For our central concert of the festival, we're delighted to present the world premire of a new commission, "Thalweg", by composer Florence Anna Maunders alongside other works for mixed ensemble by Barber, Coleridge-Taylor, Ravel, Smyth and Dowland. Saturday 31st May 2025 @ 7.30pm St George's Church, Clun SY78JH Samuel Coleridge-Taylor- Clarinet Quintet Samuel Barber- Dover Beach ---interval--- Florence Anna Maunders- Thalweg for mixed septet John Dowland- In Darkness Let Me Dwell /Ethel Smyth- Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin Maurice Ravel- Introduction and Allegro Performers The Pellas Ensemble: Henry Roberts (flute), Luba Tunnicliffe (viola), Oliver Wass (harp) Giacomo Schmidt (baritone) Sarah Thurlow (clarinet) Alessandro Ruisi and Oliver Cave (violins) Richard Tunnicliffe ('cello) Tickets Full price: 15 Under 16s: 5 Under 11s: Free all of our venues are wheelchair accessible About Florence: "...energised, rough-edged juxtapositions..." - The Guardian "...an enjoyably furious mlange..." - The Telegraph "...a wonderful crescendo of just outright queer orchestration..." - Robert Timestra "...super-cool rhythm biting and progressive..." - Anna Edwards Florence Anna Maunders started to compose music when she was a teenager, and her early tape-based pieces from this time reveal an early fascination with the unusual juxtapositions of sounds and collisions of styles which have been a hallmark of her music-making ever since. This is perhaps a reflection of the music which interested and excited her from a very young age medieval dance music, prog-rock, electronic minimalism, bebop jazz, Eastern folk music, the music of Stravinsky & Messiaen, and the grand orchestral tradition of the European concert hall. Flori started out young, as a chorister, clarinetist and saxophone player, but following an undergraduate degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she studied with Anthony Gilbert, Adam Gorb, Simon Holt & Clark Rundell, she's enjoyed a mixed and international career as a jazz pianist, orchestral percussionist, vocalist arranger, electronic music producer and teacher. Since 2018 she's had a bit of a radical transformation of her self and her career, and returned to composition as a main artistic focus, and is currently working on a PhD as a doctoral fellow at Cardiff University. Since returning to writing music, she's enjoyed significant successes in the UK, the USA, Europe and across the rest of the world, leading to a string of high profile awards & prizes including the Royal Philharmonic Prize. Recent highlights include commissions, collaborations and performances with internationally renowned ensembles such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Third Coast Percussion, London Chamber Orchestra, Psappha, Black Pencil Ensemble, Rarescale, Strange Trace Opera, the Villiers Quartet, Calefax Reed Quintet, Fulham Brass Band (where she is currently Composer In Residence), Wigmore Hall and Kyan Quartet as well as leading soloists and other opportunities. Florence also writes extensively for film and media, enjoying ongoing collaborations with directors on both sides of the Atlantic. Her music is wild, rhythmical and exciting, filled with "energised, rough-edged juxtapositions" - a crescendo of outright queer orchestration - and reveals a wide range of influences from electronic dance music, contemporary jazz, Middle Eastern traditional music, and the music of Stravinsky & Messiaen. She always aims to write music which makes the listener move - perhaps even to dance! She is currently working with London Chamber Orchestra as their new Composer in Residence, and working on a new piece for the musicians of the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as ensembles and festivals across the world, including as Composer In Residence at the 2024 Deal Music Festival.