Each year a talented group of musicians are chosen from hundreds of students as the winners of the Boconnoc Music Award. The award was established by the late Anthony Fortescue and his wife Elizabeth Fortescue, owners of Boconnoc in 2012. The prize constitutes a week’s residency on the estate, providing a valuable opportunity for the musicians to work intensively on repertoire and technique in a private and unique environment.
The winners this year are The Astral Quartet. A multi-national London based saxophone quartet studying at the Royal College of Music. Formed in 2020, the ensemble is passionate about performing classical, jazz, and contemporary music, from Bach to Piazzolla, while also commissioning young, upcoming composers. The group consists of second-year undergraduates studying with Professor Kyle Horch and receives guidance and masterclasses from world-renowned educators, including Sarah Burnett and Simon Channing. The Astral Quartet recently won first prize in the Royal College of Music Woodwind Chamber Competition (2022) and has performed at St James’s Piccadilly, the Chelsea Theatre and the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall.
This is the first time the group has performed outside London.
The members are Leopoldo Mugnai, Oliver Lee, Annabella Chenevix Trench and Ethan Townsend.
Pablo Ortiz de Urbina a Spanish conductor who was presented with the Boconnoc Music Award by the Royal College of Music in 2013 when he was part of the Cataleya Quintet said; “There is nothing more exciting than being given an opportunity to be inspired by music and to do so in a peaceful environment. An opportunity like the Boconnoc Award is so valuable to our professional careers and reminds us why we love music so much.”
Tickets are £12 and can be purchased on the door. Free for anyone in full time education.