Free Recital by the Cardinal Wind Quintet

For our first recital of 2026, we are pleased to welcome the Cardinal Wind Quintet, all final-year students at the Royal Northern College of Music.

They will present a varied programme of classical and contemporary works for flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon, including Sweet Soufflé by Robin Stevens, who has recently entrusted his catalogue of compositions to Forsyth's publishing house.

PROGRAMME

Robin Stevens, Sweet Soufflé

Ross Edwards, Laughing Moon

Eugène Bozza, Sonatina for Flute and Bassoon (first and second movements)

Eugène Bozza, Scherzo for Wind Quintet Op. 48

György Ligeti, Six Bagatelles

Gioacchino Rossini, Overture to The Silken Ladder (arr. Graham Sheen)

Valerie Coleman, Tzigane

Cardinal Quintet

The Cardinal Quintet is a Manchester-based wind quintet, made up of fourth-year undergraduate students at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). Kaoruko (flute), Cara (clarinet), Connor (bassoon), Esmé (French horn) and Anna (oboe) all met as first-years in 2022, hailing from various different corners of the world. The group was officially formed in June 2024, and, since then, has enjoyed playing in various concerts and venues (including the RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester Cathedral and St Ann’s Church). They were winners of the 2025 RNCM Fewkes Chamber Music Prize, the 2025 June Emerson Launchpad Chamber Music Prize and the 2025 RNCM Brodsky Chamber Music Prize (alongside composer and pianist Lucian Amette Crosby). They were also finalists in the 2025 RNCM Chris Rowland Chamber Music Prize.

The Cardinal Quintet is passionate about wind repertoire, both old and new, and enjoys working with living composers on expanding on the existing canon. They’ve previously worked with Kámea Nemeth for an RNCM Spotlight Concert, and are currently working with Kuba Williams, RNCM 2025 Gold Medal Composition Winner, on a new work for wind quintet and piano. They also enjoy collaborating with other musicians; past projects include the Francis Poulenc Sextet (for wind quintet and piano). Most of all, they love the collaborative energy of chamber music and getting to share that joy with audience members.

Upcoming engagements include recitals at Emmanuel Church in January, Southport Christ Church in February and St John’s Church in April plus many more. Further information can be found on their social media pages.

Instagram: @cardinalquintet

Facebook: @cardinalquintet

Kaoruko Takehara, flute

Kaoruko Takehara is a Japanese-Australian flautist, entering her fourth year of study at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). She studies flute with Laura Jellicoe and Cormac Henry, and piccolo with Janet Richardson. Her place at the RNCM is generously supported by the Pat Barney Award, and the Gyles Thomas Lyles Scholarship. Her first foray into music was when she started piano lessons at age 4, though her lack of practice on the instrument led her to pick up the flute at age 8. Since then, she has practised more consistently and has been fortunate enough to have gained many years of chamber and orchestral experience, both in the United Kingdom and back home in Australia.

Her recent orchestral highlights include winning a Professional Experience Scheme with both Opera North and the Hallé Orchestra, and playing Mahler 2 in the Bridgewater Hall with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Antony Hermus. Earlier in 2025, she participated in the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camp program, playing both flute and piccolo. Chamber highlights this year include winning the RNCM Fewkes Prize with the Cardinal Quintet, and the RNCM Brodsky Prize with a sextet, composed of mostly Cardinal Quintet members. She is also passionate about contemporary classical music, and has had the opportunity to be part of various premieres, including Emily Pedersen’s chamber opera Screenshot at the Stoller Hall. She was especially excited to be able to play not one, but three different flutes (piccolo, flute and bass flute) in the premiere of Haodong Wang’s Concerto for Viola and Ensemble, written for Wenhan Jiang.

Outside of music, Kaoruko enjoys writing (usually about music) and has been a contributor to Cusp Magazine, an interdisciplinary arts online magazine. She has also recently remembered that she owns a film camera, and went through a roll of film in two days.

Anna Turner, oboe

Anna is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student and holds a scholarship, supported by the Waverley Fund, at the Royal Northern College of Music. She studies oboe and cor anglais there with Jonathan Small and Ruth Contractor respectively.

