After a two-year break, the annual Alice Dilke Memorial Concert returns to the Church of St Candida and Holy Cross, Whitchurch Canonicorum, on Sunday, July 31 at 3pm.

The performers are the Abraxas Trio: Christian Halstead (violin), Jordi Morell (viola) and Heidi Parsons (cello).

Their programme opens with the well-known Canon & Fugue in D major (T337) by Pachelbel, followed by the Aria and a selection of the variations from JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations (BWV988). After the interval the musicians will play the Trio Divertimento by Mozart (K563).

The event, which is organised by the Friends of St Candida, was introduced in 2017 in memory of Alice Dilke (1919–2016), who lived in Whitchurch Canonicorum with her husband Christopher for nearly 50 years.

She was noted in the area for her fearless opposition to local corruption and injustice, and made many friends of all ages. She was a founder member of the ‘Friends’, the idea for which was hatched in her garden.

Trio leader Christian Halstead started learning the violin at the age of five and continued his studies at the Royal College of Music, graduating in 1999.

Born in Vila-seca, Spain, Jordi Morell studied the viola at the Conservatori de Música de Vila-seca and then Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. He has performed in England, Spain, Hungary and France, including a performance of the Sinfonia Concertante by Mozart with the London Euphonia Orchestra.

Cellist Heidi Parsons studied at The Royal Academy of Music in London where she was awarded the Suggia Scholarship and a Leverhulme Orchestral Fellowship. Since completing her studies, Heidi has been performing across the UK and internationally, playing with orchestras and chamber ensembles as well as jazz and pop artists, and has recorded solo cello tracks for the BBC, Channel 4 and Netflix.

Tickets are £10 on the door and include light refreshments in the interval. Admission for young people aged 16 and under is free. There is parking at the venue (DT6 6RQ).