Congratulations to Stephanie (Year 8, harp) who was awarded First Place in the Grade 8 Harp Recital Class at the North London Festival of Music, Drama & Speech.
Stephanie performed David Watkins’ Prelude (from Petite Suite) alongside Park Stickney’s The Dirty Laundry Rag, receiving glowing praise from adjudicator Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans, Harpist to His Majesty The King. Her performance was commended for its musicality, phrasing, dynamic range and technical assurance.
The event was also a celebration for the wider Purcell harp community – see Alumni News feature below – with alumna Beth Caswell winning the United Kingdom Harp Competition at the same festival.
Stephanie studies at Purcell with Karen Vaughan, who is also President of the United Kingdom Harp Association.
Purcell Pianist Wins Multiple Prizes at North London Festival
Congratulations to Celeste (Year 12, piano) who achieved multiple successes at the North London Festival of Music, Speech & Drama.
Celeste was awarded First Place in both the Romantic Period Class for her performance of Chopin’s Scherzo Op. 39 No. 3 and the Baroque/Classical Period Class for Haydn’s Sonata in E-flat Major XVI:52. She also received Second Place in the festival’s Challenge Piano Prize competition.
Hugely well done to Celeste, who studies at Purcell with Florian Mitrea.
Purcell Pianist Wins Premier Challenge Cup
Congratulations to Michael (Year 9, piano) who has won the Premier Challenge Cup at the North London Music Festival of Music, Speech & Drama.
Competing in the 13 years and over category, Michael was awarded both the cup and a £100 cash prize in recognition of his outstanding performance. Following this success, he has also been invited to perform at the festival’s Winners’ Gala Concert on 15 May.
This is a tremendous achievement – very well done to Michael. Michael also studies at Purcell under Florian Mitrea.
Alumni News: Beth Caswell Wins UK Harp Competition
As previously mentioned, our congratulations to alumna Beth Caswell (harp) who was awarded First Prize at the United Kingdom Harp Competition this weekend.
The competition took place as part of the North London Festival of Music, Drama & Speech, celebrating outstanding young harp talent from across the country. This is a fantastic achievement and wonderful recognition of Beth’s continued success.
Concert Review
The Cox Cryptogram (A–E♭–C) Concert
On 29 April, the Composition Department presented The Cox Cryptogram (A–E♭–C) concert in honour of Alison Cox, Head of Composition. (E♭ is “Es” in German, forming the middle initial of Alison’s name.) Curated and directed by Dr Daniel Fardon, the incoming Head of Composition, the concert featured 18 performers, including staff members James Turnbull (oboe), Mike Cavanagh (baritone horn), Alex Redington (violin), Richard Jenkinson (cello) and Alexander Ullman (piano).
It was inspiring to see staff performing works by both colleagues and students. The project culminated in an impressive total of 24 compositions, all developed from the A–E♭–C motif.
Staff composers included Robert Saxton, Sylvia Lim, Gareth Moorcraft, Simon Speare, Daniel Fardon and Jacques Cohen. Student composers were Luca N, Yoko, Arthur, Samsara, Jonah, Luca B, Tate, Nemunis, Natalie D, Mac, Gerard, Matilda, Matthew, Hiroatsu, Kaelan, Victor, Ambrus and Dima.
Congratulations to all composers on your outstanding work — we hope to hear these pieces performed again in the future.
A huge thank you also goes to the student performers: Luca N, Yoko, Chaeyu, Arthur, Teresa, Mac, Natalie D, Matias, Hiroatsu, Victor, Ambrus, Emily and Natalie F.
Stanborough Park Church Lunchtime Concert On Sunday, 26 April, Purcell students captivated audiences at Stanborough Park Church in Watford with a delightful afternoon tea concert.
Queenie and Regina opened the programme with Fauré’s Dolly Suite, followed by Queenie performing Rondo Pastorale on the harp. Regina then took to the piano with No. 6 from Rachmaninov’s Six Moments Musicaux.
The second half featured solo piano performances from Tristan H and Anna. Tristan performed Scarlatti’s Sonata K.454 and Brahms’s Piano Sonata No. 1, while Anna presented the second half of Schumann’s Carnaval. To close the concert, Tristan and Anna returned as a duo, delivering a characterful performance of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances, Op. 72 No. 2 and Op. 46 No. 8.
The audience response was warm and lively, with many staying afterwards to speak with the performers over tea. Our thanks go to Stanborough Park Church for providing such a welcoming venue and a wonderful piano, and for giving our students this opportunity to perform.
Congratulations to Queenie, Regina, Tristan H and Anna on a fantastic concert.
Lunchtime Concerts
A humorous and characterful brass trio performance in the Recital Room by Skye, Willow and Tristan began our week, followed by a flourishing Chopin performance by Deedah.
We moved to the Liszt Room on Wednesday, due to exams, for a cozy composition concert. Inspiring music composed by Samsara, Jonah and Matilda was performed by Sonya, Kiah, Siyue, Aleksandra, Emily, Emil, Oliver, Hannah, Prince and Stephanie. Thursday, back in the Recital Room, Asta, Mason and Elizabeth delighted us with their performances of Wieniawski, Malcolm Arnold and Chopin.
Forthcoming Events
In addition to those highlighted events below, please visit our online Concerts and Events Guide here.
