The list below is produced every month by Mrs Espeth Arden
Date: Saturday 4 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: St. Martin’s Church, Church Street, Epsom KT17 4PX
Ashtead Choral Society performs Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solenelle’. Ironically Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Small Solemn Mass) is neither small nor particularly solemn! A naturally witty composer, it was entirely characteristic of Rossini to play with his audience’s expectations in this way. Most famous for his thirty-nine operas, it is no surprise that in this ostensibly religious piece the vocal writing is unashamedly operatic. In this, the composer’s final work, the music ranges from hushed intensity to boisterous high spirits and abounds with the memorable tunes and rhythmic vitality for which he became justly famous. It is a heart-warming and celebratory piece, bursting with humour, charm and sincerity.
Tickets including programme: £18 in advance, £20 on the door, £9 under 25s.
Book online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ashteadchoralsociety/t-vvzdnpx, via https://ashteadchoralsociety.org.uk or by phone on 0333 6663366 (TicketSource £2 telephone fee applies).
Date: Saturday 4 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: Holy Trinity Church, High Street, Guildford GU1 3RR
At the heart of Guildford Choral’s autumn concert is John Rutter’s ‘Feel the Spirit’ with mezzo-soprano soloist Melanie Marshall, for whom John Rutter wrote this inspired work. The choir also sings the medley from Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’ and Bob Chilcott’s ever-popular ‘Little Jazz Mass’. Conducted by Jonathan Willcocks, the choir will be joined by Southern Pro Musica.
Tickets: £15-£20 with concessions at boxoffice@guildfordchoral.org.
Date: Saturday 4 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: St. Mary’s Church, Church Street, Twickenham TW1 3NJ
Maiastra looks forward to returning to St Mary’s Church in Twickenham to perform an evening of chamber music at this stunning ancient church in West London, on the bank of the River Thames. David Waterman, Maiastra Coach and cellist of the world-renowned Endellion Quartet will be joined by four talented young string players, performing Mendelssohn’s String Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 87, the third movement of Bruckner’s String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 and Mozart’s String Quintet in C major, K. 515.
Tickets free / donations welcome – cash, card and cheque accepted. Booking is advised via https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CPRI. Refreshments served before the concert and during the interval. Further information at www.maiastra.org.
Date: Sunday 5 November at 6.00 p.m.
Venue: St. Mary’s Church, Stoke Road, Stoke D’Abernon KT11 3PX
Through the lens of Monteverdi’s music the Queenes Chappell will explore the inner lives of a particular demographic of people, the Venetians of the 16th and 17th centuries, with music describing the turmoil of human emotional life. Love, grief, anger, heartbreak, conflict: the inner life that we all experience is laid bare through the medium of music.
Tickets: £10-£25 at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-queenes-chappell/monteverdi-the-secret-lives-of-venetians/2023-11-05/18:00/t-jzqrazo and on the door.
Date: Sunday 5 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: St. Andrew’s Church, Downside Bridge Road, Cobham KT11 3EJ
Maiastra returns to St Andrew’s Church in Cobham for the second concert in the November series. David Waterman, Maiastra Coach and cellist of the world-renowned Endellion Quartet will be joined by four talented young string players, performing Mendelssohhn’s String Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 87, the thhird movemenet of Bruckner’s String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 and Mozart’s String Quintet in C major. K. 515.
Tickets free / donations welcome – cash, card and cheque accepted. Booking is advised via https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CPRJ. Refreshments served before the concert and during the interval. Further information at www.maiastra.org.
Date: Monday 6 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: The Stone Hall, West Horsley Place, Epsom Road, West Horsley KT24 6AN
Maiastra returns to The Stone Hall, West Horsley Place in Surrey. This Grade 1 listed building was visited by King Henry VIII in 1536, but was more recently the film location for BAFTA nominated BBC TV programme ‘Ghosts’. David Waterman, Maiastra Coach and cellist of the world-renowned Endellion Quartet will be joined by four talented young string players, performing Mendelssohn’s String Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 87, the third movement of Bruckner’s String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 and Mozart’s String Quintet in C major, K. 515.
Tickets free / donations welcome – cash, card and cheque accepted. Booking is advised via https://www.trybooking.co.uk/CPRK. Refreshments served before the concert and during the interval. Further information at www.maiastra.org.
Date: Wednesday 8 November at 1.00 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: Riverhouse Barn, Manor Road, Walton-on-Thames KT12 2PF
The programme for this lunchtime concert, to be given by Laura Armstrong (cello) and Alison Rhind (piano), includes Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 2, ‘Suite Italienne’ by Stravinsky and Scriabin’s ‘Romance’. Two years ago Laura, then aged 23, almost had to have her right arm amputated after being knocked off her bike by a left-turning lorry. This year she has been accepted by the Eastman School of Music in America. A keen chamber musician, Laura and her fellow members of theTee Trio were semi-finalists in the St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Music Competition.
