7.30pm - 3rd June - St Ethelburga's, EC2N 4AG - To celebrate the release of his new album of four solo cello suites, Colin Alexander will perform the entirety of 'Solo Cello Music' live in this beautiful medieval church.

Shirley Smart Trio Live at Bimhuis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7KnRAX6okAcknowledged as one of the UK’s most versatile and creative cellists, Shirley is equally at home and well versed in jazz, folk, Middle Eastern and World Music, as well as classical, and her music draws upon this rich tapestry of influences. Originally trained under Raphael Wallfisch at the Guildhall School of Music, and Janos Starker in Paris, she subsequently moved to Jerusalem, where she where she studied and performed and absorbed the rich and overlapping worlds of North African, Arabic, Turkish and Balkan music as well as jazz, working with some of the region’s leading artists, including Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital, Khaled Jubran, Sabreen and Yasmin Levy. Since returning to the UK, Shirley has quickly garnered a formidable reputation with her own groups and has worked with many leading jazz and World Music artists, including Antonio Forcione, Mulatu Astatke, Gilad Atzmon, Issie Barratt’s ‘Interchange’, Neil Cowley, Robert Mitchell and Alice Zawadzki. Her debut album ‘Long Story Short’, released in 2018, was critically acclaimed, and she has since have performed at festivals around the UK and Europe, including the London Jazz Festival, and Vivacello, Moscow. Highlights for 2020 the Biennale Festival at Bimhuis, Amsterdam, Birmingham Jazz Festival and a UK tour. Shirley is Professor of Musicianship and Improvisation at the Royal College of Music and Lecturer in Music at Kent University.

The vibrant Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Carlos Checa commemorates the 50th anniversary of the passing of Pau Casals, an exceptional artist who excelled not only as a cellist but also as a conductor, pedagogue and humanist. Casals’ influence on the arts and society of the last century was immense, and this concert aims to pay tribute to his musical legacy.The programme includes a dash of Casals’ own Catalan heritage, the sardana ‘Sant Martí del Canigó’ followed by Goyesca’s Intermezzo by Enrique Granados, a close friend of Casals. To complete the first half of the concert, cellist Laura Peribañez Artero will join as soloist for a rendition of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei.Johannes Brahms featured prominently in Casals’ concert programmes, with the cellist having extensively performed and recorded Brahms’ Double Concerto and sonatas. The Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra will close the programme with a performance of his First Symphony.This concert is supported by the Spanish Embassy in the UK, the Delegation of the Catalan Government in the UK & Ireland and NPro. It is organised in partnership with the Cervantes Institute and the Iberian & Latin American Music Society as part of Echoes Festival 2023.

9.30 pm Little Angel Theatre Solo Cello J.S. Bach ~ 2 Suites for Solo CelloNo. 5, BWV 1,011 No. 3, BWV 1,009Miguel Ángel Villeda Cerón - CelloPart of the Islington Festival of Music and Art Info and tickets - www.islingtonfestival.com

Acclaimed cellist leads her North African/Middle Eastern infused jazz trio at the Toulouse Latrec venue in LondonLine-Up Shirley Smart - cello John Crawford - piano Demi Garcia Sabat - pianoLive at Bimhuis, Amsterdam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7KnRAX6ok

Come experience a day of music making as you perform in a cello orchestra led by (cellist) Professor Laura Ritchie. Repertoire ranges from folk songs to the famous 1812 Overture (with balloon canons!) All music is arranged to suit participants' individual levels, and everyone plays in a fantastic cello-orchestra that rehearses throughout the day. The day ends with a 3pm concert open to friends and family.This day brings cellists of varied abilities together to develop their performing skills and musical appreciation in a day of music making.Event DetailsStarts at 10:30AM Location The Chapel of the Ascension, University of Chichester, Chichester, PO19 6PEPrice: £25.00 (students) £35.00 (adults)

BBC Concert Orchestra Martin Yates, Conductor Raphael Wallfisch, CelloFor the English Music Festival’s opening concert, patrons will be making a special pilgrimage to Dorchester Abbey to hear a rare live performance of E.J. Moeran’s glorious Cello Concerto when soloist Raphael Wallfisch joins the BBC Concert Orchestra with conductor Martin Yates.Moeran’s biographer, Dr Ian Maxwell, sets the context to this marginalised yet much-loved work in his pre-concert talk at 5:15pm at the Village Hall.Plus works by Paul Lewis, William Lloyd Webber, William Alwyn, Delius and Vaughan Williams.A dedicated mini-bus transfer ferries between Didcot Parkway station and Dorchester Abbey, see the website timetable. Signed parking is available in the village of Dorchester-on-Thames, where refreshments are available.