Sam Balchin (trumpet)

Church Window Mask

Saturday 24 May 1.10pm

Sam has grown up surrounded by music, particularly orchestras and brass bands, and started playing cornet at the age of 6.

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    This concert will be streamed live on our YouTube channel at 1:10pm.

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    • Free admission | Donations welcome

    Programme

    G. Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

    Jean-Francois Michel: Chant du Berger

    Richard Peaslee: Nightsongs

    J. S. Bach- Ricercar a 6

    Florence Price: Adoration

    Malcolm Arnold: Fantasy for trumpet

     

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

     

     

    Biography

    Sam Balchin grew up surrounded by music, particularly orchestras and brass bands, and started playing cornet at the age of 6. He made his concerto debut touring Germany at the age of 14 playing the Haydn Trumpet Concerto.

    During his years at Sixth Form, Sam studied trumpet at the Royal College of Music Junior Department under Torbjörn Hultmark, performing at the 606 Jazz Club, Cadogan Hall and as a soloist at the Elgar Room in the Royal Albert Hall. Sam was a part of the National Youth Orchestra during his last year at RCMJD in which he was principal trumpet, performing around the UK and at the BBC Proms 2022.

    After graduating from RCMJD, he received the Freda Dinn and Ida Mabbett Prize for exceptional solo performance in the inaugural Concerto Competition.

    Sam is now a full scholar at Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the ‘Chartered Surveyors’ Company’ studying under Paul Beniston and Anne McAnaney. Sam reached the final of the Armourers and Braziers’ Prize in his first year, and performs chamber and solo recitals in Guildhall’s solo festivals.

    During his time at Guildhall, Sam has performed as a soloist with the London Chinese Children’s Orchestra, and the Odyssey Festival Orchestra. Sam also performed Alexandra Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto twice with the Milton Keynes University Orchestra. Sam was 1st trumpet in the West End show Frank’s Closet and is currently principal trumpet in the Odyssey Festival Orchestra and in the Young Musician’s Orchestra.

    Sam performs regular trumpet recitals at the Actor’s Church in Covent Garden, the Brighton Chapel Royal and Southwark Cathedral. Sam competed in the 4th International Trumpet Competition ‘Théo Charlier’ and recently reached the semi-final of the Royal Over Sea’s League 73rd Annual Music Competition.

    Steven Neugarten is a pianist, teacher and sometime celesta, chamber organ, harpsichord and bongo player. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with James Gibb and Edith Vogel and was awarded the Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix) for a recital of music by Beethoven, Elliott Carter and Debussy.
    He now works as a solo pianist, a chamber musician, song accompanist (in both classical repertoire and musical theatre), pianist with various opera companies, keyboard player with the orchestra of London Children’s Ballet, occasional orchestral piano & celeste player and a rehearsal pianist with such distinguished choirs as The Bach Choir & City of London Choir. He’s also worked for many years with scores of instrumentalists, singers and conducting students at institutions including the Royal College of Music, GSMD, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Holloway University of London, TrinityLaban and University College London.
    Early in his career he performed Bartok’s Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion with Thomas Adès in the Barbican Hall, recorded a CD of 20th Century British piano music for Metier Sound and Vision and, with his trio, performed Morton Feldman’s (84-minute) Trio at the Venice Biennale in 2000. More recently, he was soloist in Shostakovich’s concerto for piano, trumpet and strings, pianist with Slot Machine Theatre’s show at the Swaledale Festival: “The Boy, The Piano & The Beach” in June 2018 and worked on the film “Stan and Ollie”, released in 2019.
    In addition to having performed solo piano works by composers ranging from William Byrd to John Adams, Steven’s built up a vast and still expanding repertoire of chamber music, songs and orchestral reductions and has given many premieres of new works including Laurence Roman’s opera ‘Isabella and the Pot of Basil’, and – with the Dartington New Music Ensemble – many works by student composers at the Dartington International Music Summer School. Steven has a degree in Physics from Bristol University and has twice run the London Marathon.

    Presented in association with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

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