In preparation for our gala concert on Sunday evening, Nigel Wyatt presents a talk about the intriguing history of early performances of Handel’s Messiah in Salisbury in the 18th century. We know that one of the of the earliest performances outside London took place here in Salisbury in 1750 as part of the annual music festival. But there are earlier connections between Messiah and Salisbury which the talk will explore. 

Pianist John Reid explores aspects of the Empfindsamer Stil: a radical new musical current of expressivity, emotional fluidity and 'sensibility', championed (among others) by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in the mid-eighteenth century. This is music which still surprises and moves us today, in all its quirkiness and complexity. John's programme also includes music by Haydn: the joyful, florid Sonata in A Flat, and the F-minor Variations, considered by many to be his finest, emotionally deepest keyboard work. 

John Reid owes an enormous amount to his early musical education in Salisbury, both as a chorister and as Organ Scholar at the Cathedral; and he is delighted to take part in Salisbury Musick. He is a graduate of Clare College Cambridge and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is also a Professor of Chamber Music and Piano. A performer of unusually wide sympathies, he is equally acclaimed as an exponent of contemporary music, as a chamber musician, singers' accompanist and soloist. Recent concert highlights include a UK and European tour of Carnival: a collaboration between Aurora Orchestra and physical theatre group Frantic Assembly, based on Saint-Saens's Carnival of the Animals; Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde at the Oxford International Song Festival (with singers Daniel Norman and Jess Dandy); and the first performance of Julian Anderson's Life Cycle, concerts to explore the chamber music of Salvatore Sciarrino and to mark the centenary of Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag - all with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He continues to explore Classical and Romantic repertoire on period instruments with violinist Sophia Prodanova and violinist-violist John Crockatt, and he contributed three times to the complete cycle of Mozart piano concertos at Kings Place in London. 

www.johnreidpiano.com

John will be playing on a fortepiano which is a copy of Mozart’s own Walter made in the late 1980s by Paul McNulty for Trevor Pinnick.  Walter was the most famous piano maker in Vienna in the late eighteenth century. Mozart owned and regularly used one of his instruments which were known for their bright, clear tone.  

Tickets for this event are £20, or £2 for any child under 18. Multi-buy discounts apply to online purchases of tickets for the concerts by visiting professionals, with tickets for 4 events at £65, or all 5 events for £80, when purchased at the same time.

Enjoy a meal at the Rifleman's Table café in Salisbury Cathedral Close.  They have devised a special 2-course menu for the festival and the timings are planned to fit between the two concerts.  The menu is below and you will select your meal(s) when you check out.   If you are having a meal on Friday and Saturday evenings you can select different options each evening.   When you book you will be asked to inform us about any dietary requirements and allergies.

Menu

Main course options 

• Chicken and leek pie with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables
• Broccoli and feta quiche with new potatoes and green leaf salad (vegetarian)
• Farm shop sausages with mash and onion gravy
• Chicken in white wine sauce with basmati rice and green vegetables
• Courgette and pea risotto with shaved parmesan (vegetarian)

Dessert options

• Traditional sherry trifle
• Lemon posset
• Apple and blackberry crumble tart
• Autumn mess (pavlova, berry compote and fresh berries)

Price per person £20.  We have a special offer of £50 for both evening concerts and the meal on the same evening, if booked online before September 1st.  You would also have reserved seats for the second concert.  Please note, this offer cannot be combined with the discounted price for 4 or 5 concerts.  

The café has an alcohol licence so you can buy drinks separately on the night.  

Please note this will only go ahead if we reach the minimum number of bookings required for each evening.  If we are not able to go ahead you will be told at least two weeks before the date of the concert and refunded the cost of the meal.  Equally spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

Please select your meal courses and then add your chosen meal to the basket. 

