The debut concert of Sirocco Duo took place on 19th February in St Mary’s Barnes before an audience that was delighted to be able to gather for live music.
Toril Azzalini-Machecler has been the care-taker of our Cherubim Marimba since 2017 and when he mentioned that he, and Isaac Harari wanted to debut their newly formed duo in London we were delighted to support them both. When we first discussed it last year we had no idea what conditions were going to be like in February 2022. Cherubim has put things on in St Mary’s Barnes before, it has a lovely ambience and is a receptive music venue. Given the unpredictable winter weather and the situation with Covid, we thought we would try a gentle debut with a 'Pay What You Can' concert. It all paid off, because those who could afford to be more generous helped pay for the considerable numbers of the duo’s fellow students from the RCM who had come to support their colleagues. We had promised a concert to warm the heart, with mediterranean vibes and some fast-paced percussion, the audience wasn’t disappointed.
Sirocco played absolutely superbly. Between them, Toril and Isaac have already notched up an impressive body of experience including the Chineke! Youth orchestra and BBC Young Musician of the Year. Their programme featured two marimbas and more drums than you could shake a stick at. Except that they did shake their sticks – the frenetic and gripping energy with which they played was more than enough to put the winter blues behind us and conjour visions of warmer climes. There is no doubt that these two are a well matched combination and look set to bring bring the world of percussion to a whole new generation of music fans.
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