British Music Society of York

The Society

Welcome to the British Music Society of York website. The BMS organises chamber music concerts in York, six every year from October through to March. Concerts take place in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York. You can buy tickets for individual concerts (or reserve them online for collection on the door), or alternatively why not join the society? - members gain entry to all six concerts at a considerable saving.

The next concert will be on Friday October 28th November, given by the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet.

The 2008-2009 season

The exciting programme for our 88^th season began in October with a concert given by the distinguished pianist Martin Roscoe, who delighted us with a programme including an authoritative virtuoso account of Nielsen's neglected masterpiece, the Suite Op. 45.

In November the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet play Mozart, Brahms and Schumann (his popular third quartet), and December sees a visit from the trumpeter Alison Balsom, who was Best Young British Performer in the 2006 Classical Brit Awards.

In the new year, Victoria Davies (harp) and James Turnbull (oboe) bring us a fascinating programme. The Doric String Quartet (winners of the 2008 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition) play Haydn, Janáček, and Beethoven's first Rasumovsky in February, and in March we welcome the outstandingly talented young French pianist Amandine Savary.

Details of the individual concerts may be found by clicking here.

Next concert

Friday 28th November 2008 at 8 pm

In the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York.

RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet
Gregory Ellis and Keith Pascoe (violins),
Simon Aspell (viola), Christopher Marwood (cello) (Vanbrugh Quartet's Website »)

Mozart Quartet in C, "Dissonance" K. 465
Brahms Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2
Schumann Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 41 No. 3

Winners of the 1988 London International String Quartet Competition, the Vanbrugh Quartet has gone from strength to strength, and is widely recognised for its beauty of sound and integrity of interpretation. They are based in Cork, where they are in their 22nd year as Resident Quartet to the national broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann. They will play one of the quartets Mozart dedicated to Haydn, that caused the older composer to describe the younger as "the greatest composer known to me". The second quartet of Brahms has many characteristically wistful and mellow passages, and Schumann's impassioned third has always been justly popular.

Thank you for your interest in the Society. You can find out about becoming a member, about our history, or about some of our previous seasons' concert programmes by using the navigation links on the left.