Charlotte La Thrope (Soprano), Hugo Hymas (Tenor), Sergio Bucheli (Lute) and Jacob Garside (Viola da Gamba) bring together a programme of music from Italy and France at a moment when composers were exploring new ways to convey emotion and express the text with clarity and depth. The intimate songs of Giulio Caccini and Claudio Monteverdi reveal the immediacy and passion of this Italian style, while instrumental works by Francesco Rognoni add colour, ornamentation and virtuosity. Alongside these, music by Lassus, Sandrin, and D’Ambruys demonstrates how Italian expressive ideas inspired and shaped French music of the period. For soprano and tenor with lute and viola da gamba, this concert provides a journey through nuanced textures and finely wrought expression. It traces a rich landscape of love, longing, and reflection, inviting the listener to experience the subtle beauty and emotional depth of early Baroque music.

Charlotte La Thrope (Soprano)

English soprano Charlotte La Thrope graduated with first-class honours in Music from Durham University, receiving the ‘Most Outstanding Soloist’ award, and later completed her studies at the Royal Academy of Music with distinction in 2018. She performs widely across Europe and South America, collaborating with acclaimed ensembles. Operatic roles include Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Eurydice (Orfeo), Iris (Semele), L’Enfant (L’Enfant et Les Sortilèges), and Angel (Jephtha), praised as “poised, sweet and true.” Recently qualified as a psychotherapist, Charlotte balances her singing career with supporting others’ mental health.

Hugo Hymas (Tenor)

British tenor Hugo Hymas is acclaimed for his interpretations of baroque and renaissance repertoire.Recent engagements include Handel’s Solomon with OAE, Bach’s Magnificat with Le Poème Harmonique, Messiah with St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Haydn’s Armida in Potsdamer Winteroper, and Acis and Galatea with Vox Luminis. He also performs Stravinsky with The Façade Ensemble and explores 20th-century repertoire with Leicester International Music Festival. Hymas has appeared at Glyndebourne, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and with ensembles including The English Concert, Arcangelo, Les Arts Florissants, and Collegium Vocale Gent. A former Britten Pears Young Artist, he studied Music at Durham University.

Sergio Bucheli (Lute)

Born in Mexico City, Sergio Bucheli began on classical guitar before moving to the UK to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School, supported by a Rolling Stones-funded bursary. In 2016, he received the ABRSM and Christopher Hogwood Scholarships to pursue undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Elizabeth Kenny, focusing on lute, theorbo, and baroque guitar. A sought-after continuo player, he performs with The English Concert, La Nuova Musica, Arcangelo, the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Marsyas, Early Opera Company, and Fretwork. An avid chamber musician, he frequently collaborates with Lawrence Power, Collegium Orchestra, and soprano Ruby Hughes.

Jacob Garside (Viola da Gamba)

London-based cellist and viola da gamba player Jacob Garside studied at the University of Bristol, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Royal College of Music with Jonathan Manson, Richard Boothby, and Reiko Ichise, supported by the Enlightenment and Hill Scholarships, and completed his Konzertexamen at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Robert Smith. He performs with English Touring Opera, La Serenissima, OAE Education Orchestra, and Det Norske Blåseensemble, and has appeared with The English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, and London Philharmonic Orchestra. A keen chamber musician, he co-founded The Hampstead Collective and the viol consort Republic of Viols, and performs in the contemporary opera The Faggots and Their Friends.

The relation between composers and instrumental technology, is a chicken and egg question - which comes first? Composers developing, extending and changing the nature of musical expression or instrument and bow makers developing the technologies of instruments for performers to play. Maggie Faultless explores this fascinating relationship, discussing the changes in the violin bow (described as the soul of the music by many composers) over the centuries.

Violinist Margaret Faultless performs music from Monteverdi to the present day in a career that has included leading the contemporary music ensemble Aquarius, co-leading a West End Musical and The Scottish Ballet orchestra, and performing with ensembles such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin’s in the Fields. She has guest-led the Russian National Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra (London) and the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston). Now best known as a specialist in historical performance practice, she has held principal positions and performed with many of the best-known period instrument ensembles. As a leader of The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment she performs at the Proms, the South Bank, Glyndebourne and has toured all over the world.

