Tuesdays Till Two - Lunchtime Concert: Naomi Sullivan and Charles Matthews (Saxophone & Piano)

About

Our autumn lunchtime classical concerts continue with our first new performer of the season, saxophonist Naomi Sullivan, who is joined by pianist Charles Matthews, playing his third St John's concert of the year!

They'll be playing three warmly romantic pieces by French composers
André Caplet, Fernande Decruck and Olivier Messiaen, together with transcriptions of songs by Robert Schumann and Gerald Finzi.

As ever St John’s will be open for an hour before the concert begins, with volunteers from the pop-up café team offering lots of home made sweet and savoury treats as well as hot and cold drinks.

The concert will begin promptly at 1pm. Admission is free, but those who are able to afford it are asked to make a donation. The suggested amount is £5.

About Naomi Sullivan

In 2021 Naomi performed as resident artist for the Illuminate Series (www.illuminatewomensmusic.co.uk), with the Laefer Quartet (www.laeferquartet.com) and with Sounding Cities (www.soundingcities.com)

Naomi has been part of several chamber groups – including Paragon Saxophone Quartet, Zephirus Quartet and with Flotilla, led by Kyle Horch - www.flotilla.org.uk

In 2009, Naomi co-founded syzygy - the group performed for the Frontiers + Andriessen Festival at RBC, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Purcell Room as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artists Series and 'Proud', Camden. In 2014, with support from Help Musician's UK, C.A.S.S and the many kind supporters of a Kickstarter project, syzygy released a début recording of David Maslanka's 'Songs for the Coming Day'.

In September 2007 Naomi started teaching at Birmingham Conservatoire and she has been Head of their Saxophone Department since 2008. In 2021, she began teaching at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

She has given masterclasses at a number of institutes including the Royal College of Music, Trinity College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Chetham's School of Music, Well's Cathedral School, the Purcell School, the 2017 Andorra SaxFest. With the help of the Erasmus Exchange programme Naomi has collaborated with the Royal Conservatoires of Antwerp, Brussels, Ferrara, Fermo, Pesaro, Lucerne and Amsterdam.

She has taught at the Purcell School, City of London School, Hindhead Summer Course, and for various saxophone days in the UK. She also works with BCMG's various learning projects.

As an orchestral musician, Naomi has worked for UK orchestras including Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, The Opera Group, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Chineke and the Orchestra of the Swan.

Naomi studied at Chetham's School of Music with Jim Muirhead, Royal College of Music with Kyle Horch and Northwestern University with Frederick Hemke. Her studies were supported by the Countess of Munster and Help Musician's UK.

About Charles Matthews:

Charles attended the Royal College of Music, London, and was an organ scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge. He has won various awards, including first prize in the 1999 Liszt Organ Interpretation Competition in Budapest. His most recent solo recording is of Francis Routh’s cycle The Well-Tempered Pianist; some tracks from this CD can be heard free of charge at the composer’s website.
A collection of Charles’ compositions for flute and piano was published in 2006 by Schott.

Recent engagements include solo performances in the UK, Greece and Spain, as well as duo recitals with saxophone, flute, recorder, violin, viola and ‘cello.

Charles works as piano accompanist and organ tutor at the Birmingham Conservatoire, and also as a coach for the annual Curso Internacional Matisse in El Escorial, Spain.

Charles is married with three children.