First, a happy new year to all of our nadsa supporters. The 2023 part of the season promises to be as exciting as the 2022 part was, and we open on Sunday 15th January at 3pm in the Courtenay Centre with a visit by Kazakh-British pianist Dina Duisen who returns to Newton Abbot after more than six years. Thank you to long-time members Sue and Jeff Collman for sponsoring this concert.
Dina started studying piano aged five at a State Special School for Gifted Children together with her two brothers, who are both violinists, and by the age of thirteen she had made her debut with the Symphony Orchestra. After graduating from school, Dina continued her studies at the Kazakh National Academy of Music, graduating with distinction in 2005, before being awarded a full scholarship which took her to the USA. In September 2008, Dina started studying for the new Master of Arts Degree in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with distinction in 2011. She has taken part in IMS Prussia Cove Masterclasses and Open Chamber Music, and has been a regular participant of the Oxford Piano Festival, playing at the 20th Anniversary Alumni Concert in 2018. Her performing career has taken her to many halls and festivals; she regularly works with violinist Nicola Benedetti and is currently working at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.
Dina’s programme will include:
Schumann’s ABEGG Variations Op 1 and Toccata Op 7;
Beethoven’s 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor;
Chopin Fantaisie-Impromptu Op 66 and two Nocturnes;
Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D minor,
Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No 12.
Read more about Dina at https://www.dinaduisen.com/ where you can hear her play, and read some of her glowing comments. Here’s just one, from MusicWeb International:
"Duisen makes this sound easy; it almost sounds like she doesn't know how impressive a feat this is." Then visit https://nadsa.co.uk/event/dina-duisen-piano/ to book your ticket.
Now, here’s advance notice of nadsa’s long-awaited 75th anniversary Piano Festival weekend, featuring four internationally-renowned artists: pianists Margaret Fingerhut, Noriko Ogawa, Martin Roscoe and flautist Judith Hall. These links will tell you about each of the artists:
https://www.margaretfingerhut.co.uk/
https://www.norikoogawa.co.uk/
https://www.martinroscoe.co.uk/
https://www.judithhall.co.uk/
And yes, all four will perform at every event - where else might you get an opportunity to hear such talent! Keep an eye on the links below for more information, but note that tickets aren’t on sale just yet; that comes later…
The Festival weekend will start on Friday 10th March with a concert at 7:30 pm in which all four artists will perform. https://nadsa.co.uk/event/piano-festival-concert-1/
Then on Saturday 11th at 3:00 pm there will be a free-to-attend Afternoon Audience with the Artists; an opportunity to meet with them and ask questions in an informal setting. https://nadsa.co.uk/event/piano-festival-afternoon-audience-with-the-artists/
In the evening there will be a Buffet Dinner at 7:30 pm where you can enjoy international cuisine provided by a high quality caterer, and we will be joined by our musicians who will play some genuine impromptus. https://nadsa.co.uk/event/piano-festival-musical-evening-buffet-dinner/
There will be a free-to-attend Open Rehearsal on Sunday 12th at 11:00 am where you’ll have the opportunity to see and hear the musicians at work and to find out how the programme for the Sunday afternoon concert will be finalised.
The closing concert will be on Sunday 12th March at 2:30 pm, and this will be a response to the challenge “What relatively unusual repertoire have you ever performed, and then been quite surprised by a favourable audience reaction?” The final programme will have been decided at the open rehearsal on Sunday morning. https://nadsa.co.uk/event/piano-festival-concert-2/
You’re warmly invited to attend all the events at a discounted package rate, or you are welcome to purchase tickets to individual events on their own – on sale now!
Please feel free to share this newsletter with all of your musically-inclined friends, you never know who might be interested...
That's all for now; happy listening,
John R