What we’ve been up to

It has been an exciting year so far for Poliphonia with three successful concerts! In January at the Warehouse, in May at the 1901 Arts Club both in London and in June at Albyn School in Aberdeen.

At the launch concert at the Warehouse there were seven musicians taking part: the Coull Quartet, flutist Marcelo Barboza, pianist Clelia Iruzun and double bass player Sarah Neil. The programme was dedicated to Brazilian composers such as Marlos Nobre, Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri with three UK premieres by Villani-Cortes, Ronaldo Miranda and João Guilherme Ripper.

The second concert at the 1901 Arts Club had three artists: soprano Gabriella Di Laccio and pianists Yoko Ono and Clelia Iruzun. They performed works from seven countries of the Americas. The composers were:

Amy Beach and L. Bernstein (US), T. Varcarcél (Peru), A. Estévez (Venezuela), Lecuona (Cuba), Lorenzo Fernandez (Brazil), Francisco Mignone (Brazil) and  UK premieres by Bernardo Cardona (Colombia), Saúl Cosentino (Argentina) and Ricardo Tacuchian (Brazil).

The third concert was a collaboration with the Albyn School in Aberdeen and Poliphonia started one of its main objectives to have young musicians playing alongside experienced ones. The pianist Clelia Iruzun and double bass player Sarah Neil played with the young cellist Lucy Neil, recently graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music. There was a mixture of repertoire including Villa-Lobos, Mignone, Cervantes, Marlos Nobre and a premiere by Villani-Cortes as well as music by Chopin (the cello Sonata), Schostakovich and Sally Beamish. The school string ensemble and choir also performed the famous La Cucaracha which proved a great success.

There is another concert coming up on the 12th October with guitarris Fabricio Mattos and flutist Lucas Jordan at the October Gallery.  They will perform works by Leo Brower (Cuba), Mario Ferraro (Brazil), Lowell Liebermann (US) and Piazzola (Argentina).

More events will be announced soon!!