Lunchtime Concert: Sarah Parkin 16 October 2020

For today’s lunchtime concert we welcome acclaimed Canadian soprano Sarah Parkin. Taking inspiration from Bishopsgate Institute’s collection of Feminist and Women’s History, she presents the programme Composers You Should Know! – a selection of works from women composers past and present – together with pianist Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser.

Programme – Composers you should know! Love let the wind cry... how I adore thee Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989)

Ch’amor sia nudo (with realised chords) Francesca Caccini (1587-1641)

Das Veilchen Duchess Anna Amalia (1739-1807)

An den Mond Juliane Reinhardt (1752-1783)

Sehnsucht nach Italien Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847)

Liebst du um Schönheit Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

Chant des noces Agathe Backer Grøndahl (1847-1907)

Ai que broma! Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935)

Mine Be the Lips Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Reflets Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)

Kalypso Cecilia Livingston (b. 1984)

Meet our performers Soprano Sarah Parkin specialises in new music and contemporary opera. Recent performances include Catherine Kontz: A Certain Sense of Order (tick tock opera tour, UK/Luxembourg), Kaija Saariaho: From the Grammar of Dreams (impuls Festival, Graz), and originating roles in Wear and Robe with UU Productions (Tête-à-Tête, London). She is an experienced deviser of new, immersive pieces and regularly incorporates physical theatre practices into her work. Sarah has appeared with the 10/10 Ensemble (Royal Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool), Left Bank Opera Festival (Leeds), Grimeborn Festival (Arcola Theatre, London), and Polyphonic Poetry Festival (Cambridge). Read Parkin’s full bio: sarahparkin.com Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser is a performer, improviser and composer, specialising in performing and composing new works for piano (solo and chamber), live electronics, and multi-disciplinary ensembles. She has participated in numerous venues and events across Europe such as Greyfriarks Kirk (Edinburgh), Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Piano Festival 2016-2018, soloist with St Bartholomew’s Chamber Orchestra (London), Tanthem Live (immersive & improvised theatre, London), solo performance to the ambassador of the EU (Brussels), Bozsok Music Festival (Budapest), and in the Steinway Gallery (Cyprus) where she was also featured on national radio. Maya-Leigh is one of the founding members of Equinox & THIS THUS. Read Rosenwasser’s full bio: mayaleighrosenwasser.com Discover the history of our lunchtime concerts

Bishopsgate Institute Archive

Support our free concerts

Our lunchtime concerts have been a tradition since 1948, providing inspiration and respite from the world outside for an hour a week in a relaxed performance environment. We always pay our musicians for these performances, but the concerts are free to audiences. Help support these concerts by donating: bishopsgate.org.uk/give

Music brings people together and offers comfort in difficult times, and our lunchtime concerts were first created as a way of raising morale during the Second World War.

Learn more about the history of our lunchtime concerts and the legacy of Dame Myra Hess through our online gallery: bishopsgate.org.uk/news/the-history-of-the-lunchtime-concerts