THE Saint Boniface Concert Society will welcome Ignas Maknickas, an exceptionally talented young pianist, to play in Crediton Parish Church on Thursday, June 6.

Ignas will be playing an exciting programme with works by Schumann, Vine, Bortkiewicz and Chopin.

Born in California in 1998, Ignas was raised in Lithuania.

After graduating from the National School of Art in Vilnius, he studied for his BMus and MA degrees at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor Joanna MacGregor.

In July 2021 Ignas received the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence as the highest-scoring graduate of the Royal Academy.

In 2023 Ignas became a prize-winner with the Young Classical Artists Trust, and this year he has won the Royal Overseas League’s Annual Keyboard Final. 

Earlier awards include First Prize in 2011 at the XIX Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Youth in Szafarnia (Poland), and again First Prize in 2014 at the XX “Young Virtuoso” Piano Competition in Zagreb. 

Ignas has performed concertos with major British and European orchestras including the Aarhus Symphony, Alicante Philharmonic, Lithuanian National Symphony, Lithuanian State Symphony, and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra.

A highlight of 2023 for Ignas was playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.21 in C with the London Mozart Players. 

As a soloist he has appeared at Steinway Hall in London, Wigmore Hall, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Charlottenborg Festival Hall in Copenhagen, Ed Landreth Hall in Fort Worth, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius and Kinross House in Scotland.

Tickets are available from A E Lee Outfitters, High Street, Crediton, online from: www.ticketsource.co.uk , or on the door, subject to availability.

The price is £15 per concert, FREE to full time students under 30.

For further details, please see the website: www.bonifaceconcerts.co.uk . 

Refreshments are on offer at the concerts. Crediton Parish Church has parking available, as well as disabled access.  

All are welcome.

The Saint Boniface Concert Society is a local charity dedicated to bringing top-flight professional musicians to perform in Crediton.

Its concerts are kindly supported by Making Music and by Crediton Town Council.

To join the Society’s mailing list for regular updates, please write to: [email protected] .