A graduate and Honorary Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Musician in Residence at St John’s College and bye-fellow at Girton, she is the Artistic Director of the Cambridge University Collegium Musicum and of the University chamber music scheme (IAS), and works closely with the CMP. For 15 years Margaret was first Director of Performance at the Faculty of Music, a multi-faceted role which she helped to develop. She lectures and broadcasts on performance, her research interests including leadership and social interactions in Haydn symphonies and Bach's notation for performers.

She is the first Becket Chair of Historical Performance at The Royal Academy of Music, a Professor of the University of London and an Honorary Fellow of Birmingham Conservatoire, the city in which she grew up.

Photo courtesy of Zen Grisdale and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

shawms, bagpipes, slide trumpet, sackbut, recorders & percussion

Belinda Paul, Emily Baines, Lizzie Gutteridge & Daniel Serafini

Works by Machaut, Dufay, Morton, Bedyngham, Josquin, Obrecht, Paumann & more

Cover Story tracks connections between people, places, texts and music. It follows the spread of popular late medieval melodies across Europe, as they are copied, repurposed, and evolved over many decades.

What makes a song leap across national boundaries and language barriers, slip from the secular to the ecclesiastic, and remain at the top of the charts for more than 70 years? We don’t have the formula, but we know why these pieces wedged themselves into the cultural background of medieval Europe. The music is fabulous, and audiences today love it too.

“Absolutely FAB lovely music, great explanations”
“Fantastic concert a real joy to listen to such beautiful instruments played so well”
“They say there’s a first time for everything. This was our very first time to hear live Medieval music. And what a wonderful experience. Thanks for introducing us”

More information about Cover Story can be found on our website.

Blondel is a Medieval and Renaissance wind band. Our past performances include concerts in the Cheltenham Festival (broadcast live by the BBC), Cambridge Early Music, Brighton Early Music Festival, Trolhätten Early Music Festival, Wind Works Festival Iceland, King’s Lynn Festival, Medieval Music in the Dales, Beaminster Festival, Leeds International Medieval Congress, the Wimbledon International Music Festival, Totnes Early Music Society, Barnes Music Festival, Worcester Early Music Festival, and Colchester Early Music. We have worked, both individually and as a group, for the Globe Theatre.

We were commissioned by the Agincourt600 Committee to create a work to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the battle of Agincourt—Owre Kynge Went Forth – Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt – told in words and music.The project included a gala performance, and a recording, which is available as a free download from Bandcamp

Our current project, Cover Story, has been partly funded by the Continuo Foundation. A further grant from Angel Early Music has enabled us to record this programme. The album will be released later this year.

Belinda Paul studied oboe at the VCA (University of Melbourne.). She won a scholarship to study baroque, classical and romantic oboe in the Netherlands & France with Frank de Bruine, Ku Ebbinge and Marcel Ponseele.  She has performed and recorded with The Academy of Ancient Music, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, La Stagione Frankfurt, and The Australian Chamber Orchestra. Her theatre work includes performances in St Petersburg’s Hermitage Theatre, and the Utrecht Festival.

As a medieval and renaissance specialist, she has worked with I Fagiolini, The Gabrieli Consort and Players, and taken part in a number of productions at the Globe Theatre and the National Theatre. She is a founding member of Blondel, with whom she has appeared in the Cheltenham Festival, King’s Lynn Festival, Cambridge Early Music, Wimbledon International Festival and on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Introducing.

Dr. Emily Baines is a professional recorder player, lecturer and musical director working throughout Europe also specialising in a variety of early woodwinds. She trained at the University of Hull, the Royal Conservatory (The Hague) and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Emily performs regularly for many period-instrument ensembles, contemporary groups, music festivals and theatres. Theatre work has included musician/musical director roles for, English Touring Theatre, Barbican BITE, the RSC, National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe, including the Globe’s Broadway transfers of Twelfth Night and Richard III. Her playing is regularly featured on Radio, TV and Film. In addition to performing, Emily is a Senior Lecturer in Music at Brunel University London, and is regularly invited to other institutions for lectures and practical workshops. Her first album as a soloist (with ensemble Amyas) ‘The Ghost in the Machine’, was released in October 2021 with First Hand Records, and a new album ‘Cover Story’ with Blondel is due for release later in 2026.

