Chamber Ensemble from Canterbury England, Concerts Sept. 11 and 13

The Faculty Chamber Ensemble of Christ Church College of Canterbury will present two evening recitals next week, free and open to the public in Kemp Recital Hall at Illinois State University’s School of Music.  The 8 p.m. recitals will be on Tuesday, Sept. 11, and Thursday, Sept. 13.

The Ensemble, based in Canterbury, a Sister City of Bloomington-Normal, also will perform at a School of Music student convocation at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Kemp.

Members of the Ensemble are composer Paul Edlin, saxophonist and trumpeter Sarah Field, percussionist Mike Hamnett and clarinetist David Campbell.

Edlin, who has won many composition prizes including the IX Premio lnternazionale Ancona, has written works that have been performed throughout England and abroad.  His opera, “The Fisherman,” was performed to wide critical acclaim in a production for the London International Opera Festival.  A major contribution to Edlin's work to date is his large-scale cycle based on architecture from Southeast Asia.

Field is the first musician ever to receive Professional Performance Diplomas in both woodwind brass from the Royal Northern College of Music, studying both trumpet and saxophone.  She has won numerous awards, performed on radio broadcasts and was an invited performer at music festivals throughout England.   She has commissioned 18 new works.

Hamnett, also a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, has been a successful ensemble and concert performer, having worked with the BBC Philhamonic and the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.  Last summer he was part of the Linz International Marimba Competition and Festival.  With Sarah Field, Hamnett forms a duo called Snapdragon, which debuted two years ago in London.

Campbell has enjoyed an international career as a clarinet soloist and teacher.  He has performed as a soloist in more than 40 countries and, as a guest artist, has played with England’s finest string quartets.  He has had many compositions written for him and has performed regularly on radio and television in England and abroad.