QUARTET/QUINTET
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| Tailleferre Ensemble with RS |
Rhian's wind quintet, Songscapes, was premiered by the Tailleferre Ensemble at Leatherhead, Surrey, on 16 October, 2025, while the string quartet-in-residence at the RWCMD, the Vita Quartet, played 'Late Sun' from Threaded Light at the Cowbridge Festival on 16 September. Two excellent performances! Songscapes, which also exists in a version for piano solo, was published by Tŷ Cerdd in time for the quintet's performance.
THE TIME OF THE SINGING OF BIRDS
The eminent pianist, Llŷr Williams, played this piece, first performed by Russell Hirshfield in Danbury CT in 2015, in a concert at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Wrexham, on Monday, 4th August. Rhian was very sorry to miss this, but pleased to hear that there was a full house for a concert of entirely contemporary music.
HONOUR
On 10th July, 2025, an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama was bestowed on Rhian at a ceremony in the Dora Stoutzker Hall at the College in Cardiff. Tim Rhys-Evans, Director of Music, read the citation. Rhian is grateful for the honour and the warm welcome she received there - 20 miles from where she was born!
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| James and Anna at the Wigmore Hall |
WIGMORE HALL RECITAL
The Hare in the Moon was presented by James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook at the Wigmore Hall on 9th July. This is the first time (to Rhian's knowledge) the piece has been sung by a tenor, and it was wonderfully received by the Wigmore Hall audience: the whole concert was a huge success!
PREMIERE, PORTLAND, OREGON
The premiere of the work by the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Julian Perkins, director, took place on 14th March, 2025, in Portland, Oregon, USA, with a second performance the next day. Alas, Rhian couldn't attend in person, but did so via the web, giving a pre-concert introduction to the piece, a work that was inspired by Vivaldi's 'Spring' from The Four Seasons. Gwanwyn may be played by either a baroque or modern ensemble; the score is now published by Tŷ Cerdd.
NEW CD
Another work just out in the USA: a lovely recording of Rhian's Bitter-Sweet, played by Laura Kobayashi, violin, and Susan Keith Gray, piano. [See DISCOGRAPHY]. Laura, who trained with Dorothy Delay at the Juilliard School, is based in West Virginia and Susan in South Dakota. They get together to perform as the Kobayashi-Gray Duo and we are fortunate that they do. A terrific performance!
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Isabella Geddis (composer), Jocelyn |
CWMDONKIN SONGS
EARLIER PERFORMANCES
Locomotion for four clarinets by Rhian was played by a talented group of students from the RAM at the Angela Burgess Hall on Tuesday 29th April, 2025. Great to see young players choosing her music and playing it so well.
One of Rhian's most performed choral works, Love bade me welcome (George Herbert), was sung again by New College Choir, director Robert Quinney, on 1st March, 2025, at Evensong; it was presented by Cantorion Llandrindod, conductor Hilary Cox, on 14th June, 2025, in Llandrindod, Powys, along with 'Proud of my Broken Heart' from Lovesongs & Observations (Emily Dickinson).
The Tender Branch was played by David Pipe at Huddersfield Town Hall on 24th March, 2025, after its presentation by Tom Winpenny at St Paul's Cathedral, London, last October.
Performances of Rhian's songs and song-cycles in autumn, 2024, included three songs from Spring Dairy (Anne Stevenson) by baritone James Atkinson with Ian Tindale, piano, at the Shipston-on-Stour Festival; Cwmdonkin Songs by tenor Chris O'Gorman & pianist David Pipe at Worcester College, Oxford, and contralto Jess Dandy with pianist Ceri Owen at the Llandeilo Festival, and The Gaze (Shakespeare) at St Laurence's Church, Catford, by Francesa Chiejina, soprano, and Jocelyn Freeman, piano.
Recent Publications
- Songscapes, three pieces for wind quintet, pub. Tŷ Cerdd, Oct. 2025.
- Gwanwyn/Spring for harpsichord and string orchestra (baroque or modern), pub. Tŷ Cerdd, July, 2025.
- Songscapes, three pieces for piano, pub. Tŷ Cerdd, Nov. 2024. (Around Grade 6-7 standard.)
- Cwmdonkin Songs, three songs to texts by Dylan Thomas, pub. Tŷ Cerdd, Feb. 2024. Two versions now published: (1) for medium voice; (2) for high voice.
- The Tender Branch for organ, pub. Stainer & Bell, Feb. 2024.
- Earth Newborn, four SATB pieces to poems by Edward Thomas, pub. separately by Stainer & Bell: (i) 'The Trumpet'; (ii) 'Lights Out'; (iii) 'Bright Clouds of May'; (iv) 'After Rain'.
- My Heart Beside for medium/high voice, viola and piano, three pieces to poems by Emily Dickinson, pub. Tŷ Cerdd.
- Bitter-Sweet for violin and piano, on Listen!, a CD from the Kobayashi-Keith Duo, on Albany Records (USA).
- Sarabande from Isolation Suite, arr. for harpsichord, on Julian Perkins's CD, From Handel's Home (Delphian).
- Ad Lucem, a 3-movement work for solo organ, played by Tom Winpenny on the organ of St Alban's Cathedral: St Albans Experience (Willowhayne Records).
- LIttle Duos for oboe and cor anglais, played by Penelope Smith and Nicola Hands, on the Tailleferre Ensemble's CD, There are Things to be Said (UA).