Late-night piano recital for the Southern Cathedrals Festival

He will be performing in Chichester Cathedral’s South Transept, offering a programme including music by American composers Charles Griffes and Earl Wild – on Friday, July 17 at 9pm, with tickets available on https://www.ticketsource.com/scf-chichester/late-night-piano-recital-tim-rumsey/e-ovgqll

“There is a sort of American flavour that they asked for because of the 250th anniversary of the USA. But I find American music is not always the most popular stuff. People go for French or German. So I just decided that I was going to try something a little bit left-field here.”

For instance, the work of the little-known Charles Griffes, someone whom Tim describes as being a little Debussy-esque. There will also be Gershwin in the programme.

“I have played a couple of times in the Cathedral before and it really is the most amazing place to play. The sound travels really well. You would think that it would be super echoey but it isn't. You get a lot of bounce back as a performer.”

Interesting too is the fact that it is a late-night recital: “You don't want to do the flashy stuff. There's a lot of calmer music that hopefully people will like. Concerts are usually lunchtime or 7.30 but this is later evening and it's really nice to give it a different feel. You are not going to be flashing around with the piano. It's the end of the day. It’s getting dark. And you just want to play to that atmosphere. I've gone for some jazzy stuff at the end but it's all about things that will work for late at night.”

Recently honoured as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, Tim is a UK based soloist and chamber musician, having delighted audiences at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Chichester Cathedral and Champs Hill, as well as concert halls further afield in Italy and Spain. Tim launched his debut album, Transcriptions, in autumn 2025, ranking number four in Textura’s Top 20 for 2025 (Instrumental).

The programme for Tim’s late-night recital as part of the Southern Cathedral's Festival on Friday, July 17 is:

Roman Sketches, Op.7 by Charles Griffes

Arabesque, Op.20 No.1; Reverie d'Amour, Op.20 No. 2; Bells, An Impression, Op.20 No. 3 by York Bowen

Improvisation in the form of Theme and Three Variations on Gershwin's Someone to Watch Over Me by Earl Wild