Our third Free Friday Lunchtime Recital of 2025 will take place on Friday 21 March.
Pianist Changyu Yin presents an exciting programme of music by two Russian masters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His programme begins with Prokofiev’s 4th sonata in C minor, a work born out of grief for the loss of a close friend. Modest Mussorgsky’s famous suite, Pictures at an Exhibition follows. This diverse set of miniatures displays dazzling virtuosity and entertaining, concentrated depictions of scenes such as the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, characters including a mythical Gnome, and ends with the majestic Great Gate of Kiev.
Come and be delighted by high quality classical performances in our beautiful church. The concerts will 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 18 April, 16 May and 20 June 2025.
The free Friday lunchtime recitals at St Mary's have been made possible by the legacy gift of Denise Antenen and generous donations from members of St Mary's congregation.
Changyu Yin:
Changyu Yin is a pianist from Changsha, China. He graduated from the Middle School attached to the Wuhan Conservatory of Music under the tutor of Professor Jian Wang in 2018, and then continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. As a scholarship student, he was taught by Professor Jeffrey Cohen. Changyu began his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London in 2022, where he studied with Professor Jianing Kong and Dmitri Alexeev, sponsored by the George Stennett Award. Currently, he is an Artist Diploma Student at the Royal College of Music.
During Changyu's music career, he has been lucky to receive guidance from many world- renowned musicians such as Mikhail Voskresensky, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Piotr Paleczny, Vanessa Latarche, Andrea Bonatta, Arnulf Von Arnim, Robert McDonald, John Perry, Joanna MacGregor, Kathryn Brown and Eduardus Halim. He has also received instruction from renowned Chinese piano masters Yafen Zhu, Mingqiang Li and Vivian Li.
With the support of the Parsons Music Corporation, Changyu has succeeded in generating great responses from audiences in over ten colleges and universities in China. He has also successfully given recitals in several international festivals, such as SIMA Classics 2023 in Legnica, Eppan Piano Academy 2022 in Italy, and Music Alp 2019 in France.
Changyu has been invited to appear at important occasions such as the New Year Concert of Hubei Foreign Affairs Bureau, The 8th Anniversary Concert of Hubei Piano Association Professional Committee, the 30th anniversary celebration of Parsons Music Corporation, The Opening Ceremony and the Award Ceremony of the Shanghai International Youth Piano Competition, as well as The Opening Concert of Xinghai Cup National Piano Competition.
In September 2020, Changyu was selected as the youngest pianist to give a recital in the Young Artist Concert Series hosted by Parsons Music Corporation. In February 2024, Changyu was invited as the ambassador of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to the Chinese Spring Festival Celebration and gave a performance at London Trafalgar Square. Later, in July, he was invited to give performances and lectures at the China International Youth Music Festival, hosted by the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. He also served as a judge of the youth music competition at the festival.
In addition to these activities, Changyu is keen on trying various music forms and popularizing new music. In August 2024, he gave the premiere of "The scenery of Yunnan", a new work by a young composer, which was awarded the Best Original Work Prize at the Yunnan International Piano and Composition Competition. Changyu has been invited to join "New Element Music" and has served as a main member of the "New Element Trio" giving regular chamber music recitals. Changyu has been awarded prizes in competitions such as the 1st Place and Annual Jury Prize at Shanghai International Youth Piano Competition, 1st Prize at the Young Musician Competition 'Citta di Barletta' in Italy, the Hong Kong International Piano Open Competition "Liszt Award" and an Honorable Mention at the Aloha International Piano Competition in Hawaii, U.S. He also won the "Yamaha Asian Music Scholarship", the 1st Place at Yangtze River Piano Competition and 2nd Place at CMB Golden Sunflowers National Youth Piano Competition.