Music on Thursdays
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Thursday 16th May 2024
12.30 lunchtime
Meliora Collective
Meera Maharaj, flute
Stephanie Yim, clarinet
Hugh Woolley, bassoon
Programme
François Couperin (1668-1733)
from Sonades; et Suites de Simphonies en Trio "Les Nations" (1726)
Troisième ordre « L'Impériale »
10 Menuet
8 Rondeau (gayement)
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Trio for two Oboes and English Horn in C Major, Op 87 (1794, Vienna)
1 Allegro (C major)
2 Adagio (F major)
3 Minuet. Allegro molto. Scherzo - Trio (C major) segue into
4 Finale. Presto. (C major)
Valerie Coleman (b1970)
Portraits of Langston (2007)
I Prelude: Helen Keller
III Le Grand Duc Mambo
Edward "Eddie" McGuire (b1948)
Celtic Knotwork (1990)
Concert duration approx: 45+ minutes
EDUCATION: Three different ways to make a sound with a pipe. So, of course we are taking them into Leatherhead Trinity Primary School. That will fit nicely with some of their science work. It'll be on Tuesday May 21st, and we'll tell you how it goes in the following week's newsletter!
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Please donate to help fund these concerts at: cafdonate.cafonline.org/14455
Meliora Collective
Meliora Collective is a freshly established flexible ensemble, consisting of an array of dynamic, creative and spirited young artists. They are in the unique position of performing as a dectet, formed of five wind players alongside five string players, whilst also presenting concerts with more intimate chamber groupings.
Born out of a love of chamber music, Meliora Collective strives to celebrate the shared joy of music making, both with audiences and amongst themselves. Founding members, Meera and Steph dreamt up this ensemble in the midst of the pandemic, following many years of friendship and a long-held desire to launch a flexi ensemble of this nature.
The versatility afforded by this set-up allows for intriguing programming, spanning a range of styles and incorporating concert favourites alongside less familiar but equally enchanting repertoire. Meliora Collective enjoys presenting highly inventive arrangements, ranging from Mendelssohn to Tchaikovsky. This year, they received an award from the Oleg Prokofiev Trust, as well as an RVW Trust award to fund a new commission by award-winning composer, Rafael Marino Arcaro.
Their recent tour included performances for music societies in Richmondshire, Parbold and Machynlleth, Preston and Clitheroe and other 2022 concerts took them to Manchester, the Peak District and London.
As recent graduates of conservatoires including the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music, each of the musicians brings a strong musical identity to the ensemble. The ethos of shared responsibility and collaborative music making is integral to the ensemble. They look forward to a busy 23/24 concert season with performances throughout the UK.
Meliora Collective's website @ melioracollective.co.uk
For our concert we will be hearing the founders, Meera and Steph, who play flute and clarinet, and Hugh, the bassoonist. Let's meet them first in the biographies below:
Born out of a love of chamber music, Meliora Collective strives to celebrate the shared joy of music making, both with audiences and amongst themselves. Founding members, Meera and Steph dreamt up this ensemble in the midst of the pandemic, following many years of friendship and a long-held desire to launch a flexi ensemble of this nature.
The versatility afforded by this set-up allows for intriguing programming, spanning a range of styles and incorporating concert favourites alongside less familiar but equally enchanting repertoire. Meliora Collective enjoys presenting highly inventive arrangements, ranging from Mendelssohn to Tchaikovsky. This year, they received an award from the Oleg Prokofiev Trust, as well as an RVW Trust award to fund a new commission by award-winning composer, Rafael Marino Arcaro.
Their recent tour included performances for music societies in Richmondshire, Parbold and Machynlleth, Preston and Clitheroe and other 2022 concerts took them to Manchester, the Peak District and London.
As recent graduates of conservatoires including the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music, each of the musicians brings a strong musical identity to the ensemble. The ethos of shared responsibility and collaborative music making is integral to the ensemble. They look forward to a busy 23/24 concert season with performances throughout the UK.
