The CONCERTS IN THE WEST series of MINI-TOURS offers a broad spectrum of Classical and Baroque chamber music. Concerts in the West was started in 2006 and as with many organisations it has grown in the work that it undertakes and has many plans for the future, particularly in the area of education. We feel that there is an audience for Classical Music of all types, but it has to be nurtured early, even if it takes some years to bring the two together. We are delighted to be working again with the Centre for Young Musicians, Taunton in 2019. Concerts in the West aims to bring talented young musicians to small venues in the West Country in areas that may not have easy access to music of this quality. Small intensive tours, in Devon, Dorset and Somerset, are arranged for the musicians over a few days, when they have the opportunity to work on new repertoire, or to embed works more fully for upcoming recordings and major concerts elsewhere. The enthusiasm and skill of these young people is breathtaking and has come about through many years of study (at least to postgraduate level), dedication and hard work. We feel very priviledged to hear them in such intimate settings. The music played at the concerts is enormously varied and gives local audiences a wonderful opportunity to hear both familiar and unusual works for voice and instrument in many combinations.
CONCERTS IN THE WEST 2019 SUPPORTING SOME OF THE BEST YOUNG PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS WORKING IN THE UK. FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE VENUES AND BOOKING PLEASE GO TO THE BOOKING/VENUE INFO PAGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EACH TOUR PLEASE TO THE EVENT PAGES.

TOUR 14, 15, 16 FEBRUARY 2019 WELLHAYES VINEYARD - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - CREWKERNE TRIO SŌRA PAULINE CHENAIS PIANO MAGDALĒNA GEKA VIOLIN ANGÈLE LEGASA CELLO

TOUR 14, 15, 16 MARCH 2019 WELLHAYES VINEYARD - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - TAUNTON SARA DEBORAH & FRIENDS SARA DEBORAH TIMOSSI VIOLIN LUCY SCOTCHMER CELLO JOHAN LÖFVING THEORBO

TOUR 4, 5, 6 APRIL 2019 ILMINSTER - BRIDPORT TAUNTON - CREWKERNE MĒLA GUITAR QUARTET MATTHEW ROBINSON GEORGE TARLTON DANIEL BOVEY JIVA HOUSDEN


TOUR 2, 3, 4 MAY 2019 WELLHAYES VINEYARD - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - CREWKERNE ALASDAIR BEATSON PIANO & ELISSA CASSINI VIOLIN

TOUR 13, 14, 15 JUNE 2019 LYME REGIS - BRIDPORT TAUNTON - PENDOMER MORIARTY WINDS ANNA KONDRASHINA FLUTE AMY ROBERTS/JAMES HULME OBOE MATTHEW WILSHER CLARINET ANGHARAD THOMAS BASSOON JOEL ROBERTS FRENCH HORN

TOUR 4, 5, 6 JULY 2019 WELLHAYES VINEYARD - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - CREWKERNE CLARE HAMMOND PIANO

TOUR 5, 6 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 TAUNTON - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - CREWKERNE EUSEBIUS QUARTET BEATRICE PHILLIPS VIOLIN VENETIA JOLLANDS VIOLIN HANNAH SHAW VIOLA HANNAH SLOANE CELLO

TOUR 3, 4, 5 OCTOBER 2019 WELLHAYES VINEYARD - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - CREWKERNE NATHANIEL BOYD CELLO & SIMON LANE PIANO



TOUR 31 OCTOBER, 1, 2 NOVEMBER 2019 TAUNTON - BRIDPORT ILMINSTER - CREWERNE CONSONE QUARTET AGATA DARASKAITE VIOLIN MAGDALENA LOTH-HILL VIOLIN ELITSA BOGDANOVA VIOLA GEORGE ROSS CELLO

15 NOVEMBER 2019 ILMINSTER ARTS CENTRE RUISI QUARTET ALESSANDRO RUISI VIOLIN OLIVER CAVE VIOLIN LUBA TUNNICLIFFE VIOLA MAX RUISI CELLO

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EUSEBIUS QUARTET 5th September 2019 More Details

