Concerts
Our musicians collectively create informative and interactive concert experiences that involve our audience in meaningful ways.
We are passionate about sharing the depth that classical music has to offer to those who would have otherwise been excluded from typical concert environments.
Below are some of our past and on going projects, lovingly photographed by Emily Turkanik.
Lighthouse Project, Hawkwood residency - Joe’s home town
Residency: Hawkwood Centre for for future thinking, Stroud UK
Concert location: St Mary’s Church, Witham Friary UK
Programme: Benjamin Britten String Quartet no.2 and a selection of Christmas carols
Performers: Emily Turkanik, Ayla Sahin, Connie Pharoah, Joe Pritchard
“The way you embraced and opened yourselves to the community was really touching to see, and made me feel incredibly lucky to have such friends and colleagues that respond so beautifully to a little adventure outside the norms of our lives. It’s rare that I can make some small musical activity happen at home (given that it’s in the middle of nowhere), but you are the reason that it could happen at this time, and it meant so much to me. In the last couple of days in the village, there’s an overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation from people who came to the concert, who would love to see more of it in the future.” — Joe Pritchard, cellist
“I expected playing for Joe’s village to be fun and cosy, but nothing prepared me for the feeling of being totally at home and almost like I’d known everyone my whole life, I can’t believe its only been just one day. It felt like a Christmas movie. I am so touched by everyone’s positivity and joy, it’s infectious and I am holding onto it to pass onto to my own family and friends. It’s also funny to think that this is the start of this project, and no matter what happens we’ll look back with gratitude that we made something happen as a group, that with our efforts we do make magical moments that are meaningful to people.” — Connie Pharoah, violist
Lighthouse Project
Location: Schiermonnikoog Netherlands
Emily Turkanik, Ayla Sahin, Connie Pharoah
As summer neared, as evenings lengthened, there came to the wakeful, the hopeful, walking on the beach, stirring the pool, imaginations of the strangest kind—of flesh turned to atoms which drove before the wind, of stars flashing in their hearts, of cliff, sea, cloud and sky brought purposely together to assemble outwardly the scattered parts of vision within.
- Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Hawkwood Residency, Darken the Paper Enescu Octet
Residency: Hawkwood centre for future thinking, Stroud UK
Programme: Georges Enescu String Octet
Performers: Madeleine Pickering, Emily Turkanik, Raphael Papo, Zea Hunt, Connie Pharoah, Tobby Cook, Keiran Carter, Toby White
It was for the first time in a year that Seida had played together with a unique combination of musicians and as the sun was setting on the first night of our week at Hawkwood we sat together in the garden and looked at the moon. We had had our first run through of the Enescu Octet, the piece of music that we had chosen to bring to Hawkwood and the basis on which we were able to learn more about each other, what Seida Ensemble means and about Enescu himself. Communing in the evening to talk about our purpose, our experiments and ideas felt like a spark that had been lit was starting to grow.
It felt very exciting to live the music for the first time as a group. Practising the part at home was only like reading the blurb of a book, however the first read through as a group was an enthusiastic, life giving and shaky discovery. To be able to spend five days exploring this music together in depth was like digging out treasures.
The chaos, emotional depth and beauty inside the music revealed itself in our behaviour, energy and our relationship to each other as well as the music. There were waves of high intensity rehearsals and dancing at night time whilst playing folk tunes, to crashes of lying in the grass eating cake and taking a pensive wonder through the grounds. The environment of Hawkwood is a place where care is put into every aspect of living there, be it the home-grown food, the beautiful range of gardens, even the choice of toilet paper, and it started to translate into our work ethic and attitude.
One of our focuses during the week was on the launch of our well-being programme ‘music@work’. One afternoon we gathered into our sitting room with Simon Chadwick, an actor, stage fighter and voice-over artist.
Our drawing workshop was a moment to bring out our inner child and to create a piece of art to represent our collective vision of the Enescu Octet. Similarly to rehearsing music, we were able to observe the unique nature in which everyone put their pen to paper. Some confident and uninhibited, others more careful and pensive. The art piece travelled everywhere with us, becoming our mascot.
music@work launch, Florian Leonhard’s workshop
Workshop Location: Leonard Florians, London UK
Programme: Georges Enescu String Octet
Performers: Madeleine Pickering, Emily Turkanik, Raphael Papo, Zea Hunt, Connie Pharoah, Tobby Cook, Keiran Carter, Toby White
Swiss Church Covent Garden, Debut Concert Bartok Divertimento
Due to the pandemic this project was put on hold for over two years, which meant that when it finally came together in 2022 we were so excited to perform to a live audience as “Seida Ensemble” for the first time.
Programme: Bela Bartok Divertimento for Strings
Performers: Madeleine Pickering, Daniel Stroud, Emily Turkanik, Mitzi Gardener, Connie Pharoah, Clem Pickering, Shizuku Tatsuno, Keiran Carter, Will Deurden
St Pancras Clock Tower, Darken the Paper Enseu Octet
SofarSounds, The Painted Hall Bridge Suite for String Orchestra
Bell House, Darken the Paper Enescu Octet
