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It has, as they say, been a bumper year for Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts. We have seen record audiences (consistently around the 80-90 people mark) and a wonderful range of music and musicians. In keeping with the founding ethos of the series, our programmes mix well-known repertoire with rareties and lesser-known works. This year we were introduced to the music of Jessie Reason in an atmospheric piece for cello and piano, performed by Joseph Spooner and Duncan Honeybourne. We were also treated to a new work for piano by composer Ben Gaunt, inspired by The Sand House in Doncaster. The piece was masterfully performed by Matthew Schellhorn, with accompanying film which gave the audience a tour of The Sand House and illustrated the music.

In addition to our monthly lunchtime concerts, we also presented a Young Artist Showcase featuring students of Duncan Honeybourne from the Royal Academy Junior Department. It was wonderful and inspiring to see these talented young people perform with so much maturity, poise and professionalism, and we look forward to more concerts of this type in the coming seasons. We will also broadening the remit of the series, with a rebrand, to enable us to present more varied concerts and related activities.

Unlike certain other concert venues and promoters, we have never felt the need to do audience satisfaction surveys, tell the audience when they should clap, how they should listen, or what they should wear to our concerts…. Instead, we make everyone feel welcome and maintain a high level of trust between audience and artistic director (read more here). The pre-concert lunches, provided by a small team of volunteers, undoubtedly contribute to the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts experience!

We are looking forward to 2024 with an exciting roster of performers, including Helen Kuby (French horn), Joseph Tong (piano), Lewis Kingsley-Peart (piano), Ruth Henley (cello), Marie-Louise Taylor (piano), with our season finale given by Artistic Director Duncan Honeybourne.

A big thank you to our guest artists, our friends at St Mary’s Church who help to make our concerts run smoothly and enjoyably for all, our volunteers, and of course our audience, without whom there would be no concerts.

Find full details of Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts here

Frances Wilson (AKA The Cross-Eyed Pianist), Concerts Manager, WLCC

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Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts (WLCC) is delighted to announce its 2021/22 season of concerts which take place once a month at St Mary’s Church, Weymouth. This season is particularly special as not only does the series return to full capacity concerts, it also celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2022.

Despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, WLCC was able to present four concerts in its 2020/21 season which were enthusiastically received by a socially-distanced audience – proof that people really craved and appreciated live music.

The first concert of the 2021/22 season will be given by Penelope Roskell, who was brought up in Weymouth, and was fortunate to study piano with Elsie Monckton from an early age. As a child she played regularly at Weymouth Arts Centre. Since then, she has gone on to a stellar career as an international concert pianist, writer and Professor of Piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Penelope’s programme features three much-loved works for piano by J S Bach, Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Schubert, spanning over 100 years from the Baroque period to the Romantic era.

Future performers include pianists Margaret Fingerhut, Jelena Makarova, Nina Savicevic, Alan Schiller, John Humphreys and Duncan Honeybourne, violinist Peter Fisher, bassoonist Antonia Lazenby, and cellist Ulrich Heinen.

Founded in in 2002 by concert pianist and Weymouth resident Duncan Honeybourne, Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts presents high-quality chamber music in the heart of Weymouth and offers a platform for musical partnerships with friends and colleagues, many of whom enjoy international acclaim. The concerts also give young musicians, often recent graduates from conservatoire or university, valuable performing experience to a friendly, loyal audience.

WLCC programmes are varied and imaginative, mixing well-known works with lesser-known repertoire and composers, and all concerts take place in the attractive, welcoming surroundings of St Mary’s Church, Weymouth. WLCC is very fortunate to have use of an excellent Yamaha grand piano maintained by Weymouth Pianos Ltd. Tickets cost just £5, which represents extremely good value considering the very high quality of WLCC performers and programmes. WLCC is grateful for the support of staff at St Mary’s Church in ensuring concerts are covid-secure, safe and enjoyable for performers and audience alike.

Penelope Roskell performs on 15th September 2021 at 1pm. BOOK TICKETS

Full details of WLCC’s concerts can be found at weymouthchamberconcerts.com/.

Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts provide the whole musical package. Their programme includes established artists and emerging talent; and the conditions are superb for audience and performer alike.

Under the professional and experienced guidance of Duncan Honeybourne and Frances Wilson, Weymouth is truly fortunate to have a concert series that benefits both local people and the wider musical community…..this is a valuable initiative that deserves continuing support and celebration.

James Lisney, concert pianist

The series is organised by Duncan Honeybourne and Frances Wilson (The Cross-Eyed Pianist)

Duncan Honeybourne – Founder/Artistic Director

Commended by International Piano magazine for his “glittering performances“, Duncan enjoys a diverse profile as a pianist and in music education. His concerto debut in 1998 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, was broadcast on radio and television, and recital debuts included London, Paris, and international festivals in Belgium and Switzerland. Duncan has toured extensively as soloist and chamber musician, broadcasting frequently for the BBC and radio networks worldwide. His many recordings reflect his interest in 20th and 21st century British piano music. He is a Tutor in Piano at the University of Southampton.

duncanhoneybourne.com

Twitter: @DuncanHoneybou1

Frances Wilson – Concerts Manager

Frances is a writer, reviewer and publicist. Described by international concert pianist Peter Donohoe as “an important voice in the piano world“, Frances’ blog The Cross-Eyed Pianist has an international reputation and enjoys a large following. She also writes for Hong Kong-based classical music website Interlude and has contributed articles to Pianist magazine and The Schubertian, the journal of the Schubert Institute UK. She has appeared on BBC Radio Three’s Music Matters programme to discuss the role of music criticism today and the effect of the internet on music journalism. An advanced amateur pianist, Frances holds Licentiate and Associate Diplomas in Piano Performance (both with Distinction) and has studied with or received mentorship from a number of distinguished pianist-teachers, including Penelope Roskell, Graham Fitch, Murray McLachlan, Stephen Savage and James Lisney.

Twitter: @crosseyedpiano