Music Chamber

Latin American & Iberian music

Évocaton for Piano Trio          Frederic Mompou
La Fausse Morte                     Arrranged by Luciano González Sarmiento
L’insinuant
Le Vin Perdu
Les Pas
Le Sylphe

twenty21 is a mixed ensemble specializing incontemporary music with a goal to challenge expectations of live performance juxtaposing the theatrical with the absurd and the spiritual with the mundane. Our repertoire is chosen to entertain as well as enlighten. twenty21 is Mark Pedus, violin; Kalina Dimitrova, cello; Judith Sheridan, Soprano; and, Craig W. Combs, piano. The group formed in July 2009 and presented its inaugural concert on October 2, 2010 at The Forge Venue in Camden, London, UK. Subsequent to that performance, the group has prepared thre programs to be present at St. John’s Notting Hill over the 2011-12 concert season: February 4 and May 12, 2012.  For more information, see www.twenty21.org. Also, find and “like” our group page on Facebook to receive notices on future performances.

Of French Bulgarian parentage, Kalina Dimitrova studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, completing a Masters in Music Performance in 2002. Her chamber music experience has included masterclasses with the Takasc Quartet and Florestan Trio and coaching with the Ysaye Quartet. She now plays with the Accordi String Quartet and Twenty21. Orchestral playing include performances with the Orchestre des Régions Européennes, the British Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Mahler Orchestra, as extra player for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Northern Symphonia and regular trips to play with the Cyprus State Orchestra.

Violinist Mark Pedus studied at the RNCM with Y. Zivoni and has worked and freelanced with several British and Belgian orchestras. He has played solos with Southbank Symphonia in Italy and Musici Academici, Hortus Instrumentalis, and Kempisch Jeugdorkest in Belgium including Bach Double Concerto and Mozart Violin concerto Nr 3 KV 216. Currently, he performs extensive chamber music with the Dionysus Piano Trio, Trio Twenty21, Toccata-Musical Productions for Charitable Causes, and as the principal 2^nd violin for the International Mahler Orchestra.

Soprano, Judith Sheridan’s rich and varied musical career has taken her across continents and into the opera houses, concert halls and educational establishments of Europe and America.  After graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, and Lancaster University, her studies led to the Opera Studio in Hamburg.  Judith spent ten happy years treading the boards as an Opera Diva, performing roles as diverse as Leonora in Verdi’s “Force of Destiny”, Hanna Glawari in Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” and Jenny in Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the State of Mahagonny” in opera houses and concert halls including Opera Stabile, the Grosse Konzerthalle and Kleine Konzerthalle, Hamburg, Stadttheater Hildesheim, Osnabruck and Konstanz.  After returning to England, Judith now divides her time between performing, conducting and teaching, and leading workshops for both soloist and choirs. In her educational work Judith has taught regularly at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Queen’s University, Belfast and the Birmingham School of Acting. Judith’s special interest in the rarely performed music by recently discovered composers banned under the Nazi regime was ignited when she was inspired by a performance of Zemlinsky’s “Der Zwerg” in Hamburg.  The Forbidden Voices project is the culmination of many years’ research and performances of this remarkable music.

Chamber Pianist, Craig W. Combs, seeks like-minded artists with which to make music that is a reflection of the human condition. He is Artistic Director for The Paramount Chamber Players, a network of artists in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest; The Combs/Hostetter Piano Duo, a 4-hand piano ensemble and pianist for Twenty21. In 2007, he released the CD, Forbidden Voices: Songs by Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis with soprano, Judith Sheridan.A recent review of his playing commented on “ . . . the exceptional pianism of Craig Combs” and that “No praise is too high for his contribution.” You can read more about Craig on his website at www.craigcombs.com.