British trumpeter Imogen Whitehead, Principal Trumpet of Britten Sinfonia, performs for the first time in Sandbach with pianist Jennifer Walsh. They present a captivating evening of trumpet and piano music.“Trumpeter Imogen Whitehead soared like a seraph” — The Times.
Programme
6:30pm Doors open
7:00: Spotlight Concert
Music performed by talented young people from Sandbach
7:30 Intermission
Art Exhibition by John Adrian Stammers, Refreshments
8:00 Main Concert
Imogen Whitehead – trumpet
Jennifer Walsh – piano
George Gershwin (arr. Morgan) Three Preludes
Florence Price
Sympathy
Resignation
The Glory of the Day was in her Face
Ethel Smyth Nocturne
Charlotte Harding To Stay Open
Sally Beamish Trinculo
Barry Mills Evening and Night
Trad. (arr. Hancock) O Waly Waly
Gershwin (arr. Street) I Got Rhythm
British trumpeter Imogen Whitehead is in demand across the UK and internationally, enjoying an increasingly diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal. A passionate advocate for new music, Imogen has served on the International Trumpet Guild’s ‘New Works’ committee and has premiered numerous works by composers including Sally Beamish, Charlotte Harding, Stephen Dodgson, and Aníbal Vidal, whose work received a 2026 Ivor Novello Award. Many of these works are featured on her recently released debut solo album, Connection.
A particular champion of the flugelhorn, an instrument often overlooked in the classical sphere, Imogen is dedicated to raising its profile as a solo instrument through new commissions and arrangements. In July 2026, she made her concerto debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, giving the world premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s newly commissioned Flugelhorn Concerto as part of her Artistic Residency at Yorkshire’s Ryedale Festival. The work receives further performances at the Presteigne Festival and with Sinfonia Smith Square during the 2026/27 season. Recent and forthcoming highlights also include recitals at Ampleforth Abbey, Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Canterbury Festival, and the Kissinger Sommer Music Festival, alongside recording projects with the United Strings of Europe and VOCES8.
In addition to her position as Principal Trumpet with Britten Sinfonia, Imogen performs regularly as Guest Principal Trumpet with other leading orchestras internationally. Recent highlights include European tours with Aurora Orchestra and Abel Selaocoe and the London Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, she has also performed in London’s West End and played on major film soundtracks including Maestro and Saltburn.
Imogen is currently Artist-in-Residence with St Martin’s Voices and a member of the acclaimed wind and brass collective, Neoteric Ensemble. She is deeply committed to music education, community engagement, and equal opportunity, serving as an Associate and Mentor for GALSI (Gender and the Large and Shiny Instruments), an initiative promoting gender equality in brass and percussion. She is also involved in Britten Sinfonia’s pioneering outreach work, has worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Resound’ education and community programme, and regularly leads masterclasses at conservatoires across the UK.
Based in South West London, Imogen also volunteers as a befriender through the Wimbledon Guild. An alumna of the Royal Academy of Music, Imogen studied with professors including Mark David and Gareth Small and subsequently studied privately with Norwegian soloist Tine Thing Helseth. In April 2025, Imogen was awarded Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).
Jennifer Walsh (née Hughes) is an award-winning collaborative pianist praised as a “splendid accompanist” (Gramophone) with playing that is “sensitive and strongly defined” (The Strad). She has performed at major international venues including Wigmore Hall, Oslo Opera House, Sala Verdi Milano, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, and China’s Xinghai Conservatory, with featured broadcasts on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and BBC Proms Plus.
Her discography includes a critically acclaimed series of British cello and piano repertoire on Lyrita alongside cellist Lionel Handy, featuring world-premiere recordings of unpublished works by Ethel Smyth, Doreen Carwithen, and Cecil Armstrong Gibbs alongside masterworks by Britten and Bridge. She also featured on the 2025 release Connection with her regular duo partner, trumpeter Imogen Whitehead, showcasing works written specifically for them by contemporary composers such as Sally Beamish.
Appointed Duo Coach at the Royal College of Music in 2015, Jennifer specialises in coaching and accompanying repertoire for strings with piano. Among the many highlights of this role has been working as a class pianist for eminent visiting musicians, including several years accompanying Maxim Vengerov’s masterclasses. She has also been guest faculty for Aldeburgh Young Musicians, New Virtuosi International, Festival Quattro Corde, and the Voksenåsen Summer Academy.
Educated at Wells Cathedral School and the Royal College of Music under John Blakely and Roger Vignoles, her accolades include the 2013 Royal Over-Seas League Accompanist Prize.