Organiser:
Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General

Co-organiser:
Xinghai Conservatory of Music (for performance and workshop in Guangzhou)
Art College of Xiamen University (for master class in Xiamen)
Gulangyu Music Hall (for performance in Xiamen)

Events:

1.Time: 19:30 - 21:00, 14 September 2011
Event: Performance (Guangzhou) (Xinghai ‘Music Home’ Music Festival)
Venue: Chamber Music Hall, Xinghai Conservatory of Music
Free tickets: +86 (020) 3936 3809 (Mon. - Fri., 09:30 - 12:00/14:00 -  16:30)

2.Time: 10:00 - 12:00, 15 September 2011
Event: Workshop (Guangzhou) (Xinghai ‘Music Home’ Music Festival)
Venue: Chamber Music Hall, Xinghai Conservatory of Music
Open to the public for free

3.Time: 10:30 - 12:00, 16 September 2011
Event: Master class (Xiamen)
Venue: Art College of Xiamen University
Open to the public for free

4.Time: 19:30 - 21:00, 16 September 2011
Event: Performance (Xiamen)
Venue: Gulangyu Music Hall
Free entry. Limited seats provide on first-come-first-serve basis

About the events:
In the past, well-know classical musicians like Benjamin Britten and widely-spread pieces like Liebesgruss are all from the UK. Now at present, there are still lots of young people practicing classic music in this country. Institutions like Royal Academy of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, etc. are also dedicate to nurture young talents, who can well present the classical pieces to the general public. In South China this September, Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General is going to invite Castalian String Quartet from the UK for tour performance and workshop/master class. This emerging talented quartet has started to be recognised in Britain and even the whole Europe. This time, they will not only give excellent performances in Guangzhou and Xiamen, but also share and communicate with classic music lovers and students through workshop/master class.

Castalian String Quartet
Winner of 2011 Royal Overseas League Elias Fawcett Award for an outstanding chamber music ensemble, the Castalian String Quartet was formed in London, 2010, by multi-award winning graduates of the Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Academy of Music and Eastman School of Music, USA. They are rapidly gaining a reputation at festivals and concert halls in the UK and abroad for their “phenomenal impact on audiences”, and from September 2011 have been awarded the title of Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music.

Individually, the members of the quartet have performed as soloists and chamber musicians throughout the world, including concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Bridgewater Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Hong Kong City Hall, Salle Cortot, Auditorium du Louvre and festivals in Canada, USA, Mexico, Austria and Israel. Solo accolades include awards from the International Wienawski Competition, Johannes Brahms Competition, Royal Overseas League, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Countess of Munster Trust, Philharmonia Martin Musical Scholarship, Hattori Foundation, Concordia Foundation and further competitions in Croatia and New Zealand.

Having given their debut performance at the Aurora Spring Festival in Sweden,they can now be heard at some of the UK’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including the Purcell Room, Kings Place, the Cheltenham Guitar Festival, the Festival of Britain and Lake District Summer Music, where they will be the Musicians Benevolent Fund Associate Ensemble for the next two seasons. They have been invited to perform recitals alongside international artists such as the Chilingirian Quartet, Bernard Gregor-Smith and guitarist Tom Kerstens, and will give the world premiere of Philip Cashian’s ‘A Web of Shadows’ this summer.

Members of Castalian String Quartet:
Violin 1 – Sadie Fields
Violin 2 – Daniel Roberts
Viola – Charlotte Bonneton
Cello – Rebecca Herman

Repertoire list of Castalian String Quartet:
BEETHOVEN – op.18 no.3 and op.74 in Eb major (‘Harp’)
BRITTEN – no.3 in G major
DVORAK – op.61 in C major
HAYDN – op.20 no.3 in G minor and op.64 no.6 in Eb major
MENDELSSOHN – Quartet in A minor, Op. 13
SCHUBERT – D.810 in D minor (‘Death and the Maiden’)
WEBERN – LangsamerSatz

Xinghai ‘Music Home’ Music Festival
Xinghai ‘Music Home’ Music Festival is a series of classical music events held annually by Xianghai Conservatory of Music. The very first Festival happened in September 2010. Through collaborating with different Consulate-Generals in Guangzhou, the 2nd (2011) ‘Music Home’ Music Festival aims to promote international music, cultural, art, and academic exchange. The music hall of Xinghai Conservatory of Music will be the platform for direct and effective international communications in music and culture, and will be open to the public free of charge for related events during the entire Music Festival.