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Please register for this course only if you are taking/have taken the first course (Part A). We are hoping to offer another series starting in April or September, so please do email the Activity Leader to express your interest in the first course.
If you want to learn about opera, whether you are familiar with the genre or just beginning to enjoy it, then this two-part course will offer you new ways of listening to opera, by exploring a wide variety of operas and their social and cultural contexts, ranging from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In this second 11-week course (Part B), we will explore some of the more general ideas around opera. In each class we will take a single work as a case study, outlining some of the general history of the composer and of the background to the opera, discussing the plot, the characters, the music, and different approaches to staging. As per the first series (Part A), classes will be supported by a PowerPoint presentation and plenty of audio and video examples of the operas, and there will be opportunities for discussion. Following each class, the presentation and video links will be sent to participants, so you will still have the information if you miss a class.
The tutor, Dr Bruno Bower (FHEA, FRSA), is a lively and enthusiastic tutor whose love of music is infectious. He is a musicologist, performer, composer, and music editor, as well as a highly experienced teacher. He currently teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Imperial College London. He is also the principal oboist of West London Sinfonia and the cor anglais player for Chelsea Opera Group.
Part B: Lectures will take place on the following Mondays (in 2026)
January: 12th, 19th, 26th
February: 2nd, 9th, (half-term break), 23rd
March: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
Tickets: The 11-week course is £220, payable in advance, and the cost includes tea/coffee and biscuits. You may purchase the Part B series using the instructions below.
This is a unique joint venture between KCWC and Imperial College, so there is a two part ticketing process:
Step #1: Please make your payment directly to Imperial College using the following link:
https://estore.imperial.ac.uk/short-courses/centre-for-languages-culture-and-communication/evening-classes-courses/arts-humanities-science-courses-2025-26?token=8bf95a613dfee9cbed8ca3e57df70236
Step #2: Please use the normal KCWC ticket purchase process in the "Tickets" section below (there is no additional charge, but we need you registered for tracking and communication purposes)
Discover the joy of sewing in a friendly and creative environment ✂️
This is to announce the starting of the sewing course after the successful trial sewing lesson. During this course comprise of 10 lessons every Friday morning you will develop your confidence and ability to fulfil different sewing techniques, and make and repair your own garments.
You will be part of a welcoming three/four person group where you’ll learn simple sewing techniques while socialising and having fun. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refresh your skills, this is a relaxed and inspiring space to learn.
Your host and tutor, Ella, is an experienced fashion designer and sewing teacher with a strong understanding of fabrics, measurements, and garment construction. She will guide you step by step as you learn skills such as stitching, hemming, and pattern cutting, helping you create clothing, accessories, or home décor items from scratch — all while building confidence, creativity, and precision.
For any queries or to book your place, contact Event Organiser Ella Barker at stitching@kcwc.org.uk.
Bridge is played in a friendly and informal atmosphere at the National Liberal Club or Riverstone or a member's home in Kensington using English ACOL and US 5 card major bidding systems.
Please register for your free ticket by clicking on the link below.
Please contact event organiser Katy Cooke for any queries at bridge@kcwc.org.uk
*Please note that the location of this drop-in coffee morning has changed .
You are Invited to a Drop-In Coffee Morning! Join us for a relaxed morning of coffee, conversation and connection!
Just drop in, purchase a cup, and enjoy some great company. Whether you’re a new member, catching up with familiar faces, or just fancy a cuppa, this is the perfect way to start your day!
It’s a great chance to meet friends, make new connections, and relax in an environment where everyone is welcome. Spread the word and bring along friends and family for a delightful morning filled with warmth, laughter, and good vibes.
Please confirm via email if you are bringing a guest. We can’t wait to see you there!
For any queries contact event organisers on dropincoffee@kcwc.org.uk
Welcome to the French Conversation Group! If you would like to maintain and improve your French, we will give you opportunities to practice this language amongst a pleasant group of international ladies.
Themes will be given in advance so you can prepare them at home before discussing with the group when we meet, every fortnight, at a member's home. A good level of French is required.
Meeting location details will be sent to registered participants before each meeting.
Please book a ticket below to indicate your intention to participate in this meeting. For any queries contact event organiser Genevieve Sentier at french@kcwc.org.uk
Come study the Bible with us!
We are currently planning our focus for Win/Spr. We try to understand the meaning in the scriptures and then apply it to our lives.
For any queries contact event organiser Bonnie Fletcher on biblestudy@kcwc.org.uk
Collect at Somerset House is back! KCWC has been invited to return to view this amazing fair for fine craft and design. Whether you attend every year or this is your first time, Collect is a very special art fair, not to be missed!
We will gather for a private highlights tour, then you are free to wander the many, many spaces filled with amazing ceramics, glass, jewellery, furniture and much more.
And then, your VIP pass allows you to return through the weekend and bring a plus-one along to see even more!
