2025 Concert Season
Howdenshire Music's 2025 concert series runs from April to November. We present at least one lunchtime concert every month, as well as special gala concerts which take place at weekends. This year sees an incredible line-up of musicians, including world-renowned baritone Roderick Williams and Grammy Award-winning pianist Christopher Glynn, BBC New Generation Artist Ryan Corbett (classical accordion), Classic FM 'Young Classical Star' violinist Cristian de Sa, and the celebrated Kagura Piano Trio – as well as many more amazing artists. We look forward to welcoming you!
BOOKING NOTE: Booking for the Saturday 18 October Gala Concert with Roderick Williams and Christopher Glynn is strongly recommended due to high demand.
Booking for all other events is optional but recommended.
All concerts are free to attend, with retiring donations in aid of the concert series hugely appreciated.
You can also join our email mailing list to receive regular updates and information about all upcoming Howdenshire Music concerts.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday 17 October 2025, 2.30pm-4.45pm
Vocal Masterclass with Roderick Williams (baritone)
Come along and observe renowned British baritone Roderick Williams OBE coaching four talented young singers and sharing his wealth of musical experience and knowledge with them. A fascinating insight into the behind-the-scenes workings of professional music making!
You are welcome to attend for the full afternoon, or just for part of it. There will be a short handover period after each masterclass finishes, during which audience members will be welcome to enter/exit the venue.
2:30pm-3:00pm Masterclass 1
3:00pm-3:30pm Masterclass 2
3:30pm-3:45pm Break
3:45pm-4:15pm Masterclass 3
4:15pm-4:45pm Masterclass 4
Saturday 18 October 2025, 2.30pm-5pm
Gala Afternoon Concert: Roderick Williams (baritone) & Christopher Glynn (piano)
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An unmissable afternoon with one of Britain's best-loved singers and a Grammy Award-winning pianist!
BOOKING STRONGLY RECOMMENDED DUE TO HIGH DEMAND.
Roderick Williams is one of the most sought-after baritones of his generation. He was awarded an OBE in June 2017 and was Artist in Residence with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra from 2020-22. Roderick is in demand around the world and appears regularly at leading international venues including the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Concertgebouw. He was a featured soloist at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
Grammy award-winning pianist Christopher Glynn has been praised for his ‘breathtaking sensitivity’ (Gramophone), ‘irrepressible energy, wit and finesse’ (The Guardian) and ‘a perfect fusion of voice and piano’ (BBC Music Magazine). He is regularly heard on BBC Radio 3 and is Artistic Director of the Ryedale Festival in North Yorkshire.
Programme: An English Song Winterreise
Schubert’s Winterreise (Winter Journey) is one of the most famous song cycles ever written. Here, Roderick Williams thrillingly reimagines the story of the epic Winter Journey through his own choice of songs by English composers – from Vaughan Williams and Finzi to Benjamin Britten and Judith Weir.
Vaughan Williams The Vagabond
Quilter Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Madeleine Dring Weep you no more
Finzi At Middle-field Gate in February
Vaughan Williams Linden Lea
Bridge Tears, idle tears
Parry Nightfall in winter
Gurney On the Downs
Finzi In the Mind’s Eye
Gurney Lights Out
Ina Boyle A Song of Enchantment
Gurney The folly of being comforted
INTERVAL - refreshments available
Britten Midnight on the Great Western
Roderick Williams The Angel
Judith Weir Written on terrestrial things
Finzi The too short time
Tippett Come unto these yellow sands
Elizabeth Maconchy The Wind and the Rain
Doreen Carwithen Echo
Vaughan Williams Whither must I wander?
Finzi In a churchyard
Humphrey Proctor-Gregg The stormy evening
Finzi Waiting Both
Errollyn Wallen Peace on Earth
Thursday 23 October 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Gabriella Jones (harp)
Harpist Gabriella Jones returns to Howden by popular demand!
“One of the most exciting young musicians to emerge on the concert scene in recent years"
★ ★ ★ ★ – The Guardian
Gabriella Jones is an established concert harpist and has performed at many leading venues including Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre. She was the winner of the City Livery Club Music Prize 2018, the John Marson Harp Prize 2017 and a prize-winner at the 2023 Hong Kong International Harp Competition. Beyond chamber music, Gabriella regularly plays the harp in orchestras across the UK including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Opera and Opera North.
Here, Gabriella takes us on an entrancing journey through music composed for the harp by female composers throughout the last two centuries.
Caroline Lizotte La Madone Op. 43
Judith Weir Fragile
Deborah Pritchard Seraphim
Hélène Breschand Minotaure
Henriette Renié Deuxième Ballade
Thursday 6 November 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Benjamin Frith & Heidi Rolfe (piano duo)*
We celebrate the wonderful variety of music for four hands at one piano in our penultimate concert of the season.
