St Oswin’s Church, Church Road, Wylam, NE41 8AT
Sunday 8th February, Doors & Cafe 2.30pm, Show Starts 3pm

Price: £11 (£5 under 18s)

This year's popular Sunday afternoon slot at St Oswin's Church is presented by two superb musicians from our area: Hannah Fumoleau and Len Young. Hannah and Len will be familiar to Wylam concert goers, having performed in the festival several times over the years. Whilst usually performing with choirs, in this year's festival we'll hear a solo recital from Hannah with Len accompanying at the piano.

Myths and Stories: Greece and Water

Hannah Fumoleau presents this recital exploring two areas of storytelling in classical music. From Handel and Purcell interpretations of Greek mythology, to the lasting, and oft repeated, tale of love divided by water with Rebecca Clarke and Dvorak. Separated by a modern epic - Hilary Tann's powerful telling of Arachne, this recital places human emotion at the centre of it all.

Hannah studied at the University of Wales, Cardiff with John Hugh Thomas and has since furthered her vocal studies with singers including Alison Barton, Elizabeth Cragg, Lynne Dawson, Mhairi Lawson, Dane Chalfin, and Mary Hitch.

A prolific choral singer, while still a teenager Hannah was awarded a place in the International Choir and Orchestra of the Stuttgart Bach Festival. She sang under Nigel Perrin with Exeter Festival Chorus before relocating and joining the Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia in 2006. She is a founder member of the award-winning chamber choir Voices of Hope and the St James Consort.

In recital, Hannah performs with pianist Alison Gill, and as part of A Tre Voci with Yoshie Kawamura and Alessandra Amorino. She is incredibly passionate about English and American Art Song and also loves to get her teeth into music from the last 30 years, in particular programming works by composers who are often under-represented in classical music.

Len Young studied at the Royal College of Music in London. He then taught in London and Newcastle for fourteen years before spending ten years as Adviser for Music with Newcastle Education Authority. He resumed teaching as Head of Music, and later Assistant Head (Performing Arts College), at Queen Elizabeth High School from 1995 to 2008. He has encouraged people of all ages to participate in vocal work in a wide range of styles, starting singing events with over 2000 children in Newcastle City Hall. His many compositions include A Musical Mine, numerous Christmas carols, Blackfriars, The Seafarer, a Requiem, Earth Song, Glimpses of Grainger Town, Spes Durat Avorum, Hexham Abbey Ground for organ and audience participation, and a full length musical Odysseus (libretto by Tony Webster) written for QEHS Youth Theatre. The Sing Together Choir gave the first performances of Today (text by David Pattinson) and A Day in Spring. In 2020 he composed Reflections, ten pieces for choir and piano to anonymous texts. He has recently completed three Shakespeare Songs written for the 10th anniversary of Voices of Hope, Jubilate Deo for the Morning Chorus Choir and Spring Has Come for J’s and B’s Singers.

WINTER TALES SINGING SUNDAY : HANNAH FUMOLEAU & LEN YOUNG