Notes on Colour — Ruth Rogers and Georgie Weedon explore Vivaldi's Four Seasons at The Farm at Avebury

In a White Horse Festival first, we are delighted to present two world-class artists from two different disciplines: Ruth Rogers - violin, and Georgie Weedon - painter. In a multi-disciplinary feast for the senses, they are showcased alongside talented young Royal College of Music string players the Nadejda Quartet, and harpsichordist Martin Ennis all presented in the iconic rustic setting of The Farm at Avebury.

This truly is Vivaldi as you’ve never heard him before; as the musicians bring his famous ‘Four Seasons’ to life on the page, Georgie will bring it to life live on her canvas, painting in response to the music to create four visual showpieces, while our surroundings bring it to life through nature itself. You will be able to watch renowned artist Georgie’s artistic process unfold before you, while acclaimed violinist Ruth, the quartet and harpsichord provide their own artistic interpretation live on stage.

This isn’t a concert for your most impractical shoes, and we might suggest you wear an extra layer – we are delighted to be hosted by Alice and Rob Hues, fourth-generation custodians of this special farm, boutique accommodation and event space, located just outside the historic and spiritual centre of Avebury. With its prehistoric stone circle, and directly opposite Silbury Hill, the largest Neolithic, man-made mound in Europe and still with an unexplained purpose, we believe that this closeness to the most special, mystical parts of nature brings a new dimension to the music.

This promises to be a truly special celebration of creativity and collaboration.

The programme will include Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ for solo violin, string quartet and harpsichord, alongside well-loved, nature-themed repertoire.

Doors open at 6.30pm

Programme

Haydn – String Quartet Op. 76 No. 2 "Fifths"
Puccini – Crisantemi (Crysanthemums)
Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending

interval

Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

Artists

Ruth Rogers – violin
Georgie Weedon – artist
Martin Ennis – harpsichord
Nadejda Quartet

Ruth Rogers

Ruth Rogers studied with Itzhak Rashkovsky and Herman Krebbers. Described as “the finest of the younger generation of violinists” (Musical Opinion) and hailed by the Guardian as “superb”, Ruth is in demand as soloist, leader, and chamber musician. She was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal - the Royal College of Music’s highest accolade. Ruth has performed as a soloist at the Pyramids in Cairo, the Acropolis in Athens, the Royal Albert Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. She appears regularly at such prestigious venues as The Wigmore Hall with Aquinas Piano Trio and has made many recordings as part of that ensemble, including recent releases by Naxos which have been very well received by the critics.

Ruth was appointed as Leader of the London Mozart Players in 2015, Leader of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022 and Co-Concertmaster of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra in 2023. She worked as Co-Leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 2008 until 2012 and appears as a guest leader of many other major orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Ruth regularly leads orchestras abroad and has performed as a soloist in many different countries. Ruth has played to orphans, landmine victims and malaria patients in refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border.

https://www.ruthrogers.net/

Georgie Weedon

Georgie Weedon is a British painter working in acrylics, drawn to the colour and quiet strangeness of an ancient land, its boats, wild swimmers, flowers and circus, its weather-beaten coasts and old, old stones. Her practice celebrates joy as a serious subject: luminous, unapologetic paintings that find the extraordinary in the ordinary and the timeless in the sea-worn edges of Britain.

Her studio is in Ramsbury, Wiltshire, and her last London show was on Portobello Road. Georgie is Artist in Residence 2026 with the National Trust at Avebury, with an exhibition titled Ancient Pathways opening there 11th September and running until 5th November.

https://www.georgieweedonart.com/

Nadejda Quartet

Nadejda - meaning ‘hope’ in several Slavic languages - represents the shared values of reconciliation, beauty and healing which the members seek in their devotion to chamber music.

The Nadejda Quartet was formed in September 2025 at the Royal College of Music in London. They were chosen as the college's String Quartet Platform group for which they receive regular coaching and mentorship from the members of the acclaimed Marmen Quartet.

Other influences include Mats Zettergvist, Daniel Rowland, Gabrielle Lester and Leonid Kerbel. The group enjoys working on a diverse range of repertoire from early baroque to contemporary compositions. They perform regularly throughout London and the UK, most recently at the Wigmore Hall as part of the RCM Strings Showcase, at the Clarence House in London and at the final of the 74th Royal Overseas League Competition. Some highlights from the quartet‘s upcoming season include performances at the Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall, recitals across Belgium and the Netherlands and a residency at the Lake District Music Festival.

https://www.instagram.com/nadejda.quartet/

Martin Ennis

Martin Ennis is Director of Music of Girton College, Cambridge, having recently retired from a professorship in the University’s Faculty of Music, for which he served as Chair for many years. His academic work centres on Johannes Brahms, but he has long combined teaching and research with a busy career as a performer.

He has been the principal continuo player of the London Mozart Players for almost 30 years. Other groups with which he has performed include the Monteverdi Choir, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Orchestra of St John’s, the Collegium Cartusianum (Cologne), the Polish Chamber Orchestra (in a Deutschlandfunk broadcast), and the Juilliard School Chorus. He has made numerous recordings, including a concerto with the RPO, and his compositions have been performed in Westminster Abbey and the Royal Albert Hall in a Prom. Career highlights include directing Messiah from the keyboard in Beijing’s Forbidden City and a harpsichord recital in the Gdańsk Festival, for which he (re)constructed fragmentary works by Mozart.

https://www.mus.cam.ac.uk/people/martin-ennis

The Farm at Avebury

Contemporary self catering accommodation, event spaces and produce from our working farm in Avebury — a beautiful and historic landscape in the heart of Wiltshire, just outside Marlborough and an hour and a half from London.

https://www.thefarmatavebury.co.uk/

Address: The Farm at Avebury, Galteemore Farm, Beckhampton, Wiltshire, SN8 1FE
What3words: ///whisker.crowbar.fond

Artist Georgie Weedon photo by Chloe Lodge taken at Avebury Manor National Trust

Why not consider a Classical Pass or Nature Pass? These include access to this event and a host of others across the Festival. Click on the individual links to find out more!