Elaborate vocal lines, aching beauty & expressive pain: The Portrait Players & Dame Emma Kirkby in I Voci Segreti

The Portrait Players (Emilia Agajew, Kristiina Watt, Claire Ward, Mirim Nohl) with Dame Emma Kirkby

I Voci Segreti: Monteverdi, Luzzaschi, Quagliati, Piccinini, Ortiz, Malvezzi, Coma, Settimia Caccini, Marenzio, Francesca Caccini; The Portrait Players, Dame Emma Kirkby; City Music Foundation at Bart's Great Hall
Reviewed 8 April 2025

The seductive sweetness of three voices weaving in and around each other: Dame Emma Kirkby joins the young ensemble, The Portrait Players, for a programme celebrating the concerto delle donne and the fondness for all-female vocal ensembles in 16th century Italy

The court of the d'Este family, the Dukes of Ferrara in the 16th century is in many ways tantalising. Some of this is caused by distance, how can we know anything about life over 500 years ago. But in the case of the Dukes of Ferrara, when Alfonso II d'Este died without a direct heir in 1597 the d'Este family's hold on the dukedom withered and in 1598 it became papal fief and archives from the period were catastrophically lost.

Ferrara in 16th century matters, because it was a musical hothouse. Alfonso II created the concerto delle donne, a consort of professional female singers that existed from 1580 to 1597, famed for the singers' technical and artistic virtuosity. The women were upper class but not necessarily noble and the music performed was highly private, part of Alfonso's musica secreta concerts.

A highly trained ensemble, one of their innovations was to move from a single voice singing diminutions over accompaniment to two or three highly ornamented voices singing varying diminutions at once, with the ornaments notated in detail by the composers. The concerto delle donne was directed by court composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi and his surviving music for the group is precious.

This idea of a private ensemble of female singers was influential in Italy at the period and a recent concert by The Portrait Players, as part of the City Music Foundation's (CMF) lunchtime recital series in the Great Hall at St Bart's Hospital, explored this repertoire by focusing on the concerto delle donne in Ferrara and the music created for and by the Caccini sisters in Florence.

On Wednesday 8 April 2026, The Portrait Players (Claire Ward, soprano, Kristiina Watt, theorbo/voice, Miriam Nohl, cello and Emilia Agajew, harp) were joined by soprano Dame Emma Kirkby whose familiarity with this repertoire goes back many decades. Alongside madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi, Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Annibale Come, Settimia Caccini, Francesca Caccini and Luca Marenzio we heard instrumental music by Paolo Quagliati, Alessandro Piccinini, Diego Ortiz and Cristofano Malvezzi. Claire Ward was a CMF Artist from 2022 to 2024 and founded The Portrait Players in 2023.

Ferrara and its castle, home of the concerto delle donne

In fact, the members of the concerto delle donne in Ferrara all played instruments too, including the lute and harp. For this concert Kristiina Watt both sang and played theorbo, sometimes simultaneously, with Miriam Nohl and Emilia Agajew providing the other instrumental support.

Celebrating in style: current and past City Music Foundation Young Artists in showcase at the restored Great Hall of St Bart's

City Music Foundation 2025 Young Artists in the Great Hall at St Bart's

The City Music Foundation (CMF) was founded in 2012 and has developed significantly into an organisation that supports young artists by offering career development, turning talent into a success. For some years CMF has developed a relationship with St Barts giving concerts in the Great Hall. Following the recent restoration of the hall after extensive conservation and restoration work in the last two years under the direction of Will Palin and Barts Heritage, the Hall and the Hogarth Stair are looking absolutely stunning. By way of a celebration both of CMF and the Great Hall, there was a Meet the Artists event in the Great Hall on Wednesday 25 February where there was a chance not only to see the hall but to meet the CMF team and hear performances from some of the current CMF Young Artists, as well as being able to meet members of earlier cohorts including some of the first.

