Lunchtime Concert: Emily Beech and Roxanna Shini Mehrabzadeh, voice & piano duo

THU 17 NOV 13.00

Take a moment in the middle of the day to enjoy a programme of music by Trinity Laban voice and piano duo Emily Beech and Roxanna Shini Mehrabzadeh at the magnificent St George the Martyr.

Mozart
Un moto di gioia
From Le Nozze di Figaro

Libby Larsen
My Ántonia
i. Landscape: From the train
ii. Ántonia

Beethoven
Piano Sonata No.17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, Tempest

Rebecca Clarke
The Seal Man

Cécile Chaminade
i. Mignonne
ii. Chanson Triste

Gluck
Che fiero momento
From Orphée et Eurydice

Grieg
Ein Traum

Emily Beech (soprano) is currently studying her Masters in vocal performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance under the tutelage of Sophie Grimmer, where she is generously supported with a Kathleen Roberts scholarship, and by the John Clemence Charitable Trust. She previously read Music at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a first-class honours in 2019. For this term’s Opera Scenes, she is excited to take on the role of Mimi in scenes from Puccini’s La Boheme. Emily takes a keen interest in contemporary classical music, most recently performing the title role in Thea Musgrave’s chamber opera Mary, Queen of Scots as part of Trinity’s Summer Postgraduate Opera Scenes, and sang in Trinity Laban Opera’s world premiere of Edward Jessen’s new work Syllable earlier this year. During her time at Birmingham, Emily performed the role of Anne Egerman (A Little Night Music), Margery (The Dragon of Wantley), Suzanna (scenes from Le Nozze di Figaro) and sang a chorus role in Dove’s The Enchanted Pig. Emily also has extensive choral singing experience; under the baton of Simon Carrington and Simon Halsey she sang in the Birmingham University Singers, with whom she toured to Berlin and Leipzig and performed in various Proms projects. Emily was recently a finalist in the Irish Heritage Bursary Awards 2021 and was delighted to perform at Wigmore Hall for this occasion. She is the inaugural Soprano Scholar for the Thames Philharmonic Choir for 2021-22, and has recently performed in masterclasses with Ailish Tynan, Susan Bullock, Fiona Kimm, and Amanda Roocroft.

British-Iranian pianist Roxanna Shini Mehrabzadeh is an accomplished performer and teacher from Cambridgeshire, now based in London. She has performed at distinguished venues across the UK and Europe including Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge University, Yamaha Studios, Sala Michelangeli (Italy), The Arlberg 1800 (Austria), Konzertsaal des Augustinum (Germany), Auditoria Joaquin Rodrigo (Madrid) and Nafplio Vouleftikon (Greece). She has performed at international festivals and competitions for acclaimed pianists such as Nikolai Demidenko, Pascal Rogé, Leon McCawley, Artur Pizarro, Kathryn Stott, Graham Scott, Martino Tirimo, Julian Jacobson, Giorgia Alessandra Brustia, Peter Tuite, Charles Owen, Peter Nagy and Sergio De Simone. She was a finalist in the 2017 John Longmire Beethoven Piano Competition, in 2017 and 2018 she was a consecutive prizewinner of the Musical Odyssey Summer School and most recently, she was a finalist in the Alfred Kitchin Chopin Competition 2020 as well as the 2022 Schumann competition. As a chamber musician, Roxanna regularly performs alongside instrumentalists and vocalists, most recently at Wigmore Hall. In 2020 she graduated with first-class honours from Trinity Laban where she is now undertaking her masters degree, studying under professor Yekaterina Lebedeva. Roxanna would like to thank The Jimmie Cross Prize Scholarship Fund,Help Musicians UK and The Ruth Walker Trust for their support in her studies.

St George the Martyr
Admission free, no ticket required