Be Heard!

Peterborough Cultural Alliance wants to hear from every Peterborough resident aged 16+ about what you do and where you go to have fun and be creative. It has commissioned the “Be Heard!” survey, which takes about ten minutes to complete, and which will help the alliance make good decisions about how to make Peterborough a great place to find fun and creative things to do. Completing the survey also gives you a chance of winning one of six £150 shopping vouchers.

St John’s is one of the venues listed in the survey, so if you’re someone who comes along to concerts or exhibitions here or takes part in our craft activities you should definitely make your voice heard!

The survey is running all this month so don’t worry if you don’t have time to take part right now.

1st August: Lunchtime Concert – Mariko Terashi (Piano)

TThe Tuesdays Till Two summer season continues with a concert by Leicester-based Japanese pianist Mariko Terashi. Last year Mariko very kindly agreed to play for us at just 48 hours notice, after another performer had to withdraw due to a family emergency. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but it’s fair to say that we were amazed by just how wonderful Mariko’s concert was that day, so we had no hesitation in inviting her back for a return appearance this year. This lunchtime concert will again include baroque period music by Scarlatti and Seixas, but also more recent works, including one by Joe Hisaishi, the composer for many of Studio Ghibli’s animated films, a taster for Mariko’s next appearance on 29th October, when she’ll be performing in a special candle-lit concert with violinist Tamaki Higashi, when they’ll be playing more music by Joe Hisaishi.

As ever the church will be open for an hour before the concert begins, with volunteers from the pop-up café team offering lots of home made sweet and savoury treats as well as hot and cold drinks.

The concert will begin promptly at 1pm. Admission is free, but those who are able to afford it are asked to make a donation. The suggested amount is £5.

Programme:

Sonata in E flat Major K. 414. Andante Cantabile – D. Scarlatti
Sonata in G Major K.146 Allegretto – D. Scarlatti
Sonata n.50 in G minor Allegro – C. Seixas.
Prelude & Fugue in A minor J. S. Bach arr Liszt
Sarabande from Suite N.2 Op.10 – G. Enesco
Etude in C-Sharp Minor Op.2 N.1 – A. Scriabin,
Étude in E Major Op.8 N.5 – A. Scriabin
Étude in D-sharp minor Op.8 N.12 – A. Scriabin
One Summer’s day – Joe Hisaishi

About Mariko Terashi

Japanese pianist Mariko Terashi pursued her musical training with Yvonne Lefébure in France, with début appearances in public concerts after winning the György Cziffra Award in Senlis, France.

Since moving to the UK in 1995, she has regularly appeared on the concert platform as a soloist and chamber musician, including concertos by Ravel and Mozart with the University of Leicester Sinfonia.

Mariko is particularly interested in the piano adaptation of 17^th/18^th century French harpsichord music, and she has continued to deepen her understanding of this repertoire, notably in dialogue with Huguette Dreyfus, the renowned, now late, French harpsichordist. She has developed her own playing style that retains the poise and ornamentation of the original music, while exploring the warmer timbre of the piano. Regarded as ‘offering fresh insights into music’, she responds with ‘delicate nuance’ and ‘tremendous emotional depth’.

Her last CD ‘Carlos de Seixas, François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau’ has received great reviews so far – “splendid, revealing with great clarity all the harmonic, contrapuntal and decorative detail”, “Terashi’s playing is elegant, sober, and poetic, mining for more sonority than could ever be obtained from a harpsichord”. It has been broadcasted on Antena 2 in Portugal, and is referenced in Vol.6 of Portuguese Composers repertoire for pianists.

28th March: Lunchtime Concert – Danny Shackell and Steve Hession (Vocals & Piano)

Continuing our crossover season of lunchtime concerts we reach “Swing” as the final stop on our whistle-stop tour of musical genres, when we welcome vocalist Danny Shackell, making his St John’s début, and pianist Steve Hession, who performed for us twice in our 2019 café concert season.

