Cardinal Wind Quintet & Lucian Amette Crosby (piano)
About this Event
ABOUT THE EVENT
Our 2026/27 season kicks off with the return of the brilliant Cardinal Quintet, whose sold-out concert here in January (see video below!) was so well received. Joining them this time will be pianist Lucian Amette Crosby, with whom they won the 2025 Brodsky Chamber Music Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music. They will perform landmarks of the repertoire for piano and winds by Françaix, Mozart and Poulenc, as well as a companion piece to the Poulenc, newly commissioned by the ensemble from Manchester-based composer Kuba Williams, winner of the 2025 RNCM Gold Medal for Composition.
We are grateful to the Ida Carroll Trust for supporting our recital series, enabling us to pay the artists who perform here.
PROGRAMME
Jean Françaix (1912–1997), L'Heure du Berger, for piano and wind quintet (1947)
- Les vieux beaux
- Pin-up girls
- Les petits nerveux
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Quintet in E flat K. 452, for piano, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon (1784)
- Largo – Allegro moderato
- Larghetto
- Allegretto
Kuba Williams, A Messe of Good Fellows, for piano and wind quintet (2026)
Francis Poulenc (1899–1963), Sextet FP 100, for piano and wind quintet (1932–9)
- Allegro Vivace
- Divertissement: Andantino
- Finale: Prestissimo
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
is a Manchester-based wind quintet, made up of recent graduates from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). Kaoruko (flute), Cara (clarinet), Connor (bassoon), Esmé (French horn) and Anna (oboe), all hailing from various corners of the world. The group was officially formed in June 2024, and, since then, they have enjoyed playing in various concerts and venues (including the RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester Cathedral and St Ann's Church). They were winners of the 2025 RNCM Fewkes Chamber Music Prize, the 2025 June Emerson Launchpad Chamber Music Prize and the 2026 Underrepresented Composers Prize. They were also finalists in the 2025 RNCM Chris Rowland Chamber Music Prize.
The Cardinal Quintet joined forces with pianist Lucian Amette Crosby in 2025 and have since won the 2025 RNCM Brodsky Chamber Music Prize and performed several recitals across the North West. The Cardinal Quintet is passionate about repertoire, both old and new, and enjoys working with living composers on expanding on the existing canon. They have enjoyed premiering and performing a new commission for wind quintet and piano by Kuba Williams, RNCM 2025 Gold Medal Composition Winner and are looking forward to soon premiering another commision for the sextet by RNCM Composer Aidan Fyfe. Most of all, they love the collaborative energy of chamber music and getting to share that joy with audience members.
Upcoming engagements include recitals at Forsyths Music Shop in September, Leeds Conservatoire, supported by Leeds International Concert Series, in October plus many more. Further information can be found on their social media pages.
Instagram:
Facebook:
Above: the Cardinal Quintet's last concert at Forsyth on 22 January 2026.
Above, from left: Kaoruko (flute), Cara (clarinet), Lucian (piano), Kuba (composer), Connor (bassoon), Esmé (French horn) and Anna (oboe)
For the Cardinal Quintet's performance on 10 September, Natalie Ngai will appear in place of Kaoruko Takehara.
Natalie Ngai, guest flute
Natalie Ngai is a Hong Kong-born Singaporean flautist equally adept at the flute and the piccolo. As the winner of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition 2022, Natalie performed as a piccolo soloist with the orchestra at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. She went on to win First Prize at the 11th Singapore Flute Competition with an all-piccolo programme, and later received the Highly Commended Award from the British Flute Society Flute Competition. She attained Gold Prize at the Euterpe Music Awards, First Prize at the London Classical Music Competition and First Prize at the American International Music Competition, Cleveland. She was awarded the Gold Prize at the Virtuoso International Music Awards, simultaneously winning the Special Prize for Best Professional Woodwind Player. Prior to that, she achieved 2nd prize at the 2nd Hong Kong International Flute Competition and the 10th Singapore Flute Competition. Natalie is an active player in orchestras and symphonic bands, holding a number of principal flute and piccolo positions. She joined the Singapore National Youth Orchestra in 2018 and was appointed concertmaster of the Dunman High School Symphonic Band in 2019, along with being featured as a soloist with the band in 2020 (piccolo) and 2022 (flute). She participated in the National Symphony Youth Orchestra Summer Camp in 2023 and 2024 in Taiwan, where she also received the award for Outstanding Musical Achievements. She toured with the Asian Youth Orchestra in the summer of 2025 and performs with the Orchestra of the Music Makers in her spare time. More recently, she was selected for the RNCM Professional Experience Scheme where she played in placements with both the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of Opera North in the 25/26 season.
