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What's On 2023 | Saturday 5th August 7:30 pm
Toby Hughes
Nurry Lee
Waynne Kwon
Toby Hughes
Full Programme Information
Toby Hughes & Nurry Lee - Giovanni Bottesini Capriccio di Bravura
Toby Hughes & Nurry Lee - Johannes Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor op. 38 (Arr. for Double bass)
Ellie Consta, Connie Pharoah, Waynne Kwon, Toby Hughes & Nurry Lee - Ralph Vaughan Williams - Piano Quintet in C minor
Toby Hughes
In 2009 at the age of sixteen, Toby was invited to study at the combined universities of Lausanne, Fribourg and Sion with Professor Božo Paradžik. In his second year at university, he was awarded the ‘Future Talent’ Coombs Scholarship by the Duchess of Kent and in May 2011 was the winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ‘Julius Isserlis Scholarship’ which enabled him to continue with his studies. In the autumn of 2011, he moved to Berlin, where he studied with Matthew McDonald, principal bass of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2012 Toby returned to the U.K. to continue his studies with Juří Hudec at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, graduating in 2015 from the International Artists Diploma course.
After his return to the U.K. Toby won numerous competitions and awards, in 2013 he won Chandos Symphony Orchestra's ‘Young Musician of the Year’, the string section of the 2014 Royal Over-Seas League Competition (the first double bassist ever to do so), in 2016 the Bromsgrove International Competition and in 2018 won the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition.
Toby has performed with major international orchestras both in Europe and the U.K. Having been awarded support from The Tillett Trust, The Musicians' Company and Making Music, his recital engagements have included appearances at Wigmore Hall, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, The Edinburgh Festival and at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Toby has been a City Music Foundation artist since 2018 and his debut CD was recently released on Champs Hill Record label.
Nurry Lee
Nurry Lee is a South Korean - British pianist who began studying the piano at the age of six with her mother. Three years later, she won her first concerto competition at the age of nine.
Nurry was awarded the Milstein Award while attending the Royal College of Music in London and was generously supported by F.W Wright Pianos while completing her Artistic Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. During her time there, she won first prize at the RNCM Chopin Competition.
Praised as being a ‘wonderful pianist’ by Grammy-winning American classical pianist Emanuel Ax, Nurry has performed all across Europe, the U.K., Asia and West Africa.
She has played on BBC Radio 3 with her piano trio, Trio Rouge and made her recent debut in Seoul, South Korea, to a sold out concert hall.
Ellie Consta
Named as one of Classic FM’s 30 under 30 ‘Rising Stars’, Ellie Consta is a Greek-British violinist and arranger based in London who enjoys performing in a variety of musical genres.
Ellie’s versatility and diverse range of interests means she works regularly with renowned orchestras and ensembles, as well as chart-topping artists and bands. Recent highlights have included directing Sinfonia Cymru as a chamber orchestra without conductor, appearing as guest principal 2nd for both the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Ensemble, touring with Louis Tomlinson, and writing and recording strings for Jordan Rakei and Flyte. Ellie is also a member of the pioneering 12 Ensemble and has been offered orchestral positions with the CBSO and ESO.
In 2020, Ellie founded Her Ensemble: a free-form collective shining a light on music written by women in response to the discovery that in 2019, just 3.6% of the classical music pieces performed worldwide were written by women.
Connie Pharoah
Connie is an exciting British Violist, performing across Europe as a soloist and leader, and internationally as a chamber musician. Connie has a wealth of chamber music experience and enjoys putting together collaborative chamber concerts. Her artistic and conceptual approach has been largely influenced by musicians she has played with at festivals and residencies, namely Yellow Barn, Maiastra, AIMS, Lac Leman, Llandtwitt and Zermatt Music Festival.
Having performed as a soloist in the 2019 and 2022 IMS Prussia Cove seminar concerts, Connie frequently attends the IMS Open Chamber Music sessions. This year, Connie’s performances as a soloist in the Schiermonnikoog festival prompted an invitation to perform at the Het Concertgebouw. Last year, Connie featured in the album Soliloquies with Maria Hegele and Anna Szalucka, playing Frank Bridge’s Songs for voice, viola and piano. Based in Amsterdam, Connie is a member of the Marigold Piano Quartet who last year made their debut concert at the Concertgebouw de Vereeniging in the Netherlands and who’s members are often invited to play concerts as a string trio. The quartet stands for a passionate and sincere approach to the chamber music repertoire, playing works from all different periods. They are supported by the NSKA scheme and are strongly influenced by Eberhart Feltz who has been an encouraging mentor. Connie was previously the violist of the Ebenos and Serpentine Ensembles, both of whom explored a combination of wind and string repertoire. She has also performed at Wigmore Hall as a member of the RCM Chamber Musicians, given multiple concerts with the Sepia Quartet and premiered contemporary chamber music with the Echo Ensemble.
