Alumni Guitar Concert

Opari Duo (Duygu Ince violin & Berx Koçkaya guitar)
Erik Satie Sonatine Bureaucratique
Claude Debussy Romance
Sergio Assad Menino
Ricardo Herz Mourinho

Toby Carr (Lute)
Lute Music by Robert Johnson & Daniel Bacheler 
Bacheler Prelude
Johnson Pavan no.3 in C minor, The Prince’s Almain and Almain ‘hit and take it’
Bacheler En me revenant
Johnson Galliard and Fantasia

George Tarlton (Guitar solo)
Astor Piazzolla Primavera Porteña arr. Sergio Assad

Lokah (Phoebe Snelling violin & George Tarlton guitar)
Astor Piazzolla Histoire du Tango: Cafe 1930 and Night Club 1960

Desbande (Quintet Guillermo Willis, Enrique Galassi-Bandonion, Bryan Crook piano,
Phoebe Snelling violin, George Tarlton guitar)
Astor Piazzolla Michelangelo 70 and Concierto para Quinteto

Through their unique music arrangements, rarely heard gems from the repertoire and collaborations with imminent composers, Opari Duo are devoted to presenting new and diverse music to their audiences across the world.

Duygu Koçkaya (violin) and Berx Koçkaya (guitar) first met during their undergraduate studies
at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. They formed the duo upon graduating and continued
their studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Whilst at Guildhall they were coached by
Robert Brightmore, Jørgen Skogmo, Graham Devine and Jacqueline Ross. They have given
concerts at prestigious venues such as St John’s Smith Square, St Martin in the Fields and Kings
Place as part of the International Guitar Foundation’s ASPIRE Stage. With a keen interest in
contemporary music, the duo work in collaboration with a range of composers with the intent to
broaden the existing repertoire for guitar and violin; they recently released their album
Mediterranea featuring premieres of works by composer, Sabino de Bari. Aside from performing,
the duo also take part in education and outreach activities by delivering workshops to schools in
London.

https://www.opariduo.com/

Lutenist and guitarist Toby Carr is known as a versatile and engaging artist, working with some of
the finest musicians in the business.

While studying the classical guitar at Trinity Laban he was introduced to historical plucked
instruments, an interest he pursued during a postgraduate degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, graduating in 2016 and welcomed back as a professor in 2021. Now in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and continuo player, his playing has been described as ‘sensuous and vivid’ (The Guardian), ‘Eloquent’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘Mesmerising’ (Opera Today).

Toby has performed with most of the principal period instrument ensembles in the UK and beyond,
as well as with many symphony orchestras, opera companies and ballet companies. He collaborates with singers such as Nicholas Mulroy, Alexander Chance and Helen Charlston. Notable recordings include ‘Battle Cry’ with Helen Charlston for Delphian and ‘Drop not, mine eyes’ with Alexander Chance for Linn.

Settled in Greenwich, south-east London with his wife and collaborator, harpist Aileen Henry,
Toby’s interests outside of music include reading, cooking and travelling, though when not working
he generally tries to do as little as possible.

Formed in 2023 under the garnering of violinist Phoebe Snelling, Desbande (Quintet) is a new
ensemble dedicated to investigating the vast universe of modern and contemporary Tango music
and furthering its presence within the local music scene. Having made their debut performance last
November, Desbande Quintet quickly blossomed over their shared appreciation for the work of the
twentieth-century Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla, a carefully curated selection of whose
music they present for this evening’s concert. The choice of instruments – bandoneon, violin, guitar,
piano, and double-bass – responds to the wish to respect not just the established lineup of a typical
Tango quintet, but also the original instrumentation of Piazzolla’s arrangements.

Lokah brings together a unique approach to programming folk music from across the world with
two of the most commonly found instruments in folk tradition, guitar and violin. After having met
at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, guitarist George Tarlton and violinist Phoebe Snelling formed the duo Lokah as a vehicle to express their combined love for the music of innumerable genres to create a concert experience of total stylistic fluidity.

Phoebe Snelling is an award winning violinist/production designer and educator based in London. Since finishing her studies at the Guildhall, Phoebe has been building her violin career as a touring/ session musician. She has excelled across a wide range of musical contexts and ensembles; from classical and contemporary recitals at some of the World’s most prestigious venues, including: The Royal Albert Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Het Concertgebouw, Odeon of Herodes Acropolis, to sessions and tours work with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Contemporary Orchestra, OrchestrateCltv, BBC LIVE, Redbull, RAM Records.

This Summer Phoebe completed a UK tour with Submotion Orchestra alongside members of her
quartet: Prism String Ensemble, as well as a BBC Live session & European tour with Sigur Ros and the London Contemporary Orchestra. She also performed at Royal Albert Hall with Cleo Sol and toured Ireland with the Arctic Monkeys.

George Tarlton’s musical career began as a boy singing with the South London-based choir
‘Libera’ in 2000-2004, who regularly made television appearances (BBC Songs of Praise, This is
your Life, Classical Brit Awards), recordings ('Luminosa' Warner Classics, 'Free' EMI Classics) and concerts across the country and abroad. Guitar-playing later became an all-consuming passion which led to his studies with Robert Brightmore and David Miller as a scholarship student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he graduated with first-class honours in 2015. He has made multiple appearances on BBC Radio 3 and has been praised by Sean Rafferty MBE (Radio 3 'In Tune') as having 'the touch'. In November 2019, George won first prize in the London International Guitar Competition resulting in two performances in London's Kings Place. George was also awarded a place on the 2019/20 Eurostrings Artist Program.

George is a founding member of the Mela Guitar Quartet who’s recently win the Guitar Foundation of America’s 2023 International Ensemble Competition will take them on tour of the USA in early 2025. Gramophone described the Mela quartet as having “collective technical brilliance and preternatural ensemble” in their recent Naxos release, ‘The Complete Quartet works’ of Anthony Burgess.