Judith Hall (flute)
Craig Ogden (guitar)

Saturday 3rd March, 2012
7:30pm

Between Judith Hall and Craig Ogden there is a natural affinity which makes their performances together quite exceptional. They have performed in Britain and as far afield as the Bahamas.

Their programmes are lively and intriguing, mixing better-known music with contemporary and exotic pieces. A large repertoire includes arrangements of Bach and Baroque music and pieces from early nineteenth century Vienna by composers such as Giuliani. By contrast, there is a choice of music by Villa-Lobos, Rodrigo, Ravi Shankar, Takemitsu, Judith Weir, and the King of the Tango, Piazzolla.

Judith has also commissioned many new flute and guitar pieces with funding from the Arts Council, from composers David Bedford, Erica Fox, Edward Cowie, Giles Swayne and Jonathan Lloyd.

www.judithhall.co.uk

Born and educated in Australia, Judith was involved in a different career when Jean-Pierre Rampal heard her play and suggested she become a professional musician. She studied with him briefly in France before moving to London. Her debut in the Park Lane Group's "Young Musicians and Twentieth Century Music" series on the South Bank was very warmly received, and she immediately joined the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Principal Flute. After seven years she left to give more time to solo and chamber music, having been launched as a winner in the ISM/Nat West Festival Days competition.

Orchestras in which she has played as guest Principal Flute include the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and English National Opera. As a member of chamber groups such as Lontano, Endymion, Koenig and Composers' Ensemble, she has performed in Britain and abroad, also broadcasting for the BBC.

As a soloist in concertos she has performed and recorded with the Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, Langham Chamber Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Montepulciano Festival Orchestra, Ten Tors Orchestra, Divertimenti of London and the English Symphony Orchestra, among others.

As a recital soloist she has played frequently in major British venues, with live BBC recordings from St David's Hall, Cardiff, the BBC Concert Hall and the Pump Room, Cheltenham. She has been heard in British festivals such as City of London, Three Choirs, Dartington, Great Elm, Leominster, Musicfest Aberystwyth, Aldeburgh Proms, Taunton, Arundel, Brighton, Harrogate, Vale of Glamorgan, Swansea, Gower, Machynlleth, Newbury Spring Festival, Calstock, Budleigh Salterton, Ryedale, Salisbury International and Cheltenham International Festivals.

Abroad she has played in festivals in Turin, Montepulciano, Middelburg, Halle, Como, Adelaide and Sydney, as well as undertaking tours of France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Greece, India, Australia, the Bahamas, and many parts of South East Asia, with many tours funded by the British Council.

She teaches flute at Birmingham Conservatoire and is also a teacher of the Alexander Technique.

With funds from the Arts Council she has commissioned many new pieces for flute, including Jonathan Lloyd's virtuoso theatre piece 'The Apprentice's Sorcery', broadcast by the BBC from the Cheltenham International Festival.

Australian-born guitarist Craig Ogden is one of the most exciting artists of his generation. He has recorded for Chandos Records, Nimbus, Virgin Classics, Hyperion, Collins Classics and Sony and has performed concertos with orchestras including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. His debut solo recording of contemporary British works received wide acclaim and a Grammy nomination. His six Chandos releases of concertos and recital discs have received sparkling reviews from journals including Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, Classic FM Magazine, American Record Guide and newspapers including The Guardian, Times, Daily Telegraph, Australian and the Scotsman.

Craig Ogden performs as soloist and chamber musician all over the world and often records for film: he was featured in the British hit, "Notting Hill". His most recent collaboration is with the American counter-tenor, David Daniels, with whom Ogden performed at the prestigious Tanglewood Festival and the Lincoln Center (New York) in Summer 2003. October 2003 saw Ogden make his Royal Albert Hall debut performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez in a Classic FM Live concert. He is married to young British opera star Claire Bradshaw, and is also Senior Lecturer in Guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

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