Bringing bright young talent to rural audiences in Devon, Dorset and Somerset is what Concerts in the West is all about and the May concert series, featuring the brilliant and exhilarating Maxwell Quartet, will certainly blow any residual winter cobwebs away.
These four young musicians, who met while they were still students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2010, were Residency Artists for Enterprise Music Scotland 2011-2013, during which time they earned a reputation for delighting audiences during their Scottish concert tours. Reviews of their performances described them as having ‘panache and conviction (Strathearn Herald) and ‘unaffected enthusiasm’ (North Highland Times).
A packed concert diary has certainly kept the Quartet busy with an acclaimed series of the late Schubert Quartets at Perth Concert Hall in Scotland, as well as a season-long residency at St Anne’s College, Oxford. They have appeared at many festivals, too, including the Cottier Chamber Project, Lammermuir Festival, BBC Chamber Music Proms and the SOUND Festival.
The quartet comprises:
- Colin Scobie (violin), who is already established as one of the most creative and compelling violinists and chamber musicians of his generation.
- George Smith (violin), who founded the Maxwell Quartet, is a top class violinist who performs across the UK and further afield as a chamber musician, soloist and Scots fiddle player.
- Elliott Perks (violin), who studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School, and has taken part in numerous concerts as a soloist and chamber musician, performing in top London venues such as the Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall.
- Duncan Strachan (cello), began learning cello at the age of four and has since gone on to play as a soloist, performing concertos by Haydn, Schumann and Elgar.
- Thursday 4 May 2017 7.30pm, Hinton St George Festival, St George’s Church, Hinton St George, Somerset TA17 8SE. Concert Tickets: £15. Box Office: 07500 532543 (BACS or cheque) or hintonstgeorgefestival@
gmail.com or online at Eventbrite www.eventbrite.co. uk or in person at Dorothy’s Tea Room & Our Shop. Concessions for students and children. Parking in the village. Interval drinks. Disabled access. - Friday 5 May 2017 11am-12pm, Coffee Concert at Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3NR. Box Office: 01308 424204 Email: [email protected] www
.bridport-arts.com Tickets: £10 with concessions, coffee included, town parking and car parks, BAC café, disabled access.
- Friday 5 May 2017 8pm, Ilminster Arts Centre at The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN. Box Office: 01460 55783 9.30am-4.30pmMonday to Friday (Pre-concert supper at 7pm – advanced booking required £14) www.themeetinghouse.org.
uk Tickets: £15. Bar and café, IAC and town parking, plus car parks, disabled access. - Saturday 6 May 2017 7.30pm, St Michael’s, Haddon Road, Shute, Devon EX13 7QR (Near Axminster – situated just along the lane next to the Gatehouse of Shute Barton Manor) Box office: concert tickets: £15 Hurfords Stores, Kilmington 01297 33203, EX13 7RG or The Archway Bookshop, Axminster EX123 5AQ. Tel: 01297 33744. Or book at Eventbrite www.eventbrite.co.
uk. You can also buy on the door. Concessions for students and children. Doors open 6.45pm. Parking nearby. Interval drinks. Disabled access.