Music on Thursdays
Anna Tam, viola da gamba & soprano Stephen Carpenter, lute change of programme: Jennifer Bennett is indisposed |
Supported by: Leatherhead Concert & Arts Society |
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Vecchia Trattoria will be selling sandwiches, cakes and drinks in the church after the concert.
Anna Tam, viola da gamba, voice
Anna Tam (b.1983 London) enjoys an eclectic career combining composition and performance both as cellist, viola da gamba player and soprano (often at the same time). Her work extends from composing for theatre productions to performing Bach’s solo suites on the baroque cello; working with her duo partner Jonathan Musgrave on 20th century British works to improvising with pianist and Moog player Oliver Parfitt.
She performed at the Wigmore Hall with a piano quintet aged 17 and at the Purcell Room whilst taking her undergraduate course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Last year she played on BBC2’s ‘The Culture Show’ and gave the première of a previously undiscovered aria by Vivaldi on BBC1’s ‘Britain’s Hidden Heritage’.
She will be touring to North America in September/October with the Mediaeval Baebes. Her recent composition ‘Chamber Music’ began in Dublin last May when she picked up the poems in a café and they immediately began to set themselves to music. The première was given this May in the Brighton Fringe Festival performed by Musica 432. More information and recordings are on her website www.annatam.co.uk or on www.facebook/annatammusic .
A video of Anna singing an extract from Chamber Music, with lutenist Stephen Carpenter, will be found on this link.
Stephen Carpenter, lute
There is a further opportunity to hear Stephen Carpenter's lute-playing in the intimate surroundings of Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare, beside the River Thames at Hampton, at 7.30pm on Wednesday 11th September. This concert with Christopher Goodwin celebrates the 450th anniversary of Dowland in an evening of lute songs, duets and fantasias. Details on this link.
Jennifer Bennett, viola da gamba, lute, Renaissance lute
Jennifer's musical journey started at the age of 6 when she taught herself to read music and play the recorder. She started violin lessons at the age of 8 and went on to teach herself many other
instruments and later became very passionate about early music and the sound of period instruments. Inspiring and formative experiences have been playing with the National Youth Orchestra under Sir Roger Norrington and string quartet lessons with James Boyd of the London Haydn Quartet.
She has recently been heard live on BBC Radio 3 playing a violin sonata by Heinirch Biber and is soon to record an album of his works. Jennifer plays in a duo with renowned harpsichordist and Jazz pianist David Gordon, and together they give totally improvised concerts in different historical styles. She also plays viola da gamba and renaissance lute with the Medieaval Baebes, is in the psychedelic early music rock band Circulus and has a baroque jazz fusion trio with Saxophone superstar Gilad Atzmon. Jennifer composes and sings contemporary mystical songs accompanying herself on viola da gamba, lute or virginals.
She lives in Glastonbury.
