Lunchtime Concert Series - Spring 2022

Live in The Tung Auditorium, Wednesdays @13.00

Our popular Lunchtime Concerts last approximately 50 minutes.  They are free to attend and feature music connected to learning, teaching and research in the Department of Music.  They also provide a platform for our extensive network of professional musicians in the region.

Booking available from Monday 17 January here 

Listings:

Wednesday 2 February @ 13.00

Come and See, Come and Sing

Be part of the first public audience to enter The Tung Auditorium with this showcase of choral activity at the University of Liverpool. The concert will feature All Voices, the Staff Choir, and the Chamber Choir performing Vivaldi's Gloria.  The University's Choral Director Louise Ellinson will also create opportunities for you to test out the venue's acoustic using your own vocal chords.

Wednesday 9 February @ 13.00  

 Rekesh Chauhan (piano) and Kousic Sen (tabla)  

Multi-award winning British pianist and composer Rekesh Chauhan and iTunes World Charts Top 3 artist returns to Liverpool for a lunchtime concert of Indian classical music. Trained in both Indian and Western Classical music, Rekesh was awarded 'Young Musician of the Year' at the National Indian Arts Awards in 2018 and has collaborated with a range of musicians from Nobel Peace Prize performers to Mercury Prize Award winners.  Rekesh is joined in this concert by internationally renowned tabla maestro and Milap Artist-in-Residence Kousic Sen.  

Co-promotion with Milap 

Wednesday 16 February @ 13.00 

 Wirral Brass Quintet 

Wirral Brass Quintet is a newly formed brass ensemble that focuses on education across the Wirral. The performance will comprise of authentic music arranged for brass quintet from Samuel Scheidt to Malcolm Arnold. Suitable for all ages. 

In partnership with Liverpool Philharmonic 

Wednesday 23 February @ 13.00 

 Yaatri

Dom Kilsby drums 

Joe Wilkes bass 

Rosie Miles vocals 

Felix Bertulis-Webb piano 

Liam Narain DeTar guitar 

Yaatri is an award winning five-piece art-rock/jazz crossover group formed in Leeds in 2018. Their blend of complex composition and ethereal soundscapes captivates the heart as well as the mind. Influenced by the momentum of the rhythms of India, immersive timbres of electronic music, and energy of rock and roll, their music has a strong sense of purpose and journey. 

Co-promotion with Parrjazz

Wednesday 2 March @ 13.00 

 James Kreiling plays Late Scriabin with lighting performance by Ian Costabile and Taran Harris

James Kreiling specialises in the music of the early 20th century, and particularly that of Scriabin. His recordings encompassing the composer’s complete late piano music are critically acclaimed, including a five star review in BBC Music Magazine. Inspired by Scriabin’s artistic vision, he often presents music in unusual formats and locations and is co-founder of Multiphonic Arts. This concert will include Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas no.s 6 and 10, accompanied by a lighting performance by Ian Costabile and Taran Harris.   

Wednesday 2 March @ 14.30  

Public Workshop with pianist James Kreiling and Professor Kenneth Forkert-Smith 

(90 minutes) 

James Kreiling and Professor Kenneth Forkert-Smith, co-editor of De-mystifying Scriabin present an overview of Scriabin’s experiments in colour-music. The workshop will introduce the 21st century version of Scriabin’s famous tastiera per luce – his colour organ – now using Midi and MAX/MSP, and will talk through how the colours projected in today’s concert have been derived from an analysis of the music. Participants will have the chance to project colours for themselves along with the music. 

Wednesday 9 March @ 13.00 

Gazelleband 

Reem Anbar oud 

Louis Brehony buzuq

Arian Sadr percussion 

Led by pioneering Palestinian oud player Reem Anbar and multi-instrumentalist Louis Brehony, Gazelleband bring the traditional and rebellious sounds of the Arab world into new spaces and soundworlds. Following a recent European tour and the release of the CD Rihla (Journey) #1, this concert launches the group's 2022 programme in Britain. 

Wednesday 9 March @ 14.30 

Public Workshop with oud player Reem Anbar (90 minutes) 

Exploresome of the advanced rhythmic traditions shaping music from Egypt to Syria, with an opportunity for musicians and non-performers to interact with Reem and the band.

Wednesday 16 March @ 13.00 

Pixels Ensemble  

Sophie Rosa and Thelma Handy violins 

Vicci Wardman viola 

Jonathan Aasgaard cello 

Ian Buckle piano 

Sergei Taneyev Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 30 

The music of Sergei Taneyev has been long overshadowed by the popularity of his contemporaries Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. He was sometimes called ‘the Russian Brahms’, especially for the rich lyricism of his chamber music. The G minor Piano Quintet is his masterpiece - full-blooded Russian fervour, fire and finesse on a symphonic scale. 

Wednesday 23 March @ 13.00 

Solem Quartet + Mark Simpson  

Mark Simpson clarinet 

Amy Tress & William Newell violins 

Stephen Upshaw viola 

Stephanie Tress cello 

Mark Simpson Darkness Moves 

Clara Schumann (arr. Tress) 3 Romances 

Connie Compton-Stewart Duality of Gesture 

Simon Holt Burlesca Oscura 

University of Liverpool Ensemble-in-Residence, the Solem Quartet, has established itself as a leading exponent of new music.  They are joined today by Liverpool-born composer and clarinetist Mark Simpson who has established himself as a major new voice on the international stage, since winning the BBC Young Musician and Young Composer of the Year in 2006. The programme includes a new work by alumna Connie Compton-Stewart. 

Wednesday 23 March @ 13.00 

 Public Workshop with clarinettist and composer Mark Simpson (90 minutes) 

Mark Simpson gives a post-concert workshop on performing with electronics. Mark Simpson has established himself as a major new voice on the international stage, hailed as a “revelation” (Bachtrack) and “standout” (Guardian). As a performer and composer, he is committed to new music and his compositions have been performed at the BBC Proms, Salzburg and Edinburgh International Festivals. 

Wednesday 27 April @ 13.00 

Olivier Messiaen, Birds and Colours - Performing Nature

Megan Rowlands flute 

Tom Verity clarinet 

Richard Casey piano 

Ian Costabile lighting 

Olivier Messiaen Le Merle Noir (flute & piano) 

Olivier Messiaen ‘Le Merle Bleu’ from Catalogue d'Oiseaux (solo piano) 

Olivier Messiaen Abîme des Oiseaux from Quartet for the End of Time (solo clarinet) 

This concert will showcase three of Messiaen's chamber movements with a focus on their birdsong writing, with performers 'playing bird' to draw on naturalistic bird qualities in their performance. The concert will also play host to a light show to accompany the performance, to help listeners draw their own images of the birds with their associated shapes, colours and settings. The audience is invited to delve into the world of birds during this concert, with opportunities afterwards to ask the performers how they have drawn their birds from Messiaen's compositions.  

Supported by the NWCDTP AHRC Targeted Funding Scheme and Musical Futures at The Tung Auditorium

Wednesday 4 May @ 13.00 

 Department of Music Highlights 1 

The Department of Music presents composition and performance highlights from the year. 

Wednesday 11 May @ 13.00 

Department of Music Highlights 2 

The Department of Music presents more composition and performance highlights from the year including collaborations with Ensemble-in-Residence, the Solem Quartet, and Honorary Visiting Scholar Shu Xue (yangqin).