St Martin’s Church, High Street, Stamford
Concerts start at 7.30pm (Arrival at 6:30pm for Instrument demonstrations)
2 May · 11 July · 19 September

Enjoy three evenings of live chamber music in the beautiful setting of St Martin’s Church, Stamford. The Brazenose Concerts bring professional musicians together for intimate performances in a space known for its warm acoustics and historic atmosphere. All concerts feature demonstrations or performances on Brazenose violins, violas and cellos, beautiful instruments crafted by skilled luthiers in our European workshop and finished, varnished and set up at Stamford Strings, the home of Brazenose.

The series opens on Saturday 2 May with a Piano Trio performed by Trio Stradella (violin, cello and piano). The programme features Debussy’s Piano Trio in G major and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, combining lyricism, energy and rich musical dialogue. Formed in 2023, Trio Stradella have quickly gained recognition as one of the UK’s most exciting young chamber groups, praised for their versatility across classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire. Instrument demonstrations showcasing Brazenose violins and cellos will take place from 6.30pm.

On Saturday 11 July, award-winning cellist Michael Petrov is joined by pianist Susie Summers for a Cello and Piano Duo. The programme includes Beethoven’s Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 5 No. 2 and Rachmaninov’s Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19. Petrov has performed in major concert halls across Europe and was an ECHO Rising Star, while Summers is a prize-winning pianist with an extensive chamber music and broadcast career. Brazenose cello demonstrations will take place from 6.30pm.

The series concludes on Saturday 19 September with the Eldone Quartet, performing Ravel’s String Quartet in F major and Mozart’s String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K.421. The quartet have known each other for over ten years and began performing together in 2023. As individual players, they are graduates of UK conservatoires, with numerous awards between them, and have performed at prestigious venues across the UK. Brazenose violins, violas and cellos will be played throughout the evening showcasing the instruments in live performance.

Together, the concerts celebrate musical craftsmanship, live performance, and the shared pleasure of listening.
​
Tickets (per concert)
Tickets: £21 (Standard) | £5 (U18s & Full-Time Students)
Refreshments not included but available to buy on the evening

Buy tickets here or at Stamford Arts Centre 
 ​

We believe there are not many workshop instruments on the market that can truly be traced from the Forest to The Stage.

The Story of Brazenose Violins
For nearly seven years, we have been trading in instruments of the string quartet family in our small but vibrant shop in the heart of Stamford, we were constantly being asked for new violins and cellos in a price range that is scarce and difficult to source. We also have noticed that our customers care about where things are made. Our Brazenose Violins are the result of three years of work, experimentation, research and testing, and we bring to the market a fully mature product which delivers what our customers have been asking for but finding scarce. 

Why Brazenose?
The name Brazenose Violins comes from our founding shop, Stamford Strings, which was on St Leonard's Street in Stamford. Just down the road is Brazenose Lane and Brazenose Gate. The University of Stamford was an academic institution founded in 1333 in Stamford, Lincolnshire, by a group of students and tutors from the University of Oxford, including Merton College and Brazenose Hall. 

After lobbying by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, King Edward III suppressed the institution in 1335 and the tutors and scholars were returned to Oxford. All Oxford graduates until the 1820s were required to take an oath not to lecture in Stamford. 

We love the element of disrupting the status quo in the story and rebelling against the institution to create a purer form of scholarship. This is reflected in our ideals. 

About the Instruments
Not only are our instruments handmade but the wood they are made from is fully traceable, properly seasoned tone wood and maple, and all comes from forests in the region in which they made. Each one is made to our specification, monitored and overseen by us, and then shipped to the UK for finishing, varnishing and setting up in our workshop in Stamford. All instruments are finely tuned to the highest standards using only the best fittings and set up by fully qualified luthiers with decades of experience between them. 

The instruments come in several grades, and the price point for all of these grades fits between the top end student instruments and individually crafted instruments by artisan makers in the UK and Europe. Brazenose provides high quality instruments for players who want something better than the top end of the student market but whose budget does not stretch to the artisan handmade instruments. We are excited that what we have achieved far exceeds our original aims.

About our Founder, Libby Summers
Our founder Libby Summers, prior to retraining as a violin maker, had 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur bringing products to market in an entirely different sector – handknits both for retailers and for knitters. She supplied handknits to John Lewis and to the very first subscription knitting company in the US, as well as being invited to write books and articles for may high profile publications. This experience has given her a useful angle on the violin trade, coming at it with a fresh perspective and with experience that has helped her forge the new business.

Libby is also a trained violin teacher, and taught part time for 20 years.

Handmade with Care and Attention to Detail
We have worked tirelessly for several years to make this dream a reality and to bring you the finest affordable workshop instruments from a collaboration between our European workshop where the wood is harvested, and our Stamford workshop, where the instruments are set up and tested by local musicians.

​We are proud of our instruments and we are excited to bring them to you to try. We hope you love them as much as we do!