A pupil of both Schoenberg and Mahler, Alexander Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer and conductor who notably taught composition to Berg, Webern and Korngold. Whilst not hugely prolific, his corpus of works, initially Brahmsian in style, has struggled to achieve the fame that they arguably deserve. With his later pieces. containing intense concentration of emotion, this light work is very much an aberration.
Sally Beamish is one of the UK’s most distinguished composer’s with a catalogue of works for soloists such as Hakan Hardenberger, Martin Frost, Steven Isserlis and Janine Jansen. Originally a viola player in the London Sinfonietta and Academy of St Martin in the Fields, she moved to Scotland in 1990 to focus on composition. Her output contains many pieces for saxophone(s) and for viola, in addition to three oratorios and many concertos.
i Allegretto, ii Lento rubato, iii Allegro possibile - Andante - Allegro - meno mosso - Tempo primo
Crawford-Seeger is notable not just for the gender barries she overcame as a female composer of her era, but also for her pioneering modernism, effectively linking the idioms of Charles Ives and Elliot Carter, and her championing of folk music. Born in Ohio, Ruth Crawford trained as a pianist before her composition talent was spotted by fellow composer Henry Cowell, who arranged for her lessons in New York with Charles Seeger, who she later married. After travelling to Europe in 1931-32 on the first Guggenheim fellowship for composition awarded to a woman, she worked transcribing and publishing field recordings of folk songs by John and Alan Lomax in addition to teaching and raising four children. She however produced few compositions during this period. The suite for wind quintet dates from her “late period” after her composition break ended in the late 1940s and is a good reflection of her modernist methods such as serialism in practice earlier in her career.
i Allegro ma non troppo, ii Lento, iii Molto Vivace, iv Vivace ma non troppo
Often considered the greatest Czech composer of classical music, Antonin Dvorak took over from his compatriot Bedrich Smetana (1824-84,) as the music voice of a region struggling for national identity in the face of prolongued rule by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Mentored by Brahms, he was reportedly such a fanatic for newly developing train travel that he once declared that he would “gladly trade all his symphonies in order to have been the inventory of the locomotiv steam engine.”
Dogoda Quintet (Wind ensemble)
Formed at the Royal Academy of Music after playing together as principals in the National Youth Orchestra, Dogoda Quintet is fast becoming recognised as an up-and-coming ensemble of its generation of the UK chamber music scene. Dogoda has received coaching through the Royal Academy of Music from Amy Harman of the Orsino Ensemble, Michael Thompson of the Michael Thompson Wind Quintet and Jo Cole, the previous head of strings at the Royal Academy of Music.
Sofia Patterson-Gutierrez (Flute) is 19, from Stockport, and has just completed her first year studying with Michael Cox at the Royal Academy of Music in London on a full scholarship. Previous to the Academy, she attended Chetham’s School of Music where she studied with Fiona Fulton. She went on to win the Chetham’s concerto competition in 2021 and was the woodwind grand finalist of the BBC Young Musician competition 2022. She was also the principal flute of the National Youth Orchestra in 2022 and 2023. Sofia is very grateful for the opportunities at the Royal Academy, having played as principal in the Academy Symphony Orchestra and was the recent winner of the piccolo prize.
Emily Long (Oboe) is in her second year reading music at Clare College Cambridge. Currently studying the oboe with Christopher Cowie, she previously attended the junior department of the Royal Academy of Music where she performed the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto. Her passion for orchestral music was fuelled by her time as the principal oboist of the National Youth Orchestra in 2022 and 2023 and she currently plays with Odyssey Festival Orchestra and the Cambridge University Orchestra, as well as other chamber groups and orchestras throughout the university. She has enjoyed performing in recent masterclasses with Alexei Ogrintchouk and Nicholas Daniel.
Raj Bhaumik (Clarinet) studied at the Music School of Douglas Academy and Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, before starting his undergraduate degree at the Royal Academy of Music in 2023 on an ABRSM Scholarship. Raj studies Clarinet with Christopher Richards and Sonia Sielaff, E-Flat Clarinet with Chi-Yu Mo and Historical Clarinets with Katherine Spencer. He has enjoyed playing in the Academy Symphony Orchestra and in masterclasses with Andrew Marriner, Patrick Messina, Anthony McGill and Yehuda Gilad. Raj was a member of NYOGB for 5 years, including one as principal and with a feature on BBC Radio 3’s “In Tune.” He has won awards from Glasgow Music Festival and the Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain.
Chloe Harrison (Horn) is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music under a full scholarship (Drapers Company for Music Award) with Michael Thompson and Martin Owen.
Recent performances include Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with James Gilchrist, Mozart’s 4th horn concerto with the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, and Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with the Camerata Chamber Orchestra.
In addition, Chloe has performed at the prestigious Wigmore Hall both as a soloist and an ensemble player, a highlight being the Schubert Octet with the Academy Soloists Ensemble.
Chloe was Joint Principal Horn in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 2022 and 2023.
Tom Donkin (Bassoon) grew up in Garlieston, Wigtownshire and was a pupil at the Douglas Ewart High School, Newton Stewart. He started learning (mini)bassoon when he was eight. During these early stages, he was taught by Christine Job. When Tom was 11, he successfully auditioned for the Junior Conservatoire (JC) where he studied bassoon with Rebecca Roberts. Thanks to Rebecca’s encouragement, he successfully auditioned for the Grampian Youth Orchestra (age 13), the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain (also age 13), the West of Scotland Schools Orchestra (age 17) and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britan (age 16 and 17). Tom was one of the joint principals of the bassoon section for NYO. In 2022, Tom was one of the winners for the JC’s Concerto Competition. As a result, he played the Weber Bassoon Concerto, accompanied by the JC’s Symphony Orchestra. Locally, Tom participated in the Galloway Music Festival since he was seven and regularly played at the fund-raising concerts for the Festival and other good causes. Tom is now under the tutelage Robin O’Neil and Fraser Gordon and is studying for a BMus in Bassoon at the Royal Academy of Music.
Piano
14 November 2024
Scan for extended notes & bios: