Toad Lane Concerts: The Kell Wind Trio Wed 1 September 2021

Kell Wind Trio

Not so much restart, more regeneration as the weekly Toad Lane Concerts at St Mary in the Baum emerge from the pandemic. Refreshments are out of the question as yet. But music, the food of the soul, is in plentiful supply.

The Kell Wind Trio featured regularly in times B.C. (Before Covid). They reappeared with a varied programme consisting of the graceful charm of the eighteenth-century Mozart and Haydn to a cheeky twentieth-century polka by Henry Mancini; their blended and balanced woodwind sound suited the acoustics of St Mary in the Baum beautifully.

Named after the pioneering English clarinettist Reginald Kell, who was the first to use vibrato in orchestral concerts, the trio consists of vastly experienced players from the North West.

Alastair Roberts plays principal flute regularly with several orchestras in the Manchester area including the Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra and the Cheshire Sinfonia. He is a member of numerous chamber groups that perform regularly throughout the North West of England including the Telemann Baroque Ensemble.

Geoffrey Smith has been principal clarinet of the Stockport Symphony Orchestra since its inception in 1975, as well as being principal clarinet with both Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra and Cheshire Sinfonia and often appearing as soloist with these and other orchestras.

Ian Harvey was a Junior Exhibitioner at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Amongst other musical commitments he is principal bassoon with the Stockport Symphony Orchestra. He runs his own business repairing woodwind instruments.

They have considerable individual qualities but their ensemble playing is greater than the sum of its parts.

Their collective tone effortlessly conveyed the Divertimento No.3 in C major K.439b by Mozart, Trio Sonata by Pergolesi, and the London Trio No.1 by Haydn. These substantial works were interspersed with delightful ‘lollipops’: Praeludium by Järnefelt, Andaluza by Granados and Polkas​ by Smetana and Henry Mancini.

The Toad Lane Concerts are back and need your support. Every Wednesday at 12.30 pm.

Coming up on 8 September: Duncan Reid (violin) and Jonathan Ellis (piano), both double graduates of the RNCM and Manchester University.

Dr Joe Dawson