Arundells Sessions: Sam Muir and Lara Taylor
- £15
- 26 Mar 25
- Arundells
- 19:30
We are pleased to announce the return of Sam Muir and Lara Taylor. Their sensational concert at Arundells in 2023 had the audience on the edge of their seats.
The duo will present pieces from the Renaissance to modern day on classical guitar, the machete de Braga, ukulele, and the 4-course guitar.
Samantha and Lara frequently perform together and have recorded a mini CD of duets (Hope) as well as a CD of pieces for machete and guitar by Candido Drummond de Vasconcelos.
This intimate performance will take place in the Studio at Arundells. Due to space restrictions tickets are extremely limited, book early to avoid disappointment.
Date: Wednesday 26 March
Time: Doors 7.00pm, music from 7.30pm
Where: The Studio, Arundells, Cathedral Close, Salisbury.
Tickets: £15
Dr. Samantha Muir
Samantha is an Associate of the Royal College of Music, London and a recipient of the Madeline Walton Guitar Prize. In 2023 she was the first person in the world to be awarded a PhD on the ukulele (University of Surrey, Guildford, UK), the title of which is New Works for Classical Ukulele. A leading exponent of the classical ukulele style Samantha has performed and presented workshops at festivals all around the world.
Samantha has given lectures and presentations on the classical ukulele style for the International Guitar Research Centre at the University of Surrey, the Guitar Foundation of America, the 21st Century Guitar Conference, the Dublin Guitar Symposium and the European Guitar Teachers Association. Her compositions and arrangements are published by Schott and Les Productions d’Oz. She has acted as a consultant for RockSchool Ukulele Exams and contributed to the University of West London ukulele exam syllabus.
As well as playing the guitar and the ukulele Samantha also plays the machete de Braga and the rajão – the forerunners of the ukulele from the Portuguese island of Madeira. In 2021 she participated in Ukulele – a history of Hawaii’ national instrument hosted by BBC programme The Forum. Her ground breaking research into the machete was published by Revista Portuguesa de Educação Artística, Volume 11, No.2.2021, (pub. Dec. 2022). Samantha is a member of the Cambridge Consortium for Guitar Research at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
Lara Taylor
Lara began learning the guitar with Samantha Muir at the age of seven and achieved a Diploma in Music Performance (ATCL Recital) in 2017. Lara has played in masterclasses, competitions and concerts in South Africa, Australia, Poland, Spain and the UK. In 2012 she attended the Krzyzowa Guitar Festival in Poland and had masterclasses with Simone Iannarelli, Leszek Potasinski, Krzysztof Pelech, Jozsef Eotvos and Marek Pasieczny. Lara has also participated in workshops with Craig Ogden and Maria Linnemann. In 2015 Lara played in the National Youth Guitar Ensemble.
Lara is currently doing a PhD in English Literature at Northeastern University, London.
