PrettyInScarlett

rock chamber... stage set for Red Priest In case you didn’t know… Red Priest are an early music group with a huge amount of style, virtuosity and ingenuity. Whilst I’d heard of the group, I didn’t know this until I saw them in Skipton, 9th February 2016. The group (Piers Adams, Angela East, Adam Summerhayes and David Wright) were in town to perform their show ‘Handel in the Wind’, based on their album of the same name. Whilst a good proportion of the performance was based around Suite from the Messiah (very cleverly arranged by cellist Angela East) – of the suite, I thought Siciliano Pedicuro the best – I actually preferred some of the other pieces. The final allegro from the Sonata in F major Op 2 No 4 was a real foot-tapping number.  I also enjoyed David Wright’s improvisation around Prelude in B flat for harpsichord , leading into Largo and Passacaglia in G minor – a lovely cello and violin spotlight, followed by a sprightly Passacaglia featuring the violin-as-drum;...

Many moons ago, we saw bright young things Kitty, Daisy & Lewis touring their debut album at Clwb Ifor Bach and were suitably impressed with their r'n'b/blues/swing/rock/you name it mix.  Moving forward 8 years and the recorded output of the band (definitely still bright and young!) has strengthened - I strongly recommend listening to latest album The Third - a lot more original writing and plenty of sass. The opportunity to hear them live again was a definite yes. Not to mention a good excuse for a weekend trip to Sheffield.  Dosed up on Remo's coffee and with a pit stop at The Devonshire Cat , we arrived at The Plug to see support band Kiziah and The Kings from Doncaster. We'd not researched the band before, but they are a pretty funky mix of soul/rock/reggae with a very confident manner; and a pretty good front singer with Kiziah. An enjoyable set - their sounds are available (and definitely worth a listen) at Bandcamp , Soundcloud etc.  Tan Tan an...

In between unpacking and seasonal preparation, I found time in December to join Skipton Ukulele Club   - great fun! Including joining in their Christmas charity gigs on 19th December. Piano practice became somewhat less enthused.... Whilst I don't do New Years Resolutions per se, I took the turning of a new year to revisit performing and practicing. On 2nd January, I attended the first Players for Pleasure group meeting of the year in central Leeds. Players for Pleasure is like a piano group but for all instruments. As well as piano, we heard pieces for flute, clarinet, alto sax, guitar, cello, tin whistle (as well as combinations/duets/quartets). Everyone was really friendly and I look forward to going again - maybe even bringing along my ukulele!! On Wednesday 6th January, I headed to London for the latest instalment of the Piano-Yoga Club. I have been using the Piano-Yoga exercise book for a few years now, but hadn't been to any events as yet. The Piano-Yoga Club...

Not quite 2 weeks into Skipton life and time for my first concert courtesy of Skipton Music . I recognised Yuanfan Yang from his Leeds International Piano Competition entry - definitely a 'one to watch' name! Arriving at Skipton Town Hall , I found that the main hall was pretty full. Definitely more people than a typical Darlington Piano Society concert. The hall has quite a high stage so there aren't really any bad seats.  In his brief speech to the crowd, Yuanfan referenced his previous concert here, 10 years ago!?! Yuanfan spoke with a good degree of confidence and humour. The concert programme was as follows: Liszt, La Vallée d'Obermann from Années de Pélerinage Y. Yang, Ode to the Atlantic Schumann, Carnaval Op. 9 Schubert, Klavierstücke - No. 1 in E flat from Drei Klavierstücke D. 946 P. Cashian, Landscape (1995) Prokofiev, Sonata No. 7 in B flat, Op. 83 I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of a self-penned work and a recent compos...

The Red House - Old Shire Hall Still on a roll after my Thursday trip to London, M and I continued the farewell-to-Durham party with Lumiere on Friday.  I obtained tickets for the Friday evening ticketed slot - remembering the post-ticketing queues from 2013's edition - and M and I met a few friends to explore. There were still more larger installations - still not quite as completely random/otherworldly as some of Québec Lumière 2012 - but a very high quality of work. We headed first to Old Elvet for the The Red House and Dreamers .  The Red House in particular was very well done. Heading onto the peninsula, we went to see the Cathedral installations. The World Machine , this year's exterior sound/light installation, was fantastic; a visual explanation of the birth of cosmology. Once we had queued into the Cathedral (this section - not enough thought into the organisation) we were treated to Complex Meshes ; this interactive display on the vault ceiling referred to...

About a year ago I was invited to join the Facebook group Piano Network UK. The group is for pianists, teachers, composers, promoters, tuners, journalists: anyone with a specific interest in the UK piano scene. A very friendly bunch, as shown by the 'launch event' held in London last Thursday, 12th November.  The event was initially booked months ago and in the meantime my diary has become very full - such that 3 hours each way to London and back became valuable downtime!  I had also booked an audience ticket rather than performer - it would have been great to perform, but a good decision in the end as I had (still have!) no brain space to prepare anything at the moment. The meetup was held in 1901 Arts Club which is a really small, intimate venue just next to Waterloo station - along one of those curious super-narrow London streets. The ground floor was our performance space for the evening; upstairs there is a cozy bar and lounge. Once we got started, the vibe ...

With all the excitement about moving, we will definitely miss this place! Arriving here still homesick for Ottawa, it was great moving into such a friendly area. I'll miss the music groups most definitely; whilst Durham Amateur Pianists isn't continuing in present form, Let's Play the Piano! Newcastle and the Gateshead Piano Workshop are still strong.  Farewell home grown apples   After the amazing Eliza Carthy back in August, it's been so hectic we've not made any concerts etc. I finally made it to Empty Shop the other week for their Cassette Store Day related music fair thing and some good beer. No cassettes purchased (many years since I last had a tape deck) but I did acquire The Caroline EP by local band Dennis . Warm, bouncy, feel-good songs with a brass twist, very nicely done. Also on Facebook . Back there just yesterday for Wax In The Attic , an all-day vinyl fair/event. My most notable 'why not?' purchase was Musique de film imaginé by...