Concerts
| Concerts |
ECHOES FESTIVAL | Ray Picot | Journeys Through the Labyrinth: 2025 Classical Ibe/rican Anniversaries | |
Sat 8 November 2025, 7.00pm |
Calling all record collectors! If you're trying to navigate your way through the dauntingly huge world of Latin Classical music, don't fear - our resident expert is here to guide you. Join classical music addict and weekend journalist, Ray Picot, in this special EF edition of the ILAMS podcast, Journeys Through the Labyrinth. 2025 offers the opportunity to explore a host of Ibe/rican composers and artists whose lives spanned a period of four centuries, including: Ernst Mahle, Angel Lasala, Carlos Guastavino, Gustavo Pittaluga, Conchita Badia, Floro Ugarte, Josep Cercós, Julián Orbón, Aurelio de la Vega, Carlos Riesco, Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Luis Antonio Escobar, Vicente Arregui, Ernesto Drangosch, Artur Napoleão dos Santos, José Ignacio Quintón, Juli Garreta, Julián Carrillo, Ricardo Viñes, Joaquín Valverde Sanjuán, João Domingos Bomtempo, Esteban Salas, Juan del Vado and Carlos Patiño. This discographical whistle-stop tour through 2025's key celebrations offers an amazing kaleidoscope of styles and genres with plenty of variety to enjoy. Ray will highlight the key works, as well as revealing some lesser-known hidden gems in the Latin Classical catalogue. Plus, discover the seminal interpretations whilst learning about the music in context. Whether you're new to Latin Classical, or a seasoned aficionado, this podcast has something for everyone. Ray Picot host TICKETS Listening is FREE but please consider making a donation HERE to support the podcast BOOKINGS No booking required. Simply visit mixcloud.com to tune in from 8th Nov onwards MORE INFORMATION |
ECHOES FESTIVAL | Pepe Romero | Farewell World Tour: Concert | |
Mon 10 November 2025, 7.00pm |
'Pepe Romero makes his guitar talk to itself, he creates a conversation with it, a conversation between the musical parts, a dialogue on one instrument.' Los Angeles Times Pepe Romero, one of the last living legends of the classical guitar, offers a rare UK appearance for Echoes Festival as part of his Farewell World Tour. Born in Málaga into the dynasty of Spain's 'Royal Family of the Guitar', Pepe is son of the great guitarist Celedonio Romero and brother to guitarists Celín and Angel. Performing together as an ensemble, they gave birth to the then novel concept of the 'guitar quartet', and challenged traditional boundaries by proving themselves equally adept in both classical and flamenco styles. In this recital Pepe Romero celebrates a lifetime of music making whilst paying homage to his Andalusian roots, offering a retrospective, signature programme of colourful Spanish repertoire from across his career, including some of his own compositions and transcriptions by his father. The evening closes with several quartets from the Romero family repertoire, performed together with students from the Royal Academy of Music. Don't miss this unique opportunity to hear Pepe Romero up close and live in London, in the beautiful, intimate surroundings of St Mary-le-Strand! PLUS Join us after the concert for a complimentary glass of Spanish wine! Angel Barrios Arroyos de la Alhambra Joaquín Malats Serenata española Enrique Granados 'Andaluza' from Doce danzas españolas (tr. Celedonio Romero) Isaac Albéniz 'Granada' from Suite española (tr. Celedonio Romero) Joaquín Turina Fantasía sevillana Francisco Tárrega Capricho árabe Celedonio Romero Fantasía cubana Ruperto Chapí 'Prelude' from La Revoltosa (tr. Lorenzo Palomo) Manuel de Falla 'La danza del molinero' from El sombrero de tres picos (tr. Pepe Romero) Gerónimo Giménez 'Prelude' from El baile de Luis Alonso (tr. Pepe Romero) Pepe Romero De Cádiz a la Habana Pepe Romero classical guitar + students from the Royal Academy of Music: Georgi Dimitrov classical guitar Gus McQuade classical guitar Goncalo Maia Caetano classical guitar Kacper Dworniczak classical guitar Dorian Voinea classical guitar Petar Jovanovic classical guitar More than seventy years after first appearing on stage aged only seven, Pepe Romero continues to mesmerise audiences, having given literally thousands of concerts worldwide. But despite being honoured by kings, heads of state and major institutions, Pepe's most important contribution has been reaching the common man, having communicated the richness and beauty of the guitar to millions of people. A Latin Grammy Nominee, Pepe Romero has worked internationally with almost every major conductor, and has appeared with a long list of the world's great symphony orchestras. He has to his credit a discography of more than 60 recordings - most memorably his 1992 groundbreaking disc of the Concierto de Aranjuez with Neville Marriner and the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields. He has premiered works by some of the finest composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Rodrigo, Moreno Torroba, and Cordero - many of them written especially for him. He has also been active in bringing to light lost