100th Season 2024-2025
Trio Bohémo 26 October
Charles Owen/Katya Apekisheva 23 November
Moliere Ensemble 18 January
Quatuor Agate 22 February
Villiers Quartet 15 March
THIS SEASON'S CONCERTS
For booking details, please go to the Tickets & Venue page.
For details of our previous concerts, please see the Concert Archive tab under the About ICMS page.
14 October 2023 at 7:30pm
Consone Quartet
with Renée Hemsing (viola) & Guy Fishman (cello)
Haydn String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 64/6
Gavin Bryars The Bridges of Königsberg
Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
Formed at the Royal College of Music in London, the Consone Quartet (www.consonequartet.com) launched their professional career in 2015, shortly after which they were awarded two prizes at the 2015 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, including the EUBO Development Trust Prize and a place on the EEEmerging Scheme in France. They went on to win the 2016 Royal Over-Seas League Ensemble Prize, and in 2022 were awarded a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT) fellowship.
The quartet has been enthusiastically received at London’s Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, St John’s Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-Fields, and at the Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Brighton, and Buxton Festivals, amongst others. The English Haydn Festival and the Brighton and York Early Music Festivals have been loyal supporters over the past few years and regularly host the group.
Further afield, Consone have been invited to perform at the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival, Philharmonie de Paris and Auditorium de Lyon, at the Concertgebouw Brugge, AMUZ and de Bijloke in Belgium, Concerts d'été à St Germain in Switzerland and at other venues across Italy, Austria, Bulgaria and Slovenia. Following a tour to South America in 2018 they will make a highly anticipated North American debut in February 2023.
28 October 2023 at 7:30pm
The Hermes Experiment
A selection of original pieces and arrangements for harp, clarinet, soprano and double bass, including music by Handel, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger and Peter Maxwell Davies among many others!
"Britain’s music scene offers numerous dynamic small-sized groups, but The Hermes Experiment so spellbinding, so imaginative, continue to stand alone" ★★★★ The Times
Winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award 2021 and the Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Competition 2019, The Hermes Experiment is one of the UK’s leading young contemporary music ensembles. Capitalising on their deliberately idiosyncratic combination of instruments (harp, clarinet, voice and double bass), The Hermes Experiment regularly commissions new works, as well as creating their own innovative arrangements and venturing into live free improvisation. They have commissioned over 60 composers at various stages of their careers. They have released two albums on Delphian Records - HERE WE ARE and SONG - both to critical acclaim.
Recent highlights include performances at Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Aldeburgh Festival, Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder Festival, Rotterdam’s De Doelen, Tallinn Music Week, Spitalfields Festival and the RPS Awards.
The ensemble is also dedicated to the value of contemporary music in education and community contexts. In 2021, they ran a Virtual Composition Project, supported by Arts Council England. They were ensemble in residence for the Young Music Makers of Dyfed 2018-19, and as part of their fifth birthday project they ran composition workshops in state schools in and around London.
The Hermes Experiment is hugely grateful to the Marchus Trust for their generous support throughout 2023-2026.
18 November 2023 at 7:30pm
Minerva Piano Trio
Haydn Piano Trio in G major, Hob. XV:25
Stravinsky (arr. Birchall) Pulcinella Suite
Cheryl Frances-Hoad My Fleeting Angel
Ravel Piano Trio
The Minerva Piano Trio have established themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting trios whose playing has been described as “wonderfully rich, thunderous, and lyrical” (Classic FM). Acclaimed for their performances of the richly varied traditional repertoire, the Trio are equally passionate about reviving important but rarely performed works, championing leading young composers by commissioning new works and arrangements, and collaborating with other art forms such as dance.
The Trio have broadcast live frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and have worked closely with contemporary composers including Roxanna Panufnik, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gavin Higgins, and David Knotts. They are grateful for the support of Help Musicians UK, ChamberStudio and the Richard Carne Trust, and have worked with eminent musicians as Gordon Back, members of the former Florestan Trio, and Gabor Takacs-Nagy. The Trio’s debut album Dance! was released on SOMM Recordings in October 2022, and has been praised for its '“nuanced and imaginative creativity” (International Piano Magazine).
20 January 2024 at 7:30pm
Onyx Brass
Rameau ‘Les Boreades’ from Entrée de Polymnie
Shostakovich Fugue in A flat major, Op. 87/17
Joseph Horowitz Music Hall Suite
Imogen Holst Leiston Suite
Arnold Quintet no 1
plus music by J. S. Bach, Handel & others
Onyx Brass is one of the rare breed of chamber ensembles whose musical and technical virtuosity is matched by the accessibility and vitality of their presentation. Their mission is to have their extraordinary abilities at the disposal of the music at all times, and to play music of the requisite quality to reflect the status of the brass quintet as a serious medium for chamber music. The richness and warmth of their sound is remarked upon by all who hear them.
9 March 2024 at 7:30pm
Sacconi Quartet
Roxanna Panufnik Heartfelt
Mozart String Quartet in B flat major, K. 589
Beethoven String Quartet in B flat major, Opp. 130/133
For twenty-one years, the Sacconi Quartet have been captivating audiences with their unanimous and compelling ensemble, consistently communicating with a fresh and imaginative approach. Performing with style and commitment, the quartet are known throughout the world for their creativity and integrity of interpretation. Formed in 2001, the four founder members continue to demonstrate a shared passion for string quartet repertoire, infectiously reaching out to audiences with their energy and enthusiasm. The Sacconi enjoy a busy international career, performing regularly across the world, at Europe’s major venues, in recordings and on radio broadcasts. The Sacconi are Quartet in Association at the Royal College of Music and Quartet in Residence for the town of Folkestone.