Stefan Weidner (piano), Dorothy Whyte-Venables (soprano) & Joshua Furtado-Mendes (tenor)

Free admission | Donations welcome

Programme

Stefan Weidner and Dorothy Whyte-Venables (soprano)

Arnold Schoenberg: Erwartung, Op. 2 No. 1 (from Vier Lieder, Op. 2)
Hugo Wolf: Kennst du das Land? (Mignon)
Franz Schubert: Erlkönig, D. 328, Op. 1

Stefan Weidner and Joshua Furtado-Mendes (tenor)

Robert Schumann – Dichterliebe, Op. 48

St James’s is grateful for the generous support of Rolex for this music programme.

Artist Bio

Stefan Weidner (piano) is a final year Masters student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire studying with Professor Douglas Finch.
Born in Stockport, Stefan began playing piano at the age of 6 under the tutorship of Miss Susan Bettaney and continued to study with her when he joined Chethams school of Music at the age of 12. After Miss Bettaneys’ retirement, Stefan carried on his studies with Miss Gemma Beeson.
Stefan started his undergraduate degree, awarded with the Alfred and Therese Kitchen scholarship, at Trinity Laban in 2020. He now continues his postgraduate studies awarded with the Beverley Creed Scholarship.
In 2021/2022, he performed twice at the Romanian Cultural Institute/Embassy in London, giving debut performances of works by Romanian composer David Balica, and performed Franz Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann and Hans Werne Henze’s Toccata Mistica.
In January of 2023, Stefan won the Longmire Beethoven competition at Trinity Laban with his performance of Beethoven Piano sonata no.32, Op.111 in C minor, and was invited to perform In the Beethoven Society of Europe Intercollegiate Piano Competition final.
Stefan has participated in the New Lights Contemporary Music Festival at Trinity Laban, performing works such as Leaps and Flows 26 – Out of the bath and into the oven, by English composer Allan Moore and Sonatina No.3 (The Pembrokeshire Coast Path) at a concert in memory of Trinity Laban Professor Anthony Green.
In June of 2025, he performed Mozart Piano Concerto no.18, K, 456 in B-flat major alongside Professor Martino Tirimo in the concert series “Mozart at Rush Hour” at Trinity Laban.
Stefan continues to enjoy not only his solo work but also collaborating with singers. He performed Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte Lieder cycles with tenor Joshua Furtado-Mendes, a student of the Royal Academy of Music, at Brentwood Cathedral.

Dorothy Whyte-Venables is a British soprano currently completing a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She previously graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Hons) from Royal Holloway University of London, where she held a Choral Scholarship.
Recent operatic highlights include Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) and Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte) at Blackheath Halls, Despina (Così fan tutte) at Château de Barjac, Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Valencienne (Die lustige Witwe), and Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress). She also was involved in creating the role of Anne in the world premiere of Games by Pamela Tomlinson.
Dorothy continues to develop a broad operatic and concert repertoire, with a particular passion for expressive storytelling and collaborative performance.

Joshua Furtado-Mendes (tenor) is in the first year of his Masters of Arts as a scholar of the Royal Academy of Music. He has studied with vocal professors including Mark Wildman, Nuccia Focile and the late Ryland Davies.
Joshua made his operatic debut as Malcolm in Verdi’s Macbeth with Uncovered Opera Company, and has since sung roles including Gastone de Letorières in Verdi’s La Traviata with Instant Opera and Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with Ensemble OrQuesta. During 2024, he sang the title roles of Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Tito in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito with the Croatian Opera Academy.
He was the Friendly Sentry for Royal Academy Opera’s production of Martinu’s Comedy on the Bridge and has since (with the Royal Academy of Music Vocal faculty) sung the role of Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in February 2025.
In concert he has appeared with the Chineke Foundation in a televised broadcast of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the BBC Proms, and featured in the world premiere of Brian Lobel and Gweneth-Ann Rand’s show 24 Italian Songs and Arias at Battersea Arts Centre.
He has performed operatic and song repertoire in recitals at the Romanian Cultural Institute and Brentwood Cathedral. His oratorio solo repertoire currently includes Handel’s Messiah and Sing unto God, Nielsen’s Fynsk Foraar and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Presented in association with Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance