"a robustly physical performer, of mercurial responses and reactions" The Times

 

MASON - SMITH DUO clarinet & piano

Andrew & Jo have been working and performing as duo partners together since 1998.  In addition to their recitals for music clubs and societies they have also performed at the Wigmore Hall.
 

Andrew Mason (clarinet) studied as a Foundation Scholar at the Royal College of Music, winning the Frederick Thurston Clarinet Prize and the Roger Fallows Memorial Prize. Andrew has performed and broadcast for the BBC Proms Composer Portrait series and has performed at the Purcell Room and at the Wigmore Hall for the Park Lane Group. With his wind quintet, The Aurora Ensemble, he has performed in Cardiff's St. David's Hall, the Purcell Room, the Wigmore Hall and the Bridgewater Hall. As an orchestral musician, Andrew has played for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Sinfonia and the Northern Sinfonia.
 

Joanna Smith (piano) studied at the Royal College of Music with Ruth Gerald, where she gained a First Class Honours degree and Postgraduate Diplomas in Performance and Advanced Performance (Accompaniment) with Distinction. Her last two years of study were partly funded by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, The Old Broad Street Charity Trust and a RCM Senior Exhibition. She has a busy and varied career as a freelance pianist and travels widely, having performed extensively across the UK and abroad, including visits to Europe, America (for a live radio broadcast), Canada and Hong Kong. Much of her work is at the Royal College of Music, where she accompanies for

concerts, auditions and exams, as well as for masterclasses. As an accompanist she also works with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra choirs. As an orchestral pianist she has worked with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Elgar Chamber Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Joanna, and husband Roderick Elms, have recently been guest solo piano duettists for a live broadcast on Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night, performing a world premiere of Paper Dances, written by Rod as a first wedding anniversary present!
  Programme
  suggestions

Sample Programme 1

 Sample Programme 2

Lefevre  Sonata No.1 in B flat
Bax  Sonata
Michael Berkeley  Flighting (solo clarinet)
Gershwin/Weill/Coward  Song selection
INTERVAL
Pierne  Canzonetta
Brahms  Sonata No.2 in E flat
Krenek  Kleine Suite
Dick Hyman  Clarinata

Milhaud  Duo Concertante
Debussy  Rapsodie
Roderick Elms Gazelle & A Little -ish! (piano solo)
Verdi/Lovreglio  Fantasia 'La Traviata'
INTERVAL
Weber  Grand Duo Concertant
Horovitz  Sonatina

  Soundclips

click on the icon to launch the mp3 jukebox.  Tracks include: Brahms, Sonata No.2 in E flat (excerpts); Weber, Grand Duo Concertant (excerpt); Pierne, Canzonetta (excerpt). All tracks recorded live.
  Download Click here to download a pdf file containing biographies, photos and sample programme suggestions.  (Requires Acrobat Reader.  Click here if you don't have this software)