Benjamin Frith is one of the most versatile, respected and engaging pianists in the UK. With over 60 recordings, Frith is at the forefront of the craft of music making. Gold Medal winner of the Artur Rubinstein Piano Masters International Competition, Tel Aviv, and Top Prize Winner in the Busoni International Piano Competition, Frith has performed with many of the world's finest orchestras and conductors including Zubin Mehta with the IPO.
"Does any pianist draw a lovelier sound from the keyboard..." – BBC Music Magazine on Benjamin Frith
Heidi Rolfe has worked with many eminent pianists including the legendary Andre Gavrilov and taken musical guidance from the late Dame Fanny Waterman. She has given a Piano Duo Day at the Wigmore Hall performing four hand and two piano repertoire with her husband, Benjamin Frith. An interest in combining music and drama has also led to various award-winning performances broadcast by the BBC.
Mendelssohn 'Fingal's Cave': Overture, The Hebrides, Op. 26
Martin Ellerby Five Lowry Pictures
1: Going to Work
2: Man Lying on a Wall
3: The Elite Fish and Chip Shop
4: Meeting Point
5: Lancashire Fair: Good Friday, Daisy Nook.
Ravel 'Mother Goose' Suite
Brahms Five Hungarian Dances, Book 4
*Please note change to previously advertised performers. The Schiller-Humphreys piano duo have had to withdraw due to unforeseen circumstances, and we are delighted to welcome the renowned Frith-Rolfe duo in their place.
Thursday 20 November 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Meera Maharaj (flute) & Dominic Degavino (piano)*
Join us for a thrilling finale to the 2025 concert season with the Maharaj/Degavino duo!
Formed in 2017, the Maharaj/Degavino duo takes great pleasure in sharing flute and piano programmes across the UK. Particular recent highlights have been performances at London's St Martin-in-the-Fields and St James' Church, Piccadilly.
Flautist Meera Maharaj has played at the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms. She is Co-principal flute of Chineke! Orchestra and recently appeared as a concerto soloist at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Pianist Dominic Degavino has performed at venues such as the Wigmore Hall and at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, with ensembles including the Mithras Trio (former BBC New Generation Artists).
Bizet/Borne Fantaisie brillante on themes from 'Carmen'
Saint-Saëns Romance, Op. 37
Richard Strauss Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18
Jule Styne I Fall in Love Too Easily
Bart Howard Fly Me to the Moon
*Please note change to previously advertised performers
PAST CONCERTS
Thursday 18 September 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Hugh Cutting (countertenor) & George Ireland (piano)
"An exceptional voice: lustrous and rounded, with power in reserve and immaculate intonation" – The Times
Fast-rising star Hugh Cutting is the first countertenor ever to win the Kathleen Ferrier Award and is a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist (2022-24). Hugh has recently made his debuts at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall and La Scala, Milan, and this season will make debuts at English National Opera and The Grange Festival.
George Ireland is a graduate of the Royal College of Music. He accompanied the Kathleen Ferrier Award-winning recitals of countertenor Hugh Cutting and soprano Jessica Cale in 2021 and 2020 and has enjoyed many live performances on BBC Radio 3.
Burgon This lunar beauty
Cavalli ‘Erme, e solinghe cime’ from La Calisto
Purcell ‘One charming night’ from The Fairy Queen
Byrd 'Agnus dei' from Mass for Four Voices (piano solo)
Britten ‘I know a bank’ from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Schubert Erlkönig
Rodney Bennett 'Baby, baby, naughty baby’ from Songs Before Sleep
Hahn Les rêveries du Prince Églantine (piano solo)
Hahn Le rossignol des lilas
Hahn L'énamourée
Gershwin 'Andante con moto' from Three Preludes (piano solo)
Gershwin Prelude: Novelette in Fourths (piano solo)
Bolcom Song of Black Max
Weill Lost in the Stars
Strozzi Amor dormiglione
Thursday 21 August 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Trio Kagura (piano trio)
This exciting young trio consists of pianist Kanako Mizuno, winner of the Tokyo Piano Competition and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music; violinist Pijus Jonušas, a Junior Fellow in chamber music with the Elmore Quartet at the Royal Northern College of Music; and cellist Yuuki Bouterey-Ishido, winner of the 2018 Sir John Barbirolli Cello Prize and Sub-Principal Cello of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Trio Kagura were selected for the prestigious 2024-25 Britten Pears Young Artist programme.
The name Kagura is taken from the Japanese word for ritual music and dance that is performed to bring joy and peace to the community.
Haydn Piano Trio No. 44 in E major, Hob XV/28
Arvo Pärt Mozart-Adagio
Ravel Piano Trio in A minor
Thursday 17 July 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Trish Clowes (saxophone) & Ross Stanley (piano)
”Vital music full of swing, emotion and atmosphere … a deep understanding, a musical bond, a little bit of magic perhaps” – The Irish Times
The unique sound world of saxophonist Trish Clowes and pianist Ross Stanley, bridges classical, jazz, folk and improvisation – as heard at Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall.
