Welcome to our fortieth newsletter – designed to keep you informed about our activities, as well as other chamber music events.
2019/20 COFFEE CONCERT SEASON BEGINS
The first concert of the new season will be given on 20 October at 11 am in the Attenborough Centre by the Mithras Trio.
- Mozart Piano Trio No.5 in C K.548
- Fauré Piano Trio in D minor Op.120
- Helen Grime Three Whistler Miniatures
- Beethoven Piano Trio in D The Ghost Op.70 No.1
The trio formed in 2017 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and, since then, has won prizes, including the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition 2019, playing Beethoven’s Ghost trio that we shall hear on Sunday. They have played alongside well-known established musicians, including our own President, Levon Chilingirian.
For those who like to prepare for a concert, programme notes are available on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk . Chris Darwin writes about the pieces with his usual depth of knowledge and perception.
We look forward to seeing you there.
THE CORN EXCHANGE REFURBISHMENT
As most members will know, there has been no progress on the project since July when the contractor ceased trading. However, Brighton and Hove Council expects to announce the appointment of an interim contractor shortly and has agreed to appoint a new main contractor, with additional funding. The announcement of the new completion date is expected in the New Year. Meanwhile, to keep spirits up, here is a picture of one of the refurbished windows. Each such window requires the replacement of 185 panes of glass.
PRACTICALITIES
The Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (ACCA), formerly the Gardner Centre, is at the University of Sussex at Falmer. We are still using ACCA while the refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange enters its final stages.
There is free parking at the Sports Centre, near the Attenborough Centre, and at other car parks on the campus nearby (it being Sunday). There are also excellent public transport links:
- by train from Brighton or Lewes; or
- by bus: No. 25 from Hove and Brighton, No. 23 from Brighton Marina or No.s 28 and 29 from Brighton or, coming the other way, from Tunbridge Wells via Uckfield and Lewes.
Help with transport
A happy tradition is established whereby Strings Attached members offer lifts to others who would otherwise have difficulty with transport. If a lift has not already been arranged for you and you would like a lift, or if you would like to offer one, please email the secretary Margaret Polmear on m.polmear@btinternet.com . It will only be possible to find a lift for you if there happens to be someone in your area who is offering one.
Ticket prices for the coffee concerts have again been held at £18.50 (concessions £16). A season ticket for all six concerts is £99 (concessions £84). A half-season ticket for the three concerts in 2019 or the three in 2020 is £49.50 (concessions £42).
Tickets for all concerts are available from the Brighton Dome box office (01273 709709) or http://www.brightondome.org or from The Attenborough Centre on the day. Tickets for those aged 8 – 25 are free as part of the Cavatina Scheme. They can only be booked by visiting the box office in person. The Brighton Dome box office can issue these free tickets in advance; the ACCA box office will be open on the morning of the concert. Either the young person should be present at the time of booking, or the person booking for him or her must show proof of age, e.g. a passport. Under 14s must be accompanied to the concert by a paying adult.
MEMBERSHIP
Unless you have already done so, now is the time to renew your membership of Strings Attached for the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020. Membership renewal forms can be downloaded from https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk/friends/ .Payment can be made by bank transfer or by cheque but the form still needs to be sent by post. For Gift Aid reasons please complete one form per person. Paid-up members will receive a membership card which, to save postage, we plan to deliver initially at the October concert, and which can be used to obtain a glass of sherry or fruit juice during coffee concert intervals.
We hope you will choose to renew your membership and support our work – and encourage like-minded people to join us too.
OTHER CHAMBER MUSIC EVENTS
If you have the stamina after this Sunday’s Coffee Concert, go to Seaford for the 3 pm concert of the Seaford Music Society. The Divertimenti Ensemble will play a tremendous programme: Mendelssohn’s Octet, a specially commissioned piece by Sally Beamish, and works by Bax, Lutoslawski and Mozart.
The series of chamber music concerts run by the Nicholas Yonge Society in Lewes restarts on 25 October with a concert by the Esmé String Quartet playing Webern, Schumann and Schubert (the G major). Tickets are available on http://www.nyslewes.org.uk or on the door.
Details of concerts in local churches (including the relatively new venues of St Mary’s Kemptown and St Mary de Haura in Shoreham) and those organised by other music societies in Seaford, Steyning and Chichester can be accessed via the Strings Attached chamber music calendar. For those not familiar with the concerts at Champs Hill, near Pulborough, the organisers specialise in concerts by talented young musicians in the early stages of their careers. Go to https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk and choose “Calendar” from the menu.
Finally, Brighton Early Music Festival will run from 25 October to 10 November. Booking is now open. It’s a tremendous line-up.