Brume Trio
ABOUT
A mutual love of chamber music and story telling sees the trio “Brume” combine their own arrangements with core repertoire in a winning combination. Stories are how we connect. They are a journey into the heart of life in all its beauty, complexity and failures. Inspired by the expansive energy of the female muse signalling romance, passion and creativity, Brume’s music has a commitment to the promotion and performance of female composers . With music making that is fresh and spontaneous, the feminine grace of this trio is powerful in sonorous possibilities allowing the warmth of the cello to quiver in sympathy with mezzo soprano and sing amongst the timbres of the piano.
The name Brume comes from a setting of Verlaine’s poetry by Poldowski. It also refers to the mists that swirl in the clouds of time to obscure these female composers - mists which the trio seek to dispel. Brume persuade with powerful suggestion behind their story telling. Formed during the first lockdown in 2020 they were invited to perform a livestream concert for International Women’s Day, which had over 1000 live views at Sands Films Studios and continues to be viewed. They subsequently performed two sell-out live performances in Devon and in September, they opened the Royal Opera House’s (ROH) “Recitals at Lunch” series, after almost two years of lockdown silence, to considerable plaudits (e.g., “Sublime”, Jillian Barker, director of ROH’s Learning and Participation department).
Brume are, Miranda Westcott, a mezzo-soprano working with Royal Opera House (ROH) who has also performed with Welsh National Opera and at the Wigmore Hall (in a career highlight Miranda gave the premier of a Weir song cycle in Jersey), Eva Doroszkowska, a concert pianist who regularly performs Eastern European composers , “an emotionally committed pianist who sensitively conveys both the lyricism and dramatic drive of the music” Polski Informator and Michelle So, a cellist who plays with UK orchestras including the Royal Opera House.
Mezzo-soprano Miranda Westcott read music at Birmingham University before attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She was awarded a full scholarship to Dennis O’Neill’s Academy in Cardiff and was subsequently invited to perform in Jersey with Kiri Te Kanawa. Miranda made her debut at the
Royal Opera House (ROH) as Second Bridesmaid in Il nozze di Figaro under Colin Davies and also sang Glasha in Katya Kabanova under Sir Charles Mackerras. She has covered roles at ROH, Welsh National Opera and Garsington. Other roles include Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly at the Royal Albert Hall; Rossweise in Die Walküre and Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflote for Longborough Opera; Suzuki in Madame Butterfly for Opera Project; Smeaton in Anna Bolena Tower of London; Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro for Surrey Opera, and Olga in Eugene Onegin at Richmond Theatre. In concert, Miranda has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Oxford Lieder Festival, English Haydn Festival, Crush Room series at ROH and St John’s Smith Square. She looks forward to making her Cadogan Hall debut in March 2022.
Eva Maria Doroszkowska performs internationally, both as soloist and chamber musician. Her recital work has taken her around Europe and Australia. Festival appearances include performances at Tivoli, Copenhagen, Edinburgh Fringe, the Beethoven Festival, Malmo, Holland Music Sessions Chopin Celebrations, Greenwich and Docklands Festival, the Busko-Zdroj Summer Festival and St Martins in the Fields, London. She is highly regarded for her interpretations of Polish music and has worked with two of the 20 th century’s finest composers, Gorecki and Per Norgard . She has appeared on BBC national television and Polish television and radio. Eva won a government scholarship to study at the Szymanowski Academy in Poland and completed postgraduate degrees at Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam and Soloist Class in Copenhagen. She won a scholarship to the the Royal Northern College of Music where she completed undergraduate and post graduate degrees aided by a bursary from the Countess of Munster Trust. Eva teaches at the Royal Academy Junior Department and is an adjudicator for the British and International Federation of Festivals. She is also a regular contributor to International Piano Magazine.
Michelle So enjoys a varied career as an orchestral player, chamber musician and teacher, and has recently begun creating a new artistic practice using music, art and computation. Originally from California, she has lived in the UK for 15 years, first training at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music on scholarship. Her extensive studies at music conservatoire, international masterclasses, and chamber music festivals led to performances around Europe and the UK. Michelle plays with major UK orchestras including the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and has worked on many classical and pop sessions.
