- 4 June 2020
- Etichete Sascha Bota Cameron Roberts Ambasadei României în Marea Britanie ICR Icr Londra
The Romanian Cultural Institute in London and the Romanian Embassy in the UK invite you to a special celebration of the extraordinary contribution of the Romanian community in the UK in the fight against the pandemic.
The special concert on Thursday 4 June featuring violist Sascha Bota and pianist Cameron Roberts, the first in the George Enescu's series after the lockdown measures announced in March, is a great opportunity to reaffirm the community spirit which has served millions of people so well in these moments of crisis.
The programme of great classical music pieces will be played live in 1 Belgrave Square in front of a Wall of Goodwill consisting of pictures of Romanian frontline workers (health and social care, education and childcare, food and goods provisions, public safety, transport, utilities etc). If you have worked in the past two months in the UK in one of these sectors, we invite you to send us your picture (face photos) at wallofgoodwill@icr-london.co.uk; we will display all the pictures received in the concert hall creating a powerful visual reminder of the positive impact the Romanian community has on the British society.
The concert will be broadcasted live on the social media channels of the Romanian Cultural Institute in London, the Romanian Embassy in the UK and other organisations of the Romanian community, but we would also like to offer an experience emotionally similar to attending a concert in person.
If you would like to reward the musicians with applauses and socialise with them and other participants after the concert over a glass of virtual wine, please register on Eventbrite and you will receive a link to connect with us via Zoom.
Programme:
J. S. Bach - Sonata No. 1 in G Major for viola and piano
R. Schumann - Märchenbilder, Op.113
G. Enescu - Konzertstück for viola and piano
Alexandru-Mihai (Sascha) Bota was born in Timisoara in a family of musicians. Playing both modern and baroque viola, his career as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral player has taken him all around the world. He has recently relocated to London after spending 5 years in Sydney as a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Sascha began his musical studies at the age of 5 first on violin and then viola, winning first prize for 5 consecutive years at the Romanian Youth Music Competition. He won a full scholarship to study with Gérard Caussé at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid and then continued his studies with Thomas Riebl at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, completing his master’s degree in Solo Viola cum laudae in 2008. In 2010 he went on to a post graduate quartet course in Basel with Walter Levin from the LaSalle Quartet.
Since relocating to London in 2017, Sascha has been playing as guest principal with a number of orchestras, including the Aurora Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, Academy of Ancient Music, English Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra as well as chamber music with the principals of LSO and St. Martin in the Fields orchestra. Sascha is a member of the Navarra String Quartet.
Australian pianist Cameron Roberts performs throughout the UK, Europe and Australia as a soloist and chamber player. Recent performances have taken him to London's Purcell Room, Royal Albert Hall, Madrid's Teatro Real and to festivals in Geneva, Rome, Valencia, Amsterdam and Colombia.
For many years, Roberts was an associate artist and teacher of chamber music at the Escuela de Música Superior Reina Sofía, Madrid. He has recorded several acclaimed albums, including Goldberg Variations and Original Transcriptions (2006), Original Piano Transcriptions (2009), The 3 Brahms Violin (Flute) Sonatas with Jacques Zoon (Vox Animae, 2016) and, to be released in 2020, an album of Australian flute music with Derek Jones.
Currently based in London, he is also a specialist teacher of elite-performance piano technique, fine-motor skills learning and injury prevention (a topic in which he holds a PhD and a medical degree) and is about to publish a book, 'The Clear-Thinking Pianist'.
When: Thursday 4 June, 19.00
Where:live stream on RCI London’s Facebook page and Youtube channel
Please register on Eventbrite if you wish to attend virtually (you will receive the Zoom details on the day, by email).
