Music Plega

A journey through the clarinet’s diverse interaction with twentieth and twenty-first century chamber ensemble music, this concert showcases Rae W. Todd with the fantastic Berkeley Ensemble. As part of Rae’s PhD in Performance, which investigates professional performers’ experiences of ‘play’ (‘plega’) within the context of chamber ensemble music-making, he will perform two 45-minute recitals. The first recital will feature the atmospheric and spell-binding composition Quatour Pour la fin de Temps by Olivier Messiaen (1940) and the second will include virtuosic works written by Stravinsky, Milhaud, Gershwin and Henryson.

Hailed as ‘an instinctive collective’ (The Strad) the Berkeley Ensemble was formed with the aim of exploring little-known twentieth- and twenty first-century British chamber music alongside more established repertoire. It now enjoys a busy concert schedule performing throughout the UK and abroad, and is also much in demand for its inspiring work in education.

Engaging new audiences, most importantly through education, is central to the ensemble’s activities. Recent collaborations have included schemes with PRS for Music and Tŷ Cerdd, supporting emerging composers and generating new works. The group is also ensemble-in-residence at the University of Hull and Ibstock Place School, and runs an annual chamber music course in Somerset