Welcome to the
Manchester Mid-day Concerts Society

I am delighted to introduce an exciting and varied season of Manchester Midday Concerts for 2024-25. The season offers a broad programme of established artists, some familiar names and Middays firm favourites, alongside sparkling new talent.

Defying expectations and drawing on many influences from Scottish folk music to minimalism, our season openers, the uniquely original Clouds Harp Quartet (5 September) are not to be missed. We are delighted to welcome the return of versatile virtuoso guitarist Tom Gamble (23 September), and cherished Middays veterans Scott Brothers Duo (31 October), who join us in the Autumn, bringing their much loved programme of duos for piano and organ which never fails to thrill.

This season will see another strong set of international pianists grace the Bridgewater Hall stage, beginning with American pianist Edward Leung (7 November). Into the new year we welcome the return of UK-based Hungarian concert pianist Domonkos Csabay (13 January), Italian pianist and second prize winner of the 2024 Concours Ile-de-France Nicolas Ventura (17 February), and Lithuanian pianist Gabrielė Sutkutė (10 April), winner of no less than twenty international piano competitions and recipient of many other accolades.

Our annual audition process continues to yield a very high level of artistry from a significant number of applications, and once again, we have been able to select some truly amazing artists. It is always a pleasure to introduce these emerging artists in our new Season, this year including the Farrenc Trio (20 March) and classical flautist Sofiia Matvienko (28 May) – [a particular favourite of the Friends of MMCS when they attended the auditions.]

Sustaining last season’s strong line up of string players, our 2024|25 programme includes the dynamic Elmore String Quartet (10 October), Czech violinist Kryštof Kohout  (30 January) – most recently a concerto soloist at the Barbican and Carnegie Hall; and accomplished Catalan cellist Gerard Flotats (27 February), winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Strings Competition. Boasting masterful performances across a wide repertoire of music, we look forward to seeing what all three performances hold in store.

With the arrival of the festive season, we will be transporting you back to the golden age of jazz for a knees up, musically speaking, with award-winning The Easy Rollers (3 December). We are also delighted to once again feature what promises to be another lively and engaging performance RNCM Brass Band (27 March).

Make a date in your diary for the return of Jess Gillam to the Manchester Middays: this time with the Jess Gillam Trio (15 May). Celebrated as a leading figure of the saxophone, Jess has established herself worldwide with her electrifying performances. 

Finally, we are pleased to welcome outstanding vocalist Dutch mezzo-soprano Roza Herwig (28 November) and, from closer to home, the North’s finest cutting edge vocal ensemble Kantos Chamber Choir (23 April).

We anticipate this season will be full of both familiar and unexpected delights and hope you will join us. We look forward to seeing you at the Bridgewater Hall over the coming months.

Simon Parkin, Director of Concerts