The Concerts in Caversham Ensemble
Ellie Fagg - Violin
Zoë Tweed - Horn
Naomi Watts - Cello
Jennifer Walsh - piano
Three intimate and moving masterpieces by the German 'greats' Beethoven and Brahms. Played by the spirited CinC Ensemble and led by the dynamic Ellie Fagg, this is a rare opportunity to hear Brahms' sublime horn trio played by these gifted young musicians.
The programme will include:
Piano Trio in C Minor Op 1, No. 3 - Beethoven
Horn trio in E-Flat Major Op 40 - Brahms
Piano Trio No.1 in B Major Op 8 - Brahms
Jennifer Walsh - piano
Jennifer Walsh (née Hughes) is a collaborative pianist and teacher of piano. She has given recitals at venues including Wigmore Hall, Sala Verdi Milano, Oslo Opera House, Moscow's Rachmaninov Hall and Xinghai Conservatory, China. Jennifer is in the process of recording a series of discs profiling British cello and piano repertoire and has recorded with leading cellist Lionel Handy, 'Ireland, Delius & Bax: Cello Sonatas'. The following three 'British Cello Works' volumes have been released by Lyrita to critical acclaim. The discs include premeire recordings of unpublished works by Ethel Smyth, Doreen Carwithen and Cecil Armstrong Gibbs among well-known sonatas by Britten and Bridge.
She has collaborated with some of the world’s most talented young performers, helping them achieve prize-winning performances at international competitions. She was class pianist for Maxim Vengerov in delivering his masterclass series for young violinists at the Royal College, as well as serving on the faculty of Aldeburgh Young Musicians, New Virtuosi International (UK & Italy), Festival Quattro Corde (Italy) and Voksenåsen Summer Academy (Norway).
Ellie Fagg - violin
Described by the Strad magazine as playing ‘with a sense of enchantment’, Ellie Fagg enjoys a varied career performing around the world as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player.
Her love of chamber music began at the age of seven at Pro Corda and she went on to lead the National Youth Orchestra in 2001. She studied at the Royal College of Music as an Associated Board Scholar and won coveted awards from MBF and Countess of Munster. Ellie has toured extensively with the LSO and with European Camerata. With the Puertas Quartet she made three tours of New Zealand and recorded two CDs on Atoll records to critical acclaim.
She plays on a 1715 Daniel Parker violin which once belonged to Fritz Kreisler.
Zoe Tweed – French horn
Zoë grew up in Wells, Somerset and began playing Euphonium at age 6 before switching to the trombone, then settling on the French Horn at age 9. She was taught by Simon de Souza at Wells Cathedral School before moving to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music for both her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, where she was supported by the Elton John Scholarship.
Zoë joined the RPO as 3rd Horn a year after finishing her studies in December 2023, at the time becoming the youngest member of the orchestra. She continues to work with various orchestras and ensembles and has appeared as guest Principal with the Aurora Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and Knussen Chamber Orchestra, the Jules Buckley Orchestra and, a particular highlight, the Barbie Land Sinfonietta.
As a soloist she has performed concertos with Fantasia Orchestra, Hereford Symphony Orchestra, Oxford Sinfonia and Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra, and performs in duo recitals with Mark Rogers across the UK.
Zoë also has a passion for chamber music and is a member of the award-winning brass quintet Connaught Brass, and is a founding member of the London Horn Quartet alongside Annemarie Federle, Jonathan Maloney and Diego Incertis. She enjoys a wide variety of musical genres and this is reflected in the music she has written and arranged for solo horn and piano, horn quartet and brass quintet.
In 2024 Zoë became a professor of horn at the Royal College of Music.
Naomi Watts - Cello
Naomi Watts is a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and principal cello of the Concerts in Caversham Ensemble. She has performed as a concerto soloist with the City of Oxford Orchestra and the Caversham Ensemble and participated in Chamber Music festivals in Sweden, Switzerland, France, IMS Prussia Cove including performances at the Wigmore Hall and Cadogan Hall. She plays with the London Chamber Orchestra, and the London Contemporary Orchestra and as a full member of the RPO, has performed all over the world from New York’s Carnegie Hall to London’s Royal Albert Hall, and with artists from Martha Argerich to Diana Ross.
Naomi is a big advocate for music having a powerful healing capacity and has enjoyed taking part in workshops for stroke recovery, depression, dementia and playing the cello in ‘sound healing’ sessions. As a British Wheel of Yoga accredited Yoga teacher, she enjoys helping musicians care for their bodies and is also a passionate dancer of Brazilian Forró which she believes has had a huge impact on her development as a musician. She has spent time at an Artist’s Retreat in Norway exploring the use of a looping pedal with her cello and has recently returned from Trondheim and Tromsoin Norway working with the chamber orchestras there – leading the section in Tromso.