THE opening concert of Skipton Music’s new season next month promises to be a truly memorable evening, as the award winning Consone Quartet perform music by Haydn and Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, at Skipton’s newly refurbished town hall.

The first period instrument quartet to be selected as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the Consone Quartet are fast making a name for themselves with their honest and expressive interpretations of classical and early romantic repertoire.

Formed in 2012 at the Royal College of Music, London, the quartet are winners of the 2016 Royal Over-Seas League Ensemble Prize, and 2021 sees them performing at the Wigmore Hall; Buxton, Cheltenham and English Haydn Festivals, touring the north of England and Scotland, as well as hosting a ‘Consone and Friends’ BBC Radio 3 series from the Dora Stoutzker Hall in Cardiff.

The wearing of face masks will be compulsory - except for the medically exempt - and all concert-goers will be asked to take a lateral flow test before attending the concert.

All concerts will be held in line with Covid-related guidance provided by the town hall, which includes significantly reduced capacity, distanced seating and regular and enhanced cleaning. Ticket numbers will be extremely limited, so early booking is advisable to avoid disappointment.

Skipton Music’s usual format is to have a season of six concerts where all season tickets are announced and sold in advance.

But, given the continued uncertainty around the pandemic, this year there will be a series of individual concerts between autumn and early summer next year. Featured artists/ ensembles will be announced one concert at a time, and ticket sales opened about a month ahead of each performance.

Concerts secretary, Sally Johnson, said: “We are thrilled to be back at Skipton Town Hall, for the first time since 2018, and there’s lots to look forward to.  Everyone is welcome, you don’t need to be a ‘member’.  We’d also love to see more younger people in our audience, which is why, in addition to standard £1 tickets for under-19s, we are piloting a new scheme for under-30s this year with a limited number of tickets available for each concert at only £5, on a first-come, first-served basis.”

Francis Finlay, chair of Skipton Music said: “ Looking to the future, we hope to be operating under more normal circumstances in 2022/23, not least as this will be our 75th anniversary season. Plans are already afoot for a very special series of concerts, so watch this space or follow us on social media for more details throughout the year.”

The Consone Quartet concert is on Tuesday 12 October. Tickets from Skipton Town Hall Box Office https://skiptontownhall.co.uk