Danny studied at the Paul McCartney Institute (LIPA), and since graduating has had a successful career on both stage (including a stint with Michael Ball), and as a principal vocalist on luxury cruise ships. With a baby on the way, Danny has returned home, giving us the opportunity to hear him perform in the slightly less exotic setting of St John’s.

Admission is free, but we do ask those who can afford it to make a donation to help cover our costs. The suggested donation is £5.

As ever, our pop-up café offering lots of home made sweet and savoury treats as well as hot and cold drinks will be open for the hour before the concert, but for this season the church will be open throughout the day between 9am and 5pm as the St John’s Winter Support Hub continues to offer food, warmth and practical support for anyone affected by the cost of living crisis.

14th June: Lunchtime Concert – Krassimira Jeliazkova-Jones and David Newland (Violin & Viola)

In a change to our previously advertised programme, our spring season of concerts concludes with a violin and viola duo concert. Bulgarian violinist Krassimira Jeliazkova-Jones is joined by violist and former RPO member David Newland for a concert featuring music by Handel, Mozart and American violinist and composer Benedikt Brydern.

Krassimira’s Violin & Piano Duo concert with Elizabeth Mucha will now take place on 18th October, to allow time for Elizabeth to recover from a recent operation.

As ever St John’s will be open for an hour before the concert begins, with volunteers from the pop-up café team offering lots of home made sweet and savoury treats as well as hot and cold drinks.

The concert will begin promptly at 1pm. Admission is free, but those who are able to afford it are asked to make a donation. The suggested amount is £5.

Programme:

Handel (arranged Johan Halvorsen) – Sarabande

Mozart – Duo for violin and viola B flat Major:
1. Adagio. Allegro
2. Andante cantabile
3. Thema con variazioni. Andante grazioso

Benedikt Brydern – Bebop for Beagles:
1. Hoover’s Holiday
2. Roosevelt’s Sun Shower
3. Flea Control: Mission Impossible
4. Kitchen Blues
5. Bebop for Beagles

About Krassimira Jeliazkova-Jones:

Violinist Krassimira Jeliazkova-Jones received her MA in Music Performance in the National Music Academy in her native Sofia, Bulgaria. She then continued honing her skills with renowned violin professors such as Franco Gulli, Igor Bezrodni and K. Aroutounian in Brussels, Belgium and Moscow, Russia. She became a highly versatile musician, being involved in a wide range of activities, from orchestra membership, to leadership of a number of chamber orchestras, co-leadership of the world renowned Moscow Academic State Orchestra and extensive solo performances. Her professional career took her to a number of countries, such as Russia, France, Belgium, Turkey, Poland, Japan, Egypt, Spain, among others.

She moved to the UK in September 2015 and has since been involved in a number of solo, chamber music and orchestra performances in London’s St. Martin in the Fields, Brighton’s Open Borders Festival, Bishop Stortford, Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds, Brentwood, among others. She lives and teaches in Essex, having performed the solo part in a few major violin concertos, such as Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Mendelssohn.

About David Newland:

David Newland comes from Stoke-on-Trent where he showed early promise as a violin student. He gained a music scholarship to Repton and went on to study music at the Royal Manchester College of Music under Endre Wolf and Paul Cropper. His first orchestral appointment was with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra where he became sub principal viola. After a spell as principal viola with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, he subsequently came to London as sub-principal with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and then co-principal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has now retired from the RPO but still enjoys freelance work, chamber music, gardening, and following the activities of his grandchildren.

Back soon we hope!

When we announced the suspension of all our events on March 16th last year, we had no idea just how long we would be away. We still don’t know for sure quite when our regular events – Tuesdays Till Two and Piccolo – will return, but we are working on it now and hope to be able to run at least some events before Christmas.

Unfortunately, due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, as well as by the departure of our previous treasurer, we have had problems with operating our bank account, and our insurance policy has lapsed, making it impossible for us to run events just yet. As our programme manager, Alun Williams, has also been kept very busy in his other role as a churchwarden at St John’s by the departure of the vicar, and because our bank has taken a lot of convincing that our previous treasurer is not the person they should be talking to, it is taking time to regain control of our account, and until we can do that we can’t arrange a new insurance policy.