For any queries, contact Event Organiser Edee Simon at contemporary1@kcwc.org.uk
Tentative schedule for the day
9:30am - 10:45am - Registration, tea/coffee, Activity Leader and vendor tables
10:50am - Members to take their seats in the auditorium
11:00am - Introductions
11:10am - Guest Speaker
12:05pm - Q and A
12:20pm - President's announcements
12:30pm - Meeting conclusion
Go deeper with photography by experimenting with the camera on iPhone in this 60-minute workshop. Learn how to set up your shot, try out new techniques and explore features as well as editing tools in a series of fun activities. Bring your iPhone or we’ll provide the latest.
For any queries, contact the organisers on photography@kcwc.org.uk.
Please come and join us at the delightful Heidi Chelsea bakery and cafe.
Heidi Chelsea is located in the stunning Grade II listed Soane Stable Yard, part of the historic Royal Hospital Chelsea and home of the Chelsea Pensioners. This forty-cover bakery is within the historic horse stalls of the stable yard, which was built by Sir John Soane between 1814 and 1817.
The entrance is located opposite the Ormonde gate.
Note: Please do NOT click "anonymous" when reserving your ticket as it causes problems for the activity leader in managing the event.
Please contact event organiser Lisa Woodcock for any queries at mixnmingle1@kcwc.org.uk
Come and practice your spoken and written German in a friendly and supportive environment.
Our meetings usually take place in one of the member’s home to discuss current affairs and read a topical text from a German magazine or newspaper.
So book your attendance to find out where the next meeting will take place.
Please contact Activity Leader Bianca Maclean if you have any queries at german@kcwc.org.uk
Please join us for Kew Gardens’ 30th Orchid Festival celebrating China’s biodiversity and heritage. China has about 10% of the world’s known plant species, and there are about 1710 known orchid species in China.
The festival will be held in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Afterwards, we will have lunch at the Pavilion Bar and Grill inside of Kew Gardens (on your own tab).
2-Step ticket booking process:
1) Please book a "free" KCWC ticket on this site
AND
2) Please book your actual ticket on the Kew Gardens website below for the timeslot 11:00am on Thursday, the 5th of March. The price is £24 for non-members of the Kew Gardens; the ticket is free for members but you still need to reserve the timeslot through the ticketing process.
https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/orchids-china
Directions: the nearest Underground Station is Kew Gardens
We will be meeting at the Victoria Gate Entrance to Kew Gardens at 10:45am
For queries, please contact the Event Organisers Evelyn Jin Hipperson or Judith Neuling at gloriousgardens@kcwc.org.uk
Join a relaxed Italian conversation group for those who would like to practise the language in an informal setting. Each session is inspired by a short article, providing a starting point for lively discussions about Italy and its culture.
Meetings take place at a café in central London.
A basic knowledge of Italian will help participants follow the discussion more easily, and make the most of the experience.
Come and enjoy speaking Italian in good company!! ☕
Please register to indicate your intention to participate in this meeting. For any queries contact event organiser Anna Bianchi at italian@kcwc.org.uk
This event cost is £30.00; contact event organizer to pay.
A bold new creation by pianist-narrator Pavel Timofeyevsky and his colleagues.
Not lectures. Not concerts.
These narrated performances are an art form in themselves - where piano, voice, and story ignite to bring forgotten histories, hidden passions, and musical revolutions to life.
Pavel fuses music and narrative into living theatre, where history breathes, scandals burn, and forgotten voices sing again. These aren't "talks with music."
They are musical stories come alive - dazzling, intimate, unforgettable.
"Queens of the Salon" (Fourth in a 5-part Series titled "How Women Changed the Music World")
Before women ruled the stage, they ruled the room.
Salons of Paris and St. Petersburg, velvet curtains pulled back. Piano and voice whisper their secrets: they funded, they mentored, they made empires.
*Please note that since this is an event sponsored by Notable: there is a 2-step process for signing up for the event and then paying for the ticket:
1) Use the normal KCWC process for signing up for a "free" ticket on this website.
Once you have registered in that way . . .
2) email the KCWC event coordinator at opera1@kcwc.org.uk and Alya will send you the link and discount code needed to purchase your actual ticket for £30
Note: if you are interested in bringing a guest, you are free to purchase their ticket at the regular Notable price once on their ticketing website.
For any queries, please contact the event coordinator, Alya Samokhvalova at opera1@kcwc.org.uk
An evening of courage, connection, and celebration
Join us for an unforgettable evening as we come together to celebrate the strength, resilience, and spirit of women from around the world.
Listen to powerful, deeply human stories shared by our members -- women who have lived through apartheid, war, depression, health challenges, and the everyday obstacles shaped by government and society. These are stories of courage, honesty, and hope. Stories that remind us we are never alone, and that strength is often forged in life's hardest moments.
Be inspired. Be moved. Be reminded of everything women can overcome--together.
After the talks, stay and celebrate with us over wine and delicious nibbles, enjoying conversation, laughter, and connection in a warm and welcoming space.
