Author: Kathy

The Astatine Trio is composed of sisters Berniya Hamie (piano) and Riya Hamie (cello), along with Maja Horvat (violin).  The Trio was formed at the Royal College of Music and has been mentored by Alfred Brendel and selected as Britten Pears Young Artists for 2023/24, as well as also being named Prizewinner in Lyon.  They will be playing at the Wigmore Hall on 3 May at 1pm.  Full details on the Wigmore Hall website.

You can also catch them in Brighton on Friday 10 May at 12.30pm where they will be taking part in a series of concerts celebrating the 100th anniversary of Springboard – Brighton & Hove Performing Arts Festival.

Sunday 21 January 2024, 3-6pm, The Old Market, Hove

Leading jazz musicians from the UK and Europe, alongside local artists and young players, will perform in a showcase of jazz music’s rising generation. Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band, the emerging jazz quintet Squint (featuring Springboard regulars Tyzer and Aidan), and  headline act: the fabulous Ukrainian singer and composer Ganna Gryniva, in her first UK performance.

Jazz for Ukraine is in support of the charity War Child, which works in conflict zones across the world to provide children with access to professional psychological support. A representative from War Child will give a short presentation on their work in Ukraine to open our concert: an afternoon of wonderful live music, with an invitation to donate at the end.

Do come along and support this wonderful event.

Congratulations to the Astatine Trio, including Springboard participants,  Berniya and Riya Hamie, have been selected as Britten Pears Young Artists for 2023/24, as one of 5 ensembles on the Chamber Music in Residence programme. They will be playing two concerts as part of their Snape Maltings residency next year.

You can read more here.

Another event not to be missed!

Richard Durrant, who will be adjudicating our guitar section in 2024, is playing this Thursday at St Michael’s Church, Lewes at 7.30pm.

Award-winning Brighton-born siblings Berniya and Riya Hamie perform a varied programme of cello and piano music, including Debussy’s colourful and virtuosic cello sonata.

For more information click here.

Pianist Alim Beisembayev, First Prize winner at The Leeds International Piano Competition in September 2021, will be playing a programme of Beethoven, Debussy and Ravel at Brighton College on Wednesday 30 September 2023.

If you are interested in attending please see further details on the flyer

Tyzer started playing at Springboard when he was around 10 years old in the violin and piano classes and has continued to take part since.

He has been teaching violin and piano for 4 years and has accompanied one of his violin students on the piano in her Grade 1 exam. He started composing during the Covid Lockdowns and realised that is what he loves doing.

He applied to various conservatoires in October, after teaching himself composition.  He really didn’t think he would get in, but had several offers. He will be starting his BMus (Hons) course in Composition at RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music) in September.

He also plays in a jazz band called Squint (as there are 5 of them) and writes some of the music for the band.

On 12 October 2022, Brighton & East Sussex Orchestra’s String Ensemble celebrates 150 years of Vaughan Williams in a concert to raise money for bursaries for children and young people who would otherwise be unable to access music education.

Tickets are by donation and all money raised will go to Encore, the fundraising arm of Create Music, the music hub for Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. Donations will enable families with low incomes to access music making opportunities across the region.

More information here: Brighton and East Sussex String Ensemble play at Skylark Parade | Create Music

Springboard sponsor, Eugenia Cheng, was on ‘More or Less’ on Radio 4 this week considering the question of how many possible melodic combinations there are of the major and minor scale.  It’s an interesting listen and is available on BBC Sounds.