - harpsichord solo 'Dido's Lament' The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation Handel Suite for Harpsichord in A major HWV 426 Care selve HWV 88 'As when the dove' from Acis and Galatea HWV 49 Laurence Cummings and Ana-Maria Rincon volunteered to give these concerts in support of Concerts in the West. Laurence is Head of Historical Performance at the Royal Academy of Music and Musical Director of the London Handel Festival.  Ana-Maria is one of his favourite sopranos.  Laurence conducts at Casa da Musica in Porto, at the ENO, Glyndebourne and Garsington, and appears frequently on BBC Radio 3.  Laurence Cumming's biography Ana-Maria Rincon's biography ______ Thursday 12 March 7.30pm Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset Friday 13 March 7.30pm Meeting House Arts Centre, Ilminster, Somerset Saturday 14 March 7.30pm Lower Pulworthy, Highampton, nr Hatherleigh, Devon Three of the Greats Sara Deborah Struntz violin Alexandros Koustas viola Rebecca Knight cello Alessandro Timossi piano Mozart Piano Quartet in Eb major KV 493 Beethoven String Trio in G major Op9 no1      Brahms Piano Quartet in A major Op26 Sara Deborah Struntz and Alessandro Timossi gave the wonderful concluding concert of the 2008 season. They return with their friends to give us an evening of masterpieces. Biographies of the performers ______ Thursday 16 April 7.30pm Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset Friday 17 April 8pm Meeting House Arts Centre, Ilminster, Somerset Saturday 18 April 7.30pm Hatherleigh Community Centre, Devon Making Waves Douglas Marriner Jazz Quintet Ben Mallinder saxophone Jonathan Murray cornet Ollie Hopkins double bass & electric bass Douglas Marriner drums/percussion Matt Robinson jazz piano This exciting new group of young jazz musicians is "making waves" on the London jazz scene. They are now studying at Trinity College of Music having come together from Trinity, The Royal Academy of Music, and The Manhattan School of Music in New York. They play regularly with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. The evening will give us a selection of music from modern interpretations of jazz standards to original compositions. Biographies of the performers ______ Thursday 7 May 7.30pm Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset Friday 8 May 7.30pm Meeting House Arts Centre, Ilminster, Somerset Saturday 9 May 7.30pm Lower Pulworthy, Highampton, nr Hatherleigh, Devon Miroirs Daniel Browell piano Beethoven Sonata op7  Mendelssohn Variations Serieuses Ravel  Miroirs (complete) Chopin Scherzo no3 Daniel made his BBC Proms debut this year, as part of a composer portrait live on Radio 3. He is the Leverhulme Junior Fellow in piano at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he has recently won the concerto prize and the recital prize. Daniel's biography ______ Sunday 24 May 7.30pm Lower Pulworthy, Highampton, nr Hatherleigh, Devon Thursday 28 May 7.30pm Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset Friday 29 May 11.45am Bampfylde Hall, Hestercombe Gardens, Taunton Friday 29 May 7.30pm Meeting House Arts Centre, Ilminster, Somerset Triologue, baroque trio Pawel Siwczak harpsichord, Kinga Gaborjani viola da gamba & Karin Bjork violin D Buxtehude Sonata no1 in F major from VII Sonate à doi, Violino & Viola da gamba, con Cembalo, Opera Prima JS Bach Sonata no3 in G minor BWV1029 for viola da gamba and harpsichord F Couperin Deuxième concert from Concerts Royaux Marais Sonate à la Maresienne D Buxtehude Sonata no3 in a minor from VII Sonate à doi, Violino & Viola da gamba, con Cembalo, Opera Prima A selection of Irish Folk Tunes from "A General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music Containing a variety of Admired Airs never before Published, and also The Compositions of Conolan and Carolan Collected from Harpers &c. in the different Provinces of / Ireland" (published in 1796) arranged by Triologue We welcome back Pavel and Kinga, this time with Karin Bjork an Historical Performance Specialist who qualified at the Royal Academy and Birmingham Conservatoire. Together they formed Triologue in 2006, winning the prestigious Nancy Nuttall Early Music Prize the following year. Triologue's biography ______ Thursday 2 July 7.30pm Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset Friday 3 July 7.30pm Meeting House Arts Centre, Ilminster, Somerset Saturday 4 July 7.30pm Hatherleigh Community Centre, Devon Arabesque Alasdair Beatson piano & Matthew Hunt clarinet Schumann Fantasy Pieces op73 for Clarinet & Piano Schumann Arabesque Op18 Brahms Sonata op120 no1 in F minor for Clarinet & Piano E Chausson Andante et Allegro for Clarinet & Piano (1881) Debussy Petite Pièce Saint-Saens Sonata for Clarinet & Piano Op167 Alasdair Beatson is an old friend.  He brings with him Matthew Hunt a renowned clarinettist. Matthew studied at the Guildhall School of Music, and in Paris with Pascal Moraguès. He is now a member of Ensemble 360 in Sheffield and one of the solo clarinettists of Die Deutsche  Kammerphilharmonie, the German Chamber Orchestra. Alasdair's biography Matthew's biography This page was updated on 15 September 2009

A very successful concert took place on Saturday 24 October 7pm The Arts Centre at the Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset Polio - The Forgotten Disease The Final Countdown In support of Rotary International's World Polio Day, The Rotary Club of Ilminster, in association with Concerts in the West, presents a recital given by the award-winning Anne Allen flute and Melanie Jones piano.  Anne appeared at the Meeting House in 2008 delighting and engaging the audience with her inspiring talent.  Programme: CPE Bach, Mozart, Gluck, Debussy, Faure and Elgar.

Reviews of the Concerts by Anthony Pither (Word documents) Review of the concerts by Laurence & Ana-Maria Review of the concerts by Sara Deborah Struntz & colleagues Review of the concerts by the Douglas Marriner Quintet Review of the concerts by Daniel Browell Review of the concerts by Triologue Review of the concerts by Alasdair Beatson & Matthew Hunt