West Kilbride Village Hall 7.30pm
We welcome The Meraki Duo – Meera Maharaj (flute) and James Girling (guitar). The Duo take their name from the Greek word Meraki – “Doing something you love with all your creativity, soul and passion”. Formed in 2013, they enjoy exploring the diversity of repertoire available to the flute-guitar pairing while contributing new arrangements of their own. Both Meera and James studied at the RNCM, sharing a passion for chamber music that extends to jazz, Latin American and European folk, and works by contemporary composers.
Winners of the International Chamber Music Competition for Flute & Guitar in Spain (2023), Meraki Duo have spent the past decade performing extensively in the UK with programmes which offer a distinctively diverse pairing of flute and guitar. In 2020 at London’s 1901 Arts Club, Meraki Duo premièred their first substantial commission: À Norte, Rio Preto by fast-rising Brazilian composer Rafael Marino Arcaro
In their recitals, flautist Meera Maharaj extends the expressive range of the duo by featuring the alto flute in works such as Debussy’s ‘Beau Soir’, Takemitsu’s Toward The Sea and Miroslav Tadic’s Four Macedonian Pieces. They incorporate James Girling’s arrangements of music spanning as widely as Messiaen’s wordless songs, Burt Bacharach, and Brazilian folk-jazz of Hermeto Pascoal. As Live Music Now artists since 2018, Meraki Duo also bring performances into the wider community across the country. They are specially trained to give interactive concerts in schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and in care homes.
Meera Maharaj is currently a Countess of Munster Recital Scheme artist alongside pianist Dominic Degavino. Competition successes include first prize in the Royal Academy of Music Flute Competition and Dutch International Flute Competition, 3rd prize in the British Flute Society Competition, and she won the Sussex Prize for Woodwind in the 2023 Royal Overseas League competition. Meera has played at the Southbank Centre, Elbphilharmonie, Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, and Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms. She is Co-principal flute of the Chineke! Orchestra.
James Girling is a versatile guitarist working internationally. He was tutored by Craig Ogden at RNCM, where he is now an Associate Artist, and won RNCM’s Gold Medal award. James has headlined festivals, recorded, and been broadcast live on Radio 3, playing with the BBC Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, and RLPO’s Ensemble 10:10. He is the guitarist on Delphian Records newly released album with Lotte Betts-Dean (2024 RPS Young Artist Winner) and Ligeti Quartet.
Music in West Kilbride 