Proceedings were opened by percussionist James Larter (CMF 2021) playing Asventuras by Alexej Gerassimez, an amazing tour de force for untuned percussion. The first set also included pianist Nikita Lukinov (CMF 2024) playing Mikhail Pletnev's sparkling arrangement of the Adagio from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Suite, mezzo-soprano Joanna Harries (CMF 2024) and pianist Mihai Ritivoiu (CMF 2016) in If I loved you from Rogers & Hammerstein's Carousel, the wind quintet Ensemble Renard in terrific form in two movements from Bartok's Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from Mikrokosmos Vol. 6 in arrangements by George Strivens, and soprano Caroline Taylor (CMF 2022) and pianist Sholto Kynoch in Schubert's Im Frühling.

The second set featured violinist Basil Alter (CMF 2025) and pianist Jack Redman (CMF 2024) in a bravura account of Tchaikovsky's Valse-scherzo, Intesa Duo (CMF 2025) consisting of Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti (viols and voice) in a haunting Armenian traditional song Kakavik where Musaelian whilst playing the viol, Duo Melos (CMF 2024) consisting of Katie Taunton, flute, and Jack Redman, piano) in a fast and delightfully dazzling short piece by Dilys Elwyn-Edwards and a Welsh traditional song, A I want with Tom to Town arranged by Stephen Goss that proved to be rather perky and surprisingly complete, and finally pianist Sofia Sacco (CMF 2024) played Couperin's Le rossignol en amour and Kabalevsky's brilliant, rather neo-classical Prelude and Fugue in C Major, Op.61 No. 2.

The final set opened with soprano Theano Papdaki (CMF 2024) and percussionist James Larter in EL Vito for the lovely combination of voice and marimba. Then pianist Will Harmer (CMF 2025) played one of his own compositions, a fugue that was complex yet rather engaging; cellist Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir (CMF 2024) and pianist Antoine Preat (CMF 2021) gave a vibrant, upfront account of the scherzo from Brahms' Sonatensatz; then baritone George Robarts (CMF 2024) and Will Harmer brought things to a lively, light-hearted yet apt conclusion with Noel Coward's There are bad times just around the corner.

The CMF programme of concerts continues on 11 March when cellist Arian Kashefi and pianist Petr Limonov are performing Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata and Amy Beach's Three Pieces, Op. 40 in the Great Hall in Barts North Wing. Full details from the CMF website.

The City Music Foundation has announced the new cohort of artists joining the CMF Artist Programme as 2025 CMF Artists.

City Music Foundation Artists 2025 (Photo: Benjamin Ealovega)

The City Music Foundation has announced the new cohort of artists joining the CMF Artist Programme as ‘2025 CMF Artists. Becoming a 2025 CMF Artist will mean they each receive financial and advisory support for their project alongside the coaching, performance opportunities and other numerous short and long-term benefits and help that CMF continues to offer.

CEO of CMF, Clare Taylor says: "These eight soloists and ensembles were selected from a large number of exciting, talented performers because of their unique and innovative approach and their exceptional accomplishment. CMF will help them reach new audiences through very individual projects - including film making in Armenia, a baroque tour with electronics, recording previously unheard female composers, a new commission for wind quintet, and new work by a singer-songwriter and by a pianist- composer, as well as other CD and video recording."

• Basil Alter, violin - Originally from Tennessee, before moving to London he studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. In the 2025–26 season, he divides his time between the United States and Europe.
• Ensemble Renard, wind quintet - Founded in 2018 at the RAM and GSMD, Ensemble Renard were Chamber Music Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music in 2021.
• Immy Churchill, Jazz Singer & Singer/Songwriter - She graduated from The Royal Academy of Music in 2024 and was a finalist in the Tina May Young Jazz Musician Award
• Intesa Duo, Gamba Duo & Voice - Intesa was formed in 2023 at the Royal Academy of Music by Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti, with the goal of celebrating the viol’s combination with the voice. Intesa is an Italian word meaning “understanding”, or a meeting of minds.
• Jong Sun Woo, Piano (with Associate Artist Felix Gygli, baritone) - Jong Sun Woo recently won the Pianist Prize at Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition 2024 and with baritone Giacomo Schmidt, the 1st prize at Wolf International Art Song Competition 2024 in Stuttgart
• Londinium Consort, Baroque Ensemble - An emerging ensemble based in London. Exploring spaces where old and new meet, the ensemble takes its name from the ancient name of the City of London, highlighting the city’s long and richly varied cultural landscape
• Violetta Suvini, Violin - Irish-Italian violinist Violetta Suvini enjoys a varied concert diary across the UK and Europe. She is the 2024 recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Emily Anderson Prize
• Will Harmer, Piano and composer (with Associate Artists Sebastian Hill, tenor & Gabriel Francis-Dehqani, cello) - Will Harmer is a London-based composer and pianist. He is an Oxford Song Young Artist 2024-25. He has been commissioned by the BBC Singers, Oxford Song and Ludlow English Song festivals and was a National Youth Choirs Young Composer 2024

