Over the past few weeks, recipients of our mailing list have had the opportunity to find out more about our 2020 Festival Artists (all of whom we look forward to welcoming to Dunster at a later date) in our ‘Spotlight on…’ series. You can sign up to our mailing list on the home page of our website.
Our first ‘spotlight’ was shone on the amazing Septura Brass Septet.
Septura’s members are the leading players of the new generation of British brass musicians, holding principal positions in the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony, Basel Symphony and Aurora orchestras. They are known not only for their stunning playing, but also their creative and innovative programming and arrangements.
Septure were due to be performing their American in Paris programme for our Opening Night Concert on Friday 22 May, exploring a great transatlantic relationship from Debussy’s Preludes and Ravel’s Mother Goose to Gershwin’s Piano Preludes and the iconic An American in Paris, especially arranged for brass and featuring solo car horns.
While nothing can beat hearing music live, particularly in the glorious surroundings of St George’s in Dunster, Septura has a brilliant YouTube channel – do check it out! We are particularly delighted to share this film of Septura performing Gershwin’s American in Paris live in concert during their 2018 USA tour:
The global situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic is causing a lot of uncertainty in many sectors and the arts is no exception with most concerts cancelled until at least the Autumn. We are extremely grateful to the many ticket holders who have so generously donated their ticket money to help cover expenses already incurred this year and to go some way to covering lost fees for our musicians.
It is very easy to access and stream music online these days, but worth noting that musicians receive very little in payment from services such as Spotify. Buying a CD is a great way of supporting music and musicians and also means you have something physical and permanent to enjoy, with detailed information in the CD booklet which you can’t always find online.
Septura are recording a series of 10 discs for the Naxos record label, of which they have released 8 so far. These are available to buy on Septura’s website and include something for all music lovers, from the Renaissance and Baroque to the Romantics, French Impressionism, Russian greats and early twentieth-century British composers.
