Opening the Finchcocks Festival with a Baroque flourish, we are thrilled to welcome The Piccadilly Sinfonietta with guest soloists Victoria Sayles (violin) and Warren Mailley-Smith (piano) to the Finchcocks outdoor stage.
The programme will include:
- Bach’s Air on a G String
- Bach’s Piano Concerto BWV 1055 in A major
- Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Audience numbers are currently limited to 100. Tickets are on sale for £25 per adult and under 16s £15 each.
London 16 & 17 April 2015
Warren Mailley-Smith
Warren studied with some of the world’s leading pedagogues, including Peter Feuchtwanger, Ronald Smith and John Barstow at The Royal College Of Music. He is now in increasing demand himself as teacher in both masterclasses and private lessons and is a well-loved tutor on our FInchcocks courses. He teaches at the Royal College of Music and Trinity Junior Departments and tutors on a number of residential courses, including Pro Corda, Piano Week and Pianissimi, in addition to giving masterclasses and adjudications throughout the UK and further afield. He is also Head of Keyboard at Worth School.
“Rapidly establishing himself as one of the best pianists of his generation Warren Mailley-Smith is that rare exceptional talent who turns out to be utterly charming and down to earth with a gentle, self-depreciating sense of humour. Combined with his formidable technical skill and mature musicality, these attributes have made him a favourite for both audiences and St Martin’s staff alike.” St Martin in the Field, Staff Pick of the Month.
In 2016 Warren Mailley-Smith became the first British pianist to perform Chopin’s complete works for solo piano from memory in a series of 11 recitals at St John’s Smith Square. Hailed by the critics as an “epic achievement”, Mailley-Smith will repeat the series at several venues in 2018-19.
Victoria Sayles
Victoria is currently associate leader of London Mozart Players and Principle Section leader at Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm. She divides her time between UK and Sweden, as well as enjoying regular guest work in Australia with Australian Chamber Orchestra and Southern Cross Soloists.
Victoria was a scholar at Royal College of Music (RCM) and was loaned Iona Brown’s Guadagnini violin as part of her scholarship. She graduated a year early because she was selected to be concertmaster of Santiago Opera House, Chile aged just 21 years old. As a scholar at Bryanston School and RCM Victoria also won scholarships to Keshet Eilon studying with Ida Haendal, Bowdoin International Music Festival studying with Ani Schnarch and Itzhak Rashkovsky. Victoria has been concertmaster of BBC Scottish Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber, Swedish Radio and Trondheim Symphony Orchestras.
Victoria is a passionate educationalist and was appointed Director of Music at Hazlegrove School (2016-2019) where she gained her Qualified Teacher Status with the top mark, ‘outstanding’. As a teacher and educator she has been featured in Attain Magazine, Country Child Magazine, Tatler School’s Guide and many other articles for her work in the deprived rural schools in the south west of England.
As a chamber musician Victoria also enjoys working regularly with Southern Cross Soloists in Australia, North York Moors Chamber Music Festival with Thomas Ades, International Musicians Seminar with Stephen Isserlis and the Australian Chamber Orchestra as well as recitals and chamber music streaming countrywide in Sweden for the Royal Opera House. During lockdown she was commissioned to write a number of articles for BBC Music Magazine, The Strad and The Arts Desk.
Victoria plays a Joachim Schade violin and Fetique bow on loan from a private sponsor in Sydney, Australia.
The Piccadilly Sinfonia was formed in 2018 and during its debut season was made resident orchestra at St James’ Church, Piccadilly, with a packed schedule of concerts in 2019-20 in London, Manchester and further afield.
Launched under the artistic direction of British concert pianist Warren Mailley-Smith, the orchestra is formed from some the UK’s leading young professional talent, with notable guest leaders so far having included violinists Zoey Beyers and Harriet Mackenzie.
Their repertoire draws largely from a wide range of baroque and classical works for chamber orchestra including a number of virtuoso concerti.