WYE VALLEY Music’s first concert of 2025 is set to take place on Sunday, January 19 at 3pm in St. Briavels Church.

Two talented young musicians, cellist Willard Carter and pianist Gorka Plada will explore a range of influences and musical friendships in the life of Benjamin Britten, featuring pieces that influenced the composition of his Cello Sonata, commissioned for, and first performed at, the Aldeburgh Festival in July 1961.

Willard Carter was born in Great Britain in 2002. At the age of eight, he entered the Wells Cathedral School as a chorister, before moving to the Purcell School in Manchester. From there, he joined the junior department of the Royal College of Music moving in 2018 to the Queen Sofia School of Music in Madrid.

Since then, his studies have taken him to Berlin, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Along the way he has gathered prizes in competitions and performed at festivals in Britain, Europe, and America. His performance at Buckingham Palace in May 2019, led to him becoming a Classic FM Rising Star.

Born in 2002 in El Puerto de Santa María, Spain, Gorka Plada began teaching himself the piano at the age of five, before joining the local music school three years later. In 2016, he joined the Yehudi Menuhin School on a scholarship from the UK’s Music and Dance Scheme. He has had considerable success in international piano competitions, concerts, and festivals as both soloist and chamber musician.

These two prodigiously talented young musicians are rapidly making a name for themselves at home and abroad.

Their programme will feature:

JC Bach: Sonata for viola da gamba and harpsichord no.3 in G minor

Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D minor

R.V Williams: 6 studies in English folksong

Britten: Cello Sonata Op 65

Book now at www.wyevalleymusic.org