Seminar

Please note that this seminar will take place in Pinner Parish Church Hall. 

Festival Director Anthony Pinching will chair this year’s PMF Seminar, in which we shall hear from some of the week’s performers about themselves and their programmes, in a relaxed conversation in the church hall (sandwiches and soft drinks provided).

He will be joined by Jessica Duchen, who writes for and about music, dividing this between fiction, stage works and journalism. Her novel Immortal (2020) is based on the latest research into the identity of Beethoven’s mysterious ‘immortal beloved’ – a love letter to whom was discovered in Beethoven’s apartment after his death. Jessica narrates this acclaimed concert drama on Wednesday evening based on this work, with relevant piano pieces played by Viv McLean.

From the Aurora Trio, performing on Wednesday at lunchtime, we shall hear from flautist Emma Halnan. The Aurora Trio is an exciting young chamber ensemble, with a reputation for pushing the boundaries of its unusual instrumentation, with repertoire comprising many new pieces and original arrangements alongside core works for flute, viola and harp. Emma will also give the premiere of Martin Bussey’s La Rossa for solo flute, based on the flute part of the cantata, A Brother Abroad, which PMF 2021 commissioned.

Tim Hugh is cellist in Trio Balthasar, a new chamber group, committed to imaginative, diverse programming (examples of which we shall hear on Friday evening). Tim is a very experienced cellist in orchestral (LSO, ROH) and chamber repertoire. He will bring his particular insights into Debussy’s La Mer, from the usual orchestral version and that for piano trio, arranged by Sally Beamish, as well as discussing the other works they will play.

Marco Galvani is Deputy Director of Music at Yehudi Menuhin School (YMS), and he will talk about the work of the school, the YMS student artists who will perform on Thursday at lunchtime, and the works to be played. Marco joined the faculty at Yehudi Menuhin School in 2018, where he teaches composition, harmony, music theory, and aural training. In September 2022 he was appointed Deputy Director of Music. He is a composer of choral, concert, and electronic music, based in London. Recent work explores the connection between music and technology.