New string quartet debuts in Penzance showcasing the landscape of Cornwall
The formation of 'The Aston String Quartet', features the talents of Sue Aston
on 1st violin, Emily Nellist 2nd violin, Elizabeth Gregg viola, and Hannah
Robinson on cello.
They are joined by the mezzo soprano Maria Heseltine, and Douglas Cook on piano.
This first concert will see the premiere of three new pieces for string quartet.
'Scenes from a Cornish Childhood' was composed by Sue Aston from Goldsithney,
and 'Reverie and Scherzo' was composed by the cellist Ray Didcock from Newlyn.
All of these three pieces are dedicated to Sheila Hicks, who celebrated her
ninetieth birthday earlier this year. Other pieces composed by Sue will include
'The Homecoming' for violin and piano, and the solo violin piece 'Madron', which
was inspired by the holy well there.
The concert will also feature performances by the mezzo soprano Maria Heseltine,
and the pianist Douglas Cook. They will perform works by Vaughan Williams, Faure
and Dring. Douglas will also perform one of his own compositions, "Impromptu".
Maria will also be accompanied by the string quartet for the performance of
works by Barber, Warlock, and the ever popular 'Ave Maria' by Bach/Gounod.
Maria Heseltine moved from London to Penzance last year after completing a Post
Graduate Diploma in Vocal Studies at Trinity College of Music. Some of her roles
have included playing Dorabella in Mozart's 'Cose Fan Tutte' and Hansel in
Humperdink's 'Hansel and Gretel' Since moving to Cornwall Maria has enjoyed
teaching Music at both Richard Lander and Pool School and is concentrating on
building up her own private piano and singing pupils.
The Aston String Quartet will also perform the well known 'Humoresque', by
Dvorak, and the traditional Cornish folk tune 'An Welen Scubel - Broomstick
Dance'.
The Aston String Quartet is an exciting next step in Sue's musical career, which
has already seen her work with eminent musicians such as Simon Rattle, Nigel
Kennedy, Peter Donohoe, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Charles Groves, Esa Pekka Salonen,
Gordon Giltrap, Chris De Burgh, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick.
The Quartet is more than a platform for Sue's classical compositions, as it also
enables her to realise her dream of bringing together music from a variety of
different backgrounds many of them with the common theme of music which has been
inspired by the landscape.
"The landscape of Cornwall, the sea,the folklore and the lifestyle here are all
tremendous influences on my work and have been for many other composers" says
Sue. "My aim is that the Aston String Quartet will become synonymous with
exciting new musical ventures, as it will showcase the talents of new
composers".
Sue Aston's solo CDs and DVDs have been described as 'Celtic music for the
classically appreciative' by Cornish World Editor Nigel Pengelly and her videos
are regularly played on Classic FM TV.
Links : Classical Strings
Quartet Trio solo Violin for weddings