Full details from the CMF website.

Window of opportunity: City Music Foundation opens applications for its 2025 programme

CMF Artists Connaught Brass

City Music Foundation (CMF) is opening its 2025 programme to applications from Friday 13 June 2025, giving emerging professional performers across classical, jazz, folk and world music genres - both soloists and ensembles - to apply for the opportunity to become a 2025 CMF Artist.

In 2024, CMF introduced a renewed focus on individual projects as a central element of the selection and support process, is project-based approach will continue in 2025, recognising the potential of a well-conceived and well-executed project - whether a recording, film, tour, chamber opera, or commission - to act as a career catalyst for early-stage professional musicians.

Successful applicants will be awarded up to £10,000 in CMF Funding to support the development and realisation of their proposed project. In addition to financial support, CMF Artists benefit from a tailored professional development programme, including expert coaching, industry mentoring, and CMF-promoted performance opportunities.

They are looking for exceptionally talented artists, regardless of instrument or genre, who would benefit most from CMF’s distinctive combination of artistic and professional support.

Full details from the CMF website, and deadline for applications is 30 June 2025

The songs of Robert Kahn: Florian Störtz & Aleksandra Myslek reveal some of the gems to be found in the output of a relatively forgotten composer forced into exile by the Nazis

Robert Kahn

Robert Kahn, Robert Schumann, Erich Korngold, Paul Hindemith; Florian Störtz, Aleksandra Myslek; City Music Foundation at Tallow Chandlers' Hall
Reviewed 16 December 2024

Forbidden by the Nazis and forced to feel to England in his 70s, the music of Robert Kahn has remained somewhat undervalued and here we were treated to a rich exploration of his song output alongside music of his contemporaries and influences

I have been aware of Robert Kahn and his music for some considerable time as I became friends with one of Kahn's great-grandchildren in the 1990s. But Kahn's music has remained somewhat elusive in performance. Kahn (1865-1951) was highly influenced by the music of Robert Schumann and friendship with Johannes Brahms in the 1880s also had a significant effect on his music. Kahn trained with Clara Schumann's half-brother and with Josef Rheinberger. He was also a distinguished lieder accompanist, his music perhaps somewhat conservative when compared to his colleagues. 

His Jewishness led to problems, however; Kahn and his wife fled to England in the 1930s and he died in Biddenden in Kent in 1951. You can read more about Kahn in Norbert Meyn's article on the Royal College of Music's website, whilst the Robert Kahn website provides lots of information and a list of works

The good news is that London-based German bass-baritone Florian Störtz and pianist Aleksandra Myslek are planning to record a goodly selection of Kahn's songs. At their City Music Foundation lunchtime recital on Monday 16 December 2024 at the Tallow Chandlers' Hall, Störtz and Myslek performed a selection of Robert Kahn's songs alongside those of Robert Schumann and Kahn's contemporaries, Erich Korngold and Paul Hindemith.

From Baroque ensemble & string quartet to composer & collaborative pianists: The City Music Foundation introduces its 2024 CMF Artists

The City Music Foundation's 2024 CMF Artists (Photo: Benjamin Ealovega)

The City Music Foundation (CMF) has announced its latest cohort of artists, its 11th intake. The 2024 CMF Artists are Aleksandra Myslek (collaborative piano), Duo Melus (flute & piano), Edward Picton-Turbervill (collaborative piano/composer), Ensemble Augelletti (Baroque ensemble), Florian Störtz (bass- baritone), Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir (cello), George Robarts (baritone), Gus & Eleanor (guitar & voice/double bass), Joanna Harries (mezzo-soprano), Kyan Quartet (string quartet), Nikita Lukinov (piano), Sofia Sacco (piano) and Theano Papadaki (soprano).