Lizzie Gutteridge plays a wide range of historical instruments, including bagpipes, recorders, curtals and fiddles. She is a member of Blondel, The York Waits and the New Cambridge Waits, and musical director of the Colchester Waits. Freelance engagements have included the Globe's “Nell Gwynn” & “The Knight of the Burning Pestle”, with Passamezzo in Morocco and London. TV appearances include “Thronecast – Gameshow of Thrones” to “A Merry Tudor Christmas with Lucy Worsley”, and live & recorded performances on bagpipe of Gregory Rose’s “Dance Macabre”. Lizzie’s solo project “Consort of 1” combines early music with the use of live looping, allowing layering of parts to throw a new light on Medieval and Renaissance melodies. Her latest project “A musical Illiad” combines ancient and improvised music on aulos and lyres with live storytelling by Clare Goodall.

Daniel Serafini is a Luxembourg-based trombonist, sackbut player and educator whose work connects early music, contemporary repertoire and teaching. A professor at the Conservatoire du Nord in Luxembourg, Daniel is recognised for his thoughtful and highly individual approach to sound. At the centre of his musical practice is the belief that differences in timbre are the foundation of music. This artistic vision is closely linked to deep listening, body awareness and yoga, which all inform his relationship to breath, resonance and presence in performance.

Alongside his teaching, Daniel regularly performs with ensembles including the Freiburger Barockorchester, B’Rock Orchestra, Ensemble Pygmalion, Gabrieli Consort, United Instruments of Lucilin, Bondel and Ensemble Seraphim. His career reflects a rare versatility, moving naturally between historical performance and contemporary expression, always with a focus on colour, sensitivity and exploration. Through both performance and pedagogy, Daniel brings a refined ear and a distinctive musical voice to every project.

Enjoy a meal at the Rifleman's Table café in Salisbury Cathedral Close.  They have devised a special 2-course menu for the festival and the timings are planned to fit between the two concerts.  The menu is below and you will select your meal(s) when you check out.   If you are having a meal on Friday and Saturday evenings you can select different options each evening.   When you book you will be asked to inform us about any dietary requirements and allergies.

Menu

Main course options 

• Chicken and leek pie with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables
• Broccoli and feta quiche with new potatoes and green leaf salad (vegetarian)
• Farm shop sausages with mash and onion gravy
• Chicken in white wine sauce with basmati rice and green vegetables
• Courgette and pea risotto with shaved parmesan (vegetarian)

Dessert options

• Traditional sherry trifle
• Lemon posset
• Apple and blackberry crumble tart
• Autumn mess (pavlova, berry compote and fresh berries)

Price per person £20.  We have a special offer of £50 for both evening concerts and the meal on the same evening, if booked online before September 1st.  You would also have reserved seats for the second concert.  Please note, this offer cannot be combined with the discounted price for 4 or 5 concerts.  

The café has an alcohol licence so you can buy drinks separately on the night.  

Please note this will only go ahead if we reach the minimum number of bookings required for each evening.  If we are not able to go ahead you will be told at least two weeks before the date of the concert and refunded the cost of the meal.  Equally spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.  

Nocturnalia’s programme explores the transcendent figure of Giuseppe Tartini, revolutionary teacher, virtuoso violinist, theorist, and composer of the Enlightenment, whose musical and pedagogical influence continues to resonate.

Tartini founded the Scuola delle Nazioni (School of Nations) in Padua, where he trained generations of musicians from across Italy and Europe. Alongside his compositional career, he conducted pioneering experiments in acoustics and became a leading musical theorist. A prolific composer, Tartini laid the foundations of the galant style, bridging Baroque and Classical idioms. His works often drew inspiration from poetry, and even, dreams.