Tickets: £15 from the Riverhouse Box Office on 01932 253354 or at https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/event/view/185344
Date: Wednesday 8 November at 1.00 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: St. James’s Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL
Talent Unlimited, the charity which provides financial support to music students of exceptional talent but limited means, presents a lunchtime recital by Bridget Lee (piano) and Sophia Elger (saxophone). Bridget’s programme will include ‘Embraceable You’ and ‘I Got Rhythm’ by Gershwin/Wild and ‘Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi sonata’ by Liszt. Sophia will perform ‘Fantasia Italienne’ by Eugène Bozza, ‘Tableaux de Provence’ by Paul Maurice and Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Tango Etude No. 3’. Malaysian pianist Bridget Yee was the First Prize Winner at the 2021 Orbetello Junior International Piano Competition, the 7th Singapore Raffles International Music Competition and the 1st International Online Piano Competition Sergei Rachmaninoff. Sophia Elger is a British saxophonist whose performances have been described as ‘captivating, exciting and engaging (Richard Ingham).
Admission free – pay what you feel! Further information available at https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/bridget-yee-piano-sophia-elger-saxophone/
Date: Saturday 11 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: The Martineau Hall at Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Dorking RH4 1SG
Dorking Concertgoers’ November concert features Hannah Condliffe (oboe) and Mark Rogers (piano) in a wide-ranging programme which includes sonatas by Bach, Saint-Saëns and Poulenc, together with shorter works by Ravel and Britten and a number of Debussy’s atmospheric preludes for solo piano.
Further information available at https://www.dorkinghalls.co.uk/event-detail/?id=377202ACVPDNPPHTCHDKVNNNTQTBJCRHG
Tickets: £21 from the Dorking Halls Box Office on 01306 881717 or www.dorkinghalls.co.uk, and from the Concertgoers’ Ticket Secretary on 01306 740619.
Date: Saturday 11 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: The Menuhin Hall, Cobham Road, Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham KT11 3QQ
Remembrance Day Showcase: Written only eleven years apart, Korngold’s Suite for Two Violins, Cello and Piano Left Hand Op. 23 and the Quartet for the End of Time by Messiaen provide a rare musical insight into history, reflecting both on the horror of war and human perseverance, which remain as relevant today as they were back then. Commissioned by concert pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in WWI, and composed in 1930, Korngold’s Suite is a chamber work of immense proportions and depth that demands incredible technical agility from the pianist. Director of Music Ashley Wass will be joined by pupils of The Yehudi Menuhin School to perform this extraordinarily powerful piece of music. Messiaen’s legendary Quartet for the End of Time was written in 1941 while the composer was a prisoner of war in Silesia. Julian Bliss, the School’s Artist in Residence, will be playing the work’s hauntingly beautiful clarinet part in this special concert that promises an evening of remembrance, reflection and, above all, profound hope for musicians and audience alike. At 6:30pm there will be a pre-concert talk with pianist and presenter Keelan Carew who will explore the life and world of Paul Wittgenstein and the story behind the evening’s works.
Tickets: £10–£27 (under 30s half price) from the Box Office on 01932 559400 or online at https://themenuhinhall.co.uk/event/book/remembrance-day-showcase/67800/73400
Date: Saturday 11 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: Spire Church, South Street, Farnham GU9 7QU
In this concert arranged by the Tilford Bach Society the award-winning Paddington Trio will perform piano trios by Schubert and Shostakovich. The Trio won the First Prize in the 70th Royal Over-Seas League Competition for Strings and Piano Ensemble and in April 2023 they were the winners of the prestigious Parkhouse Award held at the Wigmore Hall.
Free entry but there will be a retiring collection with a suggested minimum donation of £10 per adult from those who can afford it. Donations are not expected for children and students or from parents who are bringing young children. Music lovers who are unable to make a donation are still most welcome. Please register at http://www.tilbach.org.uk/registration.
Date: Sunday 12 November at 5.00 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: All Saints’ Church, Church Street, Isleworth TW7 6BE
In the next of these popular teatime concerts at All Saints’ Church in Isleworth, Michiko Gibbs (violin), Simon Trentham (cello) and Yoriko Wakabayashi (piano) present a programme of works by J. S. Bach (Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor – Adagio and Fugue), Fauré’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120 (his last work), ‘Café Music’ by Paul Schoenfeld, film music by John Williams and Sonatine for Violin and Cello by Honegger.
