Friday 06. May 2022 at 7.30pm
Parkgate & Neston United Reformed Church
A sublime evening featuring the Leader of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and two colleagues playing string trios and duos by Beethoven, Kodaly, Martinu and Francaix.
Tickets £10 (plus 78p booking fee) from Ticket Source by clicking on the button below, or without booking fee from the Blue Bicycle, Neston High Street or Mozkitos Coffee House, Parkgate.
Thelma Handy was appointed Joint Leader of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007 and has directed the orchestra and appeared as soloist on many occasions.
Previously she toured worldwide as a member of the English Chamber Orchestra and worked extensively with the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, the London Mozart Players and the London Symphony Orchestra. She has made guest appearances as Leader with many orchestras including the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, City of Birmingham Symphony, Manchester Camerata and the Real Filharmonía de Galicia.
Solo performances include concertos by Glazunov, Sibelius, Bruch, Mendelssohn, Khatchaturian, Brahms; and Mozart’s Concerto no 5 with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra as part of a tour of Australia. She has worked in Japan with the Mito Chamber Orchestra and in France with the baroque chamber ensemble Orfeo 55, and is in frequent demand as a chamber music collaborator.
She has recently made a recording of the Kodály Duo with her cellist brother, Lionel Handy. Thelma regularly plays in Ensemble 10/10, with whom she has premiered numerous new works and made several recordings, leading the group in performances nationwide including at Wigmore Hall and on BBC Radio 3.
Vicci Wardman has held Principal Viola positions with the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras and was for many years Principal Viola of the John Wilson Orchestra.
Whilst a member of the Philharmonia, Vicci appeared several times as a soloist. As a freelance musician, she has been guest Principal Viola many times with other UK orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, the London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and the Halle Orchestra.
Currently a member of the Pixels Ensemble, Vicci has enjoyed a long career in chamber music. She was a founder member of the Sorrel Quartet, whose various recordings and performances received numerous awards both in the UK and internationally.
Vicci later joined the Eroica Quartet, whose interest in authentic performance led to many concerts and masterclasses both at home and abroad. She has appeared as a regular guest chamber musician with the Allegri Quartet, Psappha and the Nash Ensemble.
Vicci is also busy as a session musician, performing on many TV, film and pop soundtracks. She has appeared as soloist on film scores by various illustrious film composers including James Newton Howard, James Horner, Thomas Newman, Steven Price and Ennio Morricone.
As a viola teacher, Vicci has been a senior tutor at the Royal Northern College of music for 18 years, and taught for several years at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. She also has a private practice in Greater Manchester.
Alexander Holladay began playing the cello aged 8. He received a varied musical education from an early age, becoming Head Chorister of Portsmouth Cathedral and later gaining a diploma in piano performance from Trinity College, London. At 16 he gave his first concerto performance on the ‘cello.
After reading Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, he won scholarships to further his studies with Colin Carr at the Royal Academy of Music. Whilst there he won several prizes and was appointed a Junior Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellow. In 2007 Alexander joined the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then he has played as guest principal for Aurora Orchestra at the BBC Proms, with whom he has played numerous symphonies from memory, and the Northern Chamber Orchestra. He has also been invited to play with various other orchestras including the Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the John Wilson Orchestra.
As a chamber musician he has studied with and performed alongside some of the world’s finest musicians and ensembles. He has given recitals in venues such as the Purcell Room and for numerous festivals throughout the UK and abroad, and has premiered various new works live on Radio 3’s Hear and Now. He regularly appears with Pixels Ensemble and his classical improvisation trio White Lines.