Natalie first picked up the flute at the age of six and started learning the piccolo at the age of thirteen. In 2019, she was admitted as a Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) in flute performance. She is now in the final year of her undergraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music with her flute tutor Cormac Henry and her piccolo tutor Jennifer Hutchinson. She has since enjoyed working with world-renowned flautists in numerous masterclasses, and her first-year recital won her the Peter Lloyd Prize. Her scholarship at the RNCM is generously supported by the John Fewkes Instrumentalist Award and the Wolfson Instrument Fund.
Anna Turner, oboe
Anna is a recent graduate from the Royal Northern College of Music, where the Waverley Fund generously supported her studies. She studied oboe and cor anglais there with Jonathan Small and Ruth Contractor respectively.
Anna has performed as a soloist at various venues around the UK, notably in a recent performance of Roxanna Panufnik's Letters from Burma for oboe and string quartet at the Wigmore Hall. Whilst at the RNCM, she performed in masterclasses with David Walter, Hélène Devilleneuve and Philippe Tondre.
Over the last three years, Anna has enjoyed performing in many chamber groups, especially the Cardinal Quintet (a wind quintet), who won the Fewkes Prize for woodwind chamber music as well as the Brodsky Prize, when they joined forces with a pianist to play the Poulenc Sextet. She has also been a member of the RNCM Symphony and Wind Orchestras many times, and played principal oboe in two of the RNCM's opera productions. Anna plays on a Howarth XM oboe, which she bought with the aid of a grant from the Royal Philharmonic Society.
Cara Smith, clarinet
Cara Smith is a Scottish clarinettist and recent graduate from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Cara began learning the clarinet at age 11, although she only began lessons purely to get out of maths! Her love for music soon flourished and 2 years prior to starting her studies at RNCM she went on to study at the RCS Junior Conservatoire and was thoroughly inspired by her time there.
During her studies, Cara had many exciting performance opportunities, including side-by-sides with the Manchester Camerata, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North; however, her orchestral highlight so far has been performing Mahler's 2nd Symphony at the Bridgewater Hall with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra. Alongside orchestral playing, Cara has a strong love for opera. This was nurtured when she won a place on the Royal Opera House Orchestral Mentorship Scheme for the academic year of 2023/24. This involved playing in rehearsals with the orchestra and receiving 1:1 lessons. Outside of playing in the orchestra, Cara is a passionate chamber musician and is a proud member of the Cardinal Quintet, which, within one year of forming, has won multiple prizes and is growing in demand across the North West.
Cara has a strong passion for working in community music settings. This was generated from the work she did during her gap year with children and young adults with additional support needs and/or who live in underprivileged areas. This developed when she gained a place on the NYOS Music Leaders course, a one-year paid traineeship designed to equip you with the skills to be a successful workshop leader and music educator. She is most grateful to the Dewar Arts Awards for supporting her studies.
Esmé MacBride, French horn
Esmé MacBride-Stewart is a recent graduate from both the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester after studying on the GRNCM/MusB 'Joint Course'. She studies with Lindsey Stoker and Tim Jackson.
She is a versatile and engaging horn player, and has recently completed the Professional Experience Scheme with the BBC Philharmonic, which culminated in two performances with the orchestra in Aviva Studios. She has also enjoyed numerous opportunities to play with the RNCM Symphony and Chamber orchestras, including 2nd Horn in Mahler 1 in the Bridgewater Hall in June 2024. Her wind quintet, the Cardinal Quintet, performs regularly, and this year they won the Fewkes and Brodsky chamber music prizes at the RNCM. They are in increasing demand for recital and concert performances in the North West. She holds a Performance Diploma (ARSM) in both the piano and the French horn, as well as an AMusTCL music theory diploma, all at Distinction level. Before coming to university, she studied at the City of Edinburgh Music School and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Academy.
Connor Huss, bassoon
Connor Huss is a 22-year-old bassoonist and recent graduate from the Royal Northern College of Music, where he studied with Andrea Zucco and David Chatwin. A keen orchestral player, he has played first bassoon with both the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His performances with NYOGB have been filmed and recorded for broadcast, and include a televised BBC Proms concert. He has played with orchestras across the North of England, including performances with the Hallé and Opera North, and side-by-side performances with Manchester Camerata and Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Connor played first bassoon with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall in their performances of Mahler's first and second symphonies, and has gained a wealth of experience in orchestral (including operatic) and chamber playing during his time at RNCM. His studies at RNCM have led to masterclasses with Andrea Zucco, Todd Gibson-Cornish, Roberto Giaccaglia and Elena Comelli, as well as reed masterclasses with Andrea Zucco and Chiara Santi. Connor is also a keen contrabassoonist, and is increasingly active as a contrabassoonist across the North West. He holds DipABRSM diplomas on the bassoon and the flute.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 5.00
