We hold about 25 concerts (mainly classical) each year at Holy Trinity Church in the middle of Warrington. These are normally between 1:45 and 2:30 on Saturdays and attended by about 50 to 90 people. Whilst the concerts are free they are funded by donations received through voluntary retiring collections.
Outstanding Young Pianists Sam Lord, Melody Zhao and Natalia Mei
“Celebrating our 550th Concert”
Programme (Subject to revision)
Sam Lord Beethoven Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a “Les Adieux” 1st Mvt. Liszt Transcendental Étude No.8, “Wilde Jagd” (Wild Hunt)
Melody Zhao Debussy Reflets dans L’eau (reflections in the water) Images, Book 1 Prokofiev PianoSonata No.2 in D Minor, Op. 14
Natalia Mei Chopin Nocturne in D-flat major, Op.27, No.2 Say Paganini Jazz, Op. 5c
Biographies
Sam Lord Sam is 15 years old and is in year 11 at Chetham’s School of Music, he has been there since year 8. He has been playing the piano since he was 7 years old. He first played at Rochdale Festival and got 100/100 marks. Sam entered the International Paderewski Competition in June 2025 and got 2nd prize in his class. He has also played at festivals in Ramsbottom, Hazel Grove and Blackburn winning classes in each. Sam has also played in multiple lunchtime concerts at school and concerts in Manchester Cathedral. He has played in two previous concerts in Warrington.
Melody Zhao Melody is 16 years old and started playing the piano when she was 6 years old. She is in her fourth year at Chetham’s School of Music where she is a pupil of Mr. Simon Bottomley. Melody has won prizes in several local music festivals and was a finalist in the EPTA piano competition in Belgium. Melody recently passed her LTCL diploma with a high distinction.
Natalia Mei Based in Poynton, Natalia has been playing the piano since the age of five. She joined Chetham’s School of Music for primary school, where she studied with Mr. Simon Bottomley, whose guidance remains central to her musical development. Alongside her academic studies, now at Withington Girls’ School, Natalia has won multiple awards at the Hazel Grove Musical Festival and won the North-West EPTA UK Finals. In Year 9, she earned a Distinction in her ATCL Diploma and recently passed her LTCL Diploma with distinction. Now in year 12, Natalia hopes to study Mathematics at University. She looks forward to continuing her musical studies alongside her future degree, carrying forward the passion for music that first took root at Chetham’s.
Next week is the last concert in the current series and features the Northerly Winds Quintet plus piano.
Ondine Trio Matthew Lam – Piano, Leda Mileto – Violin, Clara Hope Simpson – Cello
Programme
Sergei Rachmaninov Isle of the Dead, (Symphonic Poem), Op. 29 (arr. Matthew Lam)
Claude Debussy Piano Trio in G Major, L.3 (1880)
i Andantino con moto allegro ii Scherzo: Moderato con allegro iii Andante espressivo iv Finale: Appassionato
Biographies
Matthew Lam, originally from Hong Kong, is a distinguished pianist with a First-Class Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree with Distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) where he studied under Ashley Wass, Frank Wibaut and Jeremy Young. He has participated in masterclasses led by renowned pianists and is recognised as both a solo and collaborative pianist and chamber musician. Matt regularly performs with his twin brother, Jason, with whom he won the Piano Duo Prize at the RNCM and was placed third at the 2019 Roma International Chopin Competition. He also co-founded the Sande Duo, recording Piazzolla’s Le Grand Tango at Abbey Road Studios. He aspires to be an orchestral pianist, collaborating with various orchestras such as BBC Philharmonic, Nottingham Philharmonic and London Philharmonic Orchestral Foyle Future Firsts. In 2022, he returned to RNCM as a Junior Fellow in Accompaniment and joined the Staff Pianist team.
