Westerly Trio

It is a pleasure to welcome this accomplished trio to the Old Low Light Heritage Centre.

Comprising Rachel Jeffers (flute), Jessica Graham (violin) and David Murray (piano) they will present a lovely mix of repertoire from Baroque to 20th century, a refreshing blend of music and lovely textures.

The Westerly Trio was formed in 2012 when three good friends decided to get together to explore the delightful and extensive repertoire for violin, flute and piano. The name Westerly was chosen because two of the musicians own sailing yachts built by the legendary Westerly boatbuilders and all three are keen sailors.

In the time that Rachel Jeffers, Jessica Graham and David Murray have been together they have managed to explore a large amount of the repertoire available but are finding new pieces to play all the time. They have given concerts throughout the North East, including locally at St Mary’s Church, Monkseaton, Elsdon Avenue Church, Seaton Delaval and Northumbria University.

Although this is the first time that Rachel and Jessica have performed at the Old Low Light, David is no stranger to the centre having for several years, with his wife Jennifer, brought first class musicians to the Old Low Light, ensuring local people have access to first class classic music on their doorstep.

Rachel Jeffers

Rachel studied flute at the Royal Academy of Music, winning the J J Brough Flute Prize there in 1993 and a year later the Lawrence Beauregard Flute Competition in Quebec. She relocated to Newcastle 20 years ago and since then has freelanced with several orchestras including the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the English Philharmonic, Orchestra for Alnwick Choral Society, Orchestra of Hexham Abbey Festival Chorus and the British Philharmonic. She was Principal Flute with the Northern Orchestra from its inauguration in 2016.

She was appointed head of woodwind studies at Newcastle University in 2022, having taught flute in Newcastle for many years. She also teaches at Northumbria and Durham Universities, local schools and privately.

Jessica Graham

Jessica trained at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying both the violin and Baroque Violin. She was one of only a few in her year selected to study on the joint course with the University of Manchester working on two degree courses simultaneously. Whilst at the Royal Northern College she won numerous awards for chamber music with the Hatfield String Quartet.
After having worked as a freelance musician based in Manchester with orchestras such as the Hallé, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Opera North, she spent many years as a full-time member of the BBC Philharmonic, broadcasting regularly on radio and touring extensively around the world.
Jessica now lives in Morpeth and is much in demand as a freelance violinist, performing regularly with orchestras such as the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Opera North, BBC Philharmonic, and Northern Ballet Sinfonia, as well as in venues across the North as a chamber musician and soloist.

David Murray

David, who lives in Monkseaton, has been recognised as one of the North East’s most acclaimed pianists, and is in constant demand as a soloist, accompanist and chamber music partner. He has accompanied top musicians in recitals all over the world.

He is also well known as a choral trainer and conductor and is permanent conductor of Bishopwearmouth Choral Society and Hexham Abbey Festival Chorus.

In recent years, David has been instrumental in establishing a new chamber music series in Whitley Bay which proved highly successful, attracting artists of international standing.

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