As a leader, Connie enjoys playing in a wide variety of groups ranging from chamber to symphony orchestras. Her inspiring experiences performing with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, O’Modernt Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Octave Ensemble, 12 Ensemble, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic led her to found the Seida Ensemble. The ensemble have made notable performances as an unorthodox unconducted twelve piece string group, which uses music as a force of activism, connectivity and community, and aims to broaden the classical music landscape whilst bringing hope and change to the wider society.
As a violinist she has regularly played with the Capital Orchestra which engages with popular and jazz culture and collaborates with emerging artists, creating innovative methods of musical development. She has also worked closely with popular artists and producers such as Joy Crookes, Max Pope, Hilts and Ezra Lloyd Jackson, broadening her interest of composing and collaborating. Connie has a particular interest in raising money for Sarcoma UK. For instance, in March 2019 she gave a solo recital in London, and in 2020 performed a virtual concert of Britten’s Lachrymae with Bradley Wood. At the age of nine Connie Pharoah gained a place at the Royal Academy of Music to study the violin with Erica Graigner de Sa and viola with Jacky Woods. Subsequently, she won the John McAslan Violin Prize, the Viola Prize and the Lower Strings Prize.
Currently she is studying for her masters degree at the Conservatoire van Amsterdam with Nobuko Imai and Marjolein Dispa. Previously, she studied with Andriy Viytovych, Bryony Gibson-Cornish and Gabrielle Lester at the Royal College of Music where she completed her Bachelor with a first class degree. While there Connie performed as principal violist for all the college orchestras, won the Viola Prize in her second year, and received memorable masterclasses with Lawrence Power, Maxim Rysanov, Antonello Farulli, Isabelle Villanueva and Jennifer Stumm.
Connie is generously supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. She plays on a Charles Coquet viola and an Emmanuel Carlier bow.
Waynne Kwon
Described for having performances that are “larger than life with boundless emotion” (Limelight Magazine) and for being a cellist with “an absolute mastery of technique” with “a sensitive and expressive musicianship” (Blue Mountains Gazette), Australian-Korean cellist Waynne Kwon has established himself as one of the outstanding cellists of his generation.
Having won numerous prestigious awards and competitions such as the Hattori Music Foundation, Muriel Taylor Cello Scholarship from the London Festival Orchestra, Australian Young Performers Award, Bromsgrove International Music Competition and Raphael Sommer Cello Scholarship, Waynne is currently a City Music Foundation Artist and has gone on to perform concertos with leading orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Blackburn Symphony Orchestra, Penrith Symphony Orchestra and Concertante Ensemble under the baton of conductors such as Simone Young, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Richard Howard and Sarah Penicka-Smith. He has performed in prestigious venues around the world such as the Wiener Musikverein, Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Sydney Opera House, Angel Place City Recital Hall, Seoul Arts Centre, Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall and Oper Frankfurt.
Waynne has been invited to numerous festivals and Masterclass courses such as the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival in LA, IMS Prussia Cove, European Chamber Music Association Masterclasses, Qingdao Cello Festival and the Kronberg Cello Festival.
Along with his solo career, Waynne is a keen chamber musician where he performs regularly with duo partner pianist Victor Lim. As winners of the Tunnell Trust Music Awards Scheme, they toured Scotland in 2021 & 2022. He was also a founding member of the Louko Piano Trio who went on to win all the chamber music prizes at the RNCM, along with the Manchester Mid-day Concert Series and Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Chamber Music Competition.
Waynne is also high in demand as an orchestral musician having performed as Guest Principal Cello with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Guest Co-Principal Cello with the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as leading the Manchester Camerata and Sinfonia Cymru. He also enjoys being part of projects with the Manchester Collective. Waynne studied with Hannah Roberts at the RNCM on the PGDipAS (Performance) course, Master of Music (distinction) and Bachelor of Music (Honours) First Class. During his time at the RNCM, Waynne was awarded the Sir John Barbirolli Cello Prize, RNCM Concerto Competition, Leonard Rose Award for the best final recital and the RNCM Gold Medal – the college’s most prestigious award. He is extremely thankful for the support of the Haworth Trust, the John Hosier & Biddy Baxter Scholarship, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Help Musician’s UK, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Australian Music Foundation and the Tait Memorial Trust.