'Telling Tales' in Landulph

Chapel Street Winds were delighted to be invited to Landulph School on Friday October 16th to perform items from their programme of music entitled 'Telling Tales' to a school hall full of children. The Quintet played Dances, Shanties, Folksongs and Film music, and even included an opportunity for young, budding conductors to conduct the group!

The musicians enjoyed introducing their instruments to the children, some of which they were completely unfamiliar with, and explaining how each instrument works. The children were completely engaged throughout, and the performance finished with everyone enthusiastically and lustily singing and playing 'Let it go' from ‘Frozen’!

We all set off for the evening performance of Little Red Riding Hood at the Landulph Festival with a spring in our step, and look forward to more schools performances in the future.

Radford Charitable Trust Grant

We are delighted to share the news that Chapel Street Quartet has received funding from the Radford Charitable Trust to bring live chamber music into two Cornish primary schools this November.

The Quartet will visit Chacewater Community Primary School and Penpol School in Hayle, giving two concerts at each school. Through imaginative and interactive performances, the children will be introduced to the instruments of the string quartet and explore some of the different elements that bring music to life.

The concerts will encourage active listening and demonstrate how musicians communicate without words, respond to one another as they play, and work together through close cooperation and non-verbal communication.

We are very grateful to the Radford Charitable Trust for making these concerts possible and enabling us to share live music with children in their own schools. Katy and Danny are already teaching children at both schools, so the concerts will also engage with their young string players, and, we hope, inspire more children to begin learning an instrument!

Music in a Summer Rose Garden

Photo credits: Patrick Gale

In June, Chapel Street Quartet were delighted to perform a very special concert at Trevilley, the home of novelist Patrick Gale and his husband, sculptor Aidan Hicks.

The concert took place in Aidan’s studio, which had been transformed from a working space filled with tools and stone into an intimate setting for chamber music.

The programme began with one of Haydn’s late quartets and continued with William Grant Still’s Lyric Quartette; three musical portraits of friends entitled The Sentimental One, The Quiet One and The Jovial One. We concluded with Borodin’s Second String Quartet, written as a gift to his wife to mark their 25th wedding anniversary. The cello features prominently in the work, and our cellist, Danny Poznansky Jones, delighted us all with her beautiful playing. A family of owls also kept the quartet listening especially carefully, occasionally making themselves heard from their perch above the stage during the second half!

The audience had an opportunity to explore Trevilley’s stunning gardens, including the country’s westernmost walled rose garden. The combination of live music, Patrick’s incredible canapés and the beautiful surroundings made it a truly memorable evening. The concert formed part of Trevilley’s June opening in aid of the National Garden Scheme and its charities.

We are hugely grateful to Patrick and Aidan for their warmth and hospitality, and to everyone who joined us for this celebration of music and gardens. Patrick has already invited Chapel Street Quartet back for two concerts next summer on Thursday 24 June 2027: a 3.30 pm matinee and a 7.30 pm evening performance. We will let you know when tickets go on sale, as numbers will be limited!