A Flavour of the Award Concert

To give a flavour of the competition, here is a summary of the programme from the 2009 Award

TOMMY ANDREWS opened the evening with 'Time Remembered' by Bill Evans, capturing superbly the influence of Impressionists Satie and Debussy.

Viola player, SARAH SPENCELAYH then enchanted the audience with Bruch’s 'Kol Nidrei'. The rich, warm colours of the viola admirably expressing the sentiments of this much-loved cello classic.

THOMAS DAISH then transported us to the dark world of Schubert’s 'Erlkonig', the more lyrical parts impressively demonstrating his splendid tenor register – surely a voice of the future.

By contrast but no less dramatic was clarinettist, SOPHIE GOODWIN playing 'Romanza' from Poulenc’s clarinet sonata - a masterful performance of this technically demanding piece. The Fuguetta from Finzi’s 5 Bagatelles which followed was the perfect antidote with its quirky, rhythmic humour.

Soprano, MEHREEN SHAH, then delighted the audience as her clear tones filled the Abbey in Dowland’s 'Sorrow Stay'. For the Brahms 'Immer Lieser wird mein Schlumer', her voice acquired a deeper hue, the wistfulness returning with spine tingling effect for 'Once you lose your heart'.

BEN CLARK on Marimba then played a hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric Etude in E major by Musser, changing the mood utterly to set toes tapping into the interval with George Hamilton Greens 'Log Cabin Blues' .

The concert resumed with BEN CLARK, this time on drum kit. A highly inventive freestyle piece of his own, rich in colour and texture, featuring diverse techniques and effects, his flamboyant stick trick (skilfully missing the pendant light!!) thrilling the audience.

ABBIE PULLMAN was inspired by the acoustics of the Abbey to present an unaccompanied programme on French horn. ‘Laudatio’, by Berhard Krol, a very expressive piece illustrating his flair for sonorities and idiomatic horn writing, was followed by the light hearted 'Romp' by Jeffrey Agrell in which Abbie demonstrated with great panache some of the more unusual techniques available to the horn player.

THOMAS DAISH returned to the stage, this time with his oboe, the plaintive mood of Schumann’s 'Romance no 1' in exquisite harmony with the serenity of the church.

Finally TOMMY ANDREWS brought the evening to a close with 3 jazz numbers: 'Two not One' by Lennie Tristano, 'Euridice' by Chris Potter and 'Straight Street' by John Coltrane.  This assured, rounded musician demonstrated complete mastery of his instrument and, with the addition of bass, piano and drums, transported the audience to the realms of Ronnie Scott's.

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If you would like to know more about the careers of our performers or winners, you may like to Google their names.