Arthur Bliss: A Man of Two Continents - St John Baptist Church

A recital by Matthew Secombe (Baritone), Rebecca Watson (Piano) andElizabethHaughan(Piano) commemorating the 50th anniversary of the deathoftheEnglishcomposer Sir Arthur Bliss. Matthew is the great grandson of Sir Arthur Bliss and thegrandson of Sir Harry Secombe, who performed in St Johns Church in 1991 for theITV television programme Highway.
Blisss father and wife were both American. He lived and taught in the USA for anumber of years and one of his major works (the Piano Concerto of 1938/39) isdedicated to the people of the USA. Tonights recital features songs by Bliss himselfalongside those by British composers, Vaughan Williams and Rebecca Clarke, whowas born in England but spent a large part of her life in the USA and died in NewYork, together with their American counterparts, Amy Beach and Charles Ives.

The Performers
Matthew Secombe graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2020 and currently studies privately with John Evans. He will start his Masters degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in September. Matthews 2021-22 engagements have included bass solos for Beethovens Mass in C with East Cornwall Bach Choir, and playing the roles of Wang Feng, Hua An and the Crab General for the world premiere of The Monk of the River by Anna Vienna Ho at Tte--Tte opera festival. He has also performed in voice-viola-piano trio recitals at the Royal College of Music, and at St Margarets Church, Putney. In June and July 2022 he will be playing the role of Masetto in Surrey Operas production of Don Giovanni. Other performances have included the roles of the Dog and the Milkman in Hans Krasas childrens opera Brundibar with Boco Arts, and Handels Messiah solos at Truro Cathedral.

Rebecca Watsongained a Masters degree in piano performance with distinction in2023, under the tutelage of Mark Bebbington and John Thwaites at the RoyalBirmingham Conservatoire. Whilst studying, she was awarded the Ambache Prizefor a performance of "Pentecost" by Diana Burrell, and was a finalist in the BerylChempin Beethoven Prize and the Donohoe Gold Medal. Rebecca has performed inthe Conservatoire lunchtime recital series, Malcolm Arnold and Arthur Blisscelebration concerts, and at the Ulverston International music festival. In 2025, sheperformed John Joubert and Dorothy Howell sonatas as part of a British MusicFestival and was an accompanist in the Elgar Festival. Rebecca read medicine atCambridge University and currently works as a medical school lecturer. Futureprojects include performances of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, and the pianomusic of Andrew Downes.

Scottish-bornElizabeth Haughanis a pianist and teacher working across Londonand Birmingham. She works as both a soloist and in collaboration with many singersand instrumentalists, having performed in venues such as the Southbank Centre, theWigmore Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She held a WeingartenScholarship at the Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest, where she studied with GborFarkas. Previously she gained a First Class BMus (Hons) from the Royal College ofMusic and an MMus (Distinction) from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire,studying with Gordon Fergus Thompson, Margaret Fingerhut and Pascal Nemirovski.Recent highlights include being a Young Artist at Leeds Lieder Festival, performingDvorks Piano Quintet at a pre-CBSO Showcase in Birminghams Symphony Halland winning the Dennis Horner Accompanist Prize at the Junior Kathleen FerrierSociety Awards. She is currently studying on the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma inProfessional Performance course at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where shehas won the Leamington prize, Sylvia Cleaver Chamber prize and all the major songaccompanist prizes.