Concerts at Leiston Abbey
We’re delighted to be relaunching our concert programme, which will feature outstanding musicians from the UK and beyond, many of whom also tutor on Pro Corda’s residential courses. Programmes include well-loved classical repertoire to lesser-known works, with all concerts designed to be both artistically rewarding and accessible to new audiences.
Audiences can expect intimate concerts with world class musicians in a relaxed, unique and historic setting, while enjoying a glass of wine or cup of tea. Attending our concerts is also a great way to support our charitable work, helping to continue the outstanding musical legacy Pro Corda has built over many decades while investing in our magical, historically important site.
Past performers include The Behn, Accordare, and Leonora Quartets, and renowned cellist Alexander Baillie.
Whether you are joining us for the first time or returning, we look forward to welcoming you to Leiston Abbey.
Upcoming Concerts
Victor Lim: April 17th 2026 - 7.30pm
Victor Lim is an internationally sought-after teacher, Victor has been the Head of Keyboard Studies at Rossall School since 2022 where he is also the Director of International Piano Academy for gifted young pianists. He also holds teaching positions at the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music, and is a regular member of the faculty at International Young Musicians Academy and Pro Corda.
Described as a pianist with ‘with great possibilities of nuance and perfect flexibility’ (Revista Arta), Victor trained at Wells Cathedral School with John Byrne and Richard Ormrod, then at the Royal Northern College of Music (where he won the 2021 RNCM Gold Medal) with Graham Scott, Jeremy Young and Murray McLachlan as an ABRSM scholar. Victor continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Michael Dussek, where he graduated with a Dip.RAM and received the Christian Carpenter Prize for the best final recital. After pursuing the Artist Diploma programme at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Victor completed his studies with Kathryn Stott at the RNCM gaining its prestigious International Artist Diploma.
Annabel Thwaite and Matthew Jones: 24th May 2026 - 11am
Annabel is a multi-award winner and recognised as one of the most versatile and charismatic pianists playing today. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed in major concert halls and toured throughout the world, collaborating with artists such as Sir Bryn Terfel, Roberto Alagna and chamber music with the Danish Ensemble Midtvest at Carnegie Hall, New York. Annabel is also a highly experienced teacher, with decades’ experience working with children of all ages as well as adults.
Matthew is Head of Chamber Music and one of the most sought after worldwide professors of viola at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Matthew is also a composer, mathematics graduate and teacher of the Alexander Technique and Kundalini Yoga/Meditation. He is described by Strings Magazine as the finest Violist since William Primrose, following his critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 2008.
The Heath Quartet: July 10th 2026 - 7.30pm
Benjamin Britten: Three Divertimenti
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quartet no.1 in G Major, K. 80, Lodi
Interval
Josef Suk: Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn “St. Wenceslas” op. 30a
Robert Schumann: Quartet in F Major, op. 41, no. 2
One of the most acclaimed British string quartets, the Heath String Quartet has built a strong reputation for its dynamic and committed performances.
Established at the Royal Northern College of Music, they were subsequently selected for representation by YCAT in 2008 and, in 2013, became the first ensemble in fifteen years to win the prestigious RPS Young Artists Award. In 2016 they won the Gramophone Chamber Award for their recording of the complete Tippett quartets and were featured performing the composer’s Second quartet in the BBC programme ‘Classic Quartets’ at the BBC.
The Tippett album was followed by two discs recorded for Harmonia Mundi/PIAS and part-funded by a BBT Special Ensemble Scholarship, of Tchaikovsky’s First and Third quartets (BBC Radio 3’s Disc of the Week) and the complete Bartók quartets (2017 Limelight Chamber Music Award; nominated for 2018 Gramophone Chamber Award). Their recent album for Signum Records, with soprano Carolyn Sampson, brings together works by Berg, Webern and Schoenberg.
With a recording of Helen Grime’s Second Quartet they contributed towards Bracing Change 2, an anthology of contemporary British string quartets on NMC which was nominated as Gramophone Editor’s Choice in 2023. Other accolades include first prize at the 2008 TROMP competition, and the 2012 Ensemble Prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Notable highlights include a two-season residency at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, their Barcelona debut in Palau de la Musica Catalana, a Beethoven series at Bath Festival, debuts at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Saffron Hall and Cheltenham Festival, as well as concerts at Handelsbeurs Ghent, Aldeburgh, and Norfolk & Norwich festivals.
Recent seasons have included a tour of the USA, a live broadcast with Steven Osborne for the BBC Proms and an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s ‘How to Play’; a highly-acclaimed programme exploring Schubert’s Death and the Maiden. The quartet continued its long association with Wigmore Hall with a four-concert series and gave the inaugural concert at the newly renovated Brighton Dome Corn Exchange. They also performed at The British Library and were faculty members at the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme. The quartet enjoyed collaborations with, amongst others, Anastasia Kobekina, Robert Plane, Tom Poster, Matthias Schorn, Alice Neary, Hélène Clement and the Elias String Quartet
