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7 Star Arts at the 1901 Arts Club

We are delighted to announce our new residency at the 1901 Arts Club, a convivial, intimate concert venue just a stone’s throw from Waterloo station.

With its salon-style decor and ambiance, the 1901 Arts Club is possibly London’s most stylish small venue and it’s the perfect place to enjoy 7 Star Arts varied events in a relaxed, welcoming setting – from our popular words-and-music productions such as Classic Gershwin to world-class chamber music with leading musicians, and two shows starring actor, comic, impressionist and pianist Alistair McGowan.

If you have yet to discover the wonderful 1901 Arts Club, now is your chance to do so. Join us there and experience something different with 7 Star Arts…

Music salon at the 1901 Arts Club

SAVE THE DATE! Alistair McGowan at the 1901 Arts Club

We’re excited to announce two dates with comic, actor, writer and pianist Alistair McGowan at the convivial 1901 Arts Club.

Wednesday 22 January 2025

Alistair McGowan : 3-in-1

Poetry, comedy and piano 

Alistair brings you the comedy and impressions for which he is known and loved, plays short piano favourites by Chopin, Grieg, Elgar, Satie and others, and reads from his newly-published poetry collection.  Expect beautiful music, poignant poems and spot-on mimicry. It’s three great shows in one!


Tuesday 11 March 2025 

Alistair McGowan : “Erik Satie : his words, his music, your ears”

Using Satie’s own surreally comedic writings and extracts from his letters as well as playing many of his best known short piano works, Alistair tells the story of Erik Satie’s bizarre, brave and lonely life. With vocal contributions from soprano, Charlotte Page. “A perfect Edinburgh show” (Stephanie Merritt, The Observer) 


Tickets will be on sale soon. If you haven’t yet discovered the 1901 Arts Club, an intimate salon-style small venue close to Waterloo station, now is the time to do so! (See our listings for other concerts at this exquisite gem of a venue).

https://www.1901artsclub.com

Events

Classic Cole: The Life of Cole Porter in Music & Words at the 1901 Arts Club

Sofia Kirwan-Baez (voice) & Alex Norton (piano) present an evening of music and anecdotes from the life of Cole Porter
Tickets £30
Part of the 7 Star Arts concert series at the 1901 Arts Club, in support of the ENO Benevolent Fund
Doors/bar open 6.30pm, concert starts at 7.30pm
Sofia Kirwan-Baez (voice) and Alex Norton (piano) bring you an evening of highlights and anecdotes from the life of Cole Porter, accompanied accordingly by his wonderful music.
Turning away from a comfortable life as a lawyer in Indiana, the bold Cole Porter opted for an extravagant life writing for musicals. We will be recounting the colourful stories of a man at the dawn of America’s Golden Age era for musicals, known for incessantly challenging boundaries throughout his life.
From some of his earliest numbers in 1919 (from Hitchy-Koo) to High Society in 1956, our 90-minute-long whistle-stop tour will comprise the likes of What is this thing called Love? , Love for Sale , Night and Day , So in Love , C’est Magnifique , I love Paris , among many other masterpieces.
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Fresh from her performances as Musetta in Longborough Festival Opera’s La Bohème, Sofia Kirwan-Baez (Young Artist at the National Opera Studio 23/24) has performed at Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Sadler’s Wells, the Royal Opera House (the Crush Room), Wales Millennium Centre, the Royal Albert Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Usher Hall, among others. She has hosted Cabaret-Piano Lounge nights at the OSO Arts Centre since October 2020.
Alex Norton is a British pianist and continuo player, who trained as a Young artist at the National Opera Studio (2022/23). Alex has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Wigmore Hall, various internationally-renowned European venues, and made his concerto debut with the Leeds Symphony Orchestra performing Gershwin’s piano concerto.