THE WEBSITE WAS UPDATED ON 17 AUGUST 2019

JOIN US FOR WONDERFUL MUSIC AND DAZZLING LIVE PERFORMANCES IN INTIMATE AND UNUSUAL VENUES.
Six very different tours have given us great pleasure over the last few months. TRIO SŌRA, SARA DEBORAH & FRIENDS, MĒLA GUITAR QUARTET, ALASDAIR BEATSON & ELISSA CASSINI, AND MORIARTY WINDS AND CLARE HAMMOND. EUSEBIUS QUARTET Please join us for the beginning of our Autumn season. The four founding members of the Eusebius Quartet first met as teenagers while studying before going their separate ways. They then reunited in 2015 to form their extraordinary quartet, which is named after Eusebius, a dreamy fictional character created by Robert Schumann. All the musicians share a passion for the intricate music written for quartets, but equally they are not afraid to experiment with other different styles of playing and enjoy studying early Haydn editions as well as string quartet recordings made in the twenties and thirties. They are undoubtedly making a name for themselves with their imaginative and communicative performances and in 2018 they were finalists in the Royal Overseas League Competition. They were also the resident string quartet at the Lewes Chamber Music Festival 2016 and 2017 and at FitzFest, Fitzrovia’s newest music festival playing quartets by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Haydn and Bartók. They have also appeared at numerous London venues including Conway Hall, St James’s Piccadilly, the Foundling Museum, Blackheath Halls as well as other venues across the country. The Eusebius Quartet enjoys exploring new repertoire and experimenting with new styles of playing. They have performed with Alasdair Beatson (who played for us in May) and clarinettists, Matthew Hunt and Michael Collins among others. They are keen to share their love of chamber music with young people, setting up several projects with schools in London and Lewes. However on this tour they will be working with the Centre for Young Musicians Taunton. The 2020 SEASON is almost planned and will appear in an enews in the coming weeks. Please look at the event page to see where each group is going and when. Each tour has its own event page. Please check the Booking/Venue Info page and Event pages for the exact venues as there are two in Taunton and two in Ilminster and the pattern is not necessarily the same for all the venues as in previous seasons. If you find it difficult to navigate the website just get in contact by email concertsinthewest@gmail.com Booking is open for all the tours. Regular enews will be sent out before each tour. Catherine Maddocks DIRECTOR
TAKING PART IN CONCERTS IN THE WEST I am often approached by musicians interested in taking part in the Concerts in the West series. You can contact me, Catherine Maddocks, concertsinthewest@gmail.com Applications will be considered carefully but as we only have eight to nine tours a year I can make no promises. You will need to send me a CV, a concert biography and a photograph. Our performers have generally been trained to a minimum of post-graduate conservatoire level and are in the process of establishing themselves in the profession and are therefore usually within the age range of 20 to 35. A little warning: we are not able to pay big fees as we often play in small, intimate venues; are a charity; and out of London, where life is very different. The concerts can be a useful way of establishing new repertoire and having a working holiday in beautiful surroundings. If you are still interested get in touch! I am not always able to reply immediately but will do when I can! 8 MORGANS RISE - BISHOPS HULL TAUNTON - SOMERSET - TA1 5HW 01823 252658 / TEXT 07776 995789
HISTORY OF CONCERTS IN THE WEST CONCERTS IN THE WEST started in 2006 when I was asked if I would like to organise a concert in Ilminster as there was no Classical music being performed there at the time. As I was very new to the town it seemed like a good way to meet people and so it proved! One concert quickly became four in the first year with Lyme Regis joining in. We have continued inviting young professional musicians to perform for us as they are embarking on a difficult and demanding career. When we started CONCERTS IN THE WEST I was still Festival Director of the London Handel Festival, from which I retired in June 2016. Working with very fine musicians in London I was determined to have a very high standard of performance in the West Country. The musicians, all of whom are trained to at least postgraduate level, find the tours quite useful in embedding repertoire and working towards recordings or a big concert in London. If you are interested in seeing who has performed over the years you will find listings and photos under PAST CONCERTS 2006-18. 2018 has been another wonderful year of concerts; each tour very different. I would like to thank all the musicians who came to perform for us. We were delighted to be able to work with the CENTRE FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS TAUNTON. Three groups worked with the children and we also put on our first Masterclass with Erdem Misirlioglu. We are planning at least two workshops in 2019. 2019 will bring another nine tours to the West Country plus one extra concert in Ilminster. Ten musicians have been before and the remainder are new to Concerts in the West. You can see the list opposite. We started putting on concerts in ILMINSTER ARTS CENTRE . We then added two other main venues - BRIDPORT ARTS CENTRE (since 2011) and Lower Pulworthy (2007-2018). We also spent many years in Lyme Regis at the Marine Theatre (2006-2016). In addition we branch out for single concerts to out-of-the-way places - in 2019 we will go to PENDOMER near Yeovil, UPLYME Church, Lyme Regis and St Peter and St Paul, BISHOPS HULL, Taunton. We now have three more important venues to add to the list and we hope to build audiences in all of them - CICCIC in Taunton (2018 - four concerts planned for 2019) and THE DANCE HOUSE in Crewkerne (The Dance House @anitasalsita (since 2016 - seven concerts planned for 2019). The latest is WELLHAYES VINEYARD near Waterrow/Wiveliscombe where we will do five concerts. There will be lots of wonderful music for people living in the three counties of Devon, Dorset and Somerset. CONCERTS IN THE WEST is run by a small group of Trustees. They are all very committed and hands-on, bringing their expertise to the charity. We are also indebted to our hosts who look after the musicians during their stay as we could not afford hotels or B&Bs. We are a small charity and, as with many arts organisations, have to work hard on the finances and fundraising and are very grateful to those that support us and without whom we would not survive! As our venues are not big and often in towns and villages with relatively small surrounding populations, ticket sales only cover about half the costs of running the series. In addition to paying our performers we need to publicise the concerts, which involves advertising and print. Then there are other costs like piano tuning and venue hire. If you feel you can help us financially please get in touch. CATHERINE MADDOCKS (HODGSON)
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CONCERTS IN THE WEST. In order that we can continue to communicate with you about concerts we need to know that you are happy for us to do so. We would be grateful if you could read our letter and Policy document. Details are in this LETTER . Please click on POLICY for more information about how we use and look after your data. If you are not able to access these documents please let me know and I will email them to you.
You can see details on the individual tour pages and booking details for the concerts can be found on the BOOKING/VENUE INFO page. If you would like to see who has played for us before you can see a brief view under the button PAST CONCERTS 2006-18. You can reach me on concertsinthewest@gmail.com CATHERINE MADDOCKS (HODGSON)

