Lunchtime Music: Mertz

Joachim Lim piano

JS Bach Prelude and Fugue in F minor BWV 857
Medtner Sonata Reminiscenza Op.38, No.1
Chopin Barcarolle Op.60

Noah Layzell guitar

Mertz Elegy
Duarte English Suite
Mangore Un Sueño en la Floresta
Mangore Vals Op.8, No.4

Joachim Lim was born in Singapore in 2001 and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with a major scholarship, under the tutelage of Professor Pascal Nemirovski. He studied at The Purcell School from 2012 and in 2016, he became the Dunard Scholar. His studies since have been supported by the Dunard Fund.  

Joachim has received top prizes in several piano competitions, most recently the Beryl Chempin Beethoven Prize in December 2021 at RBC. He has performed most notably at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, Fazioli Concert Hall and across London, at the Milton Court Concert Hall; the Purcell Room; St Martin-in-the-Fields and Drapers’ Hall.  

He has played in masterclasses for Peter Donohoe, Christopher Elton, Dimitri Alexeev, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Natalia Troull, John Owings, Jerome Lowenthal, Sasha Starcevich and Ilana Vered.

Noah Layzell is a classical guitarist from Hertfordshire, currently living in Birmingham. As a teenager, he attended Junior Guildhall and was a member of the National Youth Guitar Ensemble. The year he left school, Noah won the Alan Kettley Prize for music for his contributions to the department. In 2018 he was awarded a scholarship to study at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where in March of 2022, he won the department Guitar Prize. 

Noah started giving concerts at an early age, as well as performing at weddings and parties. He has also participated in masterclasses with world-renowned performers, including David Russell and Zoran Dukić.