Brudenell Piano Sessions 7: First Birthday Special

Brudenell Piano Sessions began in July 2018. To mark a year since our first show, we return with a First Birthday Special on Sunday 7th July, featuring another brilliant and varied lineup of piano-based music. This time, we have 4 featured artists including piano & violin composer-duo AVA, Manchester-based singer-songwriter Emily Mercer Music, and London-based pianist & composer Matt Stewart-Evans. By popular demand, we've also invited back one of the performers at our first event...German piano & cello duo CEEYS.

As ever, Simeon Walker will open the evening, with doors at 7pm and a pay as you feel entry. With it being a Sunday evening, we'll be all finished by 10pm at the latest.

More details on our performers here:

AVA:
AVA is a cinematic instrumental duo formed by Anna Phoebe and Aisling Brouwer. The two composers met in 2016, where their mutual love of writing for film, art and dance inspired a musical journey that evolved into their debut album Waves. Their music invokes melodic and emotional soundscapes, with the relationship between violin and piano at its heart.

Both Anna and Aisling are from mixed European backgrounds - Anna being German/Greek/Irish and Aisling Dutch/Irish - and both grew up in multiple countries. In a constantly changing environment, their relationship to the violin and piano was one of emotional catharsis.

Through AVA, they find their musical counterpart and identity. Anna’s studio by the sea on the Kent coast provided the landscape, and gave them the space to create the music. The result is Waves, a deeply personal album reflecting their musical journeys and experiences.

CEEYS:
The work of Sebastian and Daniel Selke is marked by a joyful dualism – which is at the same time preserved and resolved by means of a completing and rivalling juxtaposition. The idea of crossing musical barriers is personally motivated; the Selke's grew up in East-Berlin in the final decade of the socialist GDR, where especially being creative was the way to find one’s niche. Along with their classical training, their interest in contemporary ideas started to grow from an early age. In search of a shared musical language and inspired by the terms ‘violoncello’ and ‘keys,’ their project CEEYS was born.

With their music, CEEYS not only reveal an intimate dialogue between artist and instrument but also revive those musical experiments that once emerged from the isolated East. And there is no doubt that they will continue doing what they have always done: weaving together different aspects and reversing contrasts with the truest form of human intelligence – with a light tone of humour.

Emily Mercer Music:
With deep vocals, rich chords, punchy hooks and unexpected turns, Emily Mercer's piano-driven songs sit somewhere between Jazz, Folk and something more theatrical. Her lyrical songs explore both social and personal issues, all the while retaining a playful cynicism. Working between Leeds and Manchester, Emily released her debut EP 'Transparency' in January 2019. 

Matt Stewart-Evans
Matt Stewart-Evans is a self-taught pianist and composer based in London. He has a string of releases on modern classical imprint 1631 Recordings. Matt's music has amassed over 10 million streams to date and his fourth album, entitled "Solo", is set for release on 5th July in the wake of quitting his full-time job to focus on music. As a live performer, Matt has played at venues including Union Chapel for Daylight Music, alongside leading composers including Michael Price and Peter Gregson.