The String Soloists of the Royal Welsh College – a new ensemble made up of some of the College’s most talented string players – performed a landmark concert yesterday lunchtime with world famous Norwegian violinist and composer Henning Kraggerud.
The programme included the UK premiere of a suite from Equinox, a complex and fascinating work Kraggerud has written in collaboration with best-selling Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder (Sophie’s World).
Charlie Brookes is a violinist in the third year of the BMus course. “Having the chance to work with Henning was an incredible experience,” he says. “His immense level of musical knowledge and understanding meant that we were able to work on the repertoire in great detail and yet he maintained a wonderful sense of freshness when it came to the performance – we’ve played Grieg’s Holberg Suite hundreds of times before but with Henning it was like playing it for the first time.”
Members of the String Soloists with Head of String Performance, Simon Jones after their concert with Henning Kraggerud
The ensemble performed its inaugural concert in the autumn with Daniel Phillips, the College’s International Chair in Violin (supported by the Jane Hodge Foundation).
Last month, the ensemble performed as part of the celebration for the College hosted by its Patron HRH The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.
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