An outstanding, multi-award winning mezzo-soprano from the Ukraine, Anna Starushkevych, will be the first performance of the 2013 Concerts in the West season. Accompanying her at Lower Pulworthy in Highampton near Hatherleigh in Devon, on Saturday 9th February, 7.30pm, will be gifted young pianist Justin Snyder, who is currently studying for his second masters degree in London.

Catherine Hodgson, Director of Concerts in the West said: "She may be young, but already Anna Starushkevych has gained a reputation throughout Europe for her dazzling, intense performances, superb singing style and her rich vocal timbre. Indeed, it is these attributes that won her the 2012 Handel Singing Competition - the first mezzo soprano to win first prize in the 11-year history of the competition."

Born in Lviv, Ukraine, Anna began piano and vocal lessons at the age of seven and gained her Bmus from the Lviv National Academy of Music. In September 2009 she commenced post graduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Laura Sarti. Her list of prizes is impressive - in addition to the Handel Singing Competition, she has won the Susan Longfield Award and was third in the Jackdaws Vocal Award in the Wigmore Hall.

This year she attended the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto in Italy where she worked with some of the world's leading performers, including Richard Bonynge, Angela Gheorghiu and Dennis O'Neill. In addition to performing for Concerts in the West, Anna's future engagements include Cherubino in March 2013 and a winner's solo recital and one of the principal roles in Handel's La Resurrezione at the Wigmore Hall for the Handel Festival 2013.

Justin Snyder is an advocate of new music and has collaborated and performed with composers such as Libby Larsen and William Bolcom. He recently performed live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune programme and has won a number of awards including the Guildhall Accompanist Prize, the Cunard Prize in the Guildhall English Song competition and the Paul Hamburger Pianist's Prize.

Performance and Box Office Details for Anna Starushkevych (mezzo soprano) and Justin Snyder (pianist)

* Saturday 9th February 2013 7.30pm, Lower Pulworthy, Highampton, Hatherleigh, Devon EX21 5LQ. Box Office: 01837 810940 (Salar Gallery, 18/20 Bridge Street, Hatherleigh EX20 3HY) Tickets: £12. Parking available, interval drinks, disabled access. Advance booking advisable.

Ticket discounts for young people: Concerts in the West would like to encourage more children and students to attend concerts and we offer the following discounts:
Children/Students age 12 years and over: half price
Children under 12 years of age: FREE entry with a family member
School Groups (and more than two children with adults): to be negotiated separately.

Bring a friend for free: Concerts in the West ticket holders may bring for FREE one friend who has never attended a Concerts in the West performance before.

In addition to Anna Starushkevych, Concerts in the West has a high quality programme of seven further concerts, which are taking place from March to October 2013, dates as follows:

7th-9th March Toby Kearney, percussion and Harvey Davies piano
25th-27th April The Ianus Consort
24th-25th May Nicholas Mulroy
20th-22nd June Chimera
11th-13th July Benjamin Gregor-Smith, cello and Aglaia Graf, piano
13th-14th September Aquinas Piano Trio
10th-12th October Evropska String Quartet

For further information about all these concerts and for details of any special offers, call: 01460 53500, email: concertsinthewest@gmail.com or visit www.concertsinthewest.org

Support for Concerts in the West
Like many arts charities, Concerts in the West relies on donations and financial contributions from its supporters to help fund its excellent levels of service. For more information on becoming a supporter of Concerts in the West go to www.concertsinthewest.org or contact Catherine Hodgson, Director, Concerts in the West, Horton House, 8 Ditton Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0BQ. Tel: 01460 53500 or Email: concertsinthewest@gmail.com