Music on Thursdays
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Thursday 3rd July 2025
12.30 lunchtime
Venue: Leatherhead Methodist Church KT22 8AY
Parking: Swan Centre multi storey KT22 7RH
Nicola Hands
oboe/cor anglais
Jonathan Pease
piano
Programme
Gabriel Marie Grovlez (1879-1944)
Sarabande et allegro pour hautbois et piano (1929)
Ronald Binge (1910-1979)
The Watermill (1958)
used as theme for BBC Children's TV series The Secret Garden
Jonathan Edward Pease (b1988)
Westbourne Nocturne (2021)
Charles Gray Lamont Kennaway (1899-1971)
Watersmeet
PIANO SOLO
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
from Songs without words Op 53
2 Allegro non troppo in E-flat major MWV U 109 "The Fleecy Clouds" (1839/41)
Charles Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986)
Duo for cor anglais and piano Op 156 [12:30]
I Con moto
II Elegy (Lento)
III Presto
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Sonate pour hautbois en ré majeur (for oboe in D major) Op 166 (1921)
I Andantino (D major)
II Ad libitum - Allegretto - Ad Libitum (Bb major)
III Molto allegro (B minor - D major)
Concert duration approx: 45+ minutes
Please donate to help fund these concerts at: cafdonate.cafonline.org/14455
Gabriel Marie Grovlez (1879-1944)
Sarabande et allegro pour hautbois et piano (1929)
Ronald Binge (1910-1979)
The Watermill (1958)
used as theme for BBC Children's TV series The Secret Garden
Jonathan Edward Pease (b1988)
Westbourne Nocturne (2021)
Charles Gray Lamont Kennaway (1899-1971)
Watersmeet
PIANO SOLO
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
from Songs without words Op 53
2 Allegro non troppo in E-flat major MWV U 109 "The Fleecy Clouds" (1839/41)
Charles Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986)
Duo for cor anglais and piano Op 156 [12:30]
I Con moto
II Elegy (Lento)
III Presto
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Sonate pour hautbois en ré majeur (for oboe in D major) Op 166 (1921)
I Andantino (D major)
II Ad libitum - Allegretto - Ad Libitum (Bb major)
III Molto allegro (B minor - D major)
Concert duration approx: 45+ minutes
Please donate to help fund these concerts at: cafdonate.cafonline.org/14455
Nicola Hands
Nicola Hands is a busy freelance oboist based in London, whose playing has been described as both ‘beguiling’ and ‘exquisite’, and according to MusicWeb International her ‘warm, full tone is affecting’.
Born in Nottingham in 1987, she graduated in 2013 with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music Masters programme, where she studied oboe with Melanie Ragge and cor anglais with Jill Crowther. At the RAM Nicola was awarded the Evelyn Barbirolli prize for oboe and the Grimaldi Cor Anglais Scholarship.
Nicola is currently on trial as principal oboe with English National Ballet, and has previously trialled with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. From 2015 to 2017 she was the 2nd oboe and principal cor anglais player for the Orquestra do Norte, Portugal. As a freelancer Nicola has performed with English National Opera, Chineke!, Aurora Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, City of London Sinfonia, Wexford Festival Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Orchestra Nova, and the Brigantes Orchestra amongst others. Nicola also plays for musical theatre; from September 2013 to February 2014 she was the oboe and cor anglais player for ‘The Light Princess’ by Tori Amos at the National Theatre, and she played for ‘Miss Saigon’ in the Prince Edward Theatre.
Nicola is also very active as a soloist and chamber musician. As a concert soloist, Nicola has performed concerti by Martinů, Vaughan Williams, Mozart, Marcello and Strauss, and in 2026 will make several appearances playing the Ruth Gipps Oboe Concerto.
In 2015 she was awarded a Jellinek soloist’s award by Croydon Symphony Orchestra, and as a result performed the Albinoni D minor concerto in Guildford in 2016. As part of her duo with pianist Jonathan Pease, Nicola has performed in venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James Piccadilly, St Mary's Perivale, Winchester Cathedral, Peterborough Cathedral, St George’s Hanover Square, St James’s Church Paddington and Waltham Abbey.
In 2020 the duo released their first album, Light and Shade, and released their second album Phoenix, in January 2021. Nicola is also Artistic Director of the chamber collective the Tailleferre Ensemble, whose aim is to support women in music and perform lesser-known chamber works. Their debut album There Are Things to be Said was released in February 2023.
