8 October 7.45 pm

This concert is dedicated to the memory of Simon Marlow, pianist and former President of Letchworth Music and performed by some of his close friends and colleagues:
Shulah Oliver- Smith, violin, Kelly McCusker, violin, Clare Gardiner, viola, Toby Turton, cello, Claire Hawkes, clarinet

Bach: Chaconne in D minor for Solo Violin
Borodin: Nocturne (3rd movement from the 2nd String Quartet, 1881)
Schubert: String Quartet in A Minor Rosamunde (D 804, 1st movement only)
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet

Shulah Oliver-Smith is a vibrant and talented professional violinist/violist who has a busy freelance career performing as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. She has performed extensively across the UK and Europe and also in Sri Lanka. Shulah was appointed Artistic Director of The Midland Sinfonia in 2021 and has established an exciting Education & Outreach Programme alongside the orchestra’s more traditional season of concerts.She has played with many renowned orchestras too numerous to mention, but including The Hallé, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and English Symphony Orchestra and with many other groups.

Kelly McCusker. Whether it’s plucking the strings on a period instrument for The Hanover Band or playing pub gigs with an electric violin, Kelly’s passion for music is evident. Educated at the Purcell School and with a Masters in Performance at the Birmingham Conservatoire, she spent a year training with the CBO, led by Sir Simon Rattle. She spent time playing with pop band The Divine Comedy and subsequently The Hanover Band, where she is lead 2nd violin. In addition to playing classical and baroque music, modern music on an electric violin, Kelly teaches young children at a prep school.

Clare Gardiner plays viola with Opera North, performing everything from Wagner’s Ring to Puccini’s Madam Butterfly, from My Fair Lady to 80’s Bananarama classics. She is a qualified Pilates teacher and enjoys a second career running regular classes.

Toby Turton is a prolific orchestral, chamber and solo cellist. As an orchestral musician he is the Co-Principal cellist with Northern Ballet Sinfonia. Toby also continues to work on a freelance basis for many of the UK’s finest orchestras including the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, RPO, Bournemouth Symphony, Academy of St Martin in-the-Fields, City of London Sinfonia and CBSO. He has toured in the USA, Canada, Europe and Russia, performs regularly at the Proms and played at the first night with Sir Andrew Davis in 2014. Toby has performed over one hundred cello and piano recitals across the UK as well as all of the major cello concertos with a variety of orchestras.

Claire Hawkes. Claire’s musical career began at the age of ten when she won a Buckinghamshire County Music Scholarship. She was awarded a Foundation Scholarship to study clarinet and piano at The Royal College of Music in 1997 where she won the RCM Clarinet Prize and Thurston Competition and gained her Diploma in solo piano. Claire enjoys freelance work as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, which has taken her across England, Europe and Africa performing and coaching, including various performances on TV and radio. Claire has held posts as Junior Fellow at the RCM, Chamber Music Coach at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Director of Music at several independent schools and MD of a wide range of choirs.

Claire holds a Masters degree in Historical Performance and the Certificate of Professional Practice in the Kodály Concept of Music Education. She is an active member of the Clarino Trio who perform on C18th clarinets and basset horns, regularly performing for various music societies and the English Concert Orchestra. She is also Chair of Friends of Kampala Music School, a UK based charity supporting musicians in Uganda.