For the first time this year, the artists applied to the scheme with a particular project in mind. The artists are chosen regardless of instrument or genre, and as 2024 CMF Artists, they each receive financial and advisory support for their project alongside the coaching, performance opportunities and other numerous short and long-term benefits that CMF continues to offer.

Current and previous CMF artists include Connaught Brass, cellist Margarita Balanas, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, pianist Samson Tsoy, violin & piano duo Foyle-Stsura, Ligeti Quartet, mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts- Dean and jazz double-bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado. 

Further information from the CMF website, and check their What's On pages for information about forthcoming recitals.

Continuing support: both the City Music Foundation and the Continuo Foundation announce plans for supporting artists in 2024

CMF Artists on the Hogarth Stair at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 2021

Two foundations that regularly support performers have announced plans for the coming year, with the City Music Foundation opening applications for 2024 artists, and the Continuo Foundation announcing its latest grant-making initiative (its seventh).

The City Music Foundation (CMF) has announced the opening of applications for 2024. Emerging solo performers and ensembles in classical, jazz and folk can apply for the CMF's programme of artist mentoring and support. During the very fragile early stages of a professional career, CMF helps artists to develop their unique creative vision, and gaining recognition and a network within the music industry, with the aim of guiding them towards a secure and sustainable future in the profession.

This year there had been a slight change of approach, responding to discussions with artists and to the changes in the financial climate. The CMF will now focus on particular projects, and it has been in project-based support that artists have found most impactful and inspirational. 

2024 applications will be for CMF funding to support for a particular project of either a large (up to £10,000) or small (<£500) sum. The chosen artists will also receive a generous programme of professional development alongside the funding; mentoring will remain integral to the programme, as well as CMF-promoted performances.

Full details from the CMF website, deadline is 25 March 2024.

The Continuo Foundation has announced its seventh grant-making initiative for UK period instrument ensembles. In this new round, £100,000 in grants will be made available for live early music concert tours and other exceptional artistic projects taking place across the UK between April and October 2024.

This will bring the total disbursed by the Continuo Foundation to £750,000. The foundation has awarded grants to 85 period-instrument ensembles, supporting 145 projects to date. These initiatives have benefited 970 freelance musicians and brought uplifting music to nearly 100,000 audience members across 150 UK locations and online. 

Project proposals will be accepted from both established and emerging ensembles, and 40% of the funds allocated in Grant Round Six were dedicated to the recently formed ensemble category. Grants for the current round will range from £2000 to £8000, and the application submission deadline is 9 February 2024.Full details from the Continuo Foundation website.

Continuo Foundation Performances

Youthful engagement & Romantic devotion in Claire Ward & JongSun Woo's CMF Lunchtime Recital

Claire Ward at the Tallow Chandlers' Hall for the City Music Foundation

Devotion - Schumann: Frauen-Liebe und Leben, R. Strauss, Brahms, Alma Mahler, Schoenberg, Faure, Debussy, Britten, Bridge; Claire Ward, JongSun Woo; City Music Foundation at Tallow Chandlers' Hall
Reviewed 11 December 2023

Schumann's song cycle in a performance full of youthful engagement at the centre of a lovely recital exploring aspects of Romantic devotion

Soprano Claire Ward and pianist JongSun Woo gave their lunchtime recital on Monday 11 December 2023 at the Tallow Chandlers' Hall, as part of the City Music Foundation's 10th anniversary season visiting the various City Livery Halls (as the season's regular home, the Great Hall of St Bartholomew's Hospital is closed for restoration).  Tallow Chandlers' Hall is another of the City's historic halls, dating back to the 1670s.

The recital was title Devotion and centred on Schumann's Frauen-Liebe und Leben, Op. 42 plus songs by Richard Strauss, Brahms, Alma Mahler, Schoenberg, Faure, Debussy, Britten and Bridge, all exploring different aspects of the idea of devotion.

