8.00pm St.
Paul's Church, Wooburn - Click
here for Map
Soojin Han - Violin
Irina Botan - Piano
Sonata No.2 for solo violin - Bach
Sonata No.2 for piano and violin - Beethoven
Sonata No.1 for piano and violin - Fauré
Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso - Saint-Saens
Soojin Han was born in Korea and moved to the UK when she was two. Here she began her violin studies at the age of eight and won a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School before moving to the Purcell School to study with Dr Felix Andrievsky. She has had close guidance in her musical development from the international soloist Kyung Wha Chung and, in 2004, took lessons with Mr Zakhar Bron.
Soojin won second prize as the youngest competitor (and was the youngest ever top prize winner) at the Wieniawski International Violin Competition 2001 in Poznan, Poland where she was also awarded seven other special prizes including the Critics' and Journalists' Prize and the Listeners' Award. She also won first prize at the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition 2002. Other awards include the LSO Scholarship Competition 2002, Martin Music Scholarships, the Musicians Benevolent Fund's Manoug Parikian Prize, Royal Philharmonic Society's Emily Anderson Award and Hattori Foundation Scholarships.
Now at age 22, Soojin has given recitals throughout Europe and in the USA and has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras such as the London Symphony, Poznan Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Korean Symphony, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, L'Ensemble Ricercata de Paris, and has given recitals throughout the UK and Europe including such venues as the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Royal Opera House Linbury Studio, Purcell Room, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St John's Smith Square in London, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Witold Lutoslawski Hall, Warsaw, Adam Mickiewicz Auditorium, Poznan, Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Tokyo. She has broadcast on Polish, Dutch and Korean Radio.
Her love of chamber music has taken her to participate in Open Chamber Music at IMS Prussia Cove, Cornwall.
Future engagements include recitals in Germany, at the Wigmore Hall, Chichester Festivities, Norfolk Festival and concerto appearances in Korea and Japan with the Tokyo Philharmonic and maestro Myung Whun Chung.
Soojin plays on an old Italian violin, made by JB Guadagnini violin kindly lent by Mr Charles Beare since 2001.
Irina Botan was born in Romania and studied in Bucharest and at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Guildhall School of Music. She has played in most of the UK's prestigious venues and was chosen by Yamaha to play in the UK launch of their new concert pianos.
Born in 1981, the Romanian pianist Irina Botan commenced her studies at the age of seven, attending the Dinu Lipatti Music School in Bucharest. In 1996 Irina was awarded a full four-year scholarship in order to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England with Irina Zaritzkaya. From 2000, she studied on a full scholarship at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Prof. Ronan O'Hora, where she received her Bachelor and Masters degrees in music performance. Irina is currently having regular coaching with the legendary Ivry Gitlis in Paris and is studying with Prof. Naum Grubert at Amsterdam Conservatoire.
Irina's performances have been widely acclaimed throughout the UK and have included numerous concerts at London's Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Covent Garden, Purcell Room, Conway Hall, Fairfield Halls, St. John Smith Square, LSO St. Luke's, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James' Piccadilly, Leighton House, Snape Maltings (Aldeburgh), St. James' Palace and Windsor Castle. Irina was the artist invited to launch a new line of Kemble-Yamaha grand pianos at the RAC Club in London. She has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, as well as on BBC Welsh Television.
Outside Britain, Irina's busy concert schedule has taken her to Italy, Holland, France, Japan, Romania and North America, where her performances have included a televised concert at the World Bank in Washington D.C. on CBS. In Holland Irina has been invited to perform by the Young Pianist Foundation at the Bachzaal and the Schonbergzaal. These performances have been recorded on a CD. At the Hague, Irina has given a recital at the Congreszaal and has also been invited to perform at the Nieuwe Kerk to honor the official state visit of the Romanian Prime Minister.
In Paris, Irina played for the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights at the UNESCO Headquarters, which was followed by a recital at the British Ambassador's residence.
In Romania, she has taken part in many recital and concerto performances including collaborations since the age of eleven with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra and the Bucharest Virtuosi, many of which were broadcast and re-broadcast due to public demand on national television and radio. Irina appeared frequently in Bucharest's most prestigious concert halls, including the Romanian Atheneum and the Radio Hall. Irina has won numerous national competitions and as a result of winning the music Olympics, she was awarded a prize by the Romanian President. Irina was also the first-prize winner of "Cava di Tirenni" International Competition in Italy. Recent successes have included the prestigious Ian Fleming Award, the Hattori Foundation scholarship and the Martin Trust awards.
Irina has taken part in numerous masterclasses with distinguished musicians, including: Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Murray Perahia, Ida Haendel, Ivry Gitlis, Charles Rosen, Bella Davidovich, John Lill, Nicolae Demidenko, Victor Rosenbaum, Paul Lewis and most recently Pascal Devoyan and Claude Frank at IMS Prussia Cove in England. She has been invited to take part in the International Piano Series Masterclass at the Southbank with Cristina Ortiz.
Irina has played in most of the UK's prestigious venues and was chosen by Yamaha to play in the UK launch of their new concert pianos.
This performance is supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust
Piano kindly provided by
Tickets:£16 numbered seats and £10 unreserved
(Students half price)
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