Sunday, June 14th 2026, 3.00pm, St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5HN
in collaboration with Wye Valley Music
Tickets £20, members: £17, under 25: £2, under 15: free
“There is probably no more inspirational musician working today than Podger” Gramophone
Award-winning Baroque violinist Rachel Podger takes the resurgence of the Arts in England post-1660 as the compelling inspiration for her new programme, The Muses Restor’d. Adopting its title as its theme, Rachel and her vivacious Brecon Baroque take the listener on a journey of captivating violin-led chamber music from Jacobean to Early Georgian England. Ranging from the gentle intimacy of consort idioms to the full-blown instrumental virtuosity of the evolving Baroque period, this album uncovers little known glories of English instrumental music and its influences.
George Frideric Handel: Sonata in D major HWV 371 Op. 1 No. 13
John Jenkins: Fantasia-Suite in A minor
Johann Schop: Lachrimae(based on Dowland)
Richard Jones: ‘Chamber Airs’ for a violin and Thorough Bass Op. 2 No. 4
William Lawes: Sonata (Fantasy Suite) No. 8 in D major
John Blow:Ground in G minor
Matthew Locke:Little Consort in two parts For Severall Friends in C minor-major
Henry Purcell: Sonata in G minor Z.780
Tune set:
Thomas Baltzar: The Division Violin: A Prelude for the Violin
Francesco Barsanti: ‘Lochaber’ from A Collection of Old Scots Tunes (G major)
Purcell Lilli Bullero: Z646 ‘A new Irish Tune’, (G major)
James Oswald: Alloway House from A Curious Collection of Scots Tunes
Francesco Geminiani: Two Airs for a Violin or German Flute, Violin, Cello & Harpsichord: Auld Bob Morrice.
Collect an entry sheet from St Mary’s Church in Ross between 10am and 3pm. Completed sheets must be returned by 4pm. You will need to download the Ross Museum Without Walls app to take part. The links to download the app are on our website: https://museumwithoutwalls.uk
There is no charge to take part or to download the app.
Friday, November 28th, 7.00pm, St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5HN
Tickets £15, 18 and under £5
The Orchestra of the Swan perform over 45 concerts per year in collaboration with distinguished guest conductors and solo artists, bringing the music of the world’s most celebrated composers to our loyal and evolving audiences.
Midwinter’s musical pendulum swings between the ancient and the contemporary, the religious and the secular, the familiar and the unknown. This is a tapestry of music woven from works spanning the 12th century to the present day, illustrating the richness and enduring allure of midwinter’s musical traditions.
Programme:
Corelli Christmas Concerto
Anon arr. Le Page Nowell Tydings Trew
Anon arr. Le Page Coventry Carol
Purcell arr. Le Page Now Winter Comes Slowly
Anon arr. Le Page Noel 1
The Pogues arr. Le Page Fairytale of New York
Vivaldi L’inverno ‘Winter’ RV 297 i. Allegro non molto
Holst/Le Page Midwinter
Anon arr. Le Page Ríu Ríu Chíu
Goss/Le Page See Amid the Winter’s Snow
Anon arr. Le Page The Snow Melts the Soonest
Liszt arr. Le Page The Shepherds in the Manger
Vivaldi L’inverno ‘Winter’ RV 297 iii. Allegro
Anon arr. Le Page O Little Town of Bethlehem
Saturday, November 22nd, 7.30pm, The Venue, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7AB
Tickets £16 online, £20 on the door.
Swing from Paris are an all-string jazz quartet of violin (Fenner Curtis), guitars (Andy Bowen and Sam Hughes) and double bass (Tomasz Williams), inspired by the music of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s: from Benny Goodman, Charlie Christian, and Artie Shaw to Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli and the master of tango Astor Piazzolla.
Their Parisian-flavoured jazz and gypsy swing has been delighting audiences for over 15 years: from major jazz festivals including the Django Reinhardt Festival at Samois-sur-Seine, to the BBC’s Hairy Bikers and the opening of the award-winning Gloucester Services.
Saturday, June 28th, 7.30pm, The Venue, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7AB
Tickets £12 through Arts Alive
Counter's Creek is an acoustic folk band based in London who make original music inspired by the folk music of the British Isles and beyond. Jigs, reels, grooves from Eastern Europe & West Africa, catchy melodies with closely interwoven harmonies allied to a real sense of swing and dance energy.
Whistle player Jonathan Taylor has worked in many different musical genres: best known as a jazz pianist who's played with artists such as Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Ruby Turner and various British jazz luminaries, he's also co-founder of Tango Siempre, appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and arranged music for Robert Wyatt.
Singer Ben Cox studied Jazz at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, has played at major Jazz festivals with The Ben Cox Band, is currently musical director of four choirs in London and is an accomplished whistle/flute/harmonium player.
Fiddler Tom Newell is known for his work with Effra who perform regularly at UK folk festivals as well as The Ceilidh Liberation Front, Alex Mendham & His Orchestra and pop acts including Muse, One Direction and Lana Del Rey. He also plays banjo and mandolin (not to mention charango and mouth harp).
Guitarist Moss Freed plays with jazz/folk group Flekd, the Spike Orchestra, has recorded for John Zorn’s Tzadik label and has recently completed a PhD at Hull University…
Four musicians from different backgrounds, united by a love of acoustic folk music, great tunes and earthy dance grooves.
Sunday, June 22nd, 3pm, St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5HN
in collaboration with Wye Valley Music tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/wvm
Members of Wye Valley Music £17; non-members £20; under 25 £2; under 15 free.
Described by The Strad as presenting “a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality”, the award- winning Carducci Quartet is internationally acclaimed as one of the most accomplished and versatile ensembles of today.
"a performance of supreme clarity, focus and precision" (Gramophone Magazine)
MATTHEW DENTON Violin
MICHELLE FLEMING Violin
EOIN SCHMIDT-MARTIN Viola
EMMA DENTON Cello
Schubert: String Quartet no.10 in Eb major
Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 8
Dvorak: String Quartet no.10 "American"
Hubert Parry: “Air from An English Suite"
TRANSCENDENT TROUBADOURS OF WORLD JAZZ AND FOLK
A heady and waggish mix of Jazz French musette Latin grooves and new Orleans Swing
Imagine having a few to drink and staggering arm in arm into the darkness of an eastern European cobbled street and stumbling into a bar where Django Reinhardt and Tom Waits are having an after-hours jam with the local Tziganes.
Combining their original material with songs by the likes of Jaques Brel, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen & Eartha Kitt… Moscow Drug Club deliver an intoxicating and intimate musical experience. www.moscowdrugclub.com
January 2025
Construction on our five-year project, the Museum without Walls, is finally complete (though, of course, the Museum continues to delight and inform people in Ross); so now we have the time to work on other things. We've had one excellent open meeting, and we're always open to ideas that further our development as a creative hub for south Herefordshire. Contact [email protected]