Welcome to the West Wight Arts Association

West Wight Arts Association February concert

The next concert in West Wight Arts Association’s highly successful season will be given by the cellist Finn Mannion and pianist Ke Ma on Saturday March 8th starting at 7.00 in the Memorial Hall, Freshwater.

The youngest ever winner of the Royal Philharmonic’s Isserlis scholarship, Finn is a passionate chamber musician equally at home playing a concerto as those who heard him playing the Elgar cello concerto with the Isle of Wight Symphony orchestra in January will testify. Chinese pianist Ke Ma studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and first performed for West Wight Arts Association in 2018.

They will play ‘Les Voix Humaines’ by Marin Marais, Schumann’s 3 Romances for Oboe and Piano (arr. cello/piano), op.94, 7 Variations on ‘Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen’ by Beethoven, Intermezzo from ‘Goyescas’ by Granados and finish with Poulenc’s ‘Souvenirs’ and his Sonata for cello and piano.

Tickets at £16.00 (Students and children £2.00) are available from our ticket page or Totland Parish Office on 756028. Booking fee applies.

Steinway Grand Piano

The Steinway ‘B’ grand piano in the Memorial Hall, Freshwater, which belongs to West Wight Arts Association, is available for hire by arrangement with WWAA.

Please check the availability of the Memorial Hall with the administrator Debbie McAteer on memohall1960@gmail.com or 01983 752956 in the first instance and then email Richard Wilkins on wilkins.r@btinternet.com for further details.

West Wight Arts Association Bursary for young music students on the Island

Twelve young Island musicians have been awarded grants to further their musical studies by West Wight Arts Association.

The recipients range from 11 to 18 and played a wide variety of instruments or sang to a panel of WWAA trustees on Saturday February 24th. They also answered questions about their music making and what they would spend an award on; their answers ranged from help with funding further music lessons to better instruments or equipment.

The panel were treated to performances on piano, saxophone, drums, clarinet, oboe, violin, flute and voice from students from six different schools on the Island. The judges were deeply impressed by the standards achieved and the aspirations expressed by the musicians.

“ We had a wonderful response to our initial appeal for Island music students and it was very hard to shortlist applicants to start with. Then on the audition day it was very difficult to decide who our major award winners should be as the standard was so high, but we were able to give everyone something.”

— Pam Wedgwood - Organiser

“The concert was one of the best I have been to anywhere, the gut stringing added to their brilliant interpretation of the Mozart which was thrilling.”