Meliora Collective's website @ melioracollective.co.uk
For our concert we will be hearing the founders, Meera and Steph, who play flute and clarinet, and Hugh, the bassoonist. Let's meet them first in the biographies below:
Meera Maharaj
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Hugh Woolley
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Stephanie Yim
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Meera Maharaj
Meera Maharaj enjoys a diverse performing career. Competition successes include first prize in the Royal Academy of Music Flute Competition and Dutch International Flute Competition, plus the Sussex Prize for Woodwind in the 2023 Royal Overseas League competition.
Her duo with pianist Dominic Degavino featured as Countess of Munster Recital Scheme, Tunnell Trust and Park Lane Group artists. Since 2013, she has frequently performed with guitarist James Girling, as the Meraki Duo. They won the Concurs Internacional de Música Cambra Flauta & Guitarra. She also plays with harpist, Lucy Nolan as Hathor Duo and she co-founded the flexi-ensemble – Meliora Collective.
She graduated with Distinction in her Masters, studying with Michael Cox at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2017, she graduated from the RNCM, studying with Wissam Boustany and Laura Jellicoe. Meera has played at the Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and at the BBC Proms. She is Co-principal Flute of Chineke! Orchestra.
Her duo with pianist Dominic Degavino featured as Countess of Munster Recital Scheme, Tunnell Trust and Park Lane Group artists. Since 2013, she has frequently performed with guitarist James Girling, as the Meraki Duo. They won the Concurs Internacional de Música Cambra Flauta & Guitarra. She also plays with harpist, Lucy Nolan as Hathor Duo and she co-founded the flexi-ensemble – Meliora Collective.
She graduated with Distinction in her Masters, studying with Michael Cox at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2017, she graduated from the RNCM, studying with Wissam Boustany and Laura Jellicoe. Meera has played at the Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and at the BBC Proms. She is Co-principal Flute of Chineke! Orchestra.
Stephanie Yim
Stephanie Yim began her musical studies at Chetham’s School of Music before undertaking an undergraduate degree at the Royal Northern College of Music. Stephanie has also completed Erasmus studies at the Kunst Universität in Graz, Austria and a year of study at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Frankfurt.
In 2020, she graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Orchestral Artistry Masters Programme with distinction, supported by Help Musicians UK, Countess of Munster Trust and a Guildhall entrance scholarship.
During her studies, Stephanie toured as an academy member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe to Germany and the BBC Proms She has since worked with orchestras across the UK such as Hallé Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and rehearsed with the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the OA programme. She also works with Brigantes Orchestra, Sinfonia Verdi, Arch Sinfonia and was part of the Chipping Campden Festival Orchestra Academy in September 2021.
Recent highlights include a performance at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and being part of the Global Orchestra promotional content for Netflix Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story in 2023.
Outside of orchestral work, she works as support staff for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain and co-founded the flexi-ensemble, Meliora Collective, in 2021.
In 2020, she graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Orchestral Artistry Masters Programme with distinction, supported by Help Musicians UK, Countess of Munster Trust and a Guildhall entrance scholarship.
During her studies, Stephanie toured as an academy member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe to Germany and the BBC Proms She has since worked with orchestras across the UK such as Hallé Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and rehearsed with the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the OA programme. She also works with Brigantes Orchestra, Sinfonia Verdi, Arch Sinfonia and was part of the Chipping Campden Festival Orchestra Academy in September 2021.
Recent highlights include a performance at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and being part of the Global Orchestra promotional content for Netflix Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story in 2023.
Outside of orchestral work, she works as support staff for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain and co-founded the flexi-ensemble, Meliora Collective, in 2021.
