Daniel Shao and Friends + Pre-Concert Recital
Named in Classic FM’s ’30 under 30′, Daniel Shao is one of the leading flautists of his generation, and recently won the Royal Over-Seas League Wind Competition. For this specially-curated programme, he is joined by other emerging artists in a programme spanning some three centuries. An evening of music not to be missed! This performance […]
Trio Isimsiz
Formed in 2009 at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, in 2015 the Trio Isimsiz won 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the Trondheim Competition, and in 2017 2nd Prize at the Haydn International Competition in Vienna. They were selected for representation by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2013 and were awarded […]
Coco Tomita + Simon Callaghan
Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Japanese violinist Coco Tomita first gained recognition after winning the BBC Young Musician 2020 Strings Category. She has played as a duo with our Artistic Director of Music Simon Callaghan several years, during which time they have released two albums for Orchid Classics and given recitals at the Menuhin Hall, […]
The Spirituality Gap: Searching for Meaning in a Secular Age
Abi Millar is a journalist and author living in London. She studied English at Cambridge University and science journalism at City University London, and has written for outlets including Patient, Netdoctor, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, New Statesman, and Vice. She is also a yoga teacher with a long-standing fascination with the intersection of critical thinking and […]
The Empathy Fix
Poverty is detrimental to everyone. Being at the sharp end of disadvantage is shameful, reduces brainpower, and hampers positive action. It increases crime, burdens healthcare systems, and raises taxpayers’ bills. While the ultra-rich bask in the glory of superstar status, people in poverty are cast as second-rate citizens. Deeply ingrained prejudice and punitive policies lead […]
Women and the Far Right
We are in a new age of terror, with self-radicalising, hard-to-categorise individuals planning violence. Each one caught by the British state tells us something about British society. Security services are striving to contain a staggering 3,000 far-right extremists, Islamists, and other potential threats. From dating websites and prison cells to Telegram networks and Tesco knives, […]
Messy Modern Love
Artist Philippa Found’s Lockdown Love Stories project emerged during the early days of the pandemic. Through anonymous submissions, people shared their unfiltered stories. From exes to being single, hookups to breakups, dating, situationships, friendships, and relationships, these aren’t love stories; they’re stories about love. Beyond lockdown, the project thrived, collecting over 1,500 stories. Philippa’s book, […]
Why Optimism Wins
What does Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition have in common with the chicken that crossed the road? Or James Baldwin’s campaign for civil rights with the development of AI? Or even Crossrail with George Bush’s ‘mission accomplished’? Optimism, irrational though it might seem, is central to the human psyche: it appears to provide us with an […]
Single and Thriving
Around 40 per cent of UK adults are single at any one time. Far from being a transitional state between relationships, singledom offers freedom, self-discovery, and self-determination. However, there are challenges, both social and economic. How do you handle being ill alone? Who do you call if you’re stranded late at night? If you can’t […]