Brudenell Piano Sessions @ Howard Assembly Room

Brudenell Piano Sessions return to Howard Assembly Room for an autumnal edition of the series, with another intimate late-afternoon of varied and compelling music centred on the piano.

Jo Montgomery is a sound designer and musician originally from Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland; Kelly James Wyse is a pianist, composer and teacher from the US living in Berlin; Joseph Lawrenson is a Leeds-based songwriter/composer on a mission to turn his favourite pieces of classical music into the most beautiful love songs in the world.

Hosted and curated as always by Leeds-based pianist & composer Simeon Walker, we look forward to sharing another captivating afternoon together, gathered around the piano.

In collaboration with Brudenell Piano Sessions.

Jo Montgomerie

Montgomerie trained as a classical musician before moving into production & sound design. Between various jobs Montgomerie developed a fascination with the parts that are often discarded. 

‘these forms of production and editing necessitate a flawlessness which also hides the process entirely; and Montgomerie began to ruminate on that which was left on the cutting room floor (or the digital version of such a space). and thus, she began to take these unwanted sounds, telescoping them into sinewy drone, forcing them to collapse in a crucible of noise, and even rarifying their essence into fluid harmonic tones.’ 

Over the years Montgomerie realised the extent to which the pursuit of perfection kills her creativity and so she began to embrace the mistakes, imperfections and first takes as an essential part of the final finished product. Previous live performances from Montgomerie have included instruments, field recordings, re-mixing pre-recorded loops and live sampling. 

Kelly James Wyse

Kelly James Wyse is a pianist from the US living in Berlin. His music is inspired by experiments of harmonic colour either by way of overtone manipulation or repetition. He holds a degree in Music from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle WA.

His first record, Pastoralia, was self released in 2020 with the remix EP, Sol, released in 2021.

He has been a core member of X-Ray Press, Pollens and The Seattle Pianist Collective and contributed to recordings by Loscil, Rafael Anton Irasarri, Paurl Walsh, Jake Muir and Orcas.

Kelly curates and hosts the Modellbahn Music Salon in Berlin. 

Joseph Lawrenson

Leeds-based composer Joseph Lawrenson is on a quest to turn his favourite pieces of classical music into the most beautiful love songs in the world. The cinematic and deeply moving debut album ‘Songs for Film’ is a collection of song arrangements of classical pieces. The album is a stirring slice of timeless chamber pop, showcasing composer Joseph Lawrenson’s uncanny ability to build beautiful, filmic pieces of truly engaging music.

Like a modern day Randy Newman, or a Yorkshire Bacharach if you will, Lawrenson occupies the spot of band-leader with ease, conjuring up inspired arrangements that seem to call out for moving images and the hushed wonder of the cinema.  The album features a staggering list of talented collaborators and guest vocalists: Jasmine Kennedy, Julianna Zachariou, Alyesha Wise, Anew Day, Ajimal, & IMOGEN.

It is an inspired collection of original works, ingenious reimaginings and reworks (magpie-ing from the likes of Ólafur Arnalds, Simeon Walker), and fresh, contemporary arrangements of classical staples (Bach, Chopin, Tchaikovsky). It’s an album that defies categorisation, hovering wonderfully between a number of pigeon-holes, like the soundtrack to the greatest film never made. 

Now a much in-demand composer for film & TV, Lawrenson learnt his craft on the road as a founding member of the critically acclaimed Leeds band Dancing Years, playing hundreds of shows across Europe, supporting the likes of George Ezra, Richard Hawley, and Benjamin Francis Leftwich. The band racked up millions of Spotify streams and had continued support from BBC Radio 6 and BBC Radio 1.

Simeon Walker

Leeds-based pianist & composer Simeon Walker has quickly emerged as a leading light in the burgeoning Modern Classical scene, following the release of Mono and Winnow, his two albums to date. In recent years, Simeon has regularly performed & toured across the UK and Europe; supported a variety of artists including S. Carey, LYR, Sebastian Plano, Loscil, Erland Cooper & Taz Modi; and performed notable live sets at Latitude & Timber Festival (UK), Q3Ambientfest (DE), FAN Festival (PT). His latest single ‘Reverie’ features on the first official Piano Day compilation by LEITER, alongside Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Chilly Gonzales.

His music receives regular broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 shows including Unclassified & NightTracks, alongside BBC 6Music, KEXP and Soho Radio, with his music boasting streaming figures in excess of 15 million times across platforms. He also founded and continues to curate Brudenell Piano Sessions; an intimate and varied live music series highlighting the diverse music being composed and performed on the piano, hosted at Leeds’ iconic Brudenell Social Club.

Simeon’s recent EP release Imprints represents a return to the calm, introspective piano-based instrumentals that first thrust him into the limelight; inviting the listener to find stillness, beauty and meaning as much in the spaces between the notes as the notes themselves, as musical stories are woven with each tender, intimate performance.