Early Beethoven & Verdi's only string quartet in London's oldest surviving Livery Hall

Apothecaries' Hall

Verdi: String Quartet in E minor, Beethoven: String Quartet No. 3 in D major; Kleio String Quartet; City Music Foundation at the Apothecaries' Hall
29 November 2023

Beethoven's first string quartet paired with Verdi's only essay in the genre in engagingly characterful performances from CMF Artists, the Kleio String Quartet

The Great Hall at St Bartholomew's Hospital is currently closed for restoration, which means that for its 10th anniversary season the City Music Foundation (CMF) is presenting its lunchtime concerts at a selection of the City's Livery Halls. On Wednesday 29 November 2023, it was the turn of the Apothecaries' Hall, the oldest surviving Livery Hall in use in London. The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries rebuilt their hall in the years following the Fire of London from 1669 to 1672 and three main rooms, including the hall itself, remain unchanged since the late 17th-century.

At the Apothecaries' Hall on 29 November 2023, CMF Artists the Kleio String Quartet (Yume Fujise, Katherine Yoon, Jenny Lewisohn and Eliza Millett) performed Verdi's String Quartet in E minor and Beethoven's String Quartet No. 3 in D major.

City Music Foundations concerts in historic Livery Halls

CMF Artists (Photo: Benjamin Ealovega)

Thanks to the City Music Foundation's (CMF) partnership with Barts Heritage, the CMF's lunchtime concert series runs regularly in the historic Great Hall of Barts Hospital. 

The Great Hall closed in July for much-needed renovations and the current CMF Concert Series takes place in a series of historic Livery Halls in the City of London. The series launched in July, with the Mikeleiz-Zucchi Duo (accordion and saxophone) in the Pewterers' Hall (built in 1961 to replace one destroyed during the War).

On 13 September 2023, baritone Jonathan Eyers and pianist Roger Vignoles perform a programme of Finzi, Korngold and Loewe at the Armourer's Hall (built in 1839 on the site of the 14th century hall), then in October violinist Emmanuel Coppey and pianist Antoine Préat visit the Barber Surgeon's Hall (built in 1969), in November the Kleio Quartet is in the Apothecaries' Hall (built in the 17th century but incorporating earlier elements), and in December, soprano Claire Ward and pianist Jong Sun Woo are in the Tallow Chandlers' Hall (built in the 17th century).

Other concerts in the series take place at St Martin in the Fields, with pianist Mihai Ritivoiu on 15 September, and soprano Harriet Burns with pianist Michael Pandya on 29 September.

Full details from the CMF website.

Handel the European: two concerts showcasing the diversity & imagination of Handel's cantatas

Portrait miniature of Handel (c1710) by Christoph Platzer
(Photo of a lost original, Handel-Haus, Halle)

Handel: Sans y penser (Cantate Francaise) HWV 155, No se emendera jamas HWV 140, German Arias 202-208; Claire Ward, Maxim Del Mar, Miriam Nohl, Kiristiina Watt; City Music Foundation at the Great Hall, St Bartholomew's Hospital, 18 January 2023
Handel: Alpestre monte HWV81, Un'alma innamorata HWV173, Tra le fiamme HWV170; Carolyn Sampson, Finnish Baroque Orchestra; Wigmore Hall

Two concerts showcasing the more intimate beauties of Handel's cantatas, with texts setting Italian, French, Spanish and German. A lovely focus on an often ignored part of his imaginative output

Two concerts this week, showcased the range of Handel's writing for voice on an intimate scale. He wrote hundreds of small-scale cantatas, of which only a handful are well known, and though works in this style date largely from his Italian years, there are tantalising later chamber vocal works.

So, at the Great Hall of St Bartholomew's Hospital on Wednesday 18 January 2023, the City Music Foundation presented soprano Claire Ward with Maxim Del Mar (violin), Miriam Nohl (cello), Kristiina Watt (archlute & Baroque guitar) in a programme called Handel's Europe which included movements from Handel's French language cantata Sans y penser HWV 155, plus the cantata in Spanish, No se emendera jamas HWV 140 and a selection of six of the German Arias. Then on 19 January 2023, soprano Carolyn Sampson joined members of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra for a programme of Handel's Italian cantatas, Alpestre monte HWV81, Un'alma innamorata HWV173 and Tra le fiamme HWV170.

