Picnics and music on July 13th at Turnham Green

Join up with friends and neighbours for a BYO Picnic on Turnham Green from 6pm (with cash bar available) and then enjoy a concert in Christ Church at 7.30pm – why travel all the way to Glyndebourne when you can have a wonderful evening of song and piano here in Chiswick, say the organisers. 

Scottish mezzo-soprano Sandra Porter began her working life as a concert and chamber soloist, performing throughout Britain and abroad in Tokyo, Milan, Beijing, Germany, the Middle East and France with Scottish Symphonia, The Chamber Group of Scotland,  BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

An accomplished opera singer and actress and at home in both comic and dramatic roles, Sandra now specializes in particular in character roles and has recently performed Annina in La Traviata (Opera Holland Park and Iford Arts),  Filipyevna in Eugene Onegin (Stanley Hall Opera), The Witch in Hansel and Gretel (Buxton Festival) and many others. Since 2011 she has been working for English National Opera and has understudied: Martha (Faust), Ericlea (The Return of Ulysses), Marcellina ( The Marriage of Figaro), Filipyevna (Eugene Onegin) and Swiss Grandmother  (The Death of Klinghoffer).

Local pianist Peter Duckworth began playing the piano at the age of 4. Aged 10 and still wearing short trousers, he brought the house down at a school fund-raising concert with a showy performance of “Robin’s Return”. After completing Grade 8* at 16, he took the LRAM (Performers) in his last year at school and was commended for his “musical” interpretation of works by Bach, Beethoven, John Ireland and Bela Bartok.

Peter went on to study law at Manchester and is now a practising barrister who in his spare time enjoys playing and performing, having taken lessons from, among others, concert pianists George Hadjinikos, David Wilde (a pupil of Solomon and Nadia Boulanger) and Alexander Ardakov. From time to time, Peter also accompanies other instrumentalists.

Tickets on the door £20 for adults and £10 for children or in advance £15 adults and £7.50 children available from Christ Church Turnham Green from 12 to 2pm every weekday or from Haus Properties, 229B Chiswick High Road, W4 2DW.  For further information go to www.cctg.co.uk

June 29, 2013