Tom Jesty and Vanessa White
Tom Jesty and Vanessa White will present an entertaining programme of virtuoso miniatures alongside Dvořák’s playful Sonatine. These are contrasted with the more intense Sérénade Mélancholique by Tchaikovsky.
Our first free concert will take place on Friday 17 January: Vanessa White and Tom Jesty. A Violin and Piano Recital with works by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky.
Come and be delighted by high quality classical performances in our beautiful church. The concerts take place on the third Friday of every month at 1.15pm with free hot drinks and cake served from 12.45pm.
The concerts are free and you do not need a ticket.
Dates for the next few concerts are 21 February, 21 March and 18 April.
Free Friday Lunchtime Recitals at St Mary’s have been made possible by a generous legacy left by Denise Antenen.
Vanessa White
Find Vanessa White on her website
German born violinist, Vanessa grew up into a multicultural and musical family. Her mother is a Canadian pianist and father, a British violinist. Vanessa has recently completed a Masters in Performance (MPerf) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with professor Ofer Falk. She also holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honours from the Royal Northern College of Music where she studied with Czech violinist Pavel Fischer. Vanessa is a dedicated chamber musician. She co-founded the Alegría Piano Trio in 2015 with Imy Luc and Lizzie Elliott. The trio have received coachings from Gaspard Trio, Sitkovetsky Trio, Elias Quartet, Jeremy Young and Petr Prause and were finalists of the RNCM Hirsch prize. She has also performed the Mendelssohn Octet with the Elias Quartet.
Vanessa is currently the artistic director of Fresco Musicians, founded in 2019 in Manchester. The festival has recently launched its own YouTube channel which includes vlog style content about the joys of performing chamber music. She is also the Artistic Associate of the Great Bowden Music Fest which was founded by her father in 2014.
Tom Jesty
Tom began his musical education by singing as a Quirister in the Winchester College Chapel Choir from the age of 8. Tom went on to study piano with Nick Salwey at Winchester College, where he gained an FTCL performance diploma, and performed Rachmaninov's second piano concerto with the school orchestra. Tom recently completed a masters course in piano accompaniment at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied with Pamela Lidiard and Iain Burnside. In March last year, Tom won the Paul Harmburger Prize for Voice and Piano, accompanying baritone George Robarts.
Tom accompanies for the City Chamber Choir, directed by Stephen Jones, and the Hampshire Youth Choirs, directed by Kerry Kenward and Andrew Hayman. He works as music director of St Mary’s church in Islington, and is currently the Graduate Fellow in collaborative piano at Royal Holloway University.