This was music written for an almost forgotten social ritual, the salon. It wasn't concert music at all, and it is significant that as Ellen T. Harris has pointed out (in her wonderful book on the cantatas Handel as Orpheus), once Handel stopped having patron and started working for himself, then his cantatas stop almost entirely. For their concert at St Bartholomew's, Claire Ward and friends performed with the audience in a semi-circle round them, creating a real intimate feel. There was no harpsichord, here the continuo was cello (Miriam Nohl) and baroque guitar or archlute (Kristiina Watt). 

City Music Foundation celebrates 10 years with gala concert

The City Music Foundation (CMF) is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a gala concert at Wigmore Hall on 5 July 2022. Performers at the concert include CMF Alumni, violinist Emily Sun, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, pianist Samson Tsoy (performing with his duo partner Pavel Kolesnikov), and violinist Michael Foyle, performing with the Trio Balthasar which includes Iain Burnside (CMF Patron) and Tim McHugh. Other distinguished performers will include bass-baritone Christopher Purves, trumpeter David Blackadder and violinist Jennifer Pike (CMF Patron).

Music include Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring (in the version for piano four-hands), Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 2, Bach's Double Violin Concerto and arias from Handel's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne.

The City Music Foundation was co-founded by the late Sir Roger Gifford (1955-2021), who was the 685th Lord Mayor of London and was installed as Master of the Musician's Company in 2016. The CMF selects exceptional professional musicians at the start of their careers, when managing ‘the business of music’ can be a challenge, and supports them with a comprehensive career development programme. 

Full details from the CMF website.

Ancient and Modern: Helen Charlston & Toby Carr premiere Owain Park's new piece for mezzo-soprano and theorbo

Helen Charlston & Toby Carr (Photo Vivienne Monk)

Owain Park, Purcell, Strozzi, Eccles, Monteverdi; Helen Charlston, Toby Carr; City Music Foundation at Great Hall of St Bartholomew's Hospital
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 8 September 2021 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
Premiere of Owain Park's new work alongside vividly intense programme of Renaissance laments and mad songs

The collaboration between mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and lutenist Toby Carr goes back some years, with a repertoire of English and Italian renaissance music from Purcell to Monteverdi to Strozzi and beyond. The idea of having some contemporary music to sit alongside this developed (as an operatic soloist and ensemble singer Charlston is very much involved in singing contemporary music alongside older repertoire). Charlston was a City Music Foundation artist in 2018, and the City Music Foundation commissioned a new song-cycle for Charlston and Carr from composer Owain Park. One movement was premiered at the Barbican Centre's Sound Unbound festival in 2019, but the events of 2020 rather delayed the complete cycle.

Last night, 7 September 2021, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and theorbo player Toby Carr finally gave the premiere of Owain Park's Battle Cry, commissioned by the City Music Foundation (CMF), at a CMF concert at the Great Hall of St Bartholomew's Hospital (as part of CMF's collaboration with Bart's Heritage). Also in the programme were a series of laments and mad songs by Purcell, Strozzi, Eccles and Monteverdi including Strozzi's L'Eraclito Amoroso, Purcell's Dido's Lament and Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna.

Designed by James Gibbs and with an adjacent staircase featuring large-scale paintings by William Hogarth, the Great Hall at St Bartholomew's Hospital is a remarkably grand interior dating from the 1730s, but it proved to be a fine space in which to hear Helen Charlston and Toby Carr; sufficient space to allow the music to breathe yet preserving that sense of intimacy that this repertoire requires. Whilst some of the music was written for the stage, in performing it with just theorbo accompaniment Charlston and Carr were reclaiming it for a long tradition of taking music from the opera house into aristocratic salons.

Applications are now open to become a 2021 City Music Foundation Artist

Applications are now open to become a 2021 City Music Foundation Artist. The scheme welcomes applications from classical, jazz, folk and world musicians, both soloists and ensembles, and there is no age limit. 