Things are looking up however, and we are optimistic we’ll be in a position to start running events again soon.

And the even better news is that other organisations are already starting to use St John’s as a venue again. So please keep an eye out on this website or on our Facebook page, so that you will be among the first to know when we really are back in business!

All St John’s CIC events are suspended

In the light of the prime minister’s statement this afternoon, we have taken the decision to cancel or postpone all concerts organised by St John’s CIC. You should assume that all other events scheduled to take place in the church are also likely to be cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future.

26th November: Lunchtime Jazz – Sara Hawkes and Stephen Hession

For our final jazz café, and our very last Tuesdays Till Two concert until 2020, we welcome back vocalist Sara Hawkes, who performed at our first ever Tuesdays Till Two lunchtime jazz session in 2017. This year she returns accompanied on piano by Stephen Hession, who made his Tuesdays Till Two debut only last week. Sara will be performing well known jazz and blues standards, but also some pop and maybe even one of her own compositions.

As ever St John’s will be open for an hour before the concert begins, with volunteers from the pop-up café team offering lots of home made sweet and savoury treats as well as hot and cold drinks. All profits from the café will go towards funding our future programme of events.

The music will start promptly at 1pm. Admission is free, but we do ask those who can afford it to make a donation to help cover our costs. The suggested donation is £5.

About Sara Hawkes:

Originally from Blackpool, Sara moved to Peterborough to bring up her two children before returning to performing as a singer, at first mostly performing at open mic and jazz jam sessions. Her growing reputation has led to invitations to perform at numerous venues and events, both locally (e.g. John Clare Cottage, Oundle Festival Fringe, Key Theatre, Stamford Music Festival) and in her home town of Blackpool, where she recently performed as part of the Blackpool Pride Festival. Sara used to perform classical repertoire such as Opera and Art Song, and continues to train with a teacher who is a senior tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music but also now trains with top jazz artists and teachers.

14th May: Lunchtime Concert – Jonathan Hanley & Nicky Losseff (Tenor & Piano)

Our second May lunchtime concert features tenor Jonathan Hanley, who last year performed for us as part of the Berridge Consort. Accompanying him on piano, in her first appearance at Tuesdays Till Two, will be pianist Nicky Losseff. Last year they performed Schubert’s “Die Schöne Müllerin” here together at a Saturday lunchtime concert, and this concert features song cycles by two other great composers: Beethoven’s “An die Ferne Geliebte” and Schumann’s “Liederkreis” (Op. 24).

As ever St John’s will be open for an hour before the concert begins, with volunteers from the pop-up café team offering lots of home made sweet and savoury treats as well as hot and cold drinks.

The concert will begin promptly at 1pm. Admission is free, but those who are able to afford it are asked to make a donation. The suggested amount is £5.

About Jonathan Hanley:

Born in Suffolk, Jonathan was a chorister and choral scholar at St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich under the direction of Dr Michael Nicholas, before reading History at the University of York, where he was a choral scholar at York Minster. After graduating, he spent three years as a lay clerk at Peterborough Cathedral and has been a member of the ‘Genesis Sixteen’ programme for young singers (2016/2017). He has now turned to freelance singing and currently studies with tenor, Richard Edgar Wilson. Jonathan is also a Monteverdi Choir Apprentice for 2018/2019.

Jonathan has performed as a soloist in the UK and Europe, including at the Trame Sonore Chamber Music Festival in Mantua, the York Early Music Festival and the Malcolm Arnold Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Nevill Holt Opera, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and the Instruments of Time and Truth. Jonathan also enjoys performing English song and lieder, most recently performing Schubert Die Schöne Müllerin with pianist Nicky Losseff.

As an ensemble singer, Jonathan has worked with a variety of ensembles, most notably the Monteverdi Choir, Stile Antico, the Sixteen, the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, Sansara, Chamber Choir of London, and the Oxford Consort of Voices, with whom he recorded Pelham Humfrey Symphony Anthems, released in 2018. He has also recorded with the choirs of York Minster, Peterborough Cathedral and The Sixteen.

