Venue: St Johns Church

Time: 1pm - 2pm

Details:

Lara James is a saxophonist known for her work as a collaborative musician and soloist. She has established herself as a musician with a busy and varied portfolio career ranging from recital, chamber, orchestral and band performances to lecturing, and performs across a variety of musical genres from classical to alternative. She has appeared with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Opera North, Liverpool Philharmonic, Welsh National Opera, the Martel Ensemble, Cornelius Cardew Ensemble and many others. Her recent projects have included concerto performances with world renowned conductor of the wind band repertory, Tim Reynish; and chamber music recitals through the medium of saxophone and piano duo and a saxophone, cello and piano trio. Work for 2009/10 included a UK tour with Cape Town Opera company, recitals with the Triquetra Trio and band work for ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ stars Anton du Beke and Erin Boag's ’Steppin' Out’ tour, while 2010/11 sees the formation of a new saxophone quartet, further recitals with Triquetra and the recording of her second CD.
Lara has performed as a concerto soloist and recitalist throughout the UK, while freelance recording work includes sessions for radio, BBC TV and CD recordings. As a soloist Lara has been broadcast around the world including the UK (BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, Ireland’s RTE Lyric FM) in the USA (NPR) and on ABC Classic FM Australia. Lara’s debut CD ‘Facades’ on the Signum Classics label was ‘chosen as Presenter’s Choice’ for Instrumental and Chamber Music in Classic FM Magazine, May 2009. Lara has just recorded a new work for saxophone and harp with internationally renowned harpist Hugh Webb, which will be released on a disc of chamber works by Ian Lawson. She is grateful for the support of the Arts Council of Wales towards recording a second CD in 2011, which promises to be a stylistically diverse project featuring some exciting new commissions by British composers and collaborations with the Pavao String Quartet and the Will Todd Trio. This recording will also be released on the Signum Classics label and touring will take place in 2011/12.
Lara studied at the Royal Northern College of Music gaining her degree and professional performance diploma, and the Manhattan School of Music where she became graduate assistant to the esteemed performer, musicologist and saxophone historian Dr. Paul Cohen. Following her study in the USA Lara went on to complete her Masters degree in musicology at the University of Manchester, where her specialist research area was ‘The Saxophone in Britain, c. 1860‐1960’.
Lara teaches saxophone at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she also coaches chamber music and lectures in pedagogy. She also teaches saxophone at the RWCMD Department of Junior Music and Access Studies. She has coached saxophone quartets through chamber music modules at Cardiff University and has also course led and lectured the Higher National Music Diploma in Music teaching modules which included World Music, Music in Context, The Music Industry, Music Performance Workshops and Music Performance Techniques. She is in demand as an adjudicator for national youth music competitions and college auditions and as a coach for national youth music organisations.
In addition to Lara's classical work she has undertaken session work in form of horn section recordings for CDs, radio and TV broadcasts. She was a member of Graham Massey's Toolshed on live tour performances in concerts double billed with Jah Wobble and Badly Drawn Boy, and has appeared with numerous big bands, fusion, cross‐genre and world music bands including Orquesta Timbala, the huge Afro‐Cuban Festival Band.
Lara James endorses Gonzalez Reeds and is a Gonzalez performing artist. Further information at www.larasax.com


Rachel Ramos - piano
Rachel Ramos first studied piano with Patricia Shakleton. She also enjoyed violin studies and became leader of Cumbria Youth Orchestra. At Cardiff University she started studying Music and French, but moved to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in her second year to concentrate on Music.Rachel graduated with first class honours from RWCMD, where she studied with Rosalie Armstrong. She was the winner of numerous prizes including the BA Two Trustees Prize for Academic studies and the Jacobson Prize in her 2nd year, and in her 3rd year the Concerto Prize which resulted in a performance of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto in St David's Hall and subsequently Saint Saen's Carnival of the Animals in the Assembly Rooms, Bath. She was also awarded the Simon Clarkson Memorial Prize and the Lawrence Davies Memorial Prize in her 3rd year and gained scholarship for her postgraduate at the Guildhall school of Music and Drama with Caroline Palmer from the John Fisher Foundation and Paxos Festival.Having won the National Eisteddfod Accompaniment Prize twice, she began working as an accompanist at RWCMD. She is now the staff accompanist for the woodwind department, and accompanies both students and visiting staff such as the Clarinetists Phillippe Cuper (Paris Opera),, Maximilliano Martin (SNCO), Peter Fielding (WNO), Victoria Soames, and Bassoonist Meyrick Alexander.She has also freelanced for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales auditions and Welsh National Youth Opera. Rachel is also one of the accompanists for the 'Stratford International Flute Festival'On top of this, she teaches piano and theory at the Junior Department at RWCMD, and gives regular solo and chamber performances in Cheltenham Town Hall, Cardiff Millennium Centre, and Swansea. She has performed in Ireland, Greece, Austria, Norway, Finland and America. She holds both her solo performing diplomas, Dip ABRSM and LRSM, with distinction.She has accompanied many choirs in Wales and on European Tours including Morriston Rugby Male Choir, Swansea Male Voice, Dunvant Male Choir, Morriston Orpheus, Morriston Ladies and the Swansea Bach Choir. Rachel is now enjoying her role as the principal accompanist for the Pontarddulais Male Choir.In October 2008 clarinet classics released a CD featuring the principal clarinetist of WNO, Leslie Craven, with Rachel at the piano. This has recently been broadcast on Radio 3.