STRINGS
Update for 2016
VIOLINISTS
From Irish-Basque heritage, Nicole Crespo O’Donoghue was the 1st prize winner in the Euskadi Young Musicians competition, 2009. Sponsored by theBBVA she studied a Masters and BMus degree at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Professor Mateja Marinkovic. She has also received Master Classes from renowned violinists including Tasmin Little, Zakhar Bron and Maxim Vengerov. Nicole has played with the most distinguished conductors of today including Sir Simon Rattle and Semyon Bichkov. She has performed at all major venues in London such as the Royal Albert Hall and regularly appears with The Philharmonia and The Royal Opera House Orchestra among others. Among the many concerts Nicole has played she has had the privilege of performing before King Philip and Queen Leticia of Spain and for HRH Princess Anne. She has been on tour as soloist with the BOS and has played with other orchestras such as the EYPO and London Concertante. Nicole also follows a successful career in the West End as most recently, she became on stage violinist for Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance. Apart from her busy concert schedule, Nicole often works with charities such as Save the Children Foundation, CancerResearchandMacmillan Cancer Support .
Born in France, Pierre Frapier gained his final diploma (first prize) at Montpellier Conservatoire at the age of 15. He has been a pupil of Constantin Bogdanas, (first violin of Enesco quartet, professor at Paris Conservatoire). In 2008 he entered the Superior Musical Institute (IMEP) in Namur, Belgium, studying in Marc Danel’s class (first violin of Danel Quartet). In 2010 he entered the Royal College of Music in London as a RCM Foundation Scholar studying with the internationally known pedagogue, Prof. Itzhak Rashkovsky. He has attended masterclasses with Ivry Gitlis, Silvia Marcovicci, Hagai Shaham, Renato Zanettovich, Ani Schnarch and has performed in many different venues around the world, such as Opéra Comédie de Montpellier, Théâtre de Nancy, Auditorium de Flaine, France; Kuhmo Arts Center, Finland; Teatro Braluz, Italy; Giuseppe Tartini's house museum, Slovenia; Piotr Stoliarsky School Audtorium, Ukraine; Tel-Aviv Opera House, Israel; Studzinsky Hall, USA; Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, Cadogan Hall foyer, National Musician's Church and other venues in the UK. Semi-finalist of the 2013 Rodolfo Lipizer and the 2014 Henri Marteau international violin competitions, and current soloist with the London City Orchestra, he has been awarded the Leverhulme Postgraduate Studentship supported by Ms Jean Cater to pursue his master studies with Prof. Itzhak Rashkovsky. More recently he won a place and a scholarship to follow the prestigious Artist Diploma program at RCM. Pierre is a Concordia Foundation Artist. He currently plays a Jacob Fendt violin c. 1830.
Charlotte Maclet began studying violin and piano at age 3. She studied in Paris, Chicago, Geneva and Rotterdam with Gordan Nikolic, Goran Gribajevic, Gábor Takács-Nagy and György Kurtág. Charlotte has made many performances as soloist in her native France and abroad, including a critically acclaimed London début at Cadogan Hall in 2012. She received this year the Audience Prize at the Worshipful Musician’s Company Solo Competition and is an Artist of the Concordia Foundation. Highly sought after as an orchestral performer, Charlotte is a regular guest leader and co-leader of the Southbank Sinfonia, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Arensky Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Charlotte is the first violinist of the Brodowsky Quartet. With the Isidore Ducasse Clarinet Trio she won the Concordia and Worshipful Musician’s Company competition and has performed in Wigmore Hall and Bridgwater Hall. Her chamber music partners include Nicola Benedetti, Adrian Butterfield, Lawrence Cummings and Matthew Barley. Charlotte is the founder and leader of Camerata Alma Viva, an international string ensemble of 16 players based in London, who are regularly broadcast on BBC and will appear at Kings Place in 2016. Charlotte also teaches Qi Gong and meditation.
HARPISTS
Born in Singapore, Fontane Liang is one of the most exciting pioneer young harpists from her country. She was awarded the Singapore National Arts Council Overseas Merit Bursary to further her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating with a First. With the support of the Leverhulme Trust and D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Fontane received her Masters in Music Therapy at the Guildhall and held a Fellowship there from 2011-2012. She has garnered various accolades including winning a place on the London Sinfonietta Academy, Pacific Music Festival and a prizewinner in the 2009 Franz Josef Reinl Competition. She was also a recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Sir Barbirolli Memorial Foundation Award. Her ability to engage the masses across a variety of styles makes her unique as a solo artist, performing for the Concordia Foundation and award-winning concert series Bach to Baby. She is an alumni of Live Music Now. In demand as a chamber and orchestral musician, she is principal harpist of the highly acclaimed Octandre Ensemble, which recently performed on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’. Fontane was recently on trial with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and has played with London Sinfonietta, LSO Chamber Ensemble, Southbank Sinfonia Germany’s MusikFabrik.
Recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, Mary Reid has a varied musical appetite. As well as regular solo recitals, Mary has been concerto soloist with the St Cecilia Orchestra in Yorkshire and the Vacation Chamber Orchestra and is featured on several CDs (Paul Patterson’s harp music, German chamber works conducted by Trevor Pinnock). Mary loves performing to those who might otherwise never hear classical music. In 2015 Mary joined the Concordia Foundation, her first performances taking place at UCLH’s Macmillan Cancer Centre and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. In other contexts, Zamira Duo (with violinist Tansy Garrod) have been accepted onto the Wigmore Hall’s Chamber Tots Series for workshops with early years and from 2016, Mary will perform as a soloist for children with special education needs through Live Music Now. Freelance orchestral work has recently included projects with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the London Mozart Players and at the BBC Proms under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Mary toured to Moscow with the London Sinfonietta under Vladimir Jurowski.Mary gained her MA in Performance with Distinction and her Bachelor of Music (1st Class Hons) from the Royal Academy of Music, studying under Professor Emerita Skaila Kanga.
CELLISTS
Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2012, British cellist Rebecca Herman has built an exciting and varied performing career. As a soloist and chamber musician, Rebecca has performed at major UK venues including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Kings Place, and the Cheltenham and Edinburgh Festivals. Recent concerto engagements include the Kingston Chamber Orchestra (Dvorak), the Orchestra of St. Giles (Schumann) and the Watford Symphony Orchestra (Brahms’ Double, with violinist Sadie Fields). As an