music by historical composers such as Sor, Giuliani, Mertz and Boccherini, boasting many world premiere recordings. A committed pedagogue, Pepe has taught at numerous Universities and at the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute in Oklahoma. He holds honourary doctorates from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Victoria. In recognition of his achievements, he has also received the Premio Andalucía de la Música; the Medalla de Honor from the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Granada; he has been knighted into the Order of Isabel la Católica by the King of Spain; and was bestowed with the President's Merit Award from the Recording Academy. In 2022, Pepe received the great honour of having an annual guitar festival named after him in his native city of Málaga. In addition to playing a prominent role in the major film documentary Shadows and Light: Joaquin Rodrigo at 90, Pepe, along with his family, is the subject of the 2001 PBS documentary Los Romeros, the Royal Family of the Guitar and Los Romeros, the Dynasty of the Guitar. SNEAK PEEK! Video clip This event is organised by the Iberian & Latin American Music Society (ILAMS) as part of Echoes Festival 2025 in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes and the Royal Academy of Music TICKETS Admission FREE to Friends of Echoes Festival (email info@ilams.org.uk to join) IN ADVANCE: £45 | £30 Concessions | £25 ILAMS Members ON THE DOOR: £50 | £35 Concessions | £30 ILAMS Members All tickets include a complimentary glass of Spanish wine BOOKINGS *With capacity limited to only x100 seats we recommend booking early.* MORE INFORMATION    |
ECHOES FESTIVAL | Pepe Romero | Farewell World Tour: Masterclasses, Book Launch & Q&A | |
Tue 11 November 2025, 3.00pm |
SOLD OUT 'As far as I remember I thought of myself as a guitarist; it was something I was, not something I was to become.' Pepe Romero Join us for an exclusive afternoon with the legendary classical guitarist Pepe Romero at the Royal Academy of Music where he will be delivering open masterclasses with RAM students before discussing the recent publication of his memoirs, Dialogues on a Life's Journey with the Guitar (University of Rochester Press, 2025), co-authored with Walter Aaron Clark. Pepe Romero will be fielding questions on a wide variety of subjects related to his career, his family, the guitar, and its repertoire. Part of Pepe Romero's Farewell World Tour, don't miss this unique opportunity to see him up close and live in London. 3.00pm-5.00pm Open Masterclasses 6.00pm-7.30pm Book Launch & Q&A More than seventy years after first appearing on stage aged only seven, Pepe Romero continues to mesmerise audiences, having given literally thousands of concerts worldwide. But despite being honoured by kings, heads of state and major institutions, Pepe's most important contribution has been reaching the common man, having communicated the richness and beauty of the guitar to millions of people. A Latin Grammy Nominee, Pepe Romero has worked internationally with almost every major conductor, and has appeared with a long list of the world's great symphony orchestras. He has to his credit a discography of more than 60 recordings - most memorably his 1992 groundbreaking disc of the Concierto de Aranjuez with Neville Marriner and the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields. He has premiered works by some of the finest composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Rodrigo, Moreno Torroba, and Cordero - many of them written especially for him. He has also been active in bringing to light lost music by historical composers such as Sor, Giuliani, Mertz and Boccherini, boasting many world premiere recordings. A committed pedagogue, Pepe has taught at numerous Universities and at the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute in Oklahoma. He holds honourary doctorates from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Victoria. In recognition of his achievements, he has also received the Premio Andalucía de la Música; the Medalla de Honor from the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Granada; he has been knighted into the Order of Isabel la Católica by the King of Spain; and was bestowed with the President's Merit Award from the Recording Academy. In 2022, Pepe received the great honour of having an annual guitar festival named after him in his native city of Málaga. In addition to playing a prominent role in the major film documentary Shadows and Light: Joaquin Rodrigo at 90, Pepe, along with his family, is the subject of the 2001 PBS documentary Los Romeros, the Royal Family of the Guitar and Los Romeros, the Dynasty of the Guitar. Walter Aaron Clark received his doctorate in Musicology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a Distinguished Professor of Musicology at the University of California, Riverside, where he directs the Center for Iberian and Latin American Music. He is editor-in-chief of the Grove Dictionary of Latin American and Iberian Music, as well as of the online UC