Free admission but donations to the church fund will be welcome.
Refreshments will be available after the concert.
Date: Wednesday 15 November at 1.15 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: Christ Church, Church Street, Esher KT10 8QS
Music on the Green’s November concert features the Heliconia Duo, comprising Catriona Bourne on flute and Julia Seibert on classical guitar. The duo was formed in 2021 and their repertoire includes classical and folk music from around the world. Their Esher performance will include Giuliani’s Grand Duo Concertante, Bartók’s Hungarian Folk Dances and a selection of South American items.
Free admission with retiring collection. Light lunch from 12.30 p.m. with concert from 1.15 p.m. Further information at https://www.esherparish.org.uk/?q=content/music-green
Date: Wednesday 15 November at 8.00 p.m.
Venue: Riverhouse Barn, Manor Road, Walton-on-Thames KT12 2PF
This is one of a series of concerts which provides a platform for young artists preparing for important performances. Sophie Kauer (cello), star of the film ‘Tár’, enchanted a Riverhouse audience at last July’s lunchtime concert. This December she is to join the London Mozart Players in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Rococo Variations’. Sophie will be accompanied by Alison Rhind (piano).
Free admission with a retiring collection to cover expenses but as capacity is limited please reserve a seat at https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/book/event/189895.
Date: Thursday 16 November at 1.10 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: St. Matthew’s Church, Station Road, Redhill RH1 1DL
In this concert of voice, violin/viola and piano, Angela Jones (mezzo-soprano), George Mitchell (violin/viola) and Mike Bowtell (piano) bring a mix of music including the rarely performed but wonderfully evocative ‘Child on the Shore’ by Michael Head for voice, violin and piano. The programme also includes autumn-themed songs by Roger Quilter, Percy Grainger, Gabriel Fauré and Reynaldo Hahn, viola pieces by Cyril Scott and Ralph Vaughan Williams and the lively ‘Danse Macabre’ by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Free admission but in order to cover expenses St Matthew’s suggests a donation of £5 per person.
Date: Saturday 18 November at 7.00 p.m.
Venue: 38 Palace Road, East Molesey KT8 9DL
This charity fundraising concert, organised by the UK Friends of the Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Foundation, features the Elvira Piano Trio (Anastasia Egorova (violin), Alexander Talaifar (cello) and Jad Grainger (piano)) in a programme of works by Mozart (Trio in B flat K502), Shostakovich (Trio in C minor Op. 8) and Mendelssohn (Trio in D minor Op. 49).
Suggested donation £25 per person to include a post-concert supper. Cheques and cash payable to UKFFMBF on the evening. RSVP ruthcecil64@gmail.com
or 07710 502385.
Date: Saturday 18 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: Banstead Community Hall, Park Road, Banstead SM7 3AJ
Banstead Arts Festival Society welcomes pianist Ignas Maknickas. His programme will include Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 and Polonaise-Fantaisie Op. 61, Schubert’s Sonata No. 21 in B flat major and works by Schumann and Lithuanian composer Alvidas Remesa. Ignas received The Queen’s Commendation for Excellence at the Royal Academy of Music in 2021 and he was selected as a YCAT artist in June 2023. He has performed with the London Mozart Players and the Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra and has given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall in London and the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris.
Tickets: £20 (school pupils free) available online at www.bansteadarts.org.uk, Banstead Library or on the door as available. Ticket reservations may also be made by phone on 020 8642 1429 or email: bansteadarts@hotmail.com.
Date: Saturday 18 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: St. Martin’s Church, Church Street, Epsom KT17 4PX
The single work in the Epsom Choral Society’s autumn concert is Mendelssohn’s glorious oratorio ‘Elijah’. Under the baton of their music director Julian Collings, the performance will bring together an outstanding cast of soloists, including soprano Elizabeth Findon, mezzo-soprano Judy Brown, tenor John Findon, bass James Geidt and treble Brandon McGuinness from Epsom College. These accomplished vocalists will join forces with the Epsom Choral Society and the English Sinfonietta to take the audience through this dramatic and uplifting work.
Tickets: £18 (£9 for students and under-18s) available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/venueplan/RdiEJKhzXNnT or by phone on 01372 727078 or 07522 111219.
