Young Soloists Concerts in Hurley returns

The third in the series of Young Soloists Concerts in Hurley promises to be 'as enthralling and brilliant as ever'.

The previous concert formed part of the Festival in May 2024 and featured Ryan Wang, went on to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award for 2024, delivering a performance of Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto.

This coming concert features four very talented young performers and will take place in St Mary the Virgin Church on Saturday, April 26 at 7pm.

Among the performers are Kiki Skinner, a 15 year-old cellist from Cambridge and currently attends The Yehudi Menuhin School.

In 2024, she was the first prize winner of the Windsor & Maidenhead Symphony Orchestra Young Musician Concerto Competition, and she will be performing the Elgar Cello Concerto in WMSO’s 2025/26 season.

Klara Solén is a Swedish mezzo-soprano and is pursuing a BMus in Voice at the Royal Academy of Music, where she studies with Susan Waters.

Before her studies in the UK, Klara performed in productions at the Swedish Northern Opera, Norrlandsoperan and her roles there included Bizet’s Carmen, and Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Klara has recently appeared in the title role of Rossini’s opera La Cenerentola with Hampstead Garden Opera, and she will be singing an aria from it in this concert.

Lucy Palfrey is a 17 year old oboist who lives in Maidenhead. Lucy is a student at Wycombe High School and has been playing the oboe since she was too small to hold one up properly.

She is currently studying oboe and singing at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, where she plays in the symphony orchestra and wind octet.

Lucy has also been involved locally in the Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra and she has also sung in the Taplow Girls' Choir.

Aidan Siqi Zhao is a 13-year-old pianist and a Year 9 student at King’s College School in London.

As a young boy he found early success as a winner of the Solihull Musician of the Year and was a member of the National Children’s Orchestra.

He is now studying piano with Professor Ian Jones and violin with Tasmin Little at the Royal College of Music Junior Department.

In February 2024, Aidan became a young scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and has been invited to perform at various events and venues in the UK, France and the USA.

This highly anticipated concert will be followed by a reception where there will be a chance to meet the soloists.

Tickets at £18 (£9 students) are now available online at www.hurleymusicarts.com