
Sandy Burnett – Director, Double Bass
It gives me great pleasure to return to St Michael and All Angels with another Bach series, following in the footsteps of our complete performing cycle of Bach’s sacred cantatas there a few years ago now. This time we have one of Bach’s most uplifting cycles of instrumental music in our sights, the six Brandenburg Concertos, and I can’t wait to work with the newly established Chiswick Chamber Orchestra – a mix of professional and skilled amateur performers – on this exciting project.
As a court employee in Cöthen in his mid thirties, Johann Sebastian Bach sent a beautiful handwritten score of these concertos to the aristocratic Margrave of Brandenburg as a thinly-disguised job application, but never received a reply. The Margrave’s loss is our gain; the Brandenburg Concertos are amongst Bach’s best-loved compositions – tuneful, imaginative, brilliant and fun – and we can’t wait to bring them to life.

Kathryn Parry – Leader
I have been very fortunate to have performed all the Brandenburg Concertos many times, but never all together over two concerts and with the same players. How exciting to share this musical journey through Bach’s unique masterpieces, to discover their similarities and differences, and to enjoy his glorious celebration of the baroque concerto grosso. I can’t wait to hear the different combinations of instruments and to explore Bach’s ingenious part-writing, and I’m particularly looking forward to working with Sandy and being directed from the double bass, which will certainly bring rhythmic focus and direction to our performances!
Callum Anderson – Harpsichord
The Brandenburg Concertos are perhaps the most important and inspiring set of instrumental pieces to be composed during the Baroque era. Since first hearing these works as a young boy, they have continued to amaze me in their level of contrapuntal complexity, musical virtuosity and compositional ingenuity. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to perform all of these works as continuo player and keyboard soloist, and I am very much looking forward to working with all the other musicians involved. I have had the privilege of performing at St Michael and All Angels in the past as an organist, and I am very pleased to perform in this beautiful setting again for this concert series.
Fraser Tannock – Trumpet
A winner of the Royal Overseas League Commonwealth Competition and the Philip Jones Prize, Fraser has given solo recitals at QEH, Purcell Room, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’ Piccadilly and the Palace of Versailles.
Fraser has performed the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto in the Colombian city of Cali, at over 1,000 metres altitude, and even higher up into the Andes mountain range. It took a full week of acclimatising to the conditions to be able to get through the entire piece, before the first concert took place!
Michael Tang – Viola
Having recently moved to West London, Michael has found the musical community both enthusiastic and welcoming. He is delighted to be part of this project in pursuit of the joy of music!
Peter Robertson – Flute
An opportunity to perform Bach’s 5th Brandenburg Concerto comes around all too infrequently, and I’m delighted to be joining the Chiswick Chamber Orchestra and working with these talented colleagues to bring Bach’s masterpiece – and this new orchestra – to life.
Alma Nunez Debretzeni – Recorder
I’m looking forward to playing Brandenburg 4 and exploring its playful character in the first movement, range of emotions in the second and the joyful final fugue. The captivating conversations between the two recorders and violin make this piece great fun to play.
Nicholas Theobald – Oboe
The opportunity to perform two of the Brandenburg Concertos in the glorious acoustic of St Michael’s is a huge privilege and I have enjoyed working and playing with such a talented group of musicians in this new orchestra. I’m sure I’ve not played them since my school days. Since retiring from clinical medical practice I’ve also had the opportunity to explore Bach as a ‘cellist which has broadened my appreciation of this great composer’s music.
Jeremy Bradshaw – Violin
I got to play the violin solo of the 5th Brandenburg Concerto long ago when I was at Farnham Grammar School – and we had the fantastic privilege of Stephen Thomson’s inspirational leadership and spine-tingling cadenza from the harpsichord. Utterly unforgettable. I have longed to play the Brandenburgs ever since and somehow the chance never arose – until now!
Andrew Pears – Cello and Founder of Chiswick Chamber Orchestra
It has always been my dream to perform the Brandenburg Concertos in the glorious acoustic of St Michael’s. There is no record of their performance here in the last forty years. The music is so joyous and exhilarating to play, with a gloriously eclectic mix of instruments across the concertos. It will be a huge privilege to work and play with such a talented group of musicians. As a builder and musician I am delighted that we can use this opportunity to raise funds to maintain and preserve the fabric of this wonderful building for another 150 years.
Nicholas Bradshaw – Bassoon
I love the Brandenburgs, and believe they represent the nearest Bach approached to modern symphonic writing.