Congratulations to Sherry (Year 8, piano) who won two First Prizes at the Ealing Festival on 10 May.
Sherry was awarded top place in both the Bach or Other Baroque Solo (16 and under) class and the Haydn or Mozart Solo (18 and under) class – an excellent achievement demonstrating her versatility across contrasting styles and repertoire.
Sherry studies at The Purcell School with Danielle Salamon.
On Tuesday 5 May, the School was delighted to welcome internationally renowned double bassist Leon Bosch for a masterclass with our double bass students.
Prince (Year 13), Lucas (Year 10), Phoebe (Year 10), Norah (Year 9) and Summer (Year 8) performed a wide range of repertoire, including works by Cimador, Glière and Bottesini, demonstrating both technical assurance and musical imagination.
Following the class, Leon commented: “What struck me most was not simply the high technical level — impressive as that was — but the musical maturity, imagination and freedom with which these students perform.”
It was an inspiring and memorable opportunity for all involved.
On Thursday 14 May, our A-Level Drama students enjoyed a theatre visit to see the acclaimed production of My Neighbour Totoro ahead of their final exam next week.
The trip provided an exciting opportunity for students to experience this imaginative and visually stunning production live on stage, supporting their preparation and inspiring further discussion and analysis in the lead-up to their assessments.
We are delighted to share a photograph capturing three very excited faces before the performance began!
Hackney Music Live × Stoke Newington Contemporary Music Festival 2026 took place from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May, bringing an ambitious weekend of contemporary and experimental music to venues across Stoke Newington and Hackney. The collaboration united Hackney Music Live’s dynamic concert platform with the adventurous spirit of Stoke Newington Contemporary Music Festival, which has championed new music and boundary-crossing performance in the area since 2013.
The festival opened on Friday lunchtime at Sutton House with a remarkable performance by 18 pianists from The Purcell School, who presented Ligeti’s complete 18 Études for solo piano — one of the most dazzling, intricate and technically demanding cycles in modern piano literature. Daniel Fardon, Incoming Head of Composition, Artistic Director of Hackney Music Live, and producer of the festival, invited the School’s Piano Department to launch the weekend’s programme, working closely with Head of Keyboard William Fong to bring the students to this exciting London concert platform.
Fardon notes that “The performance was a resounding success! The students rose to the considerable challenge of Ligeti’s music with exceptional maturity, precision, and sensitivity, offering a compelling account of this extraordinary repertoire”. Audience members responded with admiration and astonishment, many commenting on the remarkable level of artistry, focus, and musical insight they had witnessed from such young performers.
On Tuesday 12 May, Purcell students performed in a lunchtime concert at St James’s Church, giving performances that clearly made a lasting impression on the audience.
Following the concert, a member of the public wrote to the School to praise the performances by Deedeh (Year 7, piano), Aleksandra (Year 10, piano) and Celeste (Year 12, piano), describing the concert as “quite exceptional” and remarking that the students’ artistry could “rival many professionals.”
We were delighted to receive such warm feedback and to hear how greatly the performances were appreciated by the local community.
We were delighted to see Purcell alumni strongly represented at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) Final at Wigmore Hall on Thursday 7 May.
Following a highly competitive international selection process, alumna Milda Daunoraite (piano) was named among the eight finalists and gave a superb performance at the final. The top prize was awarded to fellow Purcell alumnus Willard Carter (cello), who was selected as one of YCAT’s New Artists for 2026 as well as being named the YCAT Anniversary Artist.
It was wonderful to see so many members of the Purcell community in the audience supporting both musicians at this prestigious event.
Alumnus and Leeds International Piano Competition winner, Alim Beiseimbayev, will perform with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, on Sunday 17 May.
The concert programme includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, alongside works by Mendelssohn and Brahms. Alim continues to enjoy an exciting international performing career, and we are delighted to share news of this upcoming appearance.
Further information and tickets are available here.
In addition to those highlighted events below, please visit our online Concerts and Events Guide here.
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.
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.
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.
7 July – The Purcell School in concert with Vanessa Haynes at PizzaExpress Live (Holborn
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: PizzaExpress 99 high Holborn, London WC1V 9LF
Tickets: Tickets are from £20 and available from the PizzaExpress Live website
The Purcell School Session Bands team up with acclaimed UK vocalist Vanessa Haynes for a special concert of Soul classics and original songs. Cutting her teeth as backing vocalist for artists such as Van Morrison and Chaka Khan, Haynes became front woman of legendary jazz funk outfit, Incognito, in 2008, touring with the band for over 14 years.
