softLOUD

Concerts Penzance are delighted to welcome outstanding young Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe with his 'uncompromisingly monumental' softLoud performance on Saturday 4th November. 

 “What is it about the young Edinburgh-born Sean Shibe that marks him out as one of the foremost guitarists of the young generation? It is quite simply that rare symbiosis of technical mastery and innate musicality… a golden representation of the old and new in English guitar music.” The Scotsman /August 2017 


Challenging preconceptions, softLOUD juxtaposes early Scottish lute pieces for acoustic guitar, with electric guitar arrangements of multi-tracked repertoire including US Pulitzer prize winning composers Julia Wolfe’s powerful elegy LAD, (originally written for 9 bagpipes) and David Lang’s Killer.

Sean Shibe was born in Edinburgh in 1992 and studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and with the inspirational Paolo Pegoraro in Italy.   At the age of 20 he became the first guitarist to be selected for the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, and the only solo guitarist to be awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.  As a concerto soloist Sean has appeared with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Symphony Orchestras performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasía para un Gentilhombre, the Malcolm Arnold and Villa-Lobos Concertos, and recording Takemitsu’s To the Edge of Dream.

Over the last two years Sean has given recitals at major venues and festivals throughout Europe including Wigmore Hall, the Heidelberger-Frühling, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 3 Palaces Festival Malta, the Aldeburgh, East Neuk, Northern Chords, Newbury Spring and Bath International Festivals.   He returned to the Marlboro Summer Music Festival & Academy in the USA (on the invitation of Mitsuko Uchida), recorded solo works by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies for Linn Records as part of a Scottish Chamber Orchestra disc, and was the featured cover disc for BBC Music Magazine.   Further afield he has toured throughout China.

Tickets cost £12 and £3 for under 19s, available in advance from the Honey Pot 01736 368686.  Pr-concert food is available at the Honey Pot until 7pm on the day - please book your table in advance.

Concerts Penzance New Season

Concerts Penzance announce a new season of concerts between October and March, presenting a diverse range of international quality performances at a fraction of the cost of similar events in the big cities.   

To celebrate the opening of the season the first concert on Saturday October 14^th does even better than that – a FREE concert given by the outstanding young violinist Bilegtugs Lut with Concerts Penzance’ founder Tim Boulton.  At just 12 years old Bill has already been prizewinner in 4 international violin competitions and his playing has a maturity, depth, magnetism and virtuosity that captivating to hear – a top class star in the making.  Bill will perform Bach’s D minor Partita alongside virtuoso showpieces by Wienawski and Paganinni, and together with Tim Boulton they perform Mozart’s G major duo and the Passacaglia for violin and viola by Handel arranged by Halvorsen.  There are no advance tickets for this free concert – just come along to St. John’s Hall at 7.30pm on October 14^th.

Looking a little further ahead, the extraordinarily talented Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe comes to Penzance on Saturday 4^th November, following his success at the Edinburgh Fringe earlier this year.  His programme contrasts ancient Scottish lute music with contemporary works for multitracked electric guitar.

And further ahead still, on December 10^th the Dante String Quartet take their turn with a concert including works by Haydn, Shostakovich, Arensky and Beethoven, followed on March 10^th by the Engegaard Quartet from Norway, featuring Haydn's 'Fifths' quartet, Oli Mustonen's recently comissioned string quartet, and Mozart's G minor String Quintet, with Tim Boulton.

New this season, pre-concert meals are available at the Honey Pot café, who are also selling tickets for all except the first free concert.  Please book meals in advance.