Anna has performed as a soloist in various venues around the UK, notably a recent performance of Roxanna Panufnik’s Letters from Burma for oboe and string quartet in Wigmore Hall. Whilst at the RNCM, she has performed in masterclasses with David Walter, Hélène Devilleneuve and Philippe Tondre.

Over the last three years, Anna has enjoyed performing in many chamber groups, especially the Cardinal Quintet (a wind quintet), who won the Fewkes Prize for woodwind chamber music as well as the Brodsky Prize, when they joined forces with a pianist to play the Poulenc Sextet. She has also been a member of the RNCM Symphony and Wind Orchestras many times, and played principal oboe in two of the RNCM’s opera productions. She is looking forward to playing in more ensembles and projects during her final undergraduate year at the college. Anna plays on a Howarth XM oboe which she bought with the aid of a grant from the Royal Philharmonic Society.

Cara Smith, clarinet

Cara Smith is a Scottish clarinetist in her fourth year on the BMus Performance Course at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Cara began learning the clarinet at age 11, although she only began lessons purely to get out of maths! Her love for music soon flourished and 2 years prior to starting her studies she went on to study at the RCS Junior Conservatoire and was thoroughly inspired by her time there.

During her studies, Cara has had many exciting performance opportunities, including side-by-sides with the Manchester Camerata, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North. However her orchestral highlight so far has been performing Mahler’s 2nd Symphony at Bridgewater Hall with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra. Alongside orchestral playing, Cara has a strong love for opera. This was nurtured when she won a place on the Royal Opera House Orchestral Mentorship Scheme for the academic year of 2023/24. This involved playing in rehearsals with the orchestra and receiving 1:1 lessons. Outside of playing in the orchestra Cara is a passionate chamber musician and is a proud member of the Cardinal Quintet, which, within one year of forming, has won multiple prizes and is growing in demand across the North-West.

Cara has a strong passion for working in community music settings. This was generated from the work she did during her gap year with children and young adults with additional support needs and/or who live in underprivileged areas. This developed when she gained a place on the NYOS Music Leaders course, a one-year paid traineeship designed to provide the skills to be a successful workshop leader and music educator. She is most grateful to the Dewar Arts Awards for supporting her studies.

Esmé MacBride-Stewart, French horn

Esmé MacBride-Stewart is a 4th-year undergraduate at the Royal Northern College of Music, having recently graduated from the University of Manchester after studying on the GRNCM/MusB ‘Joint Course’. She studies with Lindsey Stoker and Tim Jackson.

She is a versatile and engaging horn player, and has recently completed the Professional Experience Scheme with the BBC Philharmonic, which culminated in two performances with the orchestra in Aviva Studios. She has also enjoyed numerous opportunities to play with the RNCM Symphony and Chamber orchestras, including 2nd Horn in Mahler 1 in the Bridgewater Hall in June 2024. Her wind quintet, the Cardinal Quintet, performs regularly, and this year they won the Fewkes and Brodsky chamber music prizes at the RNCM. They are in increasing demand for recital and concert performances in the North West. She holds a Performance Diploma (ARSM) in both the piano and the French horn, as well as an AMusTCL music theory diploma, all at Distinction level. Before coming to university, she studied at the City of Edinburgh Music School, and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Academy.

Connor Huss, bassoon

Connor Huss is a 22-year-old bassoonist currently studying at the Royal Northern College of Music with Andrea Zucco and David Chatwin. A keen orchestral player, he has played first bassoon with both the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and London Philharmonic Orchestra. His performances with NYOGB have been filmed and recorded for broadcast, and include a televised BBC Proms concert. He has played with orchestras across the North of England, including performances with the Hallé and Opera North, and side-by-side performances with Manchester Camerata and Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Connor played first bassoon with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall in their performances of Mahler’s first and second symphonies, and has gained a wealth of experience in orchestral (including operatic) and chamber playing during his time at RNCM. His studies at RNCM have led to masterclasses with Andrea Zucco, Todd Gibson-Cornish, Roberto Giaccaglia and Elena Comelli, as well as reed masterclasses with Andrea Zucco and Chiara Santi. Connor is also a keen contrabassoonist, and is increasingly active as a contrabassoonist across the North-West. He holds DipABRSM diplomas on the bassoon and the flute.