During her Masters Nicola played in many high-profile performances, including principal oboe for Sir Colin Davis, Thierry Fischer and Yan Pascal Tortelier and cor anglais for Jac van Steen and Semyon Bychkov with the Academy Symphony Orchestra. She also performed the solo oboe part in Bainbridge’s Concertante in Moto Perpetuo with the Academy Manson Ensemble conducted by Franck Ollu, in a special birthday celebration concert for the composer.
Before attending the RAM, Nicola completed an MA in languages at Cambridge University. She was very active as both an oboist and a choral scholar in Cambridge. With the help of instrumental and choral scholarships from Jesus College she was able to pursue her musical ambition, finding many opportunities to perform as both an ensemble player and soloist in the Cambridge music scene.
Born in Nottingham in 1987, she graduated in 2013 with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music Masters programme, where she studied oboe with Melanie Ragge and cor anglais with Jill Crowther. At the RAM Nicola was awarded the Evelyn Barbirolli prize for oboe and the Grimaldi Cor Anglais Scholarship.
Nicola is currently on trial as principal oboe with English National Ballet, and has previously trialled with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. From 2015 to 2017 she was the 2nd oboe and principal cor anglais player for the Orquestra do Norte, Portugal. As a freelancer Nicola has performed with English National Opera, Chineke!, Aurora Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, City of London Sinfonia, Wexford Festival Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Orchestra Nova, and the Brigantes Orchestra amongst others. Nicola also plays for musical theatre; from September 2013 to February 2014 she was the oboe and cor anglais player for ‘The Light Princess’ by Tori Amos at the National Theatre, and she played for ‘Miss Saigon’ in the Prince Edward Theatre.
Nicola is also very active as a soloist and chamber musician. As a concert soloist, Nicola has performed concerti by Martinů, Vaughan Williams, Mozart, Marcello and Strauss, and in 2026 will make several appearances playing the Ruth Gipps Oboe Concerto.
In 2015 she was awarded a Jellinek soloist’s award by Croydon Symphony Orchestra, and as a result performed the Albinoni D minor concerto in Guildford in 2016. As part of her duo with pianist Jonathan Pease, Nicola has performed in venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James Piccadilly, St Mary's Perivale, Winchester Cathedral, Peterborough Cathedral, St George’s Hanover Square, St James’s Church Paddington and Waltham Abbey.
In 2020 the duo released their first album, Light and Shade, and released their second album Phoenix, in January 2021. Nicola is also Artistic Director of the chamber collective the Tailleferre Ensemble, whose aim is to support women in music and perform lesser-known chamber works. Their debut album There Are Things to be Said was released in February 2023.
During her Masters Nicola played in many high-profile performances, including principal oboe for Sir Colin Davis, Thierry Fischer and Yan Pascal Tortelier and cor anglais for Jac van Steen and Semyon Bychkov with the Academy Symphony Orchestra. She also performed the solo oboe part in Bainbridge’s Concertante in Moto Perpetuo with the Academy Manson Ensemble conducted by Franck Ollu, in a special birthday celebration concert for the composer.
Before attending the RAM, Nicola completed an MA in languages at Cambridge University. She was very active as both an oboist and a choral scholar in Cambridge. With the help of instrumental and choral scholarships from Jesus College she was able to pursue her musical ambition, finding many opportunities to perform as both an ensemble player and soloist in the Cambridge music scene.
Jonathan Pease
Pianist - Composer - Musical Director
Jonathan Pease graduated with an MA in Music from Cambridge University in 2010 before undertaking further study as a pianist with Graham Fitch. As an accompanist and repetiteur, he has
worked with groups including the Royal Opera House, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne Youth Opera, Spitalfields Music, Opera Holland Park, Chelsea Opera Group and the Orpheus Sinfonia.
Jonathan has duo partnerships with Alastair Penman (saxophone) and Nicola Hands (oboe) and has performed recitals at venues including St James Piccadilly, St Martin in the Fields, and Winchester, Bury and Peterborough Cathedrals.
Jonathan has musically directed from the piano La Traviata for Devon Opera; and Puccini's Suor Angelica and operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan for Opera Anywhere.
Fiercely committed to music-making in his native East London, he conducts the East London Evensong Choir and Aldersbrook Community Choir.
Jonathan is a prolific composer and librettist, with a particular interest in opera and church music. His first full-length opera, These Things Happen, enjoyed eight performances at the Courtyard Theatre, Hoxton, in 2012.
His second, Concrete Music, premièred at Poplar Union in 2020. A children’s opera, St Luke’s Shipwreck, commissioned for the 150th anniversary of an East London Primary School, was first performed in front of the Bishop of Stepney and the Mayor of Tower Hamlets in 2019; while a commissioned chamber opera, Marginalised Groups, was completed during the 2020 lockdown.
