Before they are famous
Sonas Quartet (GSMD)
Paganini String Quartet No.3 and Schumann String Quartet No.1
TUESDAY
15TH OCTOBER
13:05
FREE
The Sonas Quartet have been playing together at the Guildhall School since 2022, under the tutelage of Gary Pomeroy, from the Heath Quartet. They have enjoyed visiting coachings from other professors including David Waterman, Garfield Jackson, the Jerusalem Quartet and the Confluence Quartet. The group have performed in the Guildhall School’s Chamberfest concerts for the past two years.
This year, they were fortunate enough to achieve first place in the St James’ Chamber Prize at the Guildhall School. As a result of this, they performed in Southwark Cathedral in May 2024.
During summer 2023, the Sonas Quartet were accepted into the ‘Sounds of Change’ EU course, where they travelled to Germany and had masterclasses with musicians such as Kirill Troussov and Philippe Graffin. Following this, they have been invited to perform a series of concerts in Portugal this October 2024. They have also been accepted as Southwell Festival’s 2024 quartet apprentices, and look forward to performing there in May and August, and were accepted to the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme for the 2024/2025 season.
Yente Lottman (2001) was born in Amsterdam into a family of professional musicians and began playing the violin at the age of four. In 2017 she entered the young talent class of the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she studied with Sarah Kapustin and Maria Milstein. She went on to win numerous competitions, including the Dutch Britten violin Competition (2018) and First prize at the Prinses Christina Competition (2019).
In 2021 Yente began studies with renowned pedagogue Professor David Takeno (Eugène Ysaÿe International Chair of Violin) at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She has also been selected to perform in master classes for Liza Ferschtman, Kirill Troussov, Shunske Sato, Philippe Graffin and Rosanne Philippens.
Isabelle Allan, born in London in 2002, inherited a rich musical heritage from her family. Her journey playing the violin began under the tutelage of Shiela Nelson, and later on with Sarah Trickey at the Junior Guildhall, and then with Sebastian Mueller. Her love for chamber music flourished as she participated in Musicworks courses with esteemed mentors such as Catherine Manson, James Boyd, David Adams, Alice Neary and Robert Max.
In 2021, Isabelle began studying under the guidance of renowned violinist Stephanie Gonley. She has attended masterclasses in Austria with Sebastian Mueller and participated in the Festival Resonances Academy in Belgium, with Amy Norrington, Martin Vink, Michael Gurevich, and Philip Graffin. In recent years, Isabelle has had the privilege to learn from many wonderful chamber musicians, some of which include Ursula Smith and Krysia Osostovicz.
Eve Quigley (2002) is a violist from Dublin, Ireland. She began studying at the age of four the Young European Strings school of Music with Ronald Masin and Maria Kelemen. In 2021, she obtained a diploma in music performance and teaching from the Royal Irish
Academy of Music with distinction, and she is currently studying with Matthew Jones at the Guildhall School. In 2022, Eve won the Senior Viola Cup at Ireland’s national competition, Feis Ceoil, and she was selected as a reserve member of the European Union Youth Orchestra in 2023.
Eve has had masterclasses with musicians including Santa Vizine (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), Joachim Roewer (Irish Chamber Orchestra) and Martin Johnson. (RTE National Symphony Orchestra). She was selected to join the Camerata Ireland Academy in 2021, and she also attended viola masterclasses at the Davidsbündler academy in March 2023, where she learned from violists including Lili Majala and Dana Zemstov.
Born in 2002, Israeli cellist Alice Abram has performed solo and chamber public concerts in venues across Israel, the US, the UK and Europe. She participated in courses and festivals such as the Perlman Music Program, IMUKO, the Moritzburg Festival Academy, Verao Classico, Musethica, and the David Goldman Program, as well as took part in masterclasses with Jerome Pernoo, Steven Doane, Gary Hoffman, Frans Helmerson, and many more.
She played in such orchestras as the Israel Philharmonic, Fidelio Orchestra, the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, the Ra’anana Symphonette, and the Young Israeli Philharmonic. Alice has also been a grant recipient of the AICF since 2016. Her previous teachers include Zvi Plesser, Luba Rabin, and Ella Toovy, and she is currently working towards her bachelor’s degree as an Allen Ford Scholar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with LSO principal cellist Rebecca Gilliver.
St Margaret Pattens
The church was first recorded in 1067, at which time the church was probably built from wood. It was rebuilt in stone at some unknown subsequent date but fell into disrepair and had to be demolished in 1530. It was rebuilt in 1538 but was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The present church was built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1687. It is one of only a few City churches to have escaped significant damage in the Second World War.
In 1954 St Margaret Pattens ceased to be a parish church and became one of the City’s Guild Churches, under the patronage of the Lord Chancellor and under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.
The church's exterior is notable for its 200-ft high spire, Wren's third highest and the only one that he designed in a medieval style. This is sometimes referred to as Wren's only "true spire". The narthex contains museum cabinets of the work of the two livery companies who have their homes in the church. The interior is a simple rectangle with some unusual fittings – the only surviving canopied pews in London, dating from the 17th century. These are for the churchwardens. The initials "CW" which appear in one of the pews have been thought to refer to Christopher Wren, but they may also signify church warden.
Other features in the interior include a punishment bench carved with the Devil's head where wrongdoers had to sit during the church service, although sadly this has now been stolen.The Stuart Royal Arms above the entrance are exceptionally fine. Central to the altarpiece is Christ in Gethsemene, attributed to Carlo Maratta. There are two iron sword rests, the larger dated 1723, and recently finely restored.
The nineteenth century copper cross and ball were formerly on the spire, and copied from those at St Pauls. Monuments include those to Sir Peter Vandeput and family (1686), Susannah Batson (1727) and Sir Peter Delme- a big hanging architectural monument with reclining cherubs by Rysbrack (erected 1740). The tondo of the Virgin and Child in the north aisle is one of the few visible things remaining of the efforts of the late nineteenth century neo-Jacobite rector, J.L. Fish. Accumulated on the walls of the outer vestry are various memorials and notices. The inner vestry, wood panelled, and with a fireplace, is a rare survivor of old furnishing.