journal Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review. He has authored Oxford biographies of Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, and Federico Moreno Torroba (co-authored with Bill Krause), as well as a book on the Romero family of guitarists for University of Illinois Press. His biography of Joaquín Rodrigo, co-authored with Javier Suárez-Pajares, was recently published by Norton. In 2016, King Felipe VI of Spain conferred on him the title of Knight Commander of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, in recognition of his efforts to promote Spanish music and culture. SNEAK PEEK! Video clip This event is organised by the Iberian & Latin American Music Society (ILAMS) as part of Echoes Festival 2025 in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes and the Royal Academy of Music TICKETS £5 BOOKINGS This event is now SOLD OUT. Please visit ram.ac.uk if you would like to put your name on the waiting list for returns. MORE INFORMATION  |
ECHOES FESTIVAL | Kyan Quartet + Ahmed Dickinson | Cuba Negra: Afro-Cuban Classics for Guitar and String Quartet | |
Sun 16 November 2025, 6.30pm |
'Dickinson is a true pioneer.' Classic FM Magazine In a new Conway Hall collaboration with Echoes Festival’s African Diaspora series, acclaimed classical guitarist Ahmed Dickinson joins forces with the Kyan Quartet to explore vibrant Afro-Cuban repertoire by Cuba’s most distinctive contemporary composers. Their programme brings some classical cool to the traditional string quartet format, with effervescent syncretisms of Afro, Cuban and European influences that explode the expressive possibilities of strings and guitar. A journey through irresistible rhythmic landscapes that will have you tapping your feet and swaying in your seat! The programme features the world premiere of Eduardo Martín’s heartfelt Recordando a Piazzolla (Remembering Piazzolla), alongside several UK premieres: Moforibale a Oshosi by Walfrido Domínguez, a powerful homage to the Yoruba deity of the hunt, drawing on Afro-Cuban ritual and chant traditions; López-Gavilán’s famous Cuarteto en guaguancó, a vibrant fusion of classical string-quartet writing with Cuban rumba rhythms; and Roberto Valera’s concise yet intense Cuarteto de cuerdas. Acrílicos, two compelling sound-paintings also by Martín, meld Caribbean lyricism with striking modernity – a combination also employed in Leo Brouwer’s Quintet, a piece brimming with Afro grooves that anticipates the swing of 1970s salsa, blended with the 20th-century techniques of composers such as Bartok and Stravinsky refracted through the unique lens of this legendary Cuban composer. Walfrido Dominguez Moforibale a Ochosi Ahmed Dickinson Cárdenas guitar Kyan Quartet string quartet Ahmed Dickinson is one of the finest performers of the Cuban Guitar Movement. He is a sophisticated virtuoso on his instrument and an ambassador of Cuban culture. Since graduating from both the Royal College and Guildhall School of Music and Drama he has performed in prestigious venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, toured extensively around Europe, presented innumerable UK premieres, and released several critically acclaimed recordings. His latest CD Ilusión y Verdad is out now on Parma Recordings. Prize-winners of the 2024 ROSL competition and 2025 City Music Foundation artists, the award-winning Kyan Quartet brings together four exceptional musicians: Naomi Warburton, Sydney Mariano, Wanshu Qiu, and Simon Guemy. Established in 2020, the quartet enjoys a busy and vibrant career, having performed across Europe and Asia in venues including Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Beethoven-Haus Chamber Music Hall, Shanghai Opera House and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra Hall. They are keen promoters of both contemporary and Ibe/rican classical music, with previous projects focusing on Cuba and Brazil. SNEAK PEEK! Video clip This event is organised by the Iberian & Latin American Music Society (ILAMS) as part of Echoes Festival 2025’s ‘African Diaspora’ series in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes and Conway Hall TICKETS IN ADVANCE: Standard £14 | Members £12 | Student/NHS Discount £9 | Living Support £6 | Under 18’s FREE conwayhall.ticketsolve.com  |
ECHOES FESTIVAL | Nigel Foster, Ana Beard Fernández & Michel de Souza | Songs by Latin American Women Composers | |
Fri 21 November 2025, 7.00pm |
‘Ana Beard Fernández shines throughout with her clear, warm, voice.’ BBC Music Magazine In tandem with the London Song Festival - this year entirely dedicated to showcasing women composers - we continue to explore art song repertoire penned by female Latin American authors as part of our ongoing strand of events, Música y mujer. The programme encompasses pieces ranging in date from the 19th to 21st centuries, by composers from Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil and Cuba, including all-time favourites such as Besame Mucho, Júrame, and Hasta la vista to more rarely-heard gems of Song. Covering subjects as diverse as food and drink, love and passion, temptation, life and death, the music will also be interpreted by dancers, bringing a taste of the vitality, joy and passion of Latin America to an autumnal London evening. Chiquinha Gonzaga Feijoada do Brazil | Fado das Tricanas de Coimbra Mariela Rodríguez 'Poema de la jícara' from Tres Canciones/Tres poemas negros
