The second concert in the series of the Bir Miftuh International Music Festival organised annually by Din l-Art Helwa will be a Cello Recital by Jonathan Byers. It will take place on Saturday at 8pm at the Church of Santa Marija ta’ Bir Miftuh which, with its medieval architecture and frescoes and perfect acoustics, provides a unique setting.
The concert has been made possible through the support of the British Council and the assistance of its director Ronnie Micallef. All proceeds will go to Din l-Art Helwa’s restoration programmes and to the upkeep of the church.
Jonathan Byers, aged 24, was born in Belfast and graduated in 2002 from the Royal Academy of Music London, where he is currently in his final year of a post- graduate course, studying with Jennifer Ward-Clarke and Philip Sheppard. He started playing the cello at the age of eight and while studying at the City of Belfast School of Music he was a soloist and principal cello with the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra and also principal cello with the Ulster Youth Orchestra. In 1997 he won the Northern Ireland Young Musician of the Year Competition and at 17 he become a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and played in its 50th anniversary tour of Europe. He has since worked with many orchestras including the Academy of Ancient Music, National Symphony Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Camerata Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra.
Jonathan has played in various pop concerts, including one at the Royal Albert Hall and another one at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Elton John. He has performed on BBC and has regular recording sessions for TV programmes. Last year he performed on a two week tour of Sweden and Denmark with Abba – The Show.
Jonathan Byers is the cellist of the prestigious Badke String Quartet, which currently holds the Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music. He is a tutor for the Hounslow Youth Orchestra and enjoys teaching several pupils across London. Recently he has been awarded the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Young Artists Platform Scheme Award. He plays on a 1740 cello, loaned to him by the Becket Collection at the Royal Academy of Music.
His programme comprises works by Mesomedes of Crete, a 13th Century Spanish anonymous composer, Turlough Carolan, Michel Farinel, Domenico Gabrielli, Gottfried Finger, Johann Sebastian Bach and David Byers.
Tickets at Lm7.50 per person including refreshments after the concert, may be obtained from Din l-Art Helwa’s Office tel: 21220358 or 21225952, Monday to Friday between 9am and noon. Patrons are urged to book early as the number of seats is limited.