Trish Clowes has released several critically acclaimed albums and is currently an Associate Artist at Wigmore Hall. Having been previously commissioned to write for ensembles such as the BBC Concert Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta, she appeared as guest soloist with the NDR Big Band (Germany) in November 2024, performing a new set of her own music.
Ross Stanley is a Yamaha artist and two times winner of a British Jazz Award. He studied at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and since then his musical skills have kept him in high demand, seeing him work with musicians and ensembles such as Eddie Gomez, Seamus Blake, the Hamish Stuart Band, BBC Concert Orchestra, Tom Jones, Maceo Parker and Alfie Boe.
Cole Porter Use Your Imagination
Ross Stanley Ashford Days
Trish Clowes Decently Ripped
Herbert Howells Gloucester Service
Geri Allen Skin
Antonio Carlos Jobim Modinha
Nikki Iles Awakening
Duke Ellington Prelude to a Kiss
Saturday 12 July 2025, 7.30-9.30pm
Gala Evening Concert: Cristian de Sa (violin) & I Musicanti (string quintet)
Classic FM star violinist Cristian de Sa has been described as "a future giant among soloists” (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam). He has performed in many of Europe’s most prestigious halls including the Grande Auditório, Lisbon with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Atheneum Bucharest, Salzburg Mozarteum and London's Wigmore Hall, and has featured on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, Magic Classical (formerly Scala Radio) and France Musique.
String quintet I Musicanti comprises some of the most experienced and respected musicians to be found in the UK, hand-picked by the group’s artistic director, international double bass virtuoso Leon Bosch. The group has recorded for the SOMM label and appeared on BBC Radio 3.
Dvořák String Quintet No. 2 in G major
Beethoven (arr. Hinde) Violin Concerto in D major
Sunday 22 June 2025, 2.30pm-3.40pm
Sunday Afternoon Concert: Giulia Contaldo (piano)
Giulia Contaldo recently performed Schumann's Piano Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 ("a dashing account" – Guardian). She has won prizes at numerous major international competitions and appeared as soloist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Manchester Camerata, as well as being chosen to participate in the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition.
Programme: "Myths, Legends and Tales"
Debussy arr. Borwick Prèlude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Liszt Two Legends
St Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds
St Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves
Medtner Cantabile, Tranquillo (from Fairy Tales, Op. 51)
Szymanowski Métopes: Calypso
Liszt Vallée d'Obermann (from Années de pèlerinage – Suisse)
Thursday 19 June 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Charlotte Rowan (violin) & Charlotte Stevenson (piano)
Born in Scotland, Charlotte Rowan was invited at age 16 to study at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA. Charlotte tours extensively as a recitalist and has performed concerti by Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Dvořák, Glazunov and Elgar. Pianist Charlotte Stevenson has performed throughout the UK and has the rare distinction of her teacher - Janette Lamb - having been taught by a pupil of Clara Schumann.
Sarasate Spanish Dance No. 7
Milhaud Brazileira from Scaramouche
Dvořák Mazurka
Michiru Oshima Memories
Tchaikovsky Lensky's Aria from Eugene Onegin
Wieniawski Scherzo-Tarantella
Scott Joplin (arr. Perlman) Ragtime Dance
Richard Strauss Morgen
Thursday 15 May 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Ryan Corbett & Djordje Gajic (classical accordion duo)
This concert was kindly supported by
"One of Scotland's most exciting young musicians"
– The Scotsman on Ryan Corbett
Ryan Corbett is a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, a Classic FM Rising Star, and gave a televised performance at the Scottish Coronation of King Charles III. A leading exponent of the accordion, he has performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, and will make his Wigmore Hall debut later this year.
Djordje Gajic began his musical studies in Serbia at the age of six and is a winner of numerous top international prizes. He has broadcast for the BBC and performed with acclaimed orchestras and ensembles including the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the BBC Proms.
Mozart (arr. Corbett) Fantasie in F minor K. 608
Stravinsky (arr. Corbett/Gajic) Petrushka
Thursday 17 April 2025, 1pm
Lunchtime Concert: Lewis Kingsley Peart (piano)
Lewis Kingsley Peart is an exciting rising star on the classical scene. Recent performance highlights include appearances at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, London's St John's Smith Square and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and collaborations with American composer Stephen Montague and British concert pianist and composer Stephen Hough. In November 2023 Lewis made his concerto debut with the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23.
Niels Gade Second Movement from Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 28
Edvard Grieg Piano Sonata
Grieg Selections from Lyric Pieces
Melody
Elegy
Notturno
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
Stephen Montague Scherzo in the Vienna Woods (world premiere)
Alfred Grünfeld Soirée de Vienne