This will be the scheme's ninth intake, and the selected CMF Artists will begin a two year career development programme which covers artistic and project management, performance opportunities, mentoring and coaching, career development workshops, comissioning promotional tools, commissioning new music, and promotion as well as day-to-day support from the CMF team. 

Current and previous CMF artists include violinist Elina Buksha, violist Rosalind Ventris, pianists Iyad Sughayer and Samson Tsoy, the Ligeti Quartet, guitarist Andrey Lebedev, mezzo-sopranos Lotte Betts-Dean and Helen Charlston, jazz double-bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado and accordionist Bartosz Glowacki.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 30 April 2021. Full details from the CMF website.

City Music Foundation & Barts Heritage present concert series in Great Hall of St Bartholemew's Hospital

City Music Foundation’s Director Clare Taylor and Artist Manager Latana Phoung
From Emile Holba's The Hidden City

The City Music Foundation (CMF) has joined forces with Barts Heritage, an organisation dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the historic buildings at Barts Hospital so that for 2021 the lunchtime recitals from CMF artists will take place in the Great Hall of St Bartholemew's Hospital and be live streamed public and waiting areas in the hospital on the information screens, and available on patient held iPads which can be requested by in-patients. The importance of music and heritage in health and wellbeing is well known - and CMF and Barts Heritage will be collaborating to exploring this in more depth.

The first recital takes place on Wednesday 27 January 2021 with 2018 CMF artist, cellist Ariana Kashefi and guitarist Andrey Lebedev, 2015 CMF Artist (details from CMF website) and then run monthly throughout the year with pianist George Fu to come on 24 February. Full details of the season from the CMF website.

St Bartholomew's Hospital was founded in 1123, and the historic buildings on the site include the main square designed by James Gibbs in the 1730s with the North Wing (from 1732) which includes the Great Hall, which is accessed via the Hogarth Stair with its two huge Hogarth canvases (Hogarth was born in nearby Bartholemew Close and offered to decorate the stair free to prevent an Italian artist from doing so). Barts Heritage is currently undertaking a project to repair and conserve the Great Hall and the North Wing in time for the hospital's 900th anniversary in 2021.

City Music Foundation announces its 2020 young artists

City Music Foundation - 2020 CMF Young Artists (Photo Ben Ealovega)

The City Music Foundation has announced its 2020 CMF Artists. Ten young performers, chosen from 140 applications, with whom CMF will work to develop professional promotional tools, providing help with commissioning and other projects, as well as participation in the CMF Presents recital series. The artists are:

• Antoine Préat: Franco-Belgian pianist who completed his studies at the Royal Academy of Music and whose debut album, Polyphony, is released by Ulysses Arts in 2020
• Elina Buksha: Latvian violinist, winner of the 2012 Latvian Great Music Award, Elina is currently studying with the violinist Midori
• George Xiaoyuan Fu: American pianist and composer, studied at Harvard University, the Curtis Institute of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, where he is currently the Hodgson Piano Fellow
• Margarita Balanas: Latvian cellist, made her solo debut at Wigmore Hall at 17
• Nishla Smith: Jazz singer, her 2020 show What happened to Agnes? was co-produced by Opera North. Her quintet will release its debut album in 2021
• Reylon Yount: Biracial Chinese American yangqin performer and songwriter creating an intersection between Chinese and American cultures (yangqin is a type of dulcimer or struck zither)
• Richard Robbins: British tenor, choral scholar of the Choir of Royal Holloway, graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, Young artist for Brighton Early Music, Leeds Lieder, Oxford Lieder and Handel House
• Richard Scholfield: Scottish, classical saxophonist, active chamber musician, winner of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland concerto competition
• Rozanna Madylus: British-Ukrainian mezzo-soprano, graduated from the Royal Academy Opera Course and young artist of the Berlin Opera Academy, Georg Solti Accademia and Oxford Lieder Festival. She recorded Kokoschka’s Doll with Sir John Tomlinson and Counterpoise on Champs Hill Records [see my review]
• Siân Dicker: British soprano, graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, winner of the Singers Prize at the 68th Royal Overseas League Annual competition. 2020 Alvarez Young Artist, Siân was invited to cover the role of the Foreign Princess in Dvorak's Rusalka at Garsington Opera this summer