WHATS
ON
MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL AT HURLEY
PAPA TRUCK
Friday 3rd May, 7pm, 2024, Monks Barn, Hurley
Tickets £16 for Adults and £8 for students.
The 5 piece band play original home grown Bluegrass straight out of the Chiltern Valley... High Wycombe... The band started out in 2005 and soon became a strong vocal harmony band focused on writing their own take on bluegrass. They have recorded 4 albums of original material including their most recent album By Your Side.
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Papa Truck have taken American Bluegrass music and added their own British spin and individual influences to make what they call “British Bluegrass”. Proud to be a band that perform original music, they have played in both the local area and abroad, performing at Bluegrass and other music venues and festivals around the UK. Expect a perfect blend of great song writing, vocal harmonies and strong musicianship.
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There will be a long interval during which a fish and chip supper will be served. Separate supper tickets are available online for an additional £15.00 The bar will be open throughout the evening.
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Come and enjoy a fun, informal, convivial opening evening celebration of Hurley’s Music and Arts Festival.
ART, JAZZ AND CREAM TEAS
Saturday 4th May 2024, 11.30am, Monks Barn, Hurley
During the day on Saturday 4th May, take the opportunity to drop in and soak up the relaxed atmosphere of viewing paintings from local artists, sitting down to a delicious cream tea, while all the time being serenaded by the subtle and sophisticated harmonies of a jazz trio….a perfect way to unwind and to enjoy the day. No tickets required – just arrive and be entertained!
FESTIVAL EUCHARIST
Sunday 5th May 2024, 11am, St Mary the Virgin Church, Hurley
A special eucharist with settings and readings to celebrate music and arts as an integral and important part of life. All are welcome.
This will be followed by refreshments in Monks Barn.
YOUNG SOLOISTS
Saturday 4th May, 7pm, 2024, St Mary the Virgin Church, Hurley
Tickets £16 for Adults and £8 for students.
Following the immensely successful inaugural concert in October 2023, another tantalising and unmissable Young Soloists Concert will take place, featuring four highly talented young performers.
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Alice Mackenzie is a bassoonist with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the National Children’s Orchestra and the Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra. She is a music scholar at Leighton Park School in Reading.
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Eleanor Holmes has a scholarship to study violin with Remus Azoitei, international soloist and Professor of violin, at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She was a Leverhulme scholar and co-leader in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2021 – 2023), and leader of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra from 2019 - 2021.
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Alexander Crawford is a student at Woodbridge School in Suffolk. He started playing the piano at age 5, and has since then studied the oboe and organ, as well as composition. He is currently studying with Robin Walker (sub-organist at Canterbury).
In 2022 Alexander was accepted by the Royal College of Music Junior Department to study composition with piano as a second study. He is currently learning a very broad repertoire on the organ, with a particular interest in Mendelssohn and French Classical pieces.
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Ryan Wang, pianist, is just 16 years old and is currently studying on a music scholarship with Gareth Owen at Eton College, and is in the Artist Diploma programme with Professor Marian Rybicki at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in France. Ryan maintains a busy concert career as both a soloist as well as with orchestras across the globe. These include the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Festival Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, West Coast Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsingborg Orchestra.
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Elisabeth Cullen, recipient of a Royal Academy of Music scholarship, achieved distinction in her 2021 music performance diploma. She's performed solo with local choirs and given vocal recitals. Additionally, she holds the position of 'Solo Cantor' at St Mary’s Church, Cadogan Street, London, and excels as a grade 8 violinist and percussionist, also serving as principal viola in the Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra.
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Nigel Wilkinson, musical veteran, will be joining us once again accompanying our young soloists.
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There will be a reception in Monks Barn following the concert.
TAMESIS CHAMBER CHOIR
Sunday 5th May 2024, 7pm, St Mary the Virgin Church, Hurley
Tickets £16 for Adults and £8 for students.
The Sunday evening concert features the Tamesis Chamber Choir under the direction of Louise Rapple Moore. Tamesis is the Latin name for the River Thames, reflecting its links to Reading and the surrounding area.
They regularly perform for various local and national charities, and have been featured several times on local radio and on BBC Radio 3. Tamesis has been styled “one of Berkshire’s best ensembles” with repertoire ranging from sacred to popular music, spanning the centuries from the renaissance period to the present day.
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Louise Rapple Moore studied conducting at the Conservatoire de Pau in southern France whilst at university and began her conducting career by directing the Reading University Singers for two years. She spent several years in Church music as an organist and choir director and then founded Tamesis in 2003.
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The choir will present a programme of mixed repertoire which demonstrates their breadth and flexibility of performance.
The concert will be followed by a reception in Monks Barn.