Leda Mileto, an accomplished musician originally from Rome, Italy, has a background in music education rooted in the Dalcroze approach, which emphasises bodily engagement with rhythm. She earned her Master’s Degree and a Postgraduate Diploma from the RNCM, where she was part of the award-winning Aestus Quartet, currently guided by violinist, Gabriel Le Magadure. Leda’s recent performances include participation in notable festivals in Cremona, Italy, such as the 2023 Stauffer Academy Summer Festival and a concert at Stauffer Academy in 2024 where she performed a duet with Viktoria Mullova and in a string ensemble with Matthew Barley. Additionally, she led the inaugural ensemble at the Lake District Music Festival in 2025. Committed to music education, she teaches various subjects at RNCM aligned with Dalcroze principles, and is pursuing a Professional Certificate with Dalcroze UK. Currently, she is among the Manchester Camerata’s 360 Fellows and is mentored by Caroline Pether. Leda plays a Johannes Cuypers violin from 1797 on loan from the Harrison Frank Family Foundation, with her E. Comin bow.
Clara Hope Simpson is an accomplished and versatile cellist who has showcased her talent in prominent venues such as Wigmore Hall and Kodak Hall. She has earned several prestigious awards, including the John Barbirolli Memorial Prize and the Musicians Prize at the RNCM, and she won the Cello Concerto Competition at the Eastman School of Music. With a global performance background in solo and chamber contexts, Clara also competed in the Schoenfeld International String Competition in China in 2025.
She has collaborated with notable composers such as Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Anna Clyne on their repertoire for solo cello works and received the Exceptional Global Talent Visa from Arts Council England. In addition to performing as a soloist with various orchestras including Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, the Oldham Symphony Orchestra, RNCM Repertoire Orchestra and Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Clara is a passionate chamber musician and was a founding member of the Aesus Quartet, partnering with renowned artists and ensembles. She has also served as principal cellist in multiple ensembles and performed with groups such as Manchester Collective and Manchester Camerata.
Next week’s concert 21stMarch – Outstanding Young Pianists
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Johanna Leung – Clarinet, Henry George Page – Piano
Programme
Robert Schumann Fantasiestücke, Op.73
Zart und mit Ausdruck (Tender and with expression)
Lebhaft, leicht (Lively, light)
Rasch und mit Feuer (Quick and with fire)
Gerald Finzi Five Bagatelles – “Prelude”, “Romance”, “Carol”, “Forlana” and “Finale”
Dirk Brossé Elegy for bass clarinet and piano
Gabriel Pierné Canzonetta for clarinet and piano, Op. 19
Biographies
Johanna Leung a classically trained clarinettist, graduated with a Master of Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2021 under Antonio Salguero, Chris Swann, Sarah Watts (bass clarinet tuition). She has performed internationally in Reykjavik, Keflavik, Berlin, England and Hong Kong. Active in North West England, Johanna has given solo and chamber performances in various venues including Manchester Cathedral, Sheffield Cathedral, Lancaster Priory, Blackburn Cathedral, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, MIF Aviva Studio and MIF Festival Square. She has been invited to perform in high-profile festivals and performances including GAIA Festival of The Earth, The Sound of Contagion, Stockton Heath Music Society, Harris Music Preston Concert, Rochdale Music Society 2023-24 season opening concert, Tête à Tête Contemporary Opera Festival 2023, PUSH LAB 2024 and Már Gunnarsson Concert Tour 2024 & 2025 (Reykjavik, Keflavik and Manchester). Johanna has worked with The Halle Orchestra, UnHeard ensemble, Manchester Contemporary Youth Opera and Northern Film Orchestra.
