Classics on the Corner

We're moving

2010-09-12T19:16:00.003+01:00

To make administration of our visitor database easier, we're moving to a new website with effect from September 2010.

For details of all future performances, point your browser to
http://www.classicsonthecorner.webs.com

Thanks for visiting.

Next Concert: Sunday 9th May

2010-05-03T21:58:00.004+01:00

Youth Music’s Endangered and Protected Species programme was a £1m initiative in partnership with The Music Group and Classic FM, putting specific musical instruments into the hands of over 5,000 children to tackle the problem of the falling numbers of young people taking up, and continuing to play, six instruments - namely, the bassoon, double bass, French horn, oboe, trombone and tuba/euphonium. Inspired by this project Kath, Graeme and Vick formed Faggottissimo, a light-hearted ensemble to bring the bassoon to the fore and in turn inspire and encourage a new generation of young bassoonists.

Katherine Nagle works with schools in Greater Glasgow and London to increase the popularity of the bassoon amongst school children. She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance with distinction at the Royal College of Music. As a bassoonist Katherine has worked with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, London Kensington Sinfonia, Contemporary Consort and is the bassoonist in the Glasgow based group, The Auricle Ensemble.

Graeme Browne grew up in the distillery village of Windygates, Fife, and started playing the bassoon at the age of 12. He is currently a fourth year BMus student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama studying with David Hubbard. Graeme would love to become a fulltime orchestral bassoonist and has already taken steps toward this by winning trials with The RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the grateful recipient of both the John Barborolli Award and a Donald Dewar Arts Award which enabled him to buy the Heckel bassoon he plays on today.

Victoria Scott was born in York and began playing the bassoon when she was 14 years old. She moved to Scotland 8 years ago to study at the RSAMD, where she graduated with an MMus (Performance). Victoria works as a woodwind and piano instructor throughout Scotland’s central belt, and regularly performs with Scottish wind quintet Amici Winds.

Recital programme:

John W. BRATTON, arr. Toddy Harman: The Teddy Bears' Picnic
Adolf BERGT: Allegro vivace
Geoffrey HARTLEY: Suite for 3 Bassoons (I. Hornpipe II. Waltz III. March)
J. H. WANHAL: Andante grazioso (from Concerto in F major for 2 bassoons and orchestra)
M. NORRIS: Dances for Bassoon Trio (I. Tango II. Rumba III. Tarantella)
Marion HOLLAND: The Lost Kilt
Dave BRUBECK, arr. David Carroll: Take Five for Three
Gilbert VINTER: Scherzo

Next Concert: Sunday 11th April

2010-04-06T10:10:00.014+01:00

Canadian Bass-baritone Trevor Bowes was born in Victoria and studied at the University of Toronto, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme and at the RSAMD with the gracious support of the Canadian-Scottish Philharmonic Foundation.

He has performed across his native Canada in opera, oratorio, recital and chamber music and has been praised for his "light but very dramatic voice" and "great potential as a singing actor". (Opera Canada). His operatic roles include The title role in "Le Nozze di Figaro", Leporello (Don Giovanni), Don Alfonso (Cosi Fan Tutte), Death (Savitri), Cadmus (Semele), Leandre (L'amour des Trois Oranges) amongst many others. He has appeared in the Aldeburgh festival as Trulove in Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" as well as in Purcell's "King Arthur" and "The Faerie Queen". Other major concert appearances include Bach's Cantata 71 under Helmuth Rilling in the Toronto International Bach Festival and the thief in Grieg's Peer Gynt with the RSNO. Trevor has also performed in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Hamburg as Fedro in Early Music Russia's production of Boris Goudenow (Johann Mattheson's 1710 version) and in Strasbourg with Le Parlement de Musique, as Nanni in Haydn's "L'Infedelta Delusa".