Date: Saturday 18 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: All Saints Church, Chestnut Avenue, Weston Green KT10 8JL
In this concert entitled ‘Sing Joyfully – Choir, Cornetts and Sackbuts’ The Ripieno Choir, conducted by Patrick Allies, celebrates William Byrd’s 400th anniversary by joining forces with the Gramophone award-winning, world-class English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble to perform masterpieces by the man himself along with music by some of his friends and European contemporaries including Tallis, Gibbons, Gabrieli, Palestrina and Monteverdi. The programme will include Byrd’s sacred masterpiece ‘The Great Service’, and Gabrieli’s ‘Magnificat in 14 parts’ and ‘Regina Coeli in 12’, together with Monteverdi’s ‘Cantate Domino’, Byrd’s ‘Sing Joyfully’, and Palestrina’s ‘Exultate Deo’.
Tickets: £18 in advance/ £20 on door, £5 under 18s from http://ripienochoir.org.uk/concerts/sing-joyfully/ or 020 8399 2714. Group discounts available.
Date: Saturday 18 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: St. George’s Church, Barnett Wood Lane, Ashtead KT21 2DA
The programme for the Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra’s autumn concert, under their conductor Rupert Bond, includes Mahler’s ‘Blumine’, the Viola Concerto in D major by Hoffmeister with soloist David Lasserson and the Symphony No. 3 ‘Scottish’ by Mendelssohn.
Tickets: £16 (under 18s and students £9) by email at spo-tickets@talktalk.net, on 01372 275907 and at the door.
Date: Saturday 18 November at 8.00 p.m.
Venue: Holy Trinity Church, Church Road, Claygate KT10 0JP
For their Celebrity Concert the Oxshott and Cobham Music Society welcomes international operatic soprano Chen Reiss, who has sung leading roles at the major opera houses, including Covent Garden, Vienna, and La Scala Milan, and with many famous orchestras under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano and Gustavo Dudamel. Her programme includes songs by both Clara and Robert Schumann, including Robert’s song cycle ‘Frauenliebe und Leben’, and by Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny Hensel.
Tickets: £25 (children, students under 26 (with ID) and carers free), NHS staff £10 available at the door (cards or cash accepted) and in advance.
New Family Ticket: £30 for two adults or £15 for one adult, with one or more children. To book and pay online visit https://www.wegottickets.com/OxshottCobhamMusicSociety (online bookings are subject to a 10% admin fee). To pay by cheque or reserve a ticket please contact Box Office Manager Jane Muir at janemuir72@gmail.com, or call 07766 884991.
Date: Sunday 19 November at 3.00 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: Spire Church, South Street, Farnham GU9 7QU
In this concert organised by the Tilford Bach Society violinist Elizabeth Cooney and pianist Daniel Hill present a programme of violin sonatas by Bach and Beethoven.
Free entry but there will be a retiring collection with a suggested minimum donation of £10 per adult from those who can afford it. Donations are not expected for children and students or from parents who are bringing young children. Music lovers who are unable to make a donation are still most welcome. Please register at http://www.tilbach.org.uk/registration.
Date: Monday 20 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: OSO Arts Centre, 49 Station Road, Barnes SW13 0LF
‘Come Dancing: Sicilienne to Tango!’ – the combination of flute and guitar is captivating, especially in the hands of musical luminaries Emma Halnan (flute) and Jack Hancher (guitar). This entrancing recital, organised by Barnes Music Society, contrasts the work of two visionary English composers with two Latin masterpieces of the genre, culminating in Piazzolla’s vibrant romp through the world of that most vivacious dance-form, the Tango. The programme includes a new work by David Matthews, written especially for Emma Halnan.
Tickets: £15 available at rhttps://osoarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173645391
Date: Thursday 23 November at 7.30 p.m.
Venue: The Menuhin Hall, Cobham Road, Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham KT11 3QQ
Violinist and Yehudi Menuhin School alumna Natalia Lomeiko and Professor of Piano Dinara Klinton present an evening of evocative music by Szymanowski (Myths Op. 30) and Schumann/Kreisler (Fantasy in C major Op. 131). In the second half of the concert they will be joined by some of The Yehudi Menuhin School’s exceptional young musicians in a performance of Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44. This groundbreaking work, which shows Schumann at the pinnacle of his artistic skill and output, established the piano quintet as a genre in its own right.
Tickets: £10-£27 (under-30s half price) from the Box Office on 01932 559400 or online at https://themenuhinhall.co.uk/event/natalia-lomeiko-dinara-klinton-and-yms-pupils/68000
Date: Thursday 30 November at 1.00 p.m. (please note start time)
Venue: St. Mary’s Church, Stoke Road, Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham KT11 3PX
The next concert in St. Mary’s popular lunchtime series will feature some of the supremely talented students from the nearby Yehudi Menuhin School. The programme is still to be confirmed.
Free entry with a retiring collection towards the cost of the concert and music at St. Mary’s.