The program traces Tartini’s European legacy through his students, from Nardini to Stratico, including Pugnani and Sirmen, highlighting the international reach of the Scuola delle Nazioni. Through violin, harpsichord, and cello, these works blend melodic elegance, expressive affetti, and rich harmonic invention to move both heart and senses.

We are grateful to the Continuo Foundation for their support for this concert.  

Nocturnalia Ensemble is a trio dedicated to historical performance, blending rediscovered repertoire, folk influences, and innovative programming. Our concerts create a dynamic dialogue between past and present, reviving the emotions of forgotten sounds and forging a deep connection with the audience.

We view Early Music as profoundly contemporary, embracing the freedom of improvisation and ornamentation. Our approach is shaped by our European roots and the cultural concepts that define us: Šarovít (colorful and picturesque), Duende (the creative struggle to evoke deep art), and Μεράκι (to do something with soul).

Formed during late-night sessions at the Romanesque Abbey of Ambronay in 2021 through the EEEmerging+ European Academy, Nocturnalia gave its debut concert in Athens in 2023. Subsequent appearances include the Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival, Contratemps Festival (Barcelona), Tartini Festival (Ljubljana), Chios Music Festival, and tours in Slovenia.

Selected for the BREMF Live! Scheme 2024–25 and the prestigious S-EEEmerging 2026–2027 programme, the ensemble has been supported through residencies and concerts across Europe. Upcoming and recent performances include BBC3, Torroella Festival, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Festival Baroque de la Tarentaise, Brighton Early Music Festival, the Foundling Museum, Salisbury Early Musick, and the Festival dei Giovani Musicisti Europei (Academia Montis Regalis).

Mojca Jerman – Violinist
 Mojca Jerman specializes in Baroque and Classical music and is a recipient of the Premio Nazionale delle Arti. She performs across Europe and the Americas with ensembles including Insula Orchestra, Anima Eterna, and Frau Musika.

Pablo Tejedor-Gutiérrez – Cello & Viola da Gamba
 Pablo performs on historical cello and viola da gamba with ensembles such as Holland Baroque, Instruments of Time and Truth, Academia Montis Regalis, and Ensemble Mare Nostrum. He is also an active researcher and teacher at the Royal College of Music and the University of Oxford.

Alex Mastichiadis – Harpsichord & Organ
 Alex specializes in 17th–18th century repertoire and historical performance. In addition to solo and ensemble work with groups like Armonia Atenea, he explores contemporary sound art with MMMD and teaches clavichord at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.

This workshop offers an in-depth exploration of Nocturnalia Ensemble's approach to chamber music and historically informed performance, tailored for players of modern string instruments who would like to explore Baroque music in a more stylistic way. 

The workshop will focus on ensemble coaching looking at stylistic awareness, improvisation, and technical guidance, all adapted for modern instruments tuned to A=440. Topics will include organology, performance practices, historical analysis, continuo (using a small spinet provided), ornamentation, and the differences between modern and historical playing.

This workshop is aimed at string teachers and competent, regular players aged 18 and over.  Participants will be able to borrow a baroque bow.  Music will be provided on the day.  Please bring a music stand.  

We are grateful to the Continuo Foundation for their support of this workshop.

Thanks to a generous private donation we are able to offer places for players at the reduced price of £5.  There are a few 'observers' tickets available at £10.  

David Davies will be playing the harpsichord in the King's Room at The Salisbury Museum between 10.30 and 12.00 on Sunday 4th October.  Entry for this is free to those who are visiting the museum.  Tickets for the museum are available on The Salisbury Museum website.   

A 1 1/2 hour guided walk exploring sites linked to notable people, performers and events within the Salisbury music community in the 18th century, especially when the Musick festivals took place in the city. The walk will start outside the west front of Salisbury Cathedral and finish in the marketplace. Sonja Mawdsley, a local Blue Badge Guide, is looking forward to making the connections between the stories of that period and the places we see now.