Praise for 7 Star Arts:
“a truly uplifting evening- beautiful music!”
“as good as Wigmore Hall!”
“such a friendly atmosphere…”
“Inspiring, inspired”
 

SARAH WILLIAMSON (clarinet) & SAM HAYWOOD (piano) at the 1901 Arts Club

Sarah Williamson – clarinet
Sam Haywood – piano
PROGRAMME
Gerald Finzi – Five Bagatelles
Francis Poulenc – Clarinet Sonata
Carl Maria von Weber – Grand Duo Concertante, Op.48
Robert Schumann – Fantasiestucke, Op.73
Johannes Brahms – Clarinet Sonata in f minor
George Gershwin – Crazy Girl / I Got Rhythm
Tickets £30
Part of the 7 Star Arts concert series at the 1901 Arts Club, in support of the ENO Benevolent Fund
Doors/bar open 6.30pm, concert starts at 7.30pm


Praise for 7 Star Arts:
“a truly uplifting evening- beautiful music!”
“as good as Wigmore Hall!”
“such a friendly atmosphere…”
“Inspiring, inspired”
 

BEN SHANKLAND, jazz piano, at the 1901 Arts Club

7 STAR ARTS presents BEN SHANKLAND, jazz pianist & composer, at the 1901 Arts Club

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON


Winner of 2023 BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year,  Edinburgh-born pianist and composer Ben Shankland is, despite his young  age, already gaining recognition on the UK jazz scene. He began his musical journey studying classical piano and bassoon, which greatly  developed his general musicality before finding an interest in jazz in his teens. Before long, he was hooked and began honing his craft as a member of Scotland’s finest youth jazz orchestras, with mentorship from  pianists John Turville and Alan Benzie, and saxophonists Tommy Smith and Mike Williams.

‘He is the perfect all-round musician, thoroughly grounded in the history and feel of jazz.’ – John Turville, Jazz Pianist
‘Great effervescence and jazz creativity’ – Tommy Smith, Jazz Saxophonist


Praise for 7 Star Arts:

“a truly uplifting evening of beautiful music!”
“such a friendly atmosphere…”
“Inspiring, inspired”

 

 

Hasta Astor! The Story of Astor Piazzolla in music, song and words

A celebration of the life and music of Argentinean composer and virtuoso bandoneonist, Astor Piazzolla in music, song and words

Elena Lorenzi – vocals

Emma Arizza – violin

Stefano Marzanni – piano

Nesley Fairburn – actress/narrator

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was the single most important figure in the history of tango. This show features international duo Elena Lorenzi and Stefano Marzanni, who have wowed audiences in 7 Star Arts’ atmospheric ‘Cabaret Beyond Borders’. They are joined by prize-winning violinist Emma Arizza and actress/narrator Nesley Fairburn.

A virtuoso bandoneonist, who regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles, Piazzolla’s music revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style called nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music.

The programme includes some of Piazzolla’s most well known and best loved music, including Oblivion, Adios Nonino and Libertango, together with rarely-performed songs such as Balada Para un Loco and Yo Soy Maria from the tango operita ‘María de Buenos Aires’

Tickets £30

There will be 2 performances, on 25 and 26 March respectively. Please select your preferred date when booking.

Part of the 7 Star Arts 1901 Arts Club residency. This concert is in support of the ENO Benevolent Fund

SWEET HARMONY at the 1901 Arts Club

A celebration of Shakespeare in Music & Words

VIV McLEAN piano

SUSAN PORRETT actress/reader

NESLEY FAIRBURN actress/reader

KLARA SMITH visuals

Sweet Harmony is a words and music concert celebrating the genius of William Shakespeare, appropriately presented on the Bard’s birthday, 23 April.

Join pianist Viv McLean, clarinettist Sarah Williamson and actresses Susan Porrett and Nesley Fairburn for delightful programme of piano music interspersed with readings from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, and illustrated with visuals by artist Klara Smith.

Tickets £35

Doors/bar open 6.30pm, concert starts at 7.30pm

Programme to include

Nikolai Medtner
Fairy Tales Op.35
Ophelia’s Song
King Lear

Sergei Prokofiev
  Suite Romeo and Juliet
Friar Laurence
Dance of the Knights

Claude Debussy
  La Danse de Puck

Franz Schubert
  An Sylvia