Hugh Woolley
Hugh Woolley discovered music and the bassoon later in life. Having grown up in Lincolnshire, he began playing in 2012 and quickly progressed through the Lincolnshire Music Service where he regularly played with regional ensembles. He passed Grade 8 with Distinction in 2014 before enrolling at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire later that year. He graduated in 2018 with a First Class degree, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a Distinction in the Master of Arts course in 2020 while under the tutelage of Fraser Gordon, Jonathan Davies and the recently retired John Orford.
Hugh enjoys a varied freelance career in London and around the country as a contrabassoonist and bassoonist. This has taken him to America with the Manchester based Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra as part of the International Conducting Festival 2016 and he returned to America with his wind quintet, Lumos, acting as the International Outreach Ensemble for the Hot Springs Music Festival in 2018.
In London, alongside an interst in music archivism, Hugh is a passionate educator of music and the bassoon and he has enjoyed performing with the Southbank Sinfonia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. This year he has enjoyed playing with the orchestra of Opera North and Manchester Camerata and the Novello Orchestra. Hugh is graciously supported by Help Musicians UK.
Hugh enjoys a varied freelance career in London and around the country as a contrabassoonist and bassoonist. This has taken him to America with the Manchester based Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra as part of the International Conducting Festival 2016 and he returned to America with his wind quintet, Lumos, acting as the International Outreach Ensemble for the Hot Springs Music Festival in 2018.
In London, alongside an interst in music archivism, Hugh is a passionate educator of music and the bassoon and he has enjoyed performing with the Southbank Sinfonia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. This year he has enjoyed playing with the orchestra of Opera North and Manchester Camerata and the Novello Orchestra. Hugh is graciously supported by Help Musicians UK.
Recordings of the works in today's concert
François Couperin (1668-1733)
from Sonades; et Suites de Simphonies en Trio "Les Nations" (1726)
Troisième ordre « L'Impériale »
10 Menuet
8 Rondeau (gayement)
The distinguished group of musicians in thse two short recordings are: Anner Bylsma, cello; Frans Brüggen, flute, recorder; Frans Vester, flute; Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord; Jaap Schröder and Marie Leonhardt, violins:
from Sonades; et Suites de Simphonies en Trio "Les Nations" (1726)
Troisième ordre « L'Impériale »
10 Menuet
8 Rondeau (gayement)
The distinguished group of musicians in thse two short recordings are: Anner Bylsma, cello; Frans Brüggen, flute, recorder; Frans Vester, flute; Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord; Jaap Schröder and Marie Leonhardt, violins:
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Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Trio for two Oboes and English Horn in C Major, Op 87 (1794, Vienna)
1 Allegro (C major)
2 Adagio (F major)
3 Minuet. Allegro molto. Scherzo - Trio (C major) segue into
4 Finale. Presto. (C major)
This recording is made by Elizabeth Koch and Pablo Moreno, oboes, and Robert Walters, English horn (cor anglais). They are performing in the Colegio Alemán, Medellín, Colombia as part of Festicámara 2012, the city's festival of chamber músic.
Valerie Coleman (b1970)
Portraits of Langston (2007)
I Prelude: Helen Keller
III Le Grand Duc Mambo
Portraits of Langston is a suite of pieces based on, and preceded by readings of, poems by Langston Hughes.
In the two recordings below we hear the TransAtlantic Ensemble, live at (Le) Poisson Rouge, a home for contemporary music in New York City.
The performers here are Mariam Adam, clarinet, Evelyn Ulex, piano, Valerie Coleman, flute, with Tim Cain, narrating:
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Edward "Eddie" McGuire (b1948)
Celtic Knotwork (1990)
The three members of the Levanto Ensemble are well known to the Leatherhead audience. They have been with us as Levanto, and each of them has been here as a soloist or a member of another group. They are: Camilla Marchant, flute, Jernej Albreht, clarinet, and Emily Newman, bassoon:
Previous concert
9 May 2024 - Jason Ma, cello, & Julian Chan, piano, from Royal Academy of Music - click here
Next concert
23 May 2024 - Eden Meged, piano, from Royal Academy of Music - click here
