Criccieth Memorial Hall will host not one, not two, but three concerts next week.

Criccieth Festival committee and the Friends of Criccieth Memorial Hall were approached by Ken Grundy from Maestro Touring, asking if they would be interested in hosting three concerts in the hall.

They jumped at the chance, with Friends co-ordinator Pam Mayo explaining: “Mr Grundy has quite a following of people who travel all over the world to see his concerts.

“This year they chose to come to Criccieth and offer to help us raise much needed funds for our centenary year.”

The concerts take place over the weekend of 8-10 October.

On Friday, 8 October, Luke Jones’ recital will include works by J.S. Bach, Rachmaninov, Liszt and Prokofiev.

Luke started playing the piano at the age of 5 and made his debut recital aged 10. At 11 he was awarded a place at Chetham’s School of Music. He went on to study in Italy at the Conservatorio di Musica in Campobasso and at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 2019 won their prestigious Gold Medal, the college’s highest award for performance.

Luke has performed all over the UK and EU with concerts and recitals in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham as well as Paris, Luxembourg, Salzburg and Barcelona. He has performed with orchestras including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Manchester Camerata, Orchestra of the Swan and Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya.

The Sam Jewison Trio take to the stage on Saturday, 9 October.

Vocalist, pianist and conductor Sam, together with his trio, present an evening of jazz in the style of 1922, the year of the memorial hall’s opening, and music from the Great American Songbook.

Sam studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where, as well as winning many awards and prizes for his vocal achievements, he also won the 2019 Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Competition.

He was a headline artist at the 2020 ReGeneration Festival in Florence, performing with Anush Hovhannisyian, Shenel Johns, VeronicaSwift, Dominick Farinacci, Yasushi Nakamura and Dan Tepfer. His interpretation of the Great American Songbook has led to sold-out appearances with his eponymous orchestra, including Camden’s famous Jazz Café, Blackheath Halls and Westminster Abbey, along with his trio for the Orticola Di Lombardia in Milan, Music in Valsolda on Lake Lugano and The Arts Club in London.

Completing the weekend is renowned soprano Anush Hovhannisyan who performs in Criccieth immediately before starting rehearsals for the role of Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

She will be joined by Sam at the piano for The Composer in Hollywood, celebrating legendary composers of concert and dramatic music, whose collective genius touched the masses through Hollywood.

Anush represented Armenia at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2017, The Times named her The Face to Watch in Opera 2020 followed by Opera Magazine featuring her as the cover for 2020 July/August issue.

Nominated for 2018 International Opera Awards, she made a name for herself as one of the brightest young sopranos of her generation followed by her highly acclaimed debut with Scottish Opera as Violetta La Traviata.

Anush was last in Wales just before the first lockdown to perform the role of Hélène in Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes in Cardiff & Llandudno with the Welsh National Opera and Maestro Carlo Rizzi. Based in London she has worked with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Philharmonia Orchestra, Opera Holland Park, Opera Rara, BBC Proms. She has worked with many of the renowned conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Nicola Luisotti, Daniel Oren.