A musical marriage at Flowerfield

The couple will present a special concert of classical and light choices, starting at 8pm and supported by Coleraine Borough Arts Committee – all tickets are £10 (which includes interval refreshments), and they’re available from reception at Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart.

Jonathan Johnston will be familiar to Northern Ireland audiences. Born in County Down and a student of the late William Dunwoody MBE and Colin Fleming, he continued studies at the Royal Northern College of Music under the professorship of Peter Lloyd.

A former Northern Ireland ‘Young Musician of the Year’, Jonathan received much prestige, including bursaries from the Princes Trust and Ian Gow Memorial Fund. He also won a scholarship to attend Sir James Galway’s International Seminar in Switzerland, and Sir James has continued to be a great influence on his career.

Orchestrally, he has played with the Halle, London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony and Ulster orchestras, and has played solo flute under the direction of conductors as George Hurst, Sir Simon Rattle and Daniel Barenboim.

Joining Jonathan on stage will be his wife Iryna, one of the rising stars of classical piano. Born in Mariupol, Ukraine into a family of lawyers, Iryna broke the family tradition when she showed promising signs at an early age with her talents on the piano. Iryna’s father instantly recognised his daughter’s ability and arranged an audition for her to attend a specialist music school at the age of seven. By the age of nine she was already playing Mozart sonatas and giving concerts throughout Ukraine and Russia.

At 15, Iryna was invited to study at the Prokofiev Academy where she instantly gained a scholarship. On graduation with the ‘highest honours of distinction’ certificate (an accolade only given to very few), she was asked to remain as a professor of the faculty. Iryna’s competition successes include winner of the Crimea International Piano Competition, Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition in Belgium and the Emil Gilels international piano competition, Odessa.

The concert will feature a selection that includes classical works by Schubert, Mozart, Liszt as well as lighter pieces by Henri Mancini and Scott Joplin, among others. For a full copy of the programme Jonathan and Iryna will be playing, please visit the Events page of Flowerfield’s website on www.flowerfield.org.

If you’d like to purchase a ticket, call at Flowerfield reception – you can also pay for your tickets over the phone by calling the reception staff on (028) 7083 1400.