PATRONS

FOUNDER PATRON
SIR NEVILLE MARRINER CH, CBE
(15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016)

ALASDAIR BEATSON
LAURENCE CUMMINGS
DAME EMMA KIRKBY
ANDREW MARRINER

BOOKINGS FOR 2019 WILL START IN JANUARY - DETAILS ON HOW TO BOOK WILL BE ON THE BOOKING/VENUE INFO PAGE.

SUPPORT FOR CONCERTS IN THE WEST

DOWNLOAD HERE for the Concerts in the West Supporters' leaflet. You can also pay by BACS. If you would like to do so please email me for details.

A NOTE FROM SIR NEVILLE MARRINER
Concerts in the West goes from strength to strength, providing a much needed service, bringing the best young musicians to perform music from jazz to Monteverdi.

A NOTE FROM LAURENCE CUMMINGS
I am proud to be a patron of the Concerts in the West series. They provide high quality music-making, supporting and encouraging the younger generation of musicians who reap huge benefits from this high-profile platform. The programming is highly imaginative and the venues are so charming that the series also manages to draw in audiences who are not so familiar with the enriching qualities of classical music as well as the die-hard fans.

REVIEWS
You will find a review of each tour on the
Event page concerned.

QUERIES
If you have any queries please contact us on 01823 252658 or concertsinthewest@gmail.com

ADVERTISING IN THE SERIES PROGRAMME
If you are interested in taking space in the annual printed programme for the series please contact Catherine Maddocks (Hodgson) by email.

BANNER PHOTOGRAPHS
Some of the banner photographs were taken by Tris Pinkney and Chad Williams at rehearsals at various venues, others by Catherine Maddocks.

ENEWS
If you would like to join our enews list please click on the link at the bottom of this page, which should take you to MAILCHIMP where you can sign up. We send out reminders about upcoming concerts. If you are not able to make this work please email us and we will do it for you.

NEWS
To all our musicians: if you have some exciting news please let us know and we will pass it on via our enews.

TWITTER - @ConcertsinWest

FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com/ConcertsintheWest

LINKS
Links to the performers are on the relevant event page.

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Our season has got off to a brilliant start with Trio Sora in February and Sara Deborah and Friends in March. The w? t.co/Q96Ybgx8lA

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Concerts in the West 2019 runs from 14 February to 15 November. All these wonderful musicians will be coming to the? t.co/Zeo7y5e7Mv

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Moriarty Winds @moriarty_winds, Clare Hammond @clare_pianist, Eusebius Quartet @EusebiusQuartet, Nathaniel Boyd & S? t.co/6xxOhBx9Bp

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