The next recital at our Enescu Soirees highlights relatively rare yet utterly seductive compositions that pair the viola and the violin, offered by unconventional Resono Collective made of Ioana Forna and Francis Gallagher. Adept of maverick programming, the two London-trained, Cluj-based musicians have chosen works with folkloric flavor by lesser-known composers like the Romanian Adrian Pop and the Hungarian Laszlo Weiner.
Program:
Adrian Pop - "Țiituri 1" for violin and viola
Laszlo Weiner - Duo for violin and viola
Resono Collective is a violin and viola duo with a new direction for the future of musical performance. After many years of professional performance in different chamber music and orchestral settings, Ioana Forna and Francis Gallagher have decided to begin a brand-new self-directed project. The Resono Collective is a flexible ensemble primarily involving classical instrumentalists in diverse setups. It aims to explore lesser-known music, occasionally inspired by genres other than classical music, and encompass all nationalities, cultures, and ethnicities. Based in Cluj-Napoca, central Romania, the Resono Collective strives to enrich the musical life of the city and to make music accessible to all – informed or otherwise.
Ioana Forna studied at London's Royal College of Music. A highly trained chamber musician, Ioana is the leader of the Forna Quartet, performing regularly across London, the UK and Europe. Ioana’s training and collaborations have allowed her to work with internationally acclaimed artists including the Belcea String Quartet, the Vogler Quartet, Fine Arts Quartet, Levon Chilingirian and the Sacconi Quartet. Ioana’s performances as a solo and chamber musician have taken her to venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, Cadogan Hall, Kings Place and the Royal Festival Hall. As an orchestral musician, Ioana performs regularly as a guest with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia and has been performing in the Glyndebourne Opera Festival and Nevill Holt Opera Festival.
Born and raised in London, Francis Gallagher always had an intense curiosity for music and played several instruments including the violin, viola, trumpet, guitar and piano. Later he studied viola and violin performance at the Royal College of Music with Jonathon Barritt, Yuri Zhislin and Suzie Meszaros. He then completed his Master of Performance in viola performance at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Throughout these educational years Francis participated in masterclasses with celebrated musicians Maxim Vengerov, Alina Ibragimova, Carol Rodland, Jennifer Stumm, and Máté Szücs and gained valuable guidance from members of the Endellion, Belcea, Fine Arts, Talich, Ysaye and Chilingirian Quartets. Since 2018 he has been pursuing performance in Arabic and Middle-Eastern Music with renowned Kurdish violinist Salar Asid. Francis is involved in many exciting projects such as Four Plus Three, which involves a collaboration between jazz pianist Kate Williams, celebrated guitarist John Williams, and the Guastalla String Quartet. Francis also collaborates regularly with contemporary ensemble Rarescale which has performed new works by renowned composers such as Michael Oliva and Claes Biehl. He is a regular guest player for the BBC Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, Britten Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra and is currently on trial for a position with the English National Opera Orchestra. Francis currently leads ensemble Aindama which focuses on using elements of traditional music from the Middle-East to perform original compositions incorporating both Western and Eastern instruments. In August 2019 they performed at Willowbrook Festival, Oxfordshire and recently in August 2020 during the pandemic put together a series of online performances entitled Back to the Roots. This October Francis featured as a soloist in ‘Sanctuary’, a curated online cultural exhibition, performing an improvisation in the Arabic tradition.