This event was held to packed out audiences at 3.00pm and 5.30pm on Sunday 26th February.
We are extremely fortunate to have two very accomplished musicians with a home in the parish of Iddesleigh who offered to bring other prestigious musicians to form the first performances of the Quartet.
If that was not enough, they were joined by Sir Michael, Lady Claire Morpurgo and Carol Hughes, whose late husband was the poet Ted Hughes.
Together they delivered an event of superb quality and artistic beauty.
Following the performance in the afternoon tea was served, while the evening performance was followed by drinks and canapés as part of the hospitality of the church.
We are enormously grateful to the musicians, Joe Roberts who is a professional cellist and secondary school teacher of languages who plays in musicals, string quartets and orchestras including The Sinfonia of Birmingham.
Steve Doman who plays the viola and was a prize winner at the Lionel Tetris International Viola Competition in 2016. He is a member of the London Symphony Orchestra and currently serves on the Board of Directors.
Josh Michaels who plays the violin and although works as a business strategy consultant plays music in Birmingham, performing solo, chamber and orchestral repertoire, and previously held a principal position in the National Youth Orchestra.
Finally, Kerenza Peacock who plays the violin. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music, but now enjoys living in Los Angeles. Her album as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, ‘Flight’ reached the top of the classical charts. Her recording of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ was picked as Album of the Week on Classic FM. She led the Pavao String Quartet on five albums and 15 tours of the world.
Recently she gathered 94 violinists from 29 countries to play in harmony with Ukrainian violinists in their bomb shelters.
Highlights of her career so far include performing on over 20 different Stradivari instruments. She was appointed an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for making “a significant contribution to the music industry “.
This truly was an event to have attended, but it is hoped there may be another occasion later in the year when these wonderfully generous performers will return for another performance.
The funds raised will be distributed to All Saints Monkokehampton and St James’s Iddesleigh, but this was firstly an event that brought quality performers to our little country church for the benefit of the communities they serve and we remain hugely grateful to them and those who worked so hard to provide such excellence.
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