Please note that this seminar will take place in Pinner Parish Church Hall. 

To introduce the Festival, Petroc Trelawny (of BBC R3) will discuss the week’s music with a panel including Robin Bigwood (Art of Moog), virtuoso pianist Maki Sekiya, Iain Farrington (who arranged the Elgar Fragments for String Quartet) and Vanessa Woodward (of Opera Anywhere). Petroc, a proud Cornishman, is a terrific interviewer, bringing out the best in his panel. He presents Breakfast, BBC Proms, Cardiff Singer of the World, and more.

Robin will say something about how four baroque specialists come to be performing JS Bach works on electronic instruments. We may hear something about the diverse influences that have shaped Maki’s playing and her choice of works. It is not every day that one hears an Elgar premiere, and we are delighted that Iain Farrington, who edited the Six Fragments for the Elgar Complete Edition, will help us put these into the context of Elgar’s life and works. Opera Anywhere made a big impression in Pinner in 2018, and Vanessa – OA artistic director and performer – will tell us something about a company that lives up to its name and how their Opera’s Heroines programme came into being. Expect special insights and entertaining conversations.