Get Ready for a Night of Fun with Ramsey Music Society!
Dear friends and supporters of the Ramsey Music Society,
It is my pleasure to let you know some information about our next concert.
Ramsey Music Society continues its 2026 season and on Monday 18 May we are welcoming young performers from the Royal Northern College of Music, Clara Hope Simpson (cello) and Phillip Leslie (piano), continuing our commitment to showcase rising stars of classical music.
Clara is a versatile cellist who has performed as a soloist in venues including Wigmore Hall, Stoller Hall, and Kodak Hall. She has won solo awards including the John Barbirolli Memorial Prize for Cello and the Musicales Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), as well as the Cello Concerto Competition at the Eastman School of Music. She has performed in many countries as a soloist and as a member of a chamber ensemble. She also played cello concertos with the Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, the Oldham Symphony Orchestra, RNCM Repertoire Orchestra, and Eastman School Symphony Orchestra. Clara is a founding member of the Aestus Quartet and played with Manchester Collective and Manchester Camerata.
Phillip Leslie is known for his captivating playing and diverse programming. Praised for his sense of “culture and refinement” (Liszt Society) and described as “a real artist” by the Keyboard Charitable Trust, he made his Southbank Centre debut in 2019 and has performed across the UK and Europe including performances at Salle Cortot, Steinway Hall, Palau de la Musica, St John’s Smith Square, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Göteborgs Konserthus, Castellon Auditorio, Cadogan Hall, Bridgewater Hall & the Wigmore Hall. A Park Lane Group Artist and Keyboard Charitable Trust Artist, Phillip was the recipient of the Weingarten Prize & Silver Medal Keyboard Award for his studies and he is Emerging Artist for the Usher Hall’s 2023/24 season. He is a laureate of the Liszt International Piano Society, Vrsac Chamber Music Festival, Anton Rubinstein and Gothenburg Piano Competitions and has worked with Orchestras including the Scottish Sinfonia and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Phillip has appeared on BBC Radio and at the Endellion, EMF, Hertfordshire, Tempietto & Perth Festival. He studied at Trinity Laban, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Royal Northern College of Music and L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and currently teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance and Kingston University.
Clara and Phillip appear by kind permission of the RNCM. For the concert in Ramsey they selected pieces by Dvořák, Debussy, Coleridge-Taylor, Fanny Mendelssohn, Chopin and Brahms. It is a great mix of piano solo pieces and major cello and piano pieces, and we hope that this combination will be interesting to the wide audience.
The concert of Clara Hope Simpson and Phillip Leslie takes place at the West Building of the Ramsey Grammar School, on Monday 18 May at 19.30. Tickets are 15 pounds, paid at the door in cash. Our concerts are free for school-age pupils.
Again, a reminder that we also need new members to join our Committee. Please consider coming on board, as we shall appreciate any help you can give us – accommodation for the artists, posters’ distribution, media promotions etc. ‘Your Society Needs You!’