In 2008 Trevor joined the chorus of Opera North in Leeds where he has performed and covered various roles, most recently Despard in Gilbert & Sullivan's "Ruddigore". In addition to his full-time opera chorus commitment he keeps active as a concert singer and has in the past year sung Sarastro (Die Zauberfloete) for the Ryedale Festival and Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas) for Voices Vancouver.

He is very pleased to be in Glasgow with the chorus of Opera North working on "The Adventures of Mr.Broucek" in conjunction with Scottish Opera, and even more pleased to sing a recital whilst in town!

Before moving to Scotland in 2004, Michael was Assistant Director of Music at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Suffolk.

Michael Bawtree requires no introduction, being Director of Music at St. Margaret's. A graduate of Cambridge University and a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, he is an experienced performer and recitalist.

Michael has broadcast on BBC Radio, Radio New Zealand and Radio France Music, and given organ recitals across the UK, Europe and the USA. Michael is Director of the Glasgow Chamber Choir, Chorus Director of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union, a guest conductor for Scottish Ballet, assistant music director for the Lyrique-en-Mer opera festival in France and a member of the Academic Studies department at the RSAMD. He has conducted the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Further information can be found at www.michaelbawtree.co.uk .

The recital programme is as follows:

Hugo Wolf - der soldat 1; der musikant
Franz Schubert - der einsame
Henri Duparc -le manoir de rosamonde; la vie anterieur
Robert Schumann - arme peter (3 songs)
Franz Schubert - nebensonnen
Hans Pfitzner - nachts
J S Bach - ich habe genug
Ralph Vaughan Williams - the vagabond

Tickets cost £5, with concessions available for seniors and students. Under-16s may attend for free.

The performance starts at 3.30pm.

Special Concert - Sunday 28th March: Tamas Fejes solo violin recital

2010-03-23T08:10:00.005Z

Image (c) Wayne Cripps

We are privileged to play host to Tamas Fejes, Assistant Leader of the RSNO Orchestra and Professor of Violin at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dance, this Sunday, a special solo performance to commemorate the 150th year of the birth of J.S. Bach.

Tamas requires no introduction. His group, the Fejes Quartet, have performed several times at St. Margaret’s and have been likened to the Grammy-award nominated Takacz Quartet. They are recording their first commercial album and will grace Pollok House Art Society’s Golden Jubilee anniversary season next month.

Tamas Fejes was born into a family of musicians in Hungary and at the age of just ten was awarded second prize in the Janos Koncz national violin competition. Tamas studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and whilst there gave numerous recitals, also appearing as a soloist on Hungarian national radio and television on a number of occasions.

Following graduation, Tamas moved to London to continue his studies at the Guidlhall School of Music and Drama. In addition to leading a number of orchestras in Germany, he has given recital, concerto and chamber music concerts across the United Kingdom as well as in Austria, Germany, the United States and Hungary. After a number of years as a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Tamas moved to take up his current position.

There is no charge for entry to this performance. A retiring collection will be taken for those who wish to contribute.

The performance is at 3.30pm at St. Margaret's.

Next concert: Sunday 14th March

2010-03-09T18:38:00.004Z

The first performance of spring brings Justine Watts, leader of the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, and Stewart Webster, a member of the RSNO and the Alba String Quartet, to St. Margaret's.

Accompanied by Ed Cohen on piano and Emily Walker on cello, their repertoire will include:

J S Bach's Concerto for two violins
Bartok's Duos
Sally Beamish's Prelude and Canon
Shostakovich's Five Pieces
Sarasate's Navarra

All are welcome to the usual place at 3.30pm. Tickets cost £5 (seniors/students £3, under 16s free) and are available at the door.

Next concert: Sunday 14th February - Sean Shibe on guitar

2010-02-01T21:43:00.002Z

To call Sean Shibe a natural talent would not be an exaggeration.

Aged 15, he auditioned for musical scholarships and received offers from the RSAMD, Trinity College and the Royal College of Music in London. In addition to winning international competitions, he has been described by those in the know as "spectacularly talented" (Classical Guitar Magazine) and "the finest acoustic guitarist I have ever heard" (The Herald).

