Violinists Elizabeth Layton and Adam Chalabi present a concert of violin duos by Leclair and Prokofiev culminating in a performance of Bach’s masterful Double Concerto featuring Pulse Chamber Orchestra.
Elizabeth Layton
Elizabeth Layton studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School where, aged twelve, she was invited to join Hephzibah and Yehudi Menuhin for a chamber music concert to celebrate the latter’s Golden Jubilee, broadcast from the Royal Festival Hall, London. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School, New York with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki, going on to win the Young Concert Artists Trust Competition.
Elizabeth made her UK concerto debut with the Philharmonia, and has appeared as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Bournemouth Symphony, English Sinfonia, Calgary Philharmonic, City of Barcelona Symphony, Lahti Symphony and many others. Festival appearances include Bath, Edinburgh, Harrogate, Cheltenham, Valencia, Gstaad and numerous music societies.
She has toured worldwide with the Nash Ensemble and Trio Zingara, and CD recordings include the complete Beethoven piano trios (nominated for a Gramophone Award) and violin and piano works by Schubert (Daily Telegraph ‘CD Choice’). Other recordings include chamber music by Ravel, Schubert, Brahms, Fauré and Shostakovich for DG, Hyperion, Naxos, BIS and Chandos.
Elizabeth was Associate Leader of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Concertmaster of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (1998-2010). She has broadcast regularly for the BBC as soloist and director and appeared as guest director of the Scottish Ensemble, Manchester Camerata and Ambache Ensemble. Numerous performances of contemporary solo violin music include a critically acclaimed CD of Jonathan Harvey’s ‘Scena’ with the BBC SSO under Ilan Volkov.
Elizabeth moved to Australia with her family in 2010 and is a guest concertmaster with orchestras in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Tasmania, Auckland and Wellington. She has toured chamber music with ensembles including Selby&Friends, the Australian String Quartet and Ensemble Q, performing at festivals throughout Australia.
Elizabeth Layton is Senior Lecturer in violin, Head of Strings and Head of Classical Performance at the Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide. She directs the Elder Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra, giving concerts with students in venues around South Australia.
Adam Chalabi
Adam teaches violin and is a member of the White Halo Ensemble. He began his violin studies at the age of 4 with the Suzuki Method. Adam subsequently attended the junior department of Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Purcell School of Music before completing his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester under the tutelage of Maciej Rakowski. From 2001 Adam was a member of the Zuerich Chamber Orchestra where he became Principal 2nd Violin. In Switzerland he also worked as Principal 2nd Violin in Camerata Bern and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and then as Guest Concertmaster of Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg in Austria and Suedwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim in Germany. After moving to Australia in 2009, Adam has been Concertmaster of Orchestra Victoria, on staff at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and the University of Melbourne, and first violinist of the Tinalley String Quartet, which has performed to critical acclaim all over the world.
Adam plays on an 1805 Joseph Panormo violin. He is also very grateful to have been supported by the Countess of Munster, Ian Fleming and Lawrence Atwell Charitable Foundations.
The Pulse Chamber Orchestra
The Pulse Chamber Orchestra is an ensemble of selected School of Music string students directed by Patrick Murphy and Associate Professor Adam Chalabi. The orchestra performs unconducted, each member contributing to the artistic vision of the works. Pulse’s eclectic repertoire ranges from masterworks of the string orchestra and string quartet genre, to transcriptions of Bartok’s Mikrokosmos, to works of contemporary and past Australian composers.
Pulse also collaborates frequently with choirs and vocalists, most notably in with The Choir of Temple Church in 2017, in performing liturgical repertoire including works of Bruckner, Rutter, CPE Bach, J .S. Bach and Benjamin Britten. Pulse regularly engages with school students through visits and tours in regional areas, including the 2017 Cairns tour (supported by the Kinnane Bequest) where they worked with over one hundred staff and students.
Program
Sonata for 2 violins op.3 no.2 in A major
J. M Leclair
- Allegro
- Sarabande- Largo
- Allegro
Adam Chalabi- Violin 1
Elizabeth Layton- Violin 2
Sonata for 2 Violins, Op.56
Sergei Prokofiev
- Andante cantabile
- Allegro
- Commodo (quasi allegretto)
- Allegro con brio
Adam Chalabi- Violin 1
Elizabeth Layton- Violin 2
Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor
J.S Bach
1. Vivace
2. Largo, ma non tanto
3. Allegro
Elizabeth Layton- Violin 1
Adam Chalabi- Violin 2
Pulse Chamber Orchestra