Musical Medley: Concerts and what's on in the Doncaster music scene this May

Sprotbrough Music Society

Amy Butler (piano) and Boglarka Gyorgy (violin)

The eagerly awaited return of the season, for Sprotbrough Music Society, has, for its first recital, an Anglo-American theme.

Part one features the nation’s favourite The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams, preceded by Elgar’s Sonata for violin and piano.

Part two features American pieces by John Adams, Amy Beach and George Gershwin.

Boglarka hails from Hungary and is a graduate of the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest. She is currently based in Birmingham, but has appeared in major festivals here and in Europe. Amy began learning piano aged five years and has studied with Martin Roscoe graduating with a first class degree from Margaret Hall, Oxford in 2009.

Thursday 18 May, 7pm

St. Mary’s Church Hall, Sprotbrough, DN5 7RH

Tickets available on the door - £15

Doncaster Choral Society

Summer Lollipops

A collection of popular classics and favourites conducted by Matt Beckingham, featuring special guest Jonathan Gooing, solo piano and accompanist.

Saturday 20 May, 7.30pm

Alder Grove Methodist Church DN4 8RF

Tickets: £12 in advance, £14 on the door, students £3, school pupils FREE

Tickets available from: Ticket Secretary – 01302 360129

Members of the Society or wegottickets https://www.wegottickets.com/event/563197/

The New Hallgate Chamber Orchestra presents:

A Regular Right Royal Concert of Regal & Coronation Pieces

Featuring special guest Jonathan Gooing – Piano solo

A spectacular concert to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III with conductors Carey Williams and David Tonkin featuring a varied programme of regal and coronation music including William Walton’s Crown Imperial, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 (Emperor), Coronation Marches by LeSeur and Meyerbeer and anthems by Henry Purcell and John Blow.

Doncaster Baptist Church, Chequer Road, DN1 2AL

Sunday 21 May, 3pm

Admission: Donation (whatever you can afford) includes refreshments

Doncaster Minster organ recital series

Doncaster is fortunate to have such a fine instrument in the ‘mighty Schultze organ’ and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy these lunchtime recitals by gifted musicians. A truly wonderful way to pass an hour in the beautiful setting of Doncaster Minster.

This month the recitalist is Derek Grover from Sheffield and looks to be another wonderful event.

Doncaster Minster, DN1 1RD

Friday 26 May

1.10pm, free entry with retiring collection

Tickhill Music Society

Victor Lim - piano

A piano recital at Tickhill Music Society is viewed by many as the highlight of the season. It is no exaggeration to say that these expectations were exceeded at the recent performance (21 April) by Victor Lim.

He came with an impressive CV – past contestant at the Young Musician of the Year, and the recipient of many awards since then.

The first half of his programme for the Music Society took us through the familiar territory of Haydn, Bach and Grieg, at every stage demonstrating lightness of touch combined with

emphatic delivery of the principal theme.

The second half combined music lesson with music appreciation, as Victor instructed the audience to look out for the interval of a falling third which characterised the three chosen works by Chopin, Faure and Rachmaninoff.

The pieces were played without interruption, and while some of the music may have been unfamiliar the artistry of the performer held the audience spellbound. At the conclusion the unanimous opinion was that this was one of the most memorable concerts in the 45 year history of Tickhill Music Society

March 2023’s Minster organ recital (24 March) was given by Matthew Collins, Director of Music at Howden Minster – a particularly interesting programme even if it was mainly comprised of shortish and quiet movements.

It began with chorale preludes by CPE Bach and JS Bach (one each). These were followed by a suite of miniatures on the Magnifcat by the French baroque composer Jean Adam Guilian (1680 – 1739) which brought varying tone colours in their brief spaces.

The programme ended with Cesar Franck’s early Pastorale and Elgar’s Imperial March, dedicated to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee – a rousing conclusion to the recital.

But of particular and unusual interest were three English miniatures: Voluntary No. 8 by Theophania Cecil (1782 – 1879), daughter if a London organist and largely unknown; a beautiful Cavatina by John Ireland; and By the Foot of the Cross by Doncaster’s own Hatfield composer Vernon Hoyle based on a Spanish folk melody and appealing in its quiet attractiveness.

As always an excellent and unusual recital, typical of so many we hear on Friday afternoon at the Minster.