* Inspiring stories. Real voices. A community that lifts each other up.
Come celebrate all of us. Bring your daughters, mothers, and female friends--everyone is welcome.
For any queries, please contact Event organisers: Ina Messer - activity@kcwc.org.uk; Barbara Welch - members@kcwc.org.uk; Patricia Marulanda - events@kcwc.org.uk
Concert in two halves with an optional pre-concert dinner*
TICKETS: Member/Guest tickets are £25 each. Pre-concert dinner for £29. Contact AL below for purchase instructions.
This is a sweeping, impassioned work once dismissed by critics for lacking "feminine charm." An inspiring celebration of women in classical music not to be missed.
Artists: Dr Sofia Yatsyuk, violin and Ziteng Fan, piano.
The programme centres around Dame Ethel Smyth’s monumental A minor Violin Sonata. Following its premiere in Leipzig, critics described the work as "music devoid of feminine charm and therefore unworthy of a woman." Smyth’s legacy is significant for her substantial and critically acclaimed body of work, in addition to her trailblazing activism in the women's suffrage movement. She is a foundational and instrumental figure in the celebration and study of women composers, and this turbulently dreamy work showcases her brilliance through the experimental period of British music at the turn of the twentieth century.
In contrast to the first half, the second showcases a kaleidoscope of miniature gems by historical figures and contemporary talents: the African-American Florence Price and her Elfentanz, the Ukrainian Bohdana Frolyak and her Nocturne, the American Amy Beach and her Three Compositions, Bloom by the British composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad, another Nocturne by the French Lili Boulanger, and Emotiva by the Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad. These radiantly contrasting miniatures portray light-hearted wit, delightful playfulness, emotional depth, solitude, and nostalgia, while providing inspiring insight into the rich and diverse stories of the composers.
Much of this music remains an exquisite collection of untapped material that is fundamental to understanding the history of classical music, showcasing its monumental breadth and its diversity. An inspiring celebration of women in classical music not to be missed!
Purchasing tickets: Step 1) sign-up for a "free" ticket on this sight, then . . .
Step 2) Please email the event organiser Maria Puleio at music1@kcwc.org.uk for instructions on how to make your booking.
*A two-course express menu, priced at £29, will be available from 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm before the concert. Bookings must be made in advance of the concert day.
If you'd like to go, but don't fancy doing it on your own, do come along and join us. We'll meet first, then walk around together at a relaxed pace, taking in the showrooms and new launches as we go.
Activity leader Emilia Laurie, an Interior Designer herself, will be leading the group, pointing out the pieces worth seeing, talking through what's new (and what's genuinely useful), and happily answering questions along the way - whether you're updating a room at home, planning something bigger, or simply love interiors.
We will meet on the steps of the Design Centre.
For any queries please contact Activity Leader Emilia Laurie at interiordesign@kcwc.org.uk
Please join the KCWC Contemporary Art Group for a guided walk through some of the best art on show at the galleries of Fitzrovia, one of London's newer centres for the best of contemporary art!
Our guide will be the fabulous Jolanda Chandler, whom many of you met on our Mayfair tour in November.
We are very excited to invite you to our Coffee Morning in March at Chelsea Arts Club.
Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club for artists in the heart of London. Established in 1890, the Club has occupied the same house in Old Church Street since 1902. As well as painters, sculptors, designers, photographers and architects, the Club numbers film makers, poets, writers, dancers, actors and musicians amongst its Members.
The Club's parties are legendary. Mobile phones are banned. There is no dress code.
Amanda and Catarina invite you to come and meet up with other members for some great conversation, delicious drinks of your choice (your own tab) in these wonderful surroundings.
Please register your interest by booking a free ticket below, as numbers are limited.
If the tickets are sold out, please join the waitlist, and the Activity Leaders will get in touch with you should a place become available.
Looking forward to seeing you again!
Any queries, please contact the Activity Leaders Amanda Thompson and Catarina Granryd at cafesociety@kcwc.org.uk
We’d love to give you the tools to help advertise your activities across our various platforms. Don’t miss this fantastic training opportunity!
Join us for a one-hour hands-on session on creating your own digital flyers with Canva templates. Whether you’re new to Canva or already familiar with it, this workshop will boost your confidence and creativity. Led by experienced Canva trainer and Microsoft Certified Instructor, Jenni Kravitz, you’ll learn how Canva differs from traditional software, how to work safely without losing progress, and how to design eye-catching materials to promote your activities. A future session may also explore creating engaging social media reels.
This event is only open to activity leaders!
For any queries, please contact Activity Leader Liaison, Ina Messer at activity@kcwc.org.uk
"Her Music, Their Name" (Second in a 5-part Series titled "How Women Changed the Music World)
They wrote. Men took the credit. Now the piano shouts their truth and the voice sings their stolen songs --
Fanny Mendelssohn, Alma Mahler, Florence Price. Forgotten no more.
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