Our 2025 Summer Festival saw the premier of our first Jazz Evening, curated by and starring Zambian-Scottish mezzo-soprano Gabriella Liandu.

Gabriella is known for her versatility, performing across a range of genres — from baroque opera to contemporary jazz. Being raised in the Middle East, her vibrant cultural upbringing and eclectic background is reflected through her artistry and style as a writer and performer. At this special cabaret-style evening, she asked the question “What happens when we dissolve the boundaries between musical eras, blur the lines of genre or style… and just listen for what’s human?”. The evening wasn’t about fusing two different genres, but rather revealing how they’ve always spoken the same language.

Joined by an ensemble of dynamic, cross-genre collaborators, Gabriella explored the kinship between these two seemingly distant worlds and the timeless threads that connect early music and modern jazz across centuries.

The programme included original music and arrangements of favourite jazz standards with music by Esperanza Spalding, Kurt Weill, and Cécile McLorin Salvant, alongside reimaginings of works by Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Purcell, and more.

Friday 5 September 2025