Whitworth Strings. will be playing their WACIDOM Saturday Lunchtime Concert at Bold Street Methodist Church Warrington, Saturday 8 June 2019. Whitworth Strings are Lily Whitehurst, Cleo Annandale, Beth Woodford, Rebecca Stephenson, Gunda Baranauskaite, and Andrew Harsley. They will be playing:
Schoenberg – Verklärte Nacht
With a short discussion about the work including a recital of the poem it is based on.
Lily Whitehurst
Lily Whitehurst (Violin 1) is a Welsh violinist based in Manchester. She has a wealth of orchestral, solo and chamber music experience across the UK. During her Master’s degree at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Lily was appointed as a member of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra as a 50% tutti 2nd violinist. She also has enjoyed freelancing with orchestras such as Manchester Camerata, The Hallé, RLPO, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Northern Chamber Orchestra and Sinfonia Cymru. Lily has just been awarded a place on the Chamber Orchestra of Europe Academy.
Cleo Annandale
Cleo Annandale (Violin 2) is currently in her final year at the RNCM. She began playing the violin at the age of 7 and was a student at the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust. She was also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for two years. Her professional experience has included performances with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Professional Experience Schemes offered at the RNCM. In September 2018, Cleo appeared as a soloist with players from the Hallé orchestra, alongside two other students from the RNCM in a ‘set-works’ concert for GCSE students.
Beth Woodford
Beth Woodford (Viola 1) has been playing the viola since she was 9 years old. She graduated in 2015 from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with a first class degree in performance, attending as a scholarship student under the tutelage of Lucy Gould and Rachel Podger. In 2016 she was awarded the viola seat on the Hallé String Leadership Scheme and has since been offered trials with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for sub-principal and tutti seats with the Hallé, Welsh National Opera and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Rebecca Stephenson (Viola 2) grew up in Suffolk and started playing the Viola at the age of 9. She is a Masters student at the RNCM, where she studies with Lucy Nolan and Veit Hertenstein. Rebecca has a great love for chamber music. She is a member of the Anella Quartet who were the recent joint winners of the 2018 RNCM Weil Prize, Hirsch Prize and 2019 Nossek Prize. Rebecca has performed with Manchester Camerata and is currently on the Professional Experience Scheme with the BBC Philharmonic. Rebecca was previously a member of the National Youth Orchestra. As a soloist, Rebecca has received the Thomas Barratt Memorial Prize for Viola and was a finalist in the 2017 Viola Prize. Solo performances include a performance of Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with the King Edwards Orchestra.
Gunda Baranauskaite
Gunda Baranauskaite (Cello) is a prize winning Lithuanian cellist. After receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s diplomas in the Lithuanian Music and Theatre academy, Cunda is continuing her studies at the RNCM with Nicholas Jones and Nicholas Trygstad. Gunda is now regularly performing with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra and The Halle. Being a keen chamber musician Gunda is spending half of her time participating in various chamber music projects and already has a wide selection of repertoire for various different chamber groups. Gunda is kindly supported by the Haworth Trust Fund.
Andrew Harsley
Andrew Harsley (Cello 2) began cello lessons at the age of 5 in Norwich with Maja Passchier. In 2012, Andrew took up a 6th Form place at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester where he continued his cello studies. Andrew completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with Melissa Phelps and was a regular performer with the RCM Orchestras and as a member of various chamber groups and in September 2018, Andrew began his postgraduate studies with Nicholas Trygstad at the RNCM. Andrew was recently selected for the BBC Philharmonic’s Professional Experience Scheme. Andrew has been principal cello of the London Moonlight Symphony Orchestra since 2017 and recently made his concerto debut performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Wymondham Symphony Orchestra.