From her early success with the 66th Hong Kong School Music Festival solo clarinet competition, Johanna achieved 2nd prize in the senior solo category of the 2019 Buffet Crampon Clarinet Competition and the Help Musician Postgraduate Award 2020. Johanna has participated in masterclasses from world class musicians such as Gabor Varga, Karel Donal, Walter Seyfarth, and John Campbell. She was selected for the Black Lives Music Professional Development Orchestral Workshop with 1 to 1 coaching from musicians from RPO, RLPO, RNS, LPO and BSO, working on orchestral excerpts and chamber music, and to play side by side with professional orchestral players. Johanna is committed to engage and empower the community through music. She has been directing the Saxophone Ensemble in Bolton Music Service and Stonyhurst college, and giving saxophone and clarinet lessons. She has delivered workshops in Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Museum, Warrington Art Gallery and Museum, Peace and Mind UK: Peace Festival 2024, Manchester Central Library, CoMA (Contemporary Music For All Comers) Workshops, Children’s Opera Project. She is the Director and Producer of Reimagined City, an Art Council England funded
Johanna has been selected for the Sony Music and Brighter Sound Change The Record Leadership Residency Program in 2025, which invite selected professionals to challenge and reimagine the industry.
Henry George Page (b. 1993) is a British musician who works as a composer, singer, accompanist and continuo cellist. His versatile compositional voice is marked by his love of Renaissance polyphony and Nordic chamber jazz, and the use of timbral effects to heighten harmonic interplay is a focus of his work. He has written for various ensembles, including collaborations with the BBC Singers House of Bedlam; Devon Philharmonic Orchestra; CoMA; Nottingham Youth Orchestra; and Ludlow English Song Festival. Recent premieres include an orchestral work, Vespula Cartouche for Leamington Sinfonia as the inaugural winner of their Patron’s Prize forComposition. Henry completed a MusB in Music at the University of Manchester and a Masters in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music studying with Emily Howard and Laura Bowler, where he won the Patricia Cunliffe Composition Prize in 2020, and the 2021 RNCM Gold Medal as a composer. Concurrently, he studied voice with Hilary Summers. Whilst there he tutored for the Commonwealth International Composition Competition, and accompanied vocal students. He maintains a diverse portfolio in singing, accompaniment, direction and continuo, originating principal roles at the Grimeborn and Tête-à-Tête opera festivals, and participating in premieres of works by Judith Bingham, Roxanna Panufnik, Mark Simpson and Sir James MacMillan. He directed the SET Collective, a New Music ensemble at the RNCM and served as Director of Music to St Matthew at the Elephant on London’s Southbank. He has worked as a peripatetic singing teacher and accompanist at The Royal Ballet School’s White Lodge in Richmond and regularly accompanies; he jointly won the RNCM Emmanuel Prize in 2020 as an accompanist. Henry is currently Bass Scholar St Olave’s, Hart Street, and deputises with KCL Chapel Choir and Stile Antico; he has worked on recordings for Signum, Delphian and Chandos Records. Recent performances include Jesus in Bach’s St John Passion for Tiffin Boys’ School and Nottingham Philharmonic Choir, the premiere of a song cycle by Richard Whalley at the University of Manchester with the composer, and Counsel in Trial by Jury with the National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company.
Next week’s concert on 14th March 2026 is the Ondine Trio – violin, viola and piano.
Note: If you would like to be included on our email list for updates about the concert series, or would like to make changes to the contact details we already have for you, there is a form at the back of the Church, that you can complete.
WACIDOM is a voluntary run music society and charity that holds free lunchtime concerts on Saturday afternoons at Holy Trinity Church in Warrington Town Centre. All our concerts are funded by donations.
Our main aim is to offer opportunities to young student musicians, most often from the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music, but sometimes further afield. We also support musicians at the start of their careers as they build repertoire, confidence and platform skills.
In 2024 we celebrated our 500th free concert which was played by Patron, Leon McCawley and Patron, Sir Stephen Hough kindly offered to play a December concert, to bring our celebratory year to a close.
Sir Stephen asked that donations were to go to WACIDOM to support our work with young and aspiring musicians. He was there once!
We prepared this website in time for the start of our February 2024 concert series and hope that you are finding it useful. Explore the Main Menu bar at the top of this page to see what it offers. This Home Page has information about the next concert and any ‘latest news’.
To see our current programme either go to the Main Menu and select Concerts then Programme or click Current Programme. Clicking blue, underlined text will take you directly to that item without having to navigate the Main Menu.
You may find the ‘Links’ menu items useful, this will take you to other local music related sites.
