Lunchtime Music

Jiayue Wang flute
Joanne Sealey piano
Boulanger Nocturne
Boulanger D’un matin de printemps
Boulanger Introduction - Cortège

Jiayue Wang flute
Wenhui Cao violin
Hing Yan Leung piano
Mel Bonis Suite en trio for Flute, Violin and Piano

Rufus Westley piano
Debussy Pour le piano
Rzewski Dreadful memories from North American ballads
Kapustin Toccatina

Today’s concert takes us to Paris at the turn of the 20^th century, a time of art nouveau, Expositions Universelles and a melting pot of distinctively French music.  Of the three contemporary composers, Debussy is of course the best known, but the music of Lili Boulanger and Mel Bonis are now enjoying real popularity.  The first female winner of the Prix de Rome, Boulanger’s vibrant miniatures seem to capture this moment in time while, from around 10 years earlier, we’ll hear Bonis’s very attractive trio.  Then fast forward over half a century to music by the maverick American composer Frederic Rzewski and the jazzy and virtuosic Toccatina from Soviet era pianist Nikolai Kapustin.

Jiayue Wang (pictured) is currently a postgraduate flute student at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She enjoys performing in a range of projects, including the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Orchestra, and chamber music settings.

In China, she was actively involved in her university orchestra and often helped organise rehearsals and concerts. Jiayue also enjoys teaching flute and connecting with students through music.

She is particularly interested in exploring new repertoire and building musical connections across different cultures.

Rufus Westley is a piano student who is currently in his 3rd year at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, with Katharine Lam as his tutor. In his first year at RBC, he was a finalist in two competitions, the Winifred Micklam Prize, where he was awarded 1st prize for the Joyce Stanley presention award for 'verbal introduction and stage presence', and the Denis Matthews Piano Prize. In his second year, he went on to have additional success and attain 1st prize in the Denis Matthews Prize. 

Since the age of six, Rufus has enjoyed performing and listening to music and has played in a variety of competitions and venues, such as regularly performing in Dudley Music Festival on an annual basis.

Running time approx. 55 minutes