Short Works for Violin and Piano
Free lunchtime concert featuring Brigitte Mallon and Chris Pelly
We’re delighted to welcome to St Michael’s for their first concert here two immensely talented musicians with an impressive portfolio of performances. Their wide-ranging programme for the concert will include pieces by Paganini, Chopin, Dvořák, Brahms and more.
Brigitte Mallon studied violin with William Leary in York and Julian Leaper in London. She was the leader of the West Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra in Leeds for a number of years and appeared as concerto soloist and guest leader with various orchestras in North and West Yorkshire before moving to London. Her orchestral work in London includes playing for British Sinfonietta, the London Chamber Orchestra and the London Concert Orchestra, as well as film sessions with the London Metropolitan Orchestra and London Sinfonia. She has also played for blockbuster West End shows “Wicked”, “Hamilton”, “Phantom of the Opera” and “Kinky Boots”.
Chris Pelly studied music at the University of Leeds majoring in performance on the trumpet and voice. He was a self-taught pianist until the age of 31 when he joined the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines and received tuition on the instrument from Rob Douglas and Liz Haley at the Royal Marines School of Music in Portsmouth. Chris has performed with the Royal Marines at some of the UK’s most prestigious concert venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Sage Gateshead, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. He has marched in parades at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle and toured to Holland, the USA and Colombia. Before joining the Royal Marines Band Chris spent a decade working as a freelance trumpeter, pianist, singer and conductor in Leeds and the West Yorkshire, where he met Brigitte who was the leader of the Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted orchestras, choirs, musical theatre and opera productions, and briefly joined the teaching staff at the University of Leeds School of Music as a visiting lecturer in performance. Chris lives in Shirley, Southampton with his wife Fiona and their son, Rupert.
