12.30 lunchtime
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Sponsor: 2016 Season Sponsor: Patricia Morgan Optician Supported by: Leatherhead Concert & Arts Society 
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Programme
Louis Spohr (1784-1859) Fantasie in C minor for solo harp, Op 35 André Caplet (1878-1925) Deux Divertissements (1924) 1 à la française 2 à l’espagnole Mily Alekseïevitch Balakirev (1837-1910) transcription from No 10 of A Farewell to St Petersburg by Glinka The Lark (Zhavoronok) (1864) Henriette Renié (1875-1956) (French harpist & composer) Ballade Fantastique (pour harpe seule) (1913) inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart |
Free Concert, with a retiring collection to cover costs. Tea and coffee will be available after the concert.
Gwenllian Llyr
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Welsh harpist Gwenllian Llyr is quickly gaining international recognition for her energetic and charismatic performances. In July 2013, Gwenllian was a prize-winner at the USA International Harp Competition in Bloomington where she was highly praised for her musicianship and engaging performances. She has also won many prizes more locally, including the Blue Ribbon at the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol in Wales in 2012, and the First Prize of the UK Camac Harp Competition in 2010.
Gwenllian has had the pleasure of performing with a variety of artists in venues across the world, allowing her to share the rich sound that she is known for. She was invited to be guest soloist with Côrdydd as they took to the stage of Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2014, and she relished the opportunity to share the music of Welsh composers in this prestigious venue. As well as recent solo performances with the the Orchestra of St.John’s, the Swansea Bach Choir, the Royal Academy String Orchestra and the City of Cardiff Symphony Orchestra, Gwenllian has performed with renowned artists such as Rebecca Evans, Al Jarreau and Bryn Terfel. She was also delighted to be involved in the celebration of actor Richard Burton’s life in 2013, performing at the publication of his diaries in New York and at the unveiling of his Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. |
Her studies with insightful teachers in conservatoires across the world have afforded Gwenllian with incredible performance opportunities. Under the guidance of Caryl Thomas at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Gwenllian won numerous awards, including becoming co-winner of the RWCMD Concerto Trials in 2010, which resulted in two performances of Ginastera’s Harp Concerto at St. David’s Hall in Cardiff and as a part of the RWCMD Gala at Buckingham Palace. Following a year of private study with Isabelle Perrin in Paris, Gwenllian completed her Master of Music degree with Nancy Allen at The Juilliard School where she was awarded the William Schuman prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in music. During her studies, she performed at major venues in New York, including Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Yale Club, the United Nations and Carnegie Hall, and was also involved in a collaborative orchestra comprised of musicians from the Royal Academy of Music and The Juilliard School, culminating in a Proms performance with pianist Imogen Cooper under the baton of John Adams.
An avid proponent of contemporary music, Gwenllian enjoys the challenge and inspiration that can be found in the performing and developing of new music, and has worked extensively with student composers over the past decade. During her final year at The Juilliard School, Gwenllian worked with composer Sayo Kosugi and choreographer Eve Jacobs in the performance of Nebula, Blooming for harp and dance. In the spring of 2015, Gwenllian and flautist Lisa Nelsen worked with composition students at Cardiff University in the project ‘Music is Fragile?’, the culmination of which was a premier in the National Museum, Cardiff amidst the ceramic pieces which inspired the compositions.
Currently living in London, Gwenllian is enjoying a busy performing career as a soloist, orchestral musician and with her flute and harp duo, Romanze Duo. She has recently joined the charity Live Music Now, founded by Yehudi Menuhin, which works with a diverse range of people who rarely have access to live music. In addition, Gwenllian teaches at King’s College, the Latymer Music Centre and privately, and enjoys composing music for her students. Gwenllian will graduate this July from the Royal Academy of Music where she is completing her Advanced Diploma under the guidance of Cathy White, and has enjoyed expanding her repertoire by performing with a variety of other artists, including recent performances of: The Noon’s Repose by Robin Holloway with tenor Stefan Kennedy; Caplet’s Conte Fantastique with the Behn Quartet; Danses by Debussy with the Academy String Ensemble. Gwenllian has received incredible support during her many years of studies, not only in financial means but also through the encouragement and patience of her friends and family, for which she is eternally grateful. Her studies at the Royal Academy of Music would not be possible without the funding provided by the Arts Council of Wales, the John Fussell Award, the Royal Academy of Music and private sponsorships.