This year, Jonathan will perform JS Bach St John Passion (Evangelist), Monteverdi Vespers (1610), and join the Monteverdi Choir for tours of Handel Semele and Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini in his role as a Monteverdi Apprentice. He will also appear in a contemporary opera performance and recording of Margaret Catchpole – Two Worlds Apart by Stephen Dodgson at Snape Maltings.

Find out more on Jonathan’s website.

About Nicky Losseff:

Nicky studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School as a child and then won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where she graduated with a Distinction and the Lloyd Hartley prize. She spent some years teaching in Iceland and then India, after which she completed a doctorate in historical musicology at Kings College, London. She was a lecturer at the University of York for over 20 years, publishing books, articles, editions and reviews on subjects ranging through medieval polyphony, nineteenth-century cultural studies, psychoanalysis, the aesthetics of silence, and the music of Bartók. She has broadcast for the BBC as a pianist and presenter, performed at international music festivals, and made recordings of contemporary piano music for the NMC label. In 2016, Nicky left academia to return to a life centred on the piano and now accompanies, performs and teaches full time.

6th June: Lunchtime Concert – “Waltz across time”

The penultimate concert and and final piano recital in this season of Tuesdays Till Two is a piano recital by a musician who will be making his début at St John’s, Spanish pianist Antonio Oyarzabal. Antonio will be playing music in waltzes and “ländler” – a folk dance in 3/4 time which is thought to have contributed to the evolution of the waltz.

As usual the café will be open from noon, serving a range of hot drinks and homemade quiche, cakes, scones etc. All profits from the café will go to The Green Backyard.

The concert will begin promptly at 1pm. Admission is free, but those who are able to afford it are asked to make a donation. The suggested amount is £4.

Programme:

Schubert – 12 Ländler D.790
Granados – Valses Poéticos (Poetic Waltzes)
Ravel – Valses nobles et sentimentales

About Antonio:

Antonio Oyarzabal was born in Bilbao in 1989. He obtained his bachelor’s degree under the pianists Marta Zabaleta and Miguel Borges at Musikene in San Sebastian, where he also trained in contemporary piano repertoire with Ricardo Descalzo, and completed a harpsichord Diploma degree, training with Loreto F. Imaz. He receives lessons from pianist Denis Pascal and the Armenian master Anahit Simonian, with whom he works on piano improvisation.

Antonio is a Master Graduate as a piano soloist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he is now part of the exclusive Artist Diploma programme, studying with Caroline Palmer. Antonio is a versatile pianist who performs as a soloist, as an accompanist to singers, notably at “Promos on the Roof 2015” , in chamber ensembles (he is a founder member of the Trisquel Arts Ensemble), and he is also an experienced orchestral pianist.
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Antonio, who was awarded Audience Special Prize and Finalist Prize in Campillos International Competition 2015, has recently been named the pianist of London Philarmonic Orchestra, Foyle Future Firsts programme 2016/2017

Piccolo – Listen to the Band

The City of Peterborough Concert Band in St John’s

On Thursday 1^st December, we’ll be holding the last St John’s CIC organised event of the year, when we’ll be having a very special Piccolo concert featuring the City of Peterborough Concert Band. We’ve now been running Piccolo for well over a year, having held a Piccolo concert on the first Thursday of every month since September 2015 except January, when we took a break, and August, when instead of our usual Thursday date we held an outdoor Piccolo as part of the YMCA’s Celebration of Youth Day event.
At the moment we don’t have quite enough adults bringing children to Piccolo to make it sustainable in the long run. As we generally have more than one musician performing our costs are quite high, and the more people who bring children to Piccolo, the easier it will be for us to continue to run these concerts, and to invite a wide variety of performers to play for us. We know lots of you really value Piccolo, and it’s wonderful to see young children developing their appreciation of music, and enjoying the event with their grown-ups!
We’ve made a poster/flyer with details of the next three Piccolo concerts, and we’ll be distributing these around the city very soon. You can also download the poster here. We’d love it if you could print a few copies off and display them in a window or on a notice-board somewhere.