Review Centre: Classical Soloists

"Where do I begin! We absolutely LOVED having Arieta play violin at our wedding in Athens and she was incredible. Hugely professional from the start, we worked together to select a playlist of music for our guest arrival, ceremony, cocktail hour and grand entrance. All of our guests enjoyed the music. Arieta brought our ceremony vision to life as well with a beautiful compassion of Young & Beautiful and I can’t thank her enough ❤️ We love you Arieta!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Even on a murky February morning (2005), the first performance in July of our new commission doesn’t seem too far away. Jane Roper tells us about the composer and the composition: Howard’s way If you ever get a chance to talk to Howard Haigh about composing, take it. He has a huge range of experience, good insights into the creative process, and he communicates his enthusiasm for his work so well, I guarantee you will be both enthralled and inspired. And now he's working for us! I thought you might like to read a bit of background to his career and to his current commission. Although Howard is happily settled up north in Lancaster he trained near us; a BA Performing Arts/Music at Middlesex Polytechnic was followed by a Masters in Music/Composition at the University of London. He studied composition with Brian Dennis and David Bedford; had tutorials with Michael Finissy, George Benjamin and John Cage, and studied flamenco guitar with Paco Pena, Juan Serrano, Manuel Granados and Titi Losada. We think of him principally as a Spanish guitarist, but he also studied mandolin, keyboards, percussion, harmonica and vocal techniques. He has written for most instrumental combinations, from solo guitar, small ensembles and string quartets to bands, girls’ choirs, large choruses, electronic scores and computer music. Howard combines composing with teaching throughout the north west. He has taught guitar at Lancaster University since 2000. He is a member of the English National Ballet's Education and Community Unit, and is engaged in outreach projects in schools throughout England. The nature of this work may range from musical accompanist to residencies in which he composes an original score for a short performance. He has done similar work for Ballet Rambert and the Royal Ballet. His work has been performed at the Barbican, the Royal Festival Hall, Sadler's Wells (for the Queen) and the Purcell Room; and at festivals in Edinburgh, Brighton, Cheltenham and WOMAD. One of his great strengths is his ability to collaborate with people from a wide range of performing disciplines. I've found out that as well as working closely with singers, dancers, and actors, he has also worked with jugglers, comedians, strippers, a skiffle group, film makers and performance artists. No problem working with us then. And then add a massive list of theatre companies, musicals, community projects and commissions and it's no wonder he's always out when I call. In the 1980's Howard composed some extraordinary pieces using unusual instruments. Body Music used claps, stamps, clicks and slaps. This was followed by Kitchen Music. I bet you didn't know that Alan Titchmarsh played the saucepan in this on Pebble Mill. There was also a pre-Prom show on Radio 3 featuring unusual percussion prior to Evelyn Glennie's performance. But by the late '80s his explorations were focusing on vocal writing. Crouch End Festival Chorus gave him an exciting opportunity when they commissioned him in 1990. I heard them perform Saeta again in the Barbican last January. It was sensational. I can't even remember what the second half standard-repertoire piece was; I was still high on Howard's piece and wanted them to sing it again. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I am so honoured that Classic Sax played at my late husband's funeral..he did Richard proud.. The way Michael conveyed emotion through playing the pieces was incredible ..in the words of Charlie 'Bird' Parker "If you don't live it , it won't come out of your horn", meaning that music is your own experience, your thoughts , your wisdom..... Thank you so much Michael!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Our many guests agreed with us that Anastasia sounded and looked wonderful! We would recommend her to anybody. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Absolutely awesome! Ricky played saxophone for my daughter's wedding in Southampton, NY. He played for hours- both for the cocktail hour and during the reception. He is the best of the best! His music set the perfect atmosphere for the cocktail hour, and he had everyone dancing when he played his saxophone on the dance floor surrounded by the guests and bride and groom! There's not a song he doesn't know- he's amazing! Ricky is a true professional and we are so happy he was part of such a memorable day! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Having Rosy sing at my wedding was one of the most emotional and unforgettable moments of the entire day. As soon as she began, the whole room fell silent — her voice was full of love, power, and grace. It felt like the song was just for me, and I’ll carry that memory with me forever."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Adam was a delight to work with in the runup to our wedding (very responsive and friendly in all contact we had and listened carefully to all our thoughts and requests for the day) and then on the day was professional and played wonderfully for our guests who all commented on how nice the music was. Can't recommend Adam enough for your event. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Michael did an amazing job! The music for our ceremony and cocktail hour was beautiful :) "

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"Shane is a wonder to watch. His playing is like watching a series of short stories unfold in front of you."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Anastasia Liberos was recommended to me by a friend for my wedding day. She was amazing so talented and graceful, added so much class to our special day. She delivered and matched our brief to a tee. I enjoyed having Anastasia on our wedding day so much my husband surprised me with Anastasia on my 40th to entertain and amaze us again. Her voice is stunning, her passion and talent really shine through her performance. I would recommend her for any special occasion."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Μια από τις πιο όμορφες στιγμές τις ζωής μας στην βάφτιση του γιου μας Δημήτρη στον Άγιο Παύλο της Λίνδου η ημέρα έγινε ξεχωριστή και με την παρουσία τις κυρίας Χρύσας με το μαγικό τις σαξόφωνο με τα επιλεγμένα κομμάτια που δώσανε μια ξεχωριστή νότα Η καλεσμένοι μας δεν σταμάτησαν για μέρες να μιλάνε για το ποσό καλή επιλογή κάναμε φέρνοντας την κ χρυσά Χορέψαμε διασκεδάσαμε μέχρι την Δύση του ηλίου παρόλο την πολύ ζέστη που είχε δεν παραπονέθηκε κανείς γιατί όλα ήταν μαγικά Χωρίς την κ χρυσά είμαι σίγουρη πως δεν θα ήταν η βάφτιση του παιδιού μας τόσο ξεχωριστή Αν αποφασίσετε να πάρετε σαξόφωνο για την δίκης σας Συμπαντική στιγμή τότε σας την προτινω με μεγάλη σιγουριά Κ χρυσά ευχαριστούμε πολύ "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We engaged Soprano, String Trio, and Organist for the Church Ceremony and were pleased with both the organization of the Music and the many choices of repertoire to be performed. The artists' performances were greatly appreciated by the guests. The appearance and education of the musicians also made our guests especially happy. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I cannot say enough good things about Andrew. From the moment of the first meeting he warm and put us at ease. He completely understood our vision and expertly guided us into the perfect set up for our event. Andrew together with the wonderful saxophonist were the perfect touch of elegance and warmth to our celebration. They were both very very professional and yet very warm. I keep using the word warm because honestly that’s what we got from Andrew. I 100% recommend "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We can't recommend Roger enough. He recently played at our wedding a couple of weeks ago and it was simply perfect! We had 3 songs in particular that we wanted playing for our ceremony- 'Heartbeats' by José Gonzalez, 'Half the world away' by Oasis and 'Not Nineteen Forever' by The Courteeners. Roger not only learnt these specifically for us but played them with such finesse- so many of our guests commented on his playing afterwards. He also played while we had pictures taken and kept our guests entertained while they had drinks before our wedding meal. This again was very well recieved and provided a relaxing and melodic setting. Thank you Roger for providing part of the soundtrack to our wedding day! Your mixture of modern and classical was perfect for what we wanted and on top of this you were so friendly and helpful prior to the day. We only wish we could do it all again! Mr & Mrs Egan "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Flòralyn is an extremely talented young musician, with her own unique style that is both exquisite and enchanting. Wider success for her cannot be far away. I certainly hope to see her again very soon."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: