One evening, just before a concert in Luton, I was approached by a young teenager who asked if he might come and give a viola recital in our series. It didn’t take long to discover what a remarkable talent Timothy Ridout was offering to the world! He and I then set up a concert in which he was to be joined by one of his best friends from the National Youth Orchestra – a marimba player. And so, in celebration of such an unusual combination of instruments, I wrote for them this piece, The Sound of Rhubarb Growing.

Nearly ten years later, whilst teaching on a summer course, I have now met another exceptional young violist, Josh Law. We have put together a programme, including that rhubarb-flavoured piece, in which he is joined by some of his fellow students from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. In another pedagogical twist his pianist friend, Yuki, turns out to be a former pupil of mine at the Royal College of Music. How endlessly interweaving these Ties between Pupil & Teacher are proving to be!

Richard Sisson (Programme Planner)