Spanish born saxophonist Sara Méndez was the 2018 winner of the Royal College of Music’s Contemporary music competition. She graduated with a Master’s in Performance from the RCM where she studied with Martin Robertson supported by the Big Give Awards. Sara is now doing a Manama, a Postgraduate Programme with Ictus Ensemble (Belgium).
Sara has taken part in several master classes, including classes with Jean-Marie Londeix, Marie Bernadette Charrier, Lars Mlekusch, Daniel Gauthier, Simon Diricq and composers such as Mauricio Sotelo, Jesús Torres, François Rossé, Christian Lauba and Alberto Posadas. Sara was also a participant in the 2018 Darmstadt Summer Course in Germany in the class of Marcus Weiss.
As part of the Mallorca Saxophone Ensemble, Sara has performed in Madrid, Lisbon, Zaragoza, Vigo and Mallorca; where she has actively participated in the Mallorca Saxophone Festival since 2012. Sara has collaborated with orchestras such as the Symphonic Orchestra of the Balearic Islands, the Symphonic Orchestra of CSIB and the RCM New Perspectives.
Recently, Sara has performed in a number of venues across the UK including Somerset House, the Royal Academy of Music, the Australian Embassy in London and the Victoria and Albert Museum. International appearances include the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Black is a versatile pianist whose work takes in opera, the symphony orchestra, chamber music and song recitals. He has worked for opera companies great and small in the UK, on operas ranging from half-forgotten gems of the late baroque to the largest works of Wagner to new pieces composed in the 21st century. He is a familiar face at London opera auditions, and he frequently accompanies students of every voice and instrument at colleges and schools in London.
As a recital accompanist, Richard has played for singers at Wigmore Hall and St John’s Smith Square, as well as in New York, Paris and Luxembourg. He has accompanied a wide range of instrumental works and played in a variety of chamber ensembles: he recently gave what was almost certainly the first UK performance in some decades of the piano trio by Pizzetti. He has for over 25 years had a strong interest in music by Ronald Stevenson, and has performed and recorded many songs and other works by him. Other recordings include songs by Alan Bush and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and he has broadcast several times on BBC Radio 3.
Apart from playing the piano, Richard is an experienced recording engineer, producer and editor.
Free recital (retiring collection)