A concert titled Among the Birds and the Trees comes as a timely reminder of the importance of the world’s natural ecosystems and their vulnerability. Several works were inspired by nature and induced a meditative experience comparable with that of extended, reflective immersion in the natural environment.

The concert also explored 20th century musical developments that were inspired by the compositions of Claude Debussy, particularly his Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, because of its unusual combination of instruments and the way in which his composition embodied significant developments in musical form.

Timothy Ridout, Annaleen Lenaerts and Adam Walker. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The three performers — Adam Walker, flute, Timothy Ridout, viola, and Annaleen Lenaerts, harp — are virtuoso soloists in the own right, and each performed a solo work as well as works in various combinations.

The concert opened with a flute solo, Adam Walker’s delightful rendition of George Benjamin’s Flight (1979), a virtuoso piece that brilliantly evokes the arhythmic and atonal sounds of birds. Moments of silence punctuate the work and the listener cannot predict the kind of sound that will follow. This work gradually draws the audience into...