James Turnbull (oboe & cor anglais) and Libby Burgess (piano)

Friday 9 February 2018 at 7.30pm

An Oboe’s Journey - travelling across Europe through oboe repertoire
Antonio Vivaldi: Sonata in C minor
Carl Nielsen: Two Fantasy Pieces
Witold Lutoslawski: Epitaph
Johann Kalliwoda: Morceau de Salon
Marina Dranishnikova: Poem
Vaughan Williams: From Six Studies in English Folksong
Grieg: Nocturne (piano solo)
Camille Saint-Saens: Oboe Sonata

James Turnbull has dedicated much of his performing life to promoting and extending the oboe repertoire. James has performed frequently throughout the UK and Europe and as a soloist in numerous UK festivals. James has released several solo recordings; Gramophone Magazine described his recital disc, Fierce Tears, as a “notable debut” and it was selected as the Editor’s Choice Recording by Classical Music Magazine.
James is deeply committed to expanding the oboe repertoire and in 2015 launched the New Oboe Music Project which promotes 21st century oboe repertoire across the world and the Leon Goossens Prize for Emerging Composers to help encourage a new generation of composers to write for the oboe. As part of this project James has curated a special collection of previously unpublished oboe repertoire in partnership with Composers Edition.
James is an active chamber musician and is Artistic Director of Ensemble Perpetuo.
James is also dedicated to encouraging young people to learn the instrument. To this end, he has launched the website LearnToPlayTheOboe.com which now receives over a thousand new visitors every month from across the world. James also teaches at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and gives masterclasses across Europe. In recognition of his work in music education, James was awarded the inaugural Patricia Prindl Prize by the Musicians’ Company in 2016.
james-turnbull.com/
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Libby Burgess is a pianist dedicated to song and chamber music, collaborating regularly with some of the finest singers and instrumentalists of her generation. Her diverse schedule ranges from song recitals in the UK’s major concert halls and festivals, to chamber music in obscure venues around the country or appearances on Radio 3. Libby is Artistic Director of New Paths, a major new festival of concerts and outreach events founded in 2016. In 2013 she established Konstellation, which presents programmes exploring the intersection of song and chamber music; this combined interest is reflected in her discography, which ranges from The English Oboe: Rediscovered with James Turnbull, released in 2013 to excellent reviews, to her most recent disc featuring songs of madwomen with mezzo-soprano Clare McCaldin.
Born in Sussex, Libby took a first in music at Oxford, where she was the first female organ scholar at Christ Church Cathedral, before specializing in piano accompaniment with a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. Here she was awarded numerous accompanist prizes and graduated with the DipRAM for an outstandingly high final recital mark, subsequently being awarded both the Shinn and Lucille Graham fellowships.
Libby is in demand as a vocal coach, and runs opera workshops for professional singers. She is highly regarded as a chorusmaster and has also conducted operas for Ryedale Festival Opera and at Grimeborn, and is regularly invited to give choral workshops or guest-conduct choirs. Libby loves working with living composers, and has premiered a range of new music. She gives masterclasses at schools and universities across the UK, and until 2015 was Head of Keyboard at Eton College.

www.libbyburgess.com/