Coco Tomita, violin

DEBUSSY  Violin Sonata in G minor, L 140

PROKOFIEV  Violin Sonata No 1 in F minor, Op 80

DEBUSSY  Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (arr. Heifetz)

BEETHOVEN   Violin Sonata No 9 in A, Op 47, ‘Kreutzer’

We are delighted to welcome back another young classical star. 

Returning to the theme of many of this season’s concerts, Coco and Simon are including an orchestral piece, Debussy’s 'Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune'.  In addition to Beethoven's popular Violin Sonata No 9, known as the 'Kreutzer' after its dedicatee (another violin virtuoso of his day), the programme also includes Prokofiev’s first violin sonata, which has been recorded by Coco and Simon and is due for release in September 2024.

Hailed by critics and audiences alike, Japanese violinist Coco Tomita first gained recognition after winning the BBC Young Musician 2020 Strings Category. Her success led to an invitation to record a debut album with Orchid Classics, numerous approaches by music festivals across the UK, and an extensive concert tour of Japan. She was named as ‘One to watch’ by Gramophone Magazine and ‘Young Classical Star’ by Classic FM. Her debut album ‘Origins’ received a succession of rave reviews from The Strad, Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine and the Guardian, among others, and was selected as ‘Disc of the month’ by Apple in April 2022.

Based in London and Berlin, Coco recently completed her triumphant debut tour of Japan, highlights of which were her concerto debut with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Masahiko Enkoji, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Axelrod at the Suntory Hall, Tokyo. She has also appeared as a soloist with the London Mozart Players, Philharmonie Baden-Baden and Bath Philharmonia.

In recital Coco performs regularly with Simon Callaghan. This season she makes her debut at the Dubai Opera and has several appearances around the UK. Last season Coco made debuts at Harrogate International Festival and St George’s Hall, Bristol.

She has won numerous prizes at international competitions and festivals, including Golden Medals at the Vienna International Music Competition and Berliner International Music Competition, Carl Flesch Prize at the Carl Flesch Academy, and 1st prize at the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloist Competition where she also won the Duke of Devonshire Award.

Born into a musical family, Coco began to play the violin when she was four years old. At age ten she made her debut at Cadogan Hall, London, with Southbank Sinfonia and has performed in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Coco began her early training at the Yehudi Menuhin School with renowned pedagogues Natasha Boyarsky and Lutsia Ibragimova. Since 2021, she has been studying under the guidance of Professor Kolja Blacher at the Hochschule fűr Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin.

Photo credit: Brett Clarke

Simon Callaghan performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, in parallel with a highly successful career as a recording artist. A favourite performer at the internationally-renowned Husum Festival of Piano Rarities in Germany, Callaghan’s recent sell-out concert was praised by VAN Magazine as a “cleverly curated recital full of discoveries” and by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “technically brilliant”. Callaghan has developed a wide following and appears on a regular basis in the UK’s major concert halls, and on tours to Asia, North America and Europe. Recital partners have included Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Nicholas Daniel, Adrian Brendel, Feng Ning, Samuel West, Prunella Scales and Timothy West. BBC Young Musician of the Year Finalist Coco Tomita and Callaghan have a successful duo partnership which saw their first record released in 2022 on Orchid Classics. He is also a founding member of the London Piano Quartet, joining colleagues from the renowned Piatti Quartet to showcase the repertoire for piano quartet with a particular focus on revivifying works that have fallen into obscurity.

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Concert ticket £22

Members, children, students under 26, accompanying carers: free

NHS staff, Universal Credit recipients £5

Family Ticket: £30 for two adults, or £15 for one adult, accompanying one or more children

Available at the door (cards, cash and cheques accepted) and in advance

To book and pay by cheque or bank transfer, or to reserve a ticket, please contact our Box Office Manager, Jane Muir: janemuir72@gmail.com or call 07766 884991

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