Stars ready to take to the stage

27/09/04

Stars ready to take to the stage

University musicians are set to be major players in this year’s Kingston Autumn Music Festival. The annual event, which gets under way on 2 October, will feature a line-up of leading instrumentalists and vocalists expected to appeal to music lovers of all tastes and ages.

Acclaimed American virtuoso pianist Robert Taub, who is a visiting professor of music at Kingston, heads the list of performers with University links. He will treat the audience to a programme of classical and contemporary pieces on 22 October at Dorich House Museum on Kingston Hill.

The University’s new artist in residence, soprano Jane Manning, is also predicted to pull in a big audience of festival-goers when she takes centre stage at Kingston Parish Church on 27 October. With accompaniment provided by pianist Dominic Saunders, her concert will include works by Debussy, Fauré and William Walton.

Kingston Parish Church will also serve as the venue for shows from the University’s ensemble in residence, the Delta Saxophone Quartet, and student members of the Djembe Drum Group. The quartet will stage a free concert on 25 October while the drum group is scheduled to perform a week earlier on 18 October.

Meanwhile, the University’s Music School is gearing up to host Jazz Sunday, which will celebrate the centenary of the birth of Fats Waller. The October 17 event will feature stride pianists Neville Dickie and Paul Asaro playing a range of jazz classics as well as their own work on two concert grands. Dickie’s Rhythm Kings and vocalist Tony Jacobs will also entertain jazz enthusiasts at the Music School’s Coombehurst Studio on Kingston Hill in an afternoon show on the same day.

The month-long music festival has grown from modest roots to become an increasingly popular regional arts event. Alumni and events manager Dr Helen Trott said the University was proud to be backing the festival again. “It offers the community access to an exciting array of extremely talented musicians and has established itself as an eagerly-anticipated event in the Borough,” she said.

• Tickets and a full programme can be obtained by calling the Festival Box Office on 020 8287 7047 or by visiting the Tourist Information Centre, Market Place, Kingston.