‘From Shadows to Light’, Classical Concert – Assembly House, Norwich

Classical concert on international Women’s day in Norwich celebrates and highlights the work of female composers and Women’s Rights.

A violin and piano recital at the Assembly House in Norwich on International Women’s day March 8th will celebrate and highlight the work of female composers, Grace Williams and Sally Beamish.

With the hope of ‘Inspiring Inclusion’ Welsh Violinist Sian Philipps and Swedish Pianist Per Rundberg will be playing compositions on the day by Grace and Sally together with a piece by Egon Wellesz commemorating the 50^th anniversary of his death as well as the recognizable composition ‘The Lark Ascending’ by one time Sheringham resident Ralph Vaughan Williams that he wrote for the violinist Marie Hall. Wellesz and Vaughan Williams are connected by the fact that they both taught Grace Williams during their lifetimes.

The concert also has a theme of ‘From Shadow to Light: outsiders, living on the margins’. This is not only something that the featured composers felt during their lifetimes, but the title of a new cd release featuring Per and Sian, and something that she can relate to having been subjected to personal harassment, as well as online impersonation, and abuse. As a result she has campaigned for the rights of women. This affected all areas of her life and work, but she used it as the starting point and inspiration for this project. She also gave a talk on Reputation in 2022 to the Henley Business school conference. The cd not only features the world premiere of a piece by Sally Beamish, but also a composition by John Hawkins that he composed for Sian.

Both Per and Sian studied at the famous Yehudi Menuhin school and have gone on to perform at many world famous concert venues. They are playing in Norwich as part of a tour that is supported by the Arts council of England, HMUK, The Vaughan Williams Foundation and The Golsencott Foundation.

Central to the day will be a talk about her work by Dr Jan Sheldon the Sheriff of Norwich and CEO of St Martins Housing Trust, as well as pupils from Norwich school performing with Sian and Per and presenting a ‘Youth Voice’.

The lunchtime concert begins at 1pm on Friday 8^th March, tickets are £8, and people with concessions are urged to pay what they would like to pay. Tickets  are also available in advance by contacting the Assembly house on 01603 626402.