Renowned clarinet and piano duo bring their complete album of dazzling music by black composers to Firth Hall, including works by Price and Coleridge-Taylor.
Bass clarinet specialist Sarah Watts has gained an international reputation as an artist, teacher and researcher on the instrument. She has received numerous awards during her career, from being awarded the Exxon prize for best classical music student at Rotterdam Conservatorium to Winning the UK Howarth Clarinet competition. As well as an impressive solo performance career, Watts also performs with Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, rarescale and SCAW. Recently, she joined forces with composer Dr Elizabeth Kelly to create a musical tribute to the iconic cooling towers of the now-decommissioned Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire. Watts performed their two works inside one of the cooling towers - a feat that earned a feature on Classic FM.
Kim Davenport is a pianist, teacher, writer and composer based in Washington. As a soloist and collaborative artist she is committed to exploring and sharing works by under-represented composers. She was active for nearly 20 years in the critically acclaimed Duo Alea, the bass clarinet and piano duo she formed with her father. The Duo’s performances and recordings brought local and world premieres of several important works for bass clarinet and piano. In 2020, following her father’s passing, Davenport reinvigorated the Alea catalog with a focus of underrepresented composers, and established the Dolphy prize for new works for bass clarinet by black composers.
Following the release of their album ‘The Song Also Rises’ in August 2025, the duo are bringing the complete album of rarely-heard music to a live UK concert setting.
The Song Also Rises
6 Sorrow Songs - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
The Mindlessness of it All - Malcolm J. Solomon
Interval
6 Songs - Florence Price
And Then … - David Baker