Early Bird, featuring Rebecca Prosser (recorders) and Sharon Gould (harpsichord) will explore music composed in Venice, from the 15^th to 18^th century, showing how Venetian styles both influenced Northern European compositions and were inspired by them.

Highlights include settings by Jacob van Eyck and by Marco Uccellini of the folksong Questa dolce sirena, the anonymous chanson J'ay pris amours that was popular all around Europe, and Early Bird's own arrangement of the Concerto in D from L'Estro Armonico by Vivaldi. Also featuring music from Handel's Agrippina, composed and performed in Venice and his first major European success.

Rebecca Prosser studied as a scholar at the Royal College of Music. She has performed with many of the leading period instrument groups, including Florilegium and The English Concert, touring with them in Europe and the Far East. She has taken part in numerous recordings and can be heard on the sound-tracks of ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ and the 2015 film of ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E’. Having taught Recorder at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Bristol University, Rebecca now enjoys a private teaching practice at home. She is an examiner for the ABRSM, touring throughout the UK and Internationally. She is regularly invited to be the external specialist adjudicator for internal exams and prizes at the Royal College of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire. Aside from her musical life, Rebecca’s passions include ballet, running and working on her allotment with her cat, Flora.

Sharon Gould discovered Bach and The Beatles at the same time, aged 8. Fascinated by the syncopated rhythms of both, and sad at being unable to join the latter as keyboard player, she took harpsichord lessons and formed her own Baroque orchestra five years later. This enterprising start led to an invitation to be the first music student at Churchill College, Cambridge, from where she founded and directed ‘The Vivaldi Players’. She has since conducted many orchestras and ensembles, often directing from the keyboard. Solo performances include concertos and recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tours, TV, radio and recording work have taken her around Europe and America. She has taught at the R.C.M Junior Department, Chetham’s Music School and the R.N.C.M in Manchester. As a soprano, Sharon is a member of the Salisbury Cathedral Chamber Choir and the six-voice singing group ‘Skylarks’.

Handel composed this magnificent oratorio in 1741 and it was first performed in Dublin in 1742.  It was one of the most frequently performed works in the eighteenth century festivals in Salisbury so is a fitting way to conclude this year’s festival.  Directed by Philip Lawson, the Farrant Singers and Salisbury Baroque (leader Alice Poppleton) will be joined by Charlotte La Thrope (soprano), Sarah Denbee (alto), Hugo Hymas (tenor) and William Drakett (bass).

Philip Lawson (conductor)

For 18 years Philip Lawson sang baritone with The King’s Singers, replacing founder-member Simon Carrington in 1993, and performing over 2,000 concerts worldwide, recording many CDs and DVDs, and co-leading hundreds of choral workshops. For most of that time he was also the group’s principal arranger, contributing more than 50 arrangements to the repertoire, including 10 for the 2008 CD “Simple Gifts” which went on to win the GRAMMY for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2009. Prior to this Philip was Director of Music at Chafyn Grove school in Salisbury, and a Lay Clerk in the cathedral choir, and before that worked in London with all the major professional choirs, including the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. He now divides his time between choral conducting, teaching and composing/arranging, and has a catalogue of over 300 published titles. www.philiplawson.net

Charlotte La Thrope (soprano)

English soprano Charlotte La Thrope graduated with first-class honours in Music from Durham University, receiving the ‘Most Outstanding Soloist’ award, and later completed her studies at the Royal Academy of Music with distinction in 2018. She performs widely across Europe and South America, collaborating with acclaimed ensembles. Operatic roles include Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Eurydice (Orfeo), Iris (Semele), L’Enfant (L’Enfant et Les Sortilèges), and Angel (Jephtha), praised as “poised, sweet and true.” Recently qualified as a psychotherapist, Charlotte balances her singing career with supporting others’ mental health.

