Alumni News: Alexis Ffrench Announces Dublin Headline Show
Purcell alumnus Alexis Ffrench, pianist, composer and broadcaster, has announced a headline show at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on 20 April 2027.
The performance will feature music from Alexis’s latest project, 24, an album due for release in October 2026. The project reflects on the “everyday miracles in people’s lives” and continues the themes explored in his recently launched Classic FM series, Music to Live By.
Booking opens on 25 September through Ticketmaster.ie.
Concerts Review
Live at Lunch – W/C 7th September
Our Live at Lunch series continued this week with another wonderfully varied programme of performances from across the School.
The week opened with Asta (Year 10, violin) performing Korngold’s Violin Concerto, alongside Hannah (Year 13, percussion) presenting works by Michael Burritt and Bent Lylloff Århus on marimba and snare drum. On Tuesday, Kate (Year 13, guitar) performed Mertz’s Elegie, followed by Emily (Year 13, oboe) with Rubbra’s Sonata.
Wednesday brought a change of setting, with Beulah (Year 13, singer/songwriter) performing Get Here alongside her original composition Let Me Go in the JCS. She was followed on stage by Ethan (Year 13, jazz drums), Flo (Year 12, double bass) and Miles (Year 13, jazz vibraphone) for a pair of jazz favourites.
The week concluded with Natalie (Year 13, violin) performing Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, Lilly (Year 13, bassoon) presenting Weber’s Andante and Hungarian Rondo, and Asher (Year 12, piano) performing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata.
A fantastic showcase of the breadth of musical talent and repertoire across the School.
Forthcoming Events
In addition to those highlighted events below, please visit our online Concerts and Events Guide here.
10 October – Hatfield House Concert
Time: 3pm
Venue: St Etheldreda’s Church, 2 Fore St, Hatfield AL9 5AL, UK
Tickets: Tickets are available here
Purcell students will join presenter Maria Thomas, clarinettist Julian Bliss and cellist Guy Johnston at the Hatfield House Music Festival for a relaxed concert on Saturday afternoon.
The programme will feature well-known works suitable for audiences of all ages, with a particular welcome to those with additional needs, including people living with dementia, Parkinson’s, autism and ADHD.
The concert will be interactive, with opportunities for the audience to join in activities such as singing and conducting.
10 October – Saturdays at Six Concert
Time: 6pm
Venue: St Michael’s Church, Highgate, South Grove, London N6 6BJ
Tickets: Free admission with a retiring collection
Purcell piano students perform at St Michael’s Highgate, a beautiful church in North London renowned in the classical music world for its acoustics and exceptionally quiet environment.
Saturdays at Six is a regular concert series at St Michael’s.
Programme will include:
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Major, Op. 10, No. 2 – First Movement
Chopin Scherzo No. 2 in B♭ minor, Op. 31
Chopin Nocturne in C♯ minor, Op. 27, No. 1
Liszt Étude de concert No. 2, “La Campanella”
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 24 in F♯ Major, Op. 78, “à Thérèse”
Rachmaninoff Moment Musical in E minor, Op. 16, No. 4
Chopin Nocturne in B major, Op. 62, No. 1
Kapustin Études, Op. 40 (No. 1 and No.3)
5 November – Alex Redington and The Purcell School Chamber Soloists at Wigmore Hall
Time: 1pm
Venue: Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore St, London W1U 2BP
Tickets: Tickets are available here
The Purcell School Chamber Soloists return to Wigmore Hall for the first of three concerts in the 2026–27 season, presenting a programme of chamber music for string ensembles.
Led by Head of Strings Alex Redington, the students will perform George Enescu’s monumental Octet, following a virtuosic quartet for four violins by acclaimed Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz.
Internationally acclaimed British violinist Alex Redington is widely known as the founding member of the Doric String Quartet, as well as for his distinguished solo and teaching career.
7 November – Lunchtime Concert, St James Muswell Hill
Time: 12pm
Venue: St James Church, St James’s Ln, Muswell Hill, London N10 3DB
Tickets: Entry is free, all are welcome
Purcell pianists perform a one-hour lunchtime concert at St James, Muswell Hill.
9 November – The Purcell School Jazz Musicians at Benslow Music
Time: 3pm
Venue: Benslow Music, Benslow Ln, Hitchin SG4 9RB
Tickets: Tickets are available here
The Purcell School Jazz Department presents an afternoon concert Benslow Music Trust.
The concert will be one hour in duration, followed by tea and cakes.
11 November – Remembrance Day Lunchtime Concert
Time: 1.10pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free to attend, no booking necessary
The Purcell Symphonic Wind Orchestra presents a Concert of Remembrance.
Please do come and join us for this special concert.
13 November – Purcell Woodwind Players at University of Birmingham
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music Building, Birmingham B15 2TT
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary
Purcell Woodwind students present a one-hour lunchtime concert at University of Birmingham’s beautiful Elgar Hall.
Programme:
Poulenc Sonata for Two Clarinets
Mozart Serenade No.12 in C minor, K388
Louise Farrenc Sextet in C minor for Winds & Piano, Op. 40
Further information is available here
25 November – Reich@90 Concert
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary
In Autumn 2026, The Purcell School will mark Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a term-long celebration exploring one of the most influential musical voices of the past century. Taking place in parallel with wider international celebrations of Reich’s work, the project will bring together performance, composition, production, songwriting, jazz and commercial students through the school’s Centre for Creative Practice. Across the term, students will engage with Reich’s distinctive musical language through workshops, lectures, seminars, and collaborative creative projects.
The project will culminate in a mini-series of concerts and events presenting key works by Reich alongside a series of world premieres by Purcell students and staff responding to his output. Repertoire will include works such as Radio Rewrite, Quartet, Nagoya Marimbas, Electric Counterpoint and Clapping Music, with student responses ranging from chamber and percussion works to electronic pieces, collaborative rewritings, and online releases. The project will also acknowledge Reich’s dialogue with popular music through performances of Radiohead songs connected to Radio Rewrite, creating a broad, interdisciplinary celebration of influence, reinterpretation, and new creative work.
26 November – Cedars Village Afternoon Concert
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: Cedars Village, Finch Green, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire WD3 5GL
Tickets: Limited ticket availability, email concerts@purcell-school.org to enquire
Purcell’s Jazz and Pop students perform a 1-hour afternoon concert at Cedars Village in Chorleywood.
2 December – St Mary le Strand Lunchtime Concert
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: St Mary le Strand, Strand, London WC2R 1ES
Tickets: Admission is free and all are welcome
Join us at the historic church of St Mary le Strand, in the heart of London, for a relaxed one-hour midday performance by Purcell Six-form students.
The programme will feature solo works for guitar, piano, cello and saxophone.
2 December – Session Bands Concert
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required
