Olivier Messiaen, ‘Chants de terre et de ciel’
Performed by Amber Evans (Soprano) and Edward Reeve (Piano)
Amber Evans is a soprano originally from Australia, currently studying a Masters of Music in Choral Studies at Cambridge. Completing her undergraduate in 2014, she attained the Griffith University Medal and First Class Honours in her Bachelor of Music (Advanced Performance) degree majoring in classical voice from the Queensland Conservatorium. Among the major operatic roles she has performed in recent years, are that of Cobweb in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the Countess in Owain Park’s The Snow Child; the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; Poppea from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea; and Gretel from Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. In addition to her operatic and solo interests, Amber is an avid chorister, and is a current member of The Australian Voices, Sidney Sussex College Choir, Magdalena (Alamire Scholars) and the Cambridge University Chamber Choir. Working with The Australian Voices over the past couple of years as the choir’s composer-in-residence and assistant conductor has allowed her to have two choral works published by Edition Peters and recorded under the Warner Classics label.
Edward Reeve is in his second year reading Music at Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he is the Senior Organ Scholar. He has been playing the piano since the age of seven, completing his Diploma of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music when he was fourteen. He gained the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music at the end of 2011 with distinction, achieving the same qualification on the organ in July 2014.
Edward is a past recipient of the Sheila Mossman Award, and was twice successful in completing the Regional Auditions for the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. Edward has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to perform piano and organ concertos with a number of orchestras, including Mozart’s 23rd, 24th and 27th Piano Concertos, Beethoven’s 1st and 2nd Piano Concertos and Choral Fantasia, Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto, Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto, Poulenc’s Piano Concerto, Saint-Saëns’ Fourth Piano Concerto and Organ Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (on period instruments with Cambridge University Collegium
Musicum) and Guilmant’s Organ Concerto. Edward has also given recital performances of both books of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. Edward studies piano with Christopher Elton, and forthcoming performances include Grieg’s Piano Concerto in February and Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto in July.
The recital is free and open to all.