The Little Song Party

Voice and piano partnership Penelope Appleyard and Jonathan Delbridge perform creative and entertaining recital programmes on historical themes and are currently focusing on domestic music of the Regency era.

Frequently to be found in period costume, chauffeuring 209-year-old Broadwood square piano Lady Catherine around the UK in a Skoda estate, Penelope and Jonathan have spent 2025 touring their acclaimed debut programme 'Sense & Musicality' in celebration of the writer's 250th anniversary.

With research and original scripts by Penny, they are delighted to be appearing in festivals, concert series and at historic sites nationwide. This year they have given sold-out performances at the Newbury Spring Festival and Jane Austen's House, and been featured on BBC Radio 3's Breakfast Show. They have commissioned 'Ode to Pity', a rare song setting of an Austen poem by composer Donna McKevitt. Released with VOCES8 Records alongside two other tracks, its launch celebrated with a concert in Bath Abbey as part of the Jane Austen Festival, and the video was featured by Gramophone.

They have given a talk entitled ‘A Song for Jane’ about the commission for the online lecture series Jane Austen & Co and have been featured in Interlude HK Magazine. Their first festive programme, ‘Jane Austen’s Christmas Gaiety’, features in the online series Live from London Christmas 2025, and a new Pride and Prejudice-themed programme, ‘A Musical Kind of Little Wilderness’, premieres at Jane Austen’s House on Burns Night 2026.