Music by Samuel Barber, Florence Price, and Leonard Bernstein and show tunes from Guys and Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun, and West Side Story

Come get your kicks on Route 66 and join us for a gripping and entertaining evening of American song!

For our third event, &Piano is extremely fortunate to welcome one of the finest collaborative pianists in the North - Jonathan Fisher - who is joined by Soprano Hayley Swanton and Baritone Sam Jackson to take you on an enthralling and entertaining journey through America's most compelling musical landscapes.

Jonathan, Hayley and Sam will take you on a musical trip documenting the sound of America - from the forging of its young, industrial, modern, super-power identity, it's struggle with slavery and civil rights, to the influence that spirituals, blues, ragtime and jazz had on some of it's most popular music. From a warm summer’s evening in Knoxville, Tennessee to Broadway’s most iconic sights and sounds, you'll experience music that summarises the highs and lows of the American Dream - from profound and reflective, to catchy, witty and down-right fun!

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All three of our artists this evening hail from the North West - Manchester & Cheshire. Jonathan is a highly sought after pianist and has had notable performance at music festivals around the country including Leeds Lieder, Oxford Lieder & Ryedale Festival. He's worked with some of the most internationally recognised musicians of our time including Roderick Williams, Benjamin Appl, Sir John Tomlinson & Jess Gillam. A graduate of the University of Huddersfield, he then moved on to the Royal Northern College of Music - both of which he now teaches and coaches at.

Canadian Soprano Hayley Swanton enjoys a busy career predominantly performing song and oratorio around the UK. She has worked with many choral societies around the North, and works regularly with both Jonathan Fisher and Rachel Fright performing song. She was a finalist with Rachel in the 2020 Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform, as well as the 2019 Patricia Routledge English Song Competition. She has also been featured performing Debussy's 'Apparition' on BBC Radio 3's Music Matters programme.

Last (but not least!), our Baritone Samuel Jackson, from Cheshire, studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, and has since gone on to enjoy a busy career working with Opera North, Buxton International Festival and the G&S Opera Company. Most recently, Sam performed in the chorus for Grange Park Opera's 2022 Summer Season, and will return again to perform with them this year.

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Slaithwaite is a beautiful village in Huddersfield, that sits along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. It has a train station with trains that come direct from Leeds and Manchester. It is also a convenient location from the M62, coming off at either J23 (coming from Manchester), or J24. There is plenty of free parking around Slaithwaite. St James' Church has step free access at the back on Churchwood Close. Slaithwaite also has many excellent café's, restaurants and bars for food or drink before or after.