First, a happy new year to all our members, friends, visitors, and people who support live music. Our season continues with a visit by the Heath String Quartet on Sunday 18th January in the Courtenay Centre, Newton Abbot at our usual winter start time of 3.30pm.
Established at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002, the quartet is now one of Britain’s foremost string ensembles, comprising Maja Horvat and Sara Wolstenholme (violins), Gary Pomeroy (viola) and Christopher Murray (cello).
After winning the prestigious RPS Young Artists Award, they then went on to win the Gramophone Chamber Award for their recording of the complete Tippett quartets, and have since had an illustrious recording career. Concert appearances have included a two-season residency at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, and a four-concert series at the Wigmore Hall. They have also appeared at the Bath, Aldeburgh and Cheltenham festivals, more concerts at Hamburg and Ghent, and a tour of the USA, so it is a privilege to welcome them to Newton Abbot. The quartet are now staff members at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and in 2025 became String Quartet in Residence at Middlesex University. Read more about the quartet at Heath String Quartet | Official Website
Their programme for us will include
- Beethoven – F-Major quartet, op.135
- Matthew Locke – Suite no III in F-major
- Grażyna Bacewicz – String Quartet no.6
- Schumann – String Quartet no.2 in F-major, op.41
Ranging from English Baroque to 20th- century Polish, this is a well thought-out programme that’s bound to delight. Some you may already know or recognise, while others may be a new discovery for you: whichever, a great way to stay the year! Don’t forget to bring some cash for a CD or an interval tea or coffee. Now hurry along to Heath String Quartet: An Afternoon with the Heath String Quartet – nadsa concerts and book your ticket if you’ve not already done so!
This afternoon’s concert is sponsored by Kerry and Graham Collins,
to whom we are most grateful.
What else is happening musically in South Devon? Not a great deal yet; we’re still recovering from carol concerts!
On Saturday 7th February in the afternoon, Torbay Singers are holding a choral workshop and informal performance of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace. Details at Torbay Singers – 07/02/2026 1:30pm – Come and Sing The Armed Man – a mass for peace by Karl Jenkins
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are at the Great Hall, Exeter, twice in the coming weeks: first on Thursday 29th January with a programme of Stravinsky, Beethoven and Mozart – Classical Heights BSO Exeter | 29 Janaury 2026 for more information. Then again on 12th February with ‘Playful Shostakovich’ – Playful Shostakovich BSO Exeter | 12 February 2026
That’s it for now; happy listening,
John R