Ensemble Serafin is a recently formed chamber group based in London, bringing together some of the finest musicians in the UK.

Each member brings a wealth of experience from their independent solo careers and projects, and they unite to come together and perform chamber music.

Melanie Woodcock grew up in Ipswich. She was a prize-winning student first at Leeds University and then at the Royal Academy of Music where she studied with Alexander Baillie and Jennifer Ward-Clarke.

She has performed, recorded and toured with many orchestras, chamber ensembles and period instrument groups including the London Handel Orchestra, Wren Baroque Soloists, Florilegium, The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Parley of Instruments.

Ian Ray is Director of Music at Lion Walk Church in the Centre of Colchester and directs the Colchester Choral Society. He is well known as an accompanist, ensemble pianist, organist and choral director throughout East Anglia.

The Hertford based string quartet ‘Anything Goes’ are joined by Colin Eldred to perform one of the great chamber works by Johannes Brahms.

During March 1891, Brahms first encountered the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. Brahms had retired from composing prior to hearing Mühlfeld play. That summer he was inspired to compose again and completed the Clarinet Quintet and Clarinet Trio, both for Mühlfeld to perform.

International Concert Pianist and Steinway Artist, Robin Colvill, born in Scotland, is one of the busiest and most popular pianists performing in Britain and Europe today.

His musical activities are diverse encompassing solo, duo and chamber concerts: he also gives masterclasses and has appeared on British, German, Austrian and Spanish TV and radio. Today, as a soloist he is particularly in demand in Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Denmark and Austria and returns each year with his innovative concert programmes.

The Erasmus Chamber Ensemble specialises in vocal solo, consort and instrumental chamber music from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, with a particular interest in unusual and neglected repertoire.

Join us on a lunchtime journey entitled ‘Sweeter than Roses’, moving through Baroque music from Italy, England and France and peering into the musical life of theatres, churches and aristocratic homes along the way. Like the original audience, we also take time to withdraw into the elegant private sphere of chamber music; in this case, works for viola da gamba and harpsichord written to display the talents of virtuoso players.