The performance is at 3.30pm on Sunday 14th February 2010. Tickets cost the usual £5 for adults (free for under 16s, seniors/students £3) and are available at the door.

Next concert: Calum Huggan on marimba - Sunday 10th January 2010

2010-01-03T15:39:00.003Z

Calum Huggan may only be 19 and look more like a pop star than a classical musician but this young man has been studying music since the age of four.

Starting with piano, he moved on to percussion in 2001 with Scott Arnott at Lenzie Academy. Calum subsequently auditioned succesfully to gain a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Junior School. Calum is currently in his 3rd year (BMus hons) at the RSAMD.

Calum is already an accomplished performer. In 2009 he won the RSAMD Governors' Percussion competition and was invited to record a solo marimba performance for BBC Classics Unwrapped which was broadcast in July 2009 on BBC Scotland.

In July 2009, Calum gave a solo concert in the Kolberg Percussion factory after studying with Jasmin Kolberg in a private summer seminar for marimba.

Calum is very much involved in teaching and workshops; he has taught children from ages 2 to 14 in Glasgow and Aberdeen with the company "Little Larks" and he also assists with the RSAMD Early Years working with children upto 7 years of age using the Kodaly approach to experential learning.

We believe this may be the first time that the marimba has made a solo appearance in Newlands. We hope you will join us for what promises to be a unique experience.

The performance takes place at 3.30pm. Tickets are available at the door.

Next concert: Sunday 13th December

2009-11-30T19:54:00.004Z

December sees Scott Mitchell (piano) paired with Yvonne Patterson (flute) performing works from Copland, Glass and Enesco amongst others.

SCOTT MITCHELL has performed widely as a chamber music pianist across three continents. He has appeared at many of the world's major music festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival and the Festival Wiener Klassik. He continues to perform regularly at the Purcell Room and the Wigmore Hall in London.

He has released CDs on labels such as Chandos Records, ASV and Collins Classics and continues to perform on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM as well as Channel 4 and the satellite Arts Channel.

In competitions, he has been awarded the Lisa Fuchsova Prize for outstanding chamber music pianist and the Eric Rice Memorial Price for outstanding accompanist, both at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London.

Scott is one of the founding members of the Cantilena Festival for Strings on the island of Islay, taking place every summer. Scott teaches piano at the Junior Department of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) where his other responsibilities include that of senior staff accompanist and chamber music coach.

Paisley-born YVONNE PATTERSON graduated with a First Class Honours Degree from the Royal College of Music in 2006 and has most recently completed her Masters with Distinction on a full scholarship at the RSAMD.

As a freelance musician and soloist, she has performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Music Orchestra and Northern Sinfonia.

Competition and scholarship success include being a finalist in the 2009 Royal Overseas League Wind, Brass and Percussion Section, 2nd Prize in the 2008 "Performing Australian Music Competition", the RSAMD Governors' Chamber Music Prize, the John McGregor Flute Prize for outstanding achievment and winner of the 2008 RSAMD Classical Concerto competition.

She is a founding member of her flute quartet "Flutes en Route". Yvonne has also played solo flute with the pop group "McFly" on numerous television shows and their 2005 Wonderland Arena tour.

Her playing has been described as "dazzling" by Michael Tumelty in The Herald.

Stuart Ellam on Pianoforte

2009-10-31T17:38:00.009Z

Sunday 8th November sees the third in this season's series of concerts.

Stuart Ellam began his musical studies at the age of six with voice and violin lessons. He has since studied piano with noted teachers in Liverpool and London and performs as soloist and accompanist in these cities and in Windsor, where he lives.

As musical director Stuart has conducted productions of Donizetti's ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’, Verdi's ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’, Gounod's ‘Faust’ for West London Opera, and 'Oh! What a Lovely War'. He staged and conducted Wagner's ‘Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg’ for East End Opera. In addition to this he has worked in musical theatre productions both as assistant conductor and repetiteur on productions including ‘Don Giovanni’, ‘La Belle Helene’, ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’, ‘The Mikado’ and ‘HMS Pinafore’.

