St. Mary Magdalene Thornham Magna

26th-27th July

Thomas Knollys clarinet  Fra Rustumji violin
Guillaume Mathias piano  Corentin Chassard cello

Saturday 26th July 7.30pm

Casals Le Chant des Oiseaux
Bach Actus Tragicus 
Ravel Pièce en forme de Habanera 
Bach Adagio BWV 974
Satie Gnossienne no..1 
Ramnath Aalap and Tarana

Olivier Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time

Sunday 27th July 4pm

Bach cello suite no.1
Janacek violin sonata
Ravel Ondine
Beethoven piano trio no.5 ‘Ghost’ in D

Tickets: £20

Both concerts: £35

children free

seating unreserved

interval refreshments

to book:

mail@musicatthornham.org.uk / 01379 788130

Yamaha grand piano supplied and maintained by Giller Pianos www.gillerpianos.co.uk

Corentin Chassard and colleagues did much to establish our summer concerts in our first ten years so their return vist this year is very warmly anticipated.

Their two programmes this year are book-ended by two great pieces of music: Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps was created during the composer’s captivity in a prisoner of war camp and so has particular resonance in this WWII anniversary year.

Sunday’s concert will conclude with Beethoven’s Trio in D op.70. one of the cornerstones of the piano trio repertore. Nicknamed ‘the Ghost’ after the eerie theme of the slow movement, this work nevertheless has all the drama and and joyfulness of a middle-period Beethoven masterpiece.

Along with Janacek’s Violin Sonata we will hear a range of works by Satie, Ramnath, Bach, Ravel, and Casals. A fascinating pair of concerts in prospect.

These concerts could not take place without a piano: we would like to gratefully acknowledge the grant support provided by Cllr Jessica Flemming and Suffolk County Council which has made the hire of a piano possible this summer.

Thomas Knollys is a freelance clarinettist and bass clarinettist based between London and Manchester. He has recently earned an MMus in Performance with Distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music where he studied most recently under Katherine Lacy and Ausiàs Garrigós Morant and was supported by a scholarship from the Richard Newitt Fund. Prior to that, he studied music at the University of Birmingham where he was taught by Oliver Janes.

Thomas has wide experience performing with numerous orchestras and ensembles. During his time at RNCM, he performed with the Orchestra of Opera North and Manchester Camerata. He was principal clarinet in both RNCM Symphony Orchestra for their 50th Birthday Celebration, playing works by Thomas Adès, Leonard Bernstein, Florence Price and Ottorino Respighi (broadcast on BBC Radio 3) as well as RNCM Opera Orchestra, performing works by Jonathan Dove, Richard Strauss and Gian Carlo Menotti. Thomas is equally at home playing bass clarinet – a particularly memorable concert was Shostakovich 8th Symphony with RNCM Symphony Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall.

A keen chamber musician, Thomas has performed a range of repertoire including Mozart’s Kegelstadt Trio and Serenade No.13 ‘Gran Partita’, and Dvořák’s Serenade for Winds. As well as the Azalea Quintet, he is a member of the Azure Quartet, an ensemble originally brought together to perform Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time; the quartet has performed in concert venues and schools in Manchester and London.

A recent solo recital for a festival in southwest London included well known works by Bela Kovacs, Debussy, Poulenc and Brahms, but Thomas is particularly keen to extend the repertoire for both clarinet and bass clarinet, and has premiered numerous new solo, chamber and orchestral works. He is dedicated to education, outreach and new music through both individual instrumental tuition and ensemble playing.

Fra Rustumji is a violinist/violist based in London. She studied music at King's College, Cambridge and completed her Master's with Krysia Osostowicz and David Dolan at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She specialises in small-scale cross-genre collaborations, especially with dancers, and will tour this autumn with Joss Arnott Dance Company for their production of 'V' for solo dancer and solo viola. She performs extensively as a chamber musician, with the Florian Quartet and as guest violist for the Dante quartet, and her performances as principal violin for Shadwell Opera, a contemporary opera group based in east London, have won critical acclaim. She loves to improvise, and is a member of Le Collectif international des improvisateurs, run by Roddy Skeaping. Recent highlights include performing with Kate Tempest at the Brighton Festival. In the field of music education, Fra teaches violin and viola at the City of London Academy in Islington, and gives composition workshops with Paul Clarke and the Clod Ensemble, as well as curating and presenting workshops for the Multi-Story Orchestra, who work intensively with schools in Peckham, south London.

Guillaume Mathias studied at Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatoire, Ecole Normale of Paris « Alfred Cortot » in Paris, and at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. He has since enjoyed his success in both national and international competitions. Amongst many others, these awards include the 1st prize at the “Centennial of Yamaha Piano Competition” and the award for excellence at the “International Keyboard Institute and Festival” in New York.

Through his successful career, he has proven to be a wonderful musician, exploring the sounds of what the piano has to offer, whilst intelligently relating to the composers work with great effect.

Based in London, he teaches piano and musicianship at the London Youth Conservatoire.

Currently a London-based cellist and chamber-musician, Corentin Chassard is a member of the award- winning Mercury Quartet which performs classic works of the 20th century, alongside improvisations and live compositions, new commissions and unknown masterpieces. He is also a member of Partial Gathering with composer Ruaidhri Mannion, a member of The Octandre Ensemble, and he is the official cellist of the renowned Japanese violinist, Taro Hakase, in Europe.
Corentin has performed across France, Belgium, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain and China, in the Royal Festival Hall, the Cadogan Hall, Saint Martins in the Fields, the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, and has appeared at festivals including Festival de Lacoste (2006), Festival des Abbayes (2006), The Chelsea Schubert Festival (2008), The Rosemary Branch Festival (2009) and the Dartington International Summer School (2010).
Corentin’s passion for teaching led him to be nominated as a cello, piano, and chamber music teacher at the Conservatoire de Dinard in France, from 2003 to 2005. Since 2008 Corentin teaches cello, piano and chamber music at MusicAll, London.