Jonathan has just completed a new work for choir and wind orchestra about the 1888 Bow Matchgirls' Strike, commissioned by the East London Music Group and due to receive its first performance in July.
He has been a finalist in the ENO Mini Operas competition and the Opera UpClose Flourish! competition.
http://www.jonathanpease.co.uk
worked with groups including the Royal Opera House, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne Youth Opera, Spitalfields Music, Opera Holland Park, Chelsea Opera Group and the Orpheus Sinfonia.
Jonathan has duo partnerships with Alastair Penman (saxophone) and Nicola Hands (oboe) and has performed recitals at venues including St James Piccadilly, St Martin in the Fields, and Winchester, Bury and Peterborough Cathedrals.
Jonathan has musically directed from the piano La Traviata for Devon Opera; and Puccini's Suor Angelica and operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan for Opera Anywhere.
Fiercely committed to music-making in his native East London, he conducts the East London Evensong Choir and Aldersbrook Community Choir.
Jonathan is a prolific composer and librettist, with a particular interest in opera and church music. His first full-length opera, These Things Happen, enjoyed eight performances at the Courtyard Theatre, Hoxton, in 2012.
His second, Concrete Music, premièred at Poplar Union in 2020. A children’s opera, St Luke’s Shipwreck, commissioned for the 150th anniversary of an East London Primary School, was first performed in front of the Bishop of Stepney and the Mayor of Tower Hamlets in 2019; while a commissioned chamber opera, Marginalised Groups, was completed during the 2020 lockdown.
Jonathan has just completed a new work for choir and wind orchestra about the 1888 Bow Matchgirls' Strike, commissioned by the East London Music Group and due to receive its first performance in July.
He has been a finalist in the ENO Mini Operas competition and the Opera UpClose Flourish! competition.
http://www.jonathanpease.co.uk
Recordings of the works in today's concert
Gabriel Marie Grovlez (1879-1944)
Sarabande et allegro pour hautbois et piano (1929) [5:15]
We open today with this popular work by Grovlez, played here by Seow Ybin in his matriculation concert at Singapore's Anglo-Chinese Junior College. The pianist is fellow student Lynne Huang.
Sarabande et allegro pour hautbois et piano (1929) [5:15]
We open today with this popular work by Grovlez, played here by Seow Ybin in his matriculation concert at Singapore's Anglo-Chinese Junior College. The pianist is fellow student Lynne Huang.
Ronald Binge (1910-1979)
The Watermill (1958) [3:00]
used as theme for BBC Children's TV series The Secret Garden
The duo in this performance are Jeremy Polmear and Daine Ambache.
Jonathan Edward Pease (b1988)
Westbourne Nocturne (2021) [10:15]
Let's use a recording with the music passing on screen. For those who read such things it will show something of Jonathan's writing techniques. He first came to us as pianist with the saxophone player Alastair Penman. At this concert, and on the recording here, the cor anglais is played by Nicola Hands.
Charles Gray Lamont Kennaway (1899-1971)
Watersmeet [5:10]
A note at the head of Westbourne Nocturne says it is intended to be played with Lamont Kennaway's Watersmeet. And so Nicola and Jonathan have programmed according to that note!
Here too, the cor is played by Nicola Hands with Jonathan Pease at the piano.
Piano Solo
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
from Songs without Words Op 53
2 Allegro non troppo in E-flat major "The Fleecy Clouds" MWV U 109 (1839/41)
The pianist here is Leticie Krotká, graduate of Prague's music conservatoire. These days she has branched out somewhat to a career on TV and is quite a sensation in her homeland.
Charles Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986)
Duo for cor anglais and piano Op 156 [4:30]
Recorded at St Mary's Church, Perivale, this recording also comes from today's musicians, Nicola and Jonathan:
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Sonate pour hautbois en ré majeur (for oboe in D major) Op 166 (1921) [11:40]
1 Andantino in D major
2 Ad libitum – Allegretto – Ad libitum in B flat major
3 Molto allegro in D minor - D major
In her 2019 graduation concert from the Zagreb Music Academy, we hear Marta Meštrović, oboe, accompanied by Ivan Batoš.
Previous concert
26 June 2025 - Leatherhead Trinity School's Singer and Players come to LMC, directed by Mrs Hannah Gray, Deputy Headteacher - click here
Next concert
10 July 2025 - Eleftheria Kotzia, classical guitar - click here
