Tooting and surrounding areas Area Guide

Come and join our Stay and Play session at Tooting & Balham Sea Cadets 89 Mellison Road London SW17 9AS One hour of toot-tastic fun with various trains and track play-sets Free tea and coffee

Andrew Garrido, from South London, started his musical journey on a keyboard drawn onto sheets of paper. Graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2022, he has since become a pianist known for his sensitivity, imagination, and control of tone. Andrew will perform a varied programme of favourite repertoire for solo piano by four of classical music's most iconic composers. Refreshments will be served during the interval. Programme: F Liszt Sposalizio, from Deuxime Anne de Plerinage: Italie E Grieg Sonata in E minor, Op 7 Interval F Schubert Impromptu in G-Flat major, D 899 No 3 Impromptu in A-Flat minor, D 899 No 4 G Faur Nocturne in D-Flat major, Op 63 Barcarolle in F-Sharp minor, Op 66 Biography: Andrew began learning the piano at the late age of eleven; lacking funds to afford lessons or an instrument, he drew a keyboard onto paper and learnt from YouTube for six months before his first piano lesson. Andrew progressed rapidly, and his story has been celebrated in the Guardian and across the BBC. He began study with Danielle Salamon upon his entrance to the prestigious Purcell School only five years later in 2015, where he was awarded the Senior Piano Prize and Senior Academic Music Prize in 2017. Andrew obtained a Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) that August. Andrew enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in September 2017, having been awarded a scholarship. He studied with acclaimed pianist Charles Owen, obtaining a Master of Music with Distinction in 2022. He made his concerto debut in 2018, which epitomised both perfect classical style and brilliantly energetic invention; such a balance is a rare, magic quality found in only the finest musicians, as described by the ensembles director. Andrew has also benefitted from work with Dmitri Alexeev, Iain Burnside, Marc Corbett-Weaver, Justas Dvarionas, William Fong, Natasa Lipovsek, Robert Markham, Noriko Ogawa, Fali Pavri, Jonathan Plowright, Paul Roberts and Aaron Shorr. Andrew now performs across London and the UK, in both a solo and ensemble capacity. He has performed at such venues as the Fazioli Concert Hall in Italy, Milton Court, Dukes Hall, Sinfonia Smith Square, Shoreditch Treehouse, and Abbey Road Studios, as well as a number of cathedrals and churches across the country. Andrew is proud to offer piano lessons and a range of other musical tuition. He also enjoys his work as a composer and choir director, and he continues to seek out new ways to be involved in music, such as cross-arts and multimedia projects. andrewgarrido.com

The three remaining members of multiple UK blues award winners Catfish, following the sad death of frontman Matt Long in October 2024, have come together with superb guitarist Alex Voysey to form a new band, Burning Rope. They will be performing the songs written for Catfish by keyboard player Paul Long and also songs he wrote for his previous band The Riotous Brothers. The guys are also writing new material together. Join us if you can.

Musical tribute to Irish music giants The Dubliners.

Classically trained young singer/pianist with a faux-angsty sound who was the recipient of the 2013 Brit Critics Choice Award.

Shakespeare in the Squares will be back this summer to celebrate their eighth anniversary with a new production of The Taming of the Shrew, a battle of wits, wills and wild romance complete with toe-tapping pop classics. Shakespeare in the Squares is a not-for-profit touring theatre company that stages a new Shakespeare play across London for one night in each venue every summer. This years programme features 34 performances across 28 beautiful London locations. The tour kicks off on Wednesday 4th June in Leinster Square, W2, and concludes over five weeks later in The Actors Church Garden, WC2. Press night is scheduled for Wednesday 11th June at Cleveland Square, W2. Shakespeare in the Squares is a cornerstone of Londons summer cultural calendar, renowned for tailoring each performance to the individual venue, providing the audience with a truly unique show every time.