2026 – LECTURES & STUDY DAYS

BERWICK MUSIC SOCIETY

“Echoes of the Baroque: A Musical Journey”

Saturday 28th February 2026 – 14:00

Join us for an engaging afternoon exploring the elegance, emotion, and artistry of Baroque music — a time when composers shaped sound into intricate patterns of beauty and drama. Maria Chester’s talk will guide listeners through the unique characteristics of the Baroque style, from the invention of tonality to the expressive contrasts of light and shadow that defined the era.

Gal Trio, a talented trio of musicians will perform live excerpts from masterpieces by composers such as Bach, Vivaldi, and Haendel.

Together, Maria’s lecture and the live music of the Gal Trio will offer a vivid portrait of an age, revealing how the spirit of the Baroque continues to resonate in today’s music and cult

Serenna MacLellan (flute)

Elinor Haf Roderick (violin)

Anoukia Nistor (cello)

Bach –Trio Sonata BWV1039 in G Major, Mov 1-2

Haendel –Trio Sonata HWV386b in B minor, Mov 3-4

Vivaldi –The Four Seasons- Spring – Extracts arranged for Violin, flute, and Cello

Haendel –Trio Sonata HWV 386b in B minor-AndanteAllegro

Bach –Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major-Prélude

       Trio Sonata BWV1039 in G Major-Presto

www.berwickmusic.org

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FRED OLSEN – BOREALIS

From Southampton to Buenos Aires

28/01/2026 to 19/02/2026

Fred Olsen invited me again to deliver eight lectures throughout three weeks of sailing. It is a fantastic opportunity to share and enjoy some talks that will revealed juicy details of places and civilisations we are going to visit together.

hese are the titles of my talks:

1-SEA MONSTERS

2-GALICIA

3-THE GUANCHES

4-THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

5-SLAVERY & RELIGION

6- AMAZONIA & AMAZON RIVER

7-AMAZONIA-ROCK ART

8-ART NOUVEAU IN BUENOS AIRES

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TYNESIDE ARTS SOCIETY –

12TH JANUARY 2026 – 19:30

British women artists between 1919 and 1939 were notable painters, sculptors, and photographers who helped change British art during the interwar period.The work of women artists between the wars is not well documented.Their paintings, and photographs documentedeveryday  life, shifting  gender  roles,  and  the emergence  of  new  opportunities  for  women. Interwar  British  women artists depicted societywith a unique perspective that reflected both the profound  social  changes  of the interwar period. Their work often reflected changing social roles, the impact  of  war, and  broader modernist movements. Their  art  captured  the  anxieties, hopes, and the  role  of  women, from  personal experience with war, work, as well as gender expectations.

NOTE: this lecture is part of a ten-hour course about BRITISH ART BETWEEN THE WARS which is ideal for summer schools.