A YOUNG pianist, who stood in at short notice for a concert with the Scarborough Symphony Orchestra, so stunned the audience and orchestra members that she promised to return and play with them again one day.

A decade on, the mesmerising East European pianist Maya Irgalina has achieved international acclaim and there is another chance to hear her in Scarborough on Saturday, November 23, when she plays Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 to open the orchestra’s 70th birthday concert season.

“When Maya deputised at such short notice for her first appearance with us it was clearly going to be a challenge for all but she was absolutely amazing,” said conductor Shaun Matthew.

“It’s great to have her back with more time to prepare.”

Much has happened to Belarus-born Maya since her first appearance, having completed the International Artist Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music and graduating from the Royal College of Music in 2017.

As a soloist she has played with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, the Belarusian Opera House Orchestra, the RNCM Symphony Orchestra, and at both Barbican and Wigmore Halls in London.

“When I was at school I thought I had no chance to become a musician. Apparently I underestimated my passion for music,” said Maya.

The concert programme includes two other mid-19th century works. One of Joachim Raff’s most successful and dramatic concert overtures, translated as “Overture to a drama on the 30 years war”, opens the evening.

The second half features Robert Schumann’s Symphony No 1, also known as the Spring Symphony.

It will take place at the Queen Street Methodist Hall in Scarborough at 7.15pm, with a free pre-concert talk starting at 6.30pm.

Admission is £12 (£10 for concessions). Entry for children up to 16 and full-time students is free.

Advance tickets can be purchased direct from Revolutions Music in Huntriss Row, Scarborough, or The Art Café in Whitby, as well as through the orchestra’s website scarborough-orchestra.co.uk or at the door on the night.