Composer Talk by John Croft at 6pm with free refreshments served at 5.15pm

Soloists of Explore Ensemble (Taylor Maclennan: flutes, Deni Teo: cello) present the fantastical live electronic music of British composer John Croft. In these works the electronic parts evoke imaginary spaces in which musicians and audience explore magically transformed sounds, resonances and senses of time. Alongside Croft’s music is Kaija Saariaho’s atmospheric and spectralist duo for cello and bass flute ‘Oi Kuu’ (Finnish, ‘for the moon’), and a new work by Nicholas Moroz for duo and live electronics.

John Croft - la terra lagrimosa...una luce vermiglia
Kaaija Saariaho -​ Oi Kuu
John Croft -​ …ne l’aura che trema
Nicholas Moroz -​ new work
+ new student works

Liveness, Hybridity and Noise is a new series of talks, concerts and workshops convened by Professor Martyn Harry focusing on experimentalism and contemporary classical music, with most events live-streamed by the JdP. Three times a term invited composers will give lectures at the JdP, St Hilda’s College on a range of topics pertaining to composition, creative collaboration and live electronics that will provide the basis for a vibrant scholarly and interdisciplinary dialogue between composers, performers, academics and audiences.

All our LHN events will be livestreamed for free on our website.

Making a welcome return to Charlbury the Brize Singers conducted by Elliott Rooney, Musical Director, and accompanied by Bernard West on the piano, performing a fundraising concert in aid of the Corner House and War Memorial Hall.

Tickets priced at £6 will go on sale in Charlbury from the beginning of May.

For more information or to reserve tickets please email charlburycornerhouse@gmail.com

We are proud that the JdP’s featured artist, Steven Isserlis, chose our venue for his first-ever complete cycle of the Bach Cello Suites in 2016. In this intriguing recital programme, Steven programmes together the work of four legendary Russian composer-pianists, with two beguiling recent works for cello and piano by Mikhail Pletnev and Evgeny Kissin forming a lyrical counterpart to the cello sonatas of Shostakovich and Rachmaninov.

Programme:

Shostakovich - Cello Sonata
Pletnev - Cello Sonata
Kissin - Sonata-Ballade for cello and piano
Rachmaninov - Cello Sonata

“A remarkable pianist by any standard” The Observer.

A vibrant and highly individual pianist and composer, Zoe Rahman’s style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste. Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performance, she has become a highly sought-after musician, working most recently with the likes of George Mraz, Courtney Pine and Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra.

Zoe’s latest album, “Dreamland”, showcases the depth and breadth of her musical imagination, featuring new compositions alongside tracks by Duke Ellington, Jessica Williams, Rabindranath Tagore, as well as solo renditions of some of Zoe’s back catalogue. A former MOBO Award winner, Mercury Prize nominee, Jazz FM Award nominee and British Jazz Award winner, Zoe has established herself as a unique presence in the British music industry. This is a rare opportunity to hear one of the UK’s most gifted jazz pianists in an intimate solo piano setting.

Dreamland album reviews:

“A joy to find Zoe fully in the spotlight, uninterrupted, on this dazzling solo session. A milestone” ***** BBC Music Magazine

“An exciting solo set, brilliantly performed and totally absorbing” **** The Observer

“An arresting work suffused with enormous feeling, and bursts of surprising delicacy and power….Rahman shines on her own” **** Evening Standard

“Always exciting, playful, muscular and a tiny bit unhinged, that’s what I love about Zoe Rahman” Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2

“A powerful testament to this fine pianist’s authority” *** Guardian

Livestreamed on our website from 6.45pm

Brahms - Sonata for cello and piano no 2 in F major, Op.99
Shostakovich - Sonata for cello and piano in D minor, Op.40

Kazakh - British pianist Dina Duisen was born into a family of musicians in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She studied in Kazakhstan and USA before completing Master of Arts Degree in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. Dina was one out of eight pianists selected to participate in Sergei Babayan's International Piano Academy at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She regularly plays with violinist Alessandro Ruisi and collaborates with The Ruisi Quartet. Dina gave the Asian premiere of 'Mazurkas' by British composer Thomas Adès. Most recently she worked at IMS Prussia Cove and Casalmaggiore International Music Festival. In October 2016 Dina performed with two principal clarinettists Franklin Cohen (Cleveland Orchestra) and Chris Richards (LSO). Earlier this year Dina joined Sinfonia Cymru for Twisted Rhythms: Mark-Anthony Turnage Birthday Concert at the Vibrate Festival. Dina became a member of the Mercury Quartet and they performed at George Enescu Festival. In 2018 Dina will make her solo debuts at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, Cadogan Hall in London and perform at the 20th Anniversary Concert in Oxford Piano Festival. Dina released her solo debut album 'Mazurkas from Chopin to Adès' which was recorded at Kings Place with the Grammy-award winning producer Andrew Keener.

