Ensemble Renard (Wind Quintet)

ELLIE BLAMIRES (flute)

FRANCESCA COX (oboe)

PATRICK BOLTON (bassoon)

GEORGE STRIVENS (French horn)

JAMES GILBERT (clarinet)

Valerie Coleman

Umoja

Samuel Barber

Summer Music

Cheryl Frances-Hoad

Blue Cheese and Olive Oil

WA Mozart (arr. Wolfgang Sebastien Meyer)

Andante fur eine Walze in eine kleine Orgel, K. 616

Amy Beach

Pastorale

Pavel Haas

Wind Quintet

Bela Bartok (arr. George Strivens)

Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from Mikrokosmos Vol. 6

London-based wind quintet Ensemble Renard comprises five of the UK’s most outstanding young musicians. Travelling to all corners of the UK, from London to the Hebrides, every concert is tailored to its audience. By curating compelling and contrasting programmes, Ensemble Renard demonstrates the kaleidoscopic versatility of the ensemble. Through frequent collaboration with composers, most Ensemble Renard concerts feature works especially written or arranged for them.

Ensemble Renard were Chamber Music Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music in 2021, and have since received several accolades, becoming Tunnell Trust awardees, Britten-Pears Young Artists, Stoller Hall Young Artists, and awardees of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust’s Recital Scheme. They won the Royal Philharmonic Society Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award 2024, and in 2025 became Associate Artists on the Countess of Munster/YCAT UK Artists Directory, and City Music Foundation Artists.

Highlights of the ensemble’s career so far include performances at the Aldeburgh Festival in 2023 and 2025. Last year, they celebrated the centenaries of both Berio and Boulez at Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall to critical acclaim, and Britten-Pears Arts commissioned a new quintet by Cheryl Frances-Hoad to mark the occasion. Ensemble Renard have returned yearly to Llanfyllin Music Festival since 2022 and can be found performing in music clubs the length of the United Kingdom.