Stuart has given great thought to the pieces being performed as evidenced by his notes:

Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-flat major "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27 No. 1:
'experimental, 'like a fantasia'; freely flowing ideas that Beethoven throws out almost like a stream of consciousness. It has an improvisatory feel about it...exuberant to begin with...moving into a meditative adagio section..giving way eventually to a boisterous fugue.'

Bach: Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue BWV 903
'one of Bach's best known works... by turns florid, emotional, sprawling and unique compared with much of Bach's output...a virtuosic firework display of brilliant passage work and weird harmonies. The fugue opens with a long, complex and chromatic theme...moving from D minor to more distantly related keys, we eventually return to D minor and to a grand restatement of the theme in the bass, ending with a final flourish reminiscent of the opening fantasia.'

Chopin: Sonata No2 Op 35 B-flat minor
The key is B flat minor, the "black key". The music is pretty intense..the well known funeral march forms the core of the work. The central section is a sublime, simple melody yet carrying a sense of sadnessm yearning. The final movement is unknown music territory: weirdness increases by many orders of magnitude. There are no chords, no harmony (at least not on the page, he’s very clever, he gets your ear to make up the harmonies as the piece moves along).'

The performance starts at 3.30pm. Tickets are £5 (free for under-16s) with concessions available for seniors.

The Fejes Quartet

2009-09-30T21:41:00.001+01:00

Fresh from their recent tour of Hungary, where their performance of Bartok's 2nd quartet was likened to the Grammy-award nominated Takacs quartet, the Fejes String Quartet will perform at St. Margaret's very soon.

Formed as a temporary arrangement as part of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra's outreach initiative, the Fejes Quartet have now found permanence in their shared love of chamber music.

Consisting of Tamas Fejes and Elita Bungard on violin, Mike Lloyd on viola and Rachael Lee on cello, these musicians are arguably rising stars on the classical music scene, evidenced by an upcoming tour in the United States and a scheduled performance in April 2010 as part of Pollock House Arts Society's ''Golden Jubilee'' anniversary season. They record their first commercial album in March 2010.

The Fejes Quartet will perform on Sunday 11th October at 3.30pm.

For further details on their impressive musical credentials, visit the Fejes Quartet website.

This Season's Concert Listings published

2009-09-27T20:22:00.001+01:00

We're pleased to announce the full programme of this season's concerts taking place on the Second Sunday of every month at St. Margaret's Scottish Episcopal Church on Kilmarnock Road.

You can find the dates of events in the panel to the right.

All performances start at 3.30pm and cost £5 for adults and £3 for seniors and students. Under 16s enter for free.

The very next event will see the Fejes quartet performing works by Haydn and Prokofiev with some help from their friends at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, setting a very high standard indeed for the rest of the year. More details here as they develop.

September, Schubert and Shakespeare

2009-09-13T22:56:00.000+01:00

An unusually balmy Sunday afternoon saw the start of our series of recitals for this season, taking place within the lofty reaches of St. Margaret's against a backdrop of woodwork and stone speckled by the brilliance of early autumn sun filtering through stained glass.

Introduced by Michael Bawtree (Musical Director of Glasgow Chamber Choir and at St. Margarets), the performers this month were Edward Caswell, baritone, who performed a selection of Schubert's last fourteen songs, accompanied by Walter Blair on pianoforte. Touching on themes of love and loss, of departure and arrival, it was a moving experience.

Edward Caswell is a widely respected chorus master and choral conductor, having trained at Oxford and the Royal College of Music in London. His recent work includes that as Artistic Director of the Philharmonia Chorus, whom he oversaw in productions with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Brimingham Symphony Orchestra.

After their performance of Schubert's Swan Song, the pair rounded the afternoon off with a cycle of Shakespeare set to music by Vaughan Williams.