Sarah Denbee (alto)

Sarah gained a First in Music and Italian from the Universities of Bristol and Bologna, and a Masters with Distinction from Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
She was a member of the Glyndebourne Opera Chorus for several years, and previous highlights have been singing in the semi-chorus in the world premiere of Brett Dean's 'Hamlet', as well as covering several roles at Glyndebourne. She has worked at the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera and The Grange Festival, as well as many other opera companies. Sarah has been a step-out soloist with the Constellation Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music and London Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in prestigious venues around the world. She also sang at the Coronation of King Charles III & Queen Camilla with the Choir of Westminster Abbey, the first time female singers were included in such an occasion.

Hugo Hymas (tenor)

British tenor Hugo Hymas is acclaimed for his interpretations of baroque and renaissance repertoire. Recent engagements include Handel’s Solomon with OAE, Bach’s Magnificat with Le Poème Harmonique, Messiah with St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Haydn’s Armida in Potsdamer Winteroper, and Acis and Galatea with Vox Luminis. He also performs Stravinsky with The Façade Ensemble and explores 20th-century repertoire with Leicester International Music Festival. Hymas has appeared at Glyndebourne, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and with ensembles including The English Concert, Arcangelo, Les Arts Florissants, and Collegium Vocale Gent. A former Britten Pears Young Artist, he studied Music at Durham University.

William Drakett (bass)

William Drakett studied singing under Prof. Konrad Jarnot at the Robert Schumann Conservatoire in Düsseldorf, following organ and harpsichord studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He has performed on the stage in a range of operatic roles and is in demand as a concert soloist in England and Germany in works including Elijah (Mendelssohn), Dream of Gerontius (Elgar), St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio & B Minor Mass (Bach), A German Requiem (Brahms), Five Mystical Songs (Vaughan Williams), Requiem (Mozart, Fauré & Duruflé) and In Terra Pax (Martin).  He now lives in Wells where he is a Vicar Choral in the choir of Wells Cathedral, and Head of Vocal & Choral Studies at Wells Cathedral School.

The Farrant Singers is the longest-established chamber choir in Salisbury, with close links to the medieval city, the surrounding Wiltshire villages and the Cathedral, where the choir occasionally sings at services.  It was founded in 1958 by composer and organist Richard Lloyd, initially to give performances of church music in the diocese. Conductors since then have included Mark Deller, Richard Shephard, David Halls, Colin Howard, Daniel Cook and Andrew Mackay, with Philip Lawson taking over the baton in 2021. The group currently comprises around 35 singers and its repertoire includes a wide range of sacred and secular music. Concerts are given in Salisbury and in smaller venues around the region, and the choir occasionally sings further afield in the UK and Europe.

Salisbury Baroque is Salisbury’s only period-instrument orchestra. It was set up by our founding patron David Morgan to enable local players (and some colleagues from further afield) to share their passion for late 17th and 18th century music through concerts and workshops.  Using copies of instruments of the period and authentic playing style, the group is able to bring to its audience a sense of intimacy and style difficult to achieve with larger forces and modern, heavier instruments.

Alice Poppleton (leader)

Alice enjoys a busy freelance life as a violinist, viola player and workshop leader. After three wonderful years at Bristol University, Alice completed post-graduate studies with distinction as Scholar at both The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Royal Academy of Music (under the tutelage of Rachel Podger). Alice loves the rich tapestry of creative projects in her life: performing and touring with The English Concert, The Gabrieli’s and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; designing and presenting children’s videos and concerts for The OAE, Handel Hendrix House and Brighton Early Music Festival; and collaborative composition projects for the Royal Academy of Music and English National Opera (performed at The Royal Albert Hall). Alice is the co-founder and Director of Thinking Music, a charity which connects rural primary schools and universities delivering a year-long programme to make music together. Alice enjoys folk fiddling and taking to the great outdoors (keeping the sheep out of the loop about her ever-growing gut string collection). Alice has recently returned from a tour to America with The English Concert which culminated in a performance at the Carnegie Hall – a career highlight!  Alicepoppleton.com