11 May – Afternoon Concert at Benslow Music
Time: 3.00pm
Venue: Benslow Music, Benslow Lane, Hitchin SG4 9RB
Tickets: Tickets are £10 and available here
12 May and 9 June – Lunchtime Concert at St James’s Church Sussex Gardens
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens, Hyde Park
Tickets: Admission is free of charge. No booking required.
Purcell pianists perform two dates in the popular concert series at St James’s Church Sussex Gardens.
3 June – Florian Mitrea Piano Recital
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free of charge. No booking required.
Internationally acclaimed pianist and member of The Purcell School Keyboard faculty, Florian Mitrea, will perform a solo recital in Purcell’s CP Hall.
Further details about the programme will follow.
16 June – St Bride’s Lunchtime Concert
Time: 1.15pm
Venue: St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London
Tickets: Admission is free of charge. No booking required.
Purcell students perform at a lunchtime concert at St Bride’s Church, in the heart of London.
18 June – St Mary’s Watford Lunchtime Concert
Time: 12.30pm
Venue: St Mary’s Church, 1 Church Street, Watford WD18 0EG
Tickets: Admission is free of charge. No booking required.
Purcell guitarists and singers present a lunchtime concert at St Mary’s Church in Watford.
23 June – Claire Martin with The Purcell School at PizzaExpress Live (Chelsea)
Time: Doors 6.30pm | Show 8.00pm
Venue: Pizza Express, The Pheasantry, 152 King’s Rd, London SW3 4NX, UK
Tickets: Tickets are £20 and available from PizzaExpress Live
Join us for a special evening of world-class jazz as acclaimed vocalist Claire Martin performs alongside the exceptional young musicians of The Purcell School at PizzaExpress Live in Chelsea.
Under the direction of saxophonist and Head of Jazz Simon Allen, and supported by a faculty of leading jazz performers and educators, students at The Purcell School refine their craft to an outstanding level. Many go on to study at top conservatoires and build successful careers as professional musicians.
An eight-time British Jazz Award winner, Claire Martin has been a defining voice in UK jazz for over three decades. She began her career at just 19 and soon fulfilled a lifelong ambition to perform at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho. Since signing with Linn Records in 1990, Claire has released 18 acclaimed albums and collaborated with some of the most celebrated names in jazz, including Martin Taylor, John Martyn, Stéphane Grappelli, Kenny Barron, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and Jim Mullen.
Claire has toured extensively around the world with her trio and has appeared as a featured soloist with leading orchestras such as the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC Big Band and BBC Concert Orchestra. She also co-presented BBC Radio 3’s flagship programme Jazz Line-Up for 17 years.
For this one-night-only performance, Claire joins forces with The Purcell School’s outstanding jazz musicians to present a specially curated programme celebrating highlights from her remarkable career.
26 June – St James’s Piccadilly Concert
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: St James’s Piccadilly, 197 Piccadilly, St James
Tickets: Admission is free of charge. No booking required.
29 June – Lunchtime Concert at Proms at St Jude’s
Time: 12.00pm
Venue: St Jude’s, Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London NW11 7AH
Tickets: Admission is free of charge. No booking required.
Purcell students perform a one-hour lunchtime concert of chamber music at the Proms at St Jude’s.
Programme to include: Chopin Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Op.22 Franck Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano Rachmaninov Trio élégiaque No. 1
For further information about the venue, visit the Proms at St Jude’s website.
1 July – Anna Avramidou plays Tchaikovsky with The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Milton Court, 1 Milton Street, London EC2Y 9BH
Tickets: Tickets are £22 / £11 (Conc.) and can be purchased here
The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra returns to Milton Court with a vibrant programme featuring the first symphonies of Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Prokofiev composed his Symphony No. 1, the ‘Classical Symphony’, in 1917 during the upheaval of the Russian Revolution. The work draws on the clarity and charm of Haydn while adding Prokofiev’s distinctive neoclassical wit.
Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 1 at just 19 as his graduation work at the Leningrad Conservatory. Both symphonies reveal the striking brilliance and individuality of these composers in their youth—an inspiring reflection of the creative potential nurtured at The Purcell School.
Featured soloist, Anna Avramidou, a Year 13 pianist at The Purcell School, is rapidly gaining international recognition. She won the prestigious Cooper International Piano Competition in 2025 and has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra. Her accolades also include prizes at the Clara Haskil Piano Competition and the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar.
As the winner of The Purcell School’s Senior Concerto Competition, Anna will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, one of the most thrilling and monumental works in the piano repertoire.
Programme: Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 Classical Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor, Op. 23 Anna Avramidou, piano Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10
5 July – Last Night of the Proms at St Jude’s with Helen Charleston
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: St Jude’s, Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London NW11 7AH
Tickets: Tickets are from £40 and available from the Proms at St Jude’s website
The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra joins forces with the dazzling mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston for the Last Night of Proms at St Jude’s.
Traditionally a sold-out occasion, the Last Night promises all the excitement and spectacle of a classic prom celebration. This year’s programme includes:
Walton Spitfire Prelude and Fugue Elgar Sea Pictures Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 “Classical” Mozart Così fan tutte: “Ah scostati! . . . Smanie implacabili”
Conducted by Paul Hoskins, Director of Music at The Purcell School.
Congratulations to Celeste (Year 12, piano) who achieved multiple successes at the North London Festival of Music, Speech & Drama.
Congratulations to Michael (Year 9, piano) who has won the Premier Challenge Cup at the North London Music Festival of Music, Speech & Drama.
On Sunday, 26 April, Purcell students captivated audiences at Stanborough Park Church in Watford with a delightful afternoon tea concert.