Pēteris Sokolovksis was born in Novokuznetsk, Russia. He began playing cello at the age of six with Lija Sudraba in Riga, Latvia, and later studied at the Purcell School of Music with Alexander Boyarsky. Peteris graduated from the Royal College of Music where he also studied with Alexander Boyarsky. In September 2012 he began his Postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Louise Hopkins and later became an Artist Fellow at the School. He was the recipient of the Pierre Fournier Foundation’s Young Cellist Award, Musicians Benevolent Fund Scholarship and the Geoffrey Shaw Scholarship. Peteris won the RCM Cello Competition. Sokolovskis has performed in chamber music groups at the Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cadogan Hall and at the BBC Total Immersion weekend performing John Tavener’s music broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and most recently performed Weinberg’s quartet with Gidon Kremer, Agata Daraskaite and Santa Vizine in the Brahms Sall of the Musikverein, Vienna. Peteris is also a regular teacher at the Oxford Cello School. Pēteris is a member of Kremerata Baltica since 2013.

Admission is free, and all are welcome.

Curated by Dr. Jonathan Williams, the Director of College Music at St Hilda's, the popular Lunchtime Recital Series offers weekly concerts performed by members of College, students from across the University, and professional musicians.

From 20th-22nd April 2018, Folk Weekend returns for festival number SEVEN! Once again we will be invading Oxford city centre to fill it with music, dance, and song; concerts, ceilidhs, workshops, and fun for all the family. We are delighted to welcome Eliza Carthy, False Lights, The Furrow Collective, Topette!, Jackie Oates, Banter, Boldwood, Ross Couper & Tom Oakes, Black Feathers, Mary Bateman, and MANY MORE!

Venues include: Wesley Memorial Church, The Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre, St Barnabas Church, St Aldate's Tavern, Westgate Library, Quaker Meeting House, Weston Library, Blackwell's Bookshop, The Royal Blenheim, The Crown.

Click 'Get Tickets' on the link below, and keep checking our website and social media pages for the latest updates! Day Season Tickets and Individual Events Tickets will be on sale closer to the festival.

Weekend Season Ticket prices: £75 adult / £68 concessions / £55 youth (12 years +)

Concession rates apply to Over 60s, Job Seekers Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Full time student/NUS, but if you are not in one of those groups and you feel you need a concession in order to attend the festival please get in touch with us on info@folkweekendoxford.co.uk. Children under five are free to all events. Children under 12 are free to all events when accompanied by an adult season ticket holder. (i.e. if adults are buying individual event tickets for an event children will need a ticket at the concession rate.)

If you'd like to go on the Folk Weekend mailing list to be the first to hear all the news, competitions, and events that we have going on throughout the year then please leave a tick in the box 'Presenter may notify me of special offers and events' when you check out.

To book: https://fao.yapsody.com/event/index/1432...

Note: this free event replaces a concert by Oxford Concerto Orchestra, cancelled due to ill-health.

John Hounam (violin) and Christopher Fletcher-Campbell (St Peter's Director of Music/organ/piano) will play a programme including a Mozart violin sonata and a varied selection of English organ music.

Free event. Retiring collection in aid of Wolvercote Young Peoples' Club.

John Hounam is an accomplished violinist, skilled instrumental teacher and artist. He enjoys helping amateur players to achieve their potential and to improve their understanding of classical music.

John began his career as a member of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, before working as a freelance violinist in London for ten years. During this time, he was a founding member of the European Baroque Orchestra. He later moved to Argentina, where he appeared as soloist with the Mendoza State Orchestra and Musica Antigua Mendoza. Back home, in 2000, he produced the UK’s first tango CD with his tango band, Passion Canyengue.

Christopher Fletcher-Campbell has been teaching music for many years and is passionate about encouraging people, young and old, to learn, appreciate and enjoy music. He is widely admired for his energy, enthusiasm and enterprise. As well as being on the music staff at Abingdon School, he is Director of Music and Organist at St Peter's Church Wolvercote. In his spare time, he conducts two amateur orchestras, the Oxford Studio Orchestra and the Wantage Orchestra, as well as the Wheatsheaf Consort, a choir performing church music in cathedrals and churches across the UK. Before teaching at Abingdon, Chris was Director of Music at Bloxham School for ten years. He began his teaching career as a classics teacher (he read ‘Greats’ at Magdalen College, Oxford).

In our Cushion Concert series, Rozzy or Tom introduce children and their families to different instruments and how they make music, feeding curiosity and nurturing love of music, up-close. We have performances suited to under fives and over fives, and babies come free. Make sure to bring your own cushions!