Note: this concert will take place at All Saints Church, Beckley, TN31 6SE
The Laefer Quartet last played for us in July 2019 at Beckley Church and gave a hugely enjoyable and memorable performance. We are delighted to welcome them again, to open our 2025-26 season. They are regarded as one of the UK’s most exciting and dynamic saxophone quartets and have been at the cutting edge of saxophone chamber music for over a decade, celebrating the extraordinary versatility, virtuosity and scope of the instrument.
Formed in 2012 at the Royal College of Music, the ensemble has performed at some of the UK’s most prestigious concert halls, including Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, St John’s Smith Square, and St David’s Hall. The quartet have been the recipients of numerous awards including Park Lane Group Artists, the Elias Fawcett Ensemble Award for an Outstanding Ensemble in the Royal Over-Seas League Competition and were Making Music Selected Artists.
The musicians embrace new music and have commissioned a diverse body of works from composers such as Howard Skempton, Charlotte Harding, Anna Appleby, Michael Cryne and Alexander Glyde Bates, who share the quartet’s passion for collaborative music-making. New works are performed alongside established pieces and transcriptions, demonstrating the quartet’s range and ability to take on an eclectic repertoire – and six of them were chosen for their 2024 debut album, Strata.
In addition to live performances, the quartet has been invited to give masterclasses for the Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain and at a variety of educational establishments, including the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the University of Southampton.
GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898 – 1937) arr. Wolfgang Schlei: Three Preludes
ERICA TELISNOR (1998 – ): The Bridge
DENISE ONDISHKO (1960 – ): Star Clusters
JEAN-BAPTISTE SINGLÉE (1812 – 1875): Premier Quatuor pour saxophones Op.53: I. Andante and Allegro, II. Adagio Sostenuto, III. Allegro Vivace, IV. Allegro
Interval
HELEN MAY BUTLER (1867 – 1957) arr. Charlotte Harding: Cosmopolitan America March
CHARLOTTE HARDING (1989 – ): Sub to Street to Scraping the Sky
IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882 – 1971) arr. Olaf Mühlenhardt: Circus Polka
ANNA APPLEBY (1993 – ): Electric Aeroplanes
FRANCIS POULENC (1899 – 1963) arr. Tony Davis: Novelette in C Major
GUILLERMO LAGO [Alter-ego of Willem van Merwijk] (1960 – ): Cuidades (Cities) – Sarajevo; Montevideo; Addis Ababa
Concerts are held at Brickwall House, Northiam, TN31 6NL (off the B2088), with kind permission of Frewen College. There is free parking with disabled access (and toilets) on site.
Annual membership is currently £100 per person for 5 concerts, representing a considerable saving over the individual concert ticket price of £23. To enquire about becoming a member please email our Treasurer in the first instance: treasurer@brickwallmusic.org.uk
Non-members are very welcome to attend concerts but should contact us in advance to confirm ticket availability.
Similarly, we ask members let us know if they are unable to attend concerts so that we can sell individual tickets to room capacity.
Please use the link below for ticket enquiries and members advising us when they cannot attend concerts.