An avid proponent of contemporary music, Gwenllian enjoys the challenge and inspiration that can be found in the performing and developing of new music, and has worked extensively with student composers over the past decade. During her final year at The Juilliard School, Gwenllian worked with composer Sayo Kosugi and choreographer Eve Jacobs in the performance of Nebula, Blooming for harp and dance. In the spring of 2015, Gwenllian and flautist Lisa Nelsen worked with composition students at Cardiff University in the project ‘Music is Fragile?’, the culmination of which was a premier in the National Museum, Cardiff amidst the ceramic pieces which inspired the compositions.
Currently living in London, Gwenllian is enjoying a busy performing career as a soloist, orchestral musician and with her flute and harp duo, Romanze Duo. She has recently joined the charity Live Music Now, founded by Yehudi Menuhin, which works with a diverse range of people who rarely have access to live music. In addition, Gwenllian teaches at King’s College, the Latymer Music Centre and privately, and enjoys composing music for her students. Gwenllian will graduate this July from the Royal Academy of Music where she is completing her Advanced Diploma under the guidance of Cathy White, and has enjoyed expanding her repertoire by performing with a variety of other artists, including recent performances of: The Noon’s Repose by Robin Holloway with tenor Stefan Kennedy; Caplet’s Conte Fantastique with the Behn Quartet; Danses by Debussy with the Academy String Ensemble. Gwenllian has received incredible support during her many years of studies, not only in financial means but also through the encouragement and patience of her friends and family, for which she is eternally grateful. Her studies at the Royal Academy of Music would not be possible without the funding provided by the Arts Council of Wales, the John Fussell Award, the Royal Academy of Music and private sponsorships.
Concert at Home
If you cannot be with us at the lunchtime concert
you can enjoy a similar Concert at Home by clicking through the buttons below:
you can enjoy a similar Concert at Home by clicking through the buttons below:
Gwenllian Llyr begins her performance with Spohr's Fanraisie in C minor for solo harp.
Here, to dispel one harp myth, is a gentleman player of the instrument, Joel von Lerber,
in the beautiful Elisabeth Church, Basel, Switzerland:
Here, to dispel one harp myth, is a gentleman player of the instrument, Joel von Lerber,
in the beautiful Elisabeth Church, Basel, Switzerland:
Next we hear André Caplet's two Divertissements, one 'in the French style' the other 'in the Spanish'. The harpist here is Toledo Ohio born Elizabeth Hainen, solo harpist with the Philadelphia Orchestra:
Zhavoronok, The Lark, is a Russian folk-song, which is possibly the folk-song performed by two members of DrevA, in the video on the left.
Why is he in military style uniform ? How do her hand movements help the performance ?
Next we hear opera-singer Marina Shaguch with Glinka's song, The Lark.
And then we come to the third recording in which the Californian harpist Seika Dong performs Balakirev's transcription of Glinka's song setting:
Why is he in military style uniform ? How do her hand movements help the performance ?
Next we hear opera-singer Marina Shaguch with Glinka's song, The Lark.
And then we come to the third recording in which the Californian harpist Seika Dong performs Balakirev's transcription of Glinka's song setting:
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Edgar Allan Poe's 1843 piece entitled The Tell-Tale Heart is a rather dark story of a well-planned murder, the dismemberment and concealment of the body, and the eventual admission of the facts to three gentlemen of the law, as the murderer feels betrayed by the beating of The Tell-Tale Heart.
You will find the story on the link on the right below.
Inspired by this short story, harpist and composer Henriette Renié wrote her Ballade Fantastique.
It is performed here by Rosanna Moore, in her Masters recital at the
Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, in New York State.
You will find the story on the link on the right below.
Inspired by this short story, harpist and composer Henriette Renié wrote her Ballade Fantastique.
It is performed here by Rosanna Moore, in her Masters recital at the
Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, in New York State.
We hope you have enjoyed your Concert at Home.
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Directions to
Leatherhead Methodist Church |
Two French Cathedral Organists
St John's School New Chapel 17 August 2016 Jacqueline Phillips
JS Bach Cello Suites 11 August 2016 |
Classical guitarists
graduates of the Royal Academy of Music Francisco Correa & David Massey duo concert 25 Aug 2016 |
This year's
Concert Diary |
