Tuesday 20 May 2025
7pm
Silk Street Music Hall
The Ivan Sutton Chamber Music Award
presented by the City Music Society in memory of Ivan Sutton
adjudicated by:
Leslie East
Simon Callaghan
Victoria Simonsen
Digital Programmes
Please silence your devices and lower the brightness of your display.
This digital programme is intended for mobile devices, and may be viewed throughout the performance.
Do you have thoughts on our recent switch to digital programmes? Fill out our Audience Feedback Form.
Silk Street
Eating is not permitted in the auditorium. Drinks are allowed inside the auditorium in polycarbonates.
Filming or recording of the performance is not permitted.
Latecomers will be able to enter the auditorium at a suitable break in the performance.
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Founded in 1880 by the City of London Corporation
Chair of the Board of Governors
The Hon. Emily Benn
Principal
Professor Jonathan Vaughan
Vice-Principal & Director of Music
Armin Zanner
Programme
Beethoven Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op 11
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio
III. Tema: Pria ch'io l'impegno. Allegretto
Mark Zang piano
Kathryn Titcomb clarinet
Aidan Campbell bassoon
Brahms Piano Trio No 3 in C minor, Op 101
I. Allegro energico
II. Presto non assai
III. Andante grazioso
IV. Allegro molto
Trio Havisham:
Zany Denyer piano
Magdalena Riedl violin
Seth Collin cello
Poulenc Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43
I. Presto
II. Andante
III. Rondo
Boreas Trio:
Lidia Moscoso oboe
Paddy Kearney bassoon
Lara Cucic piano
Shostakovich Piano Trio No 2 in E minor, Op 67
I. Andante – Moderato
II. Allegro con brio
III. Largo
IV. Allegretto – Adagio
Thyrsus Trio:
Yiannis Archontides piano
Ola Lenkiewicz violin
Caleb Curtis cello
The Ivan Sutton Chamber Music Award 2025
presented by the City Music Society
in memory of Ivan Sutton
adjudicated by:
Leslie East
Chairman of City Music Society, Director of Music at Guildhall School between 1976 and 1987 and Publishing Director of Novello & Co. during the 1990s. Leslie is also a former Publishing Director and Chief Executive of ABRSM.
Simon Callaghan
Simon Callaghan performs internationally as soloist and chamber musician. His discography of over 40 albums includes releases on Hyperion, Nimbus, Somm and Orchid Classics. Recent appearances have included Wigmore Hall, Dubai Opera, Stoller Hall, Saffron Hall, and concertos with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, BBC Scottish and BBC National Orchestra of Wales with conductors Martyn Brabbins, Jac van Steen and Martyn Yates. Chamber colleagues include Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Adrian Brendel, Ning Feng, Nicholas Daniel, Coco Tomita, Raphael Wallfisch and Miriam Margolyes. He is particularly known for his promotion of neglected works, having made world premiere recordings of concertos by Sterndale Bennett, Scholz, Addison, Chagrin among others, and the complete piano works of Rebecca Clarke, William Busch, and George Dyson. He was awarded his PhD from the Royal Northern College of Music where he is now Professor of Piano, and is Artistic Director of the Sunday Concert series at Conway Hall in London.
Victoria Simonsen
Victoria Simonsen enjoys a varied musical life based in London. In 2015 she joined the Rautio Piano Trio, with whom she is currently recording a cycle of Beethoven trios on period instruments for Resonus Classics. Victoria was Principal Cellist with Opera North before enjoying a decade as a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra and she has appeared as Guest Principal with many of the UK’s major orchestras, including the Royal Opera House, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. An alumna of the Royal Northern College of Music, Victoria studied cello with Ralph Kirshbaum and Karine Georgian and composition with Anthony Gilbert, culminating with winning the Gold Medal in 2006. Since 2015, Victoria has been a Professor of Cello at the Royal Northern College of Music.
City Music Society
City Music Society has been the leading promoter of chamber music concerts in the City of London since 1943 when it was founded by Ivan Sutton MBE (1914–1986). The Society has 2,451 concerts to its credit, over 1,800 of those having been presented in the Great Hall of Bishopsgate Institute and 445 having been evening concerts, over 400 of which were given in Goldsmiths’ Hall between 1946 and 2012. The Society marked its 75th anniversary in its 2018/19 season with three celebratory concerts. In February 2022 it presented its 2,000th lunchtime concert, including a new commission by Adam Kornas for string quartet.
Since January 2016 concerts have been presented in the medieval church of St Bartholomew the Great in West Smithfield. In its 20 lunchtime concerts per year, the Society presents 50-minute programmes of music, ranging from medieval to jazz, with special emphasis on the great composers of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern eras.
Some of the world’s greatest musicians have performed in the Society’s concerts, many of them, like Jacqueline Du Pré and Miloš Karadaglić, at the start of their careers. In addition to featuring well-established musicians it has always been the Society’s policy to invite outstanding young professional artists at the beginning of their careers, many of whom have since attained international status.
Members of the Society are more than passive listeners. Over the years the Society has commissioned many new works, usually funded by members’ contributions. Composers commissioned include Roger Smalley, Nicholas Maw, Diana Burrell, Richard Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Maconchy, Phyllis Tate, Robin Holloway, John McCabe, Geoffrey Burgon, Peter-Paul Nash, Kevin Volans, Stuart MacRae, Michael Berkeley and Adam Kornas.
New members are always welcome – details can be found on the Society’s website.
Registered charity No. 285985
Forthcoming Events
23 May 2025
Silk Street Lecture Recital Room
We shine the spotlight on outstanding Guildhall guitarists in this chamber concert celebrating the instrument.
27 May – 2 July 2025
Milton Court Concert Hall & Silk Street Music Hall
Enjoy over a month of free recitals by undergraduate and postgraduate musicians at Guildhall School - a fantastic way to spot the stars of the future before they embark on professional careers.
Trumpet Masterclass with Alison Balsom
12 June 2025
Milton Court Concert Hall
Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired in a free evening masterclass with the world-renowned trumpet player and Guildhall alumna ahead of her star appearance at the Last Night of the Proms.
Donate
We hope you thoroughly enjoy today’s performance at Guildhall School. If you feel inspired by our students and would like to support world-class training for these talented performers and production artists, we would be grateful for a voluntary donation.
Join the Guildhall Circle to access priority booking, exclusive events and more while providing vital support to our students. Join us at gsmd.ac.uk/patrons.
Alternatively, you can make your donation online by visiting gsmd.ac.uk/donate. Thank you.
Please visit our website at gsmd.ac.uk
Guildhall School is provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation.