A memorable evening this autumn was spent playing for the Oxford Elysian Ensemble and Choristers of radley College in a benefit concert on 17 November for Kamran’s Ward, the wonderful home of Paediatric Oncology at the John Radcliffe Hospital. The concert was promoted by Alison Cooke, Richard Wigmore and the OEE and involved performances of choral works by Bach, Handel and Purcell. To give some instrumental interludes to the programme, Ali asked Maddy Aldis-Evans and me to play The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (with Caroline Woolf, Diana Hinds, Vanessa McNaught and Gabriel Amherst as strong ensemble) and handel’s G minor Trio Sonata. It was great to play with Maddy, a former student of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire who was ten years principal oboe in Dessau Opera House and is now with the Sinfonia Viva. The concert was directed by Stephen Clarke.

Maddy Aldis – Evans, oboist and composer

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