Ernestina Lecuona Mi vida es soñar (bolero) | Ahora que eres mía (bolero)
Irma Urteaga Azul, tan azul celeste | Yo tan solo | Cánticos para soñar (selection) Hortencia do Rio Branco Aubade Adriana Verdié 'Mujer fuego' from De mujeres y elementos Odaline de la Martínez Canciones Yvette Souviron Habanera | Tango argentino Consuelo Velásquez Bésame mucho María Grever
Loca, loca | Ti-Ti-Pin (Mexican Waltz) | Júrame (Spanish Tango) | Hasta la vista Blanca Estrella 'Lunar' from Ciclo de canciones Modesta Bor Tríptico sobre poesía cubana (selection) Gisela Hernández Tránsito Ana Beard Fernández soprano
Michel de Souza baritone
Nigel Foster piano SNEAK PEEK! Video Clip This event is organised by the Iberian & Latin American Music Society (ILAMS) as part of Echoes Festival 2025's 'Música y Mujer' series in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes and the London Song Festival TICKETS £20 | £15 Concessions BOOKINGS MORE INFORMATION
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ECHOES FESTIVAL | Laura Peribañez & Katie Tertell | Lost in Plain Sight: Gaspar Cassadó’s Iberian Musical Legacy | |
Thu 27 November 2025, 7.00pm |
Catalan cellist, Laura Peribañez, and Cassadó specialist, Katie Tertell, join forces in this delightful programme for the unusual formats of solo and duo cello, inspired by the Spanish cellist Gaspar Gassadó and his legacies as a performer, arranger and composer. While most classical music lovers and scholars are familiar with Pablo Casals (1876-1973), few, even in Spain and Catalonia, will know the name of Gaspar Cassadó, his compatriot and most beloved disciple. Both were world-renowned cellists with distinguished careers. Cassadó (1897-1966) is also a respected composer of classical music whose pieces continue to be played by cellists around the globe. But as Casals became an international symbol for Catalan culture and peace, Cassadó’s ties to the Iberian Peninsula were mostly forgotten. This project examines the erasure of this connection as it exposes Spain’s difficult modern history, interrupted by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the enduring legacy of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). By recovering Cassadó’s cultural and musical significance we can engage with Spain’s complex twentieth-century soundscape and the incomplete history of its modern classical music. In this lecture-recital, Professor Rosi Song will also provide commentary on the programme. Luigi Boccherini Sonata for Two Cellos in C Major, G74 Katie Tertell & Laura Peribañez Artero cellos Professor Rosi Song speaker Co-founder of the Lost in Plain Sight research project, award-winning American cellist Katie Tertell is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival. A former member of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, she enjoys a rich and varied experience as a freelance artist in the UK, Europe and America, performing at major venues and Festivals. Trained at Indiana University, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, she is currently based in Durham, UK where she teaches cello at Durham University. Spanish cellist Laura Peribañez Artero made her debut at L’Auditori de Barcelona at age 9 and has since performed extensively across Europe at festivals, including IMS Prussia Cove and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. Recipient of multiple awards, including the Antonio Brosa Award at the Royal College of Music, Laura has showcased her talent at venues like London’s Cadogan Hall and Palau de la Música Catalana, amongst others. H. Rosi Song holds the Chair in Hispanic Studies at Durham University. A specialist in 20th and 21st century Spanish culture and literature, she is the author of Lost in Transition: Constructing Memory in Contemporary Spain (Liverpool UP, 2016), co-editor of Traces of Contamination: Unearthing Francoist Legacy in Contemporary Spanish Discourse (Bucknell UP, 2005) and Towards a Cultural Archive of la Movida: Back to the Future (Farleigh Dickinson UP, 2013). Her most recent book, co-written with Anna Riera, is A Taste of Barcelona: The History of Catalan Cooking and Eating (Rowman and Littlefield, 2019). SNEAK PEEK! Video clip This event is organised by the Iberian & Latin American Music Society (ILAMS) as part of Echoes Festival 2025 in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes with the kind support of Durham University’s Research Impact Fund (UK) TICKETS Admission FREE to Friends of Echoes Festival (email info@ilams.org.uk to join) IN ADVANCE: £20 | £15 Concessions | £10 Members of ILAMS ON THE DOOR: £25 | £20 Concessions | £15 Members of ILAMS BOOKINGS MORE INFORMATION  |
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