“Jenkins demonstrates a canny knack utilising an instantly likeable musical language with distinctive narrative arc and edgy melodic line that turns the head and relaxes the shoulders. ”

“The Consort began with “Halfway to Zenith”, an impressively accomplished past-citing, but not merely pastiche, premiere by Sarah Frances Jenkins.
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“Loosely themed as “winter lights’, the concert featured the BBC CO’s former composer -in-residence, its present one and the winner of the BBC Young Composer competition - all three of them women. And it was the competition winner, 20-year-old Sarah Jenkins, still studying the clarinet in Cardiff, who produced the most enchanting piece. Its title, And the Sun Stood Still, refers to the winter solstice and the primordial spirits allegedly released on that shortest day. Jenkins depicts those with unearthly howls in the middle of the piece, but equally striking is her immaculate use of a warm, varied orchestral palette. She will be a name to watch.”

“The clarinet and piano are perfectly balanced and the whole has a breathless suspension of time about it. ”

“It soars and dances as the light would during golden hour.
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“24-year-old Sarah Frances Jenkins’ “Music and Meditation” seemed to be the musical centrepiece, dreamlike in form, with slow, aching chords.”

“Taking inspiration from Charlotte Smith’s poem about the springtime return of the swallow, this warmly resonant ode to nature developed logically and affectingly out of a spacious opening clarinet solo.”

“Receiving its premiere performance, Sarah Frances Jenkins’s Tincture of the Skies was a
festival commission. This ethereally beautiful score was inspired by the poetry of Alexander
Pope and dedicated to the soloist, who savoured its expressive, long-breathed, often
spontaneous-sounding paragraphs.

Paul Conway - Musical Opinion”

“Winner of BBC Young Composer, Sarah Jenkins has been making quite a name for herself. Her Winter Solstice-inspired piece made for a fine opening to this concert.
At times conjuring up sounds of Ravel and Debussy, this finely-orchestrated work had exquisite timbres for its brief duration, harp and piano in harmony a highlight, luminous strings another.

James Ellis - Arts Scene in Wales”

“Darker colours emerged in the atmospheric Trallali, Trallaley, Trallalera; unfolding from shards of clarinet, trumpet and piano above tremolo strings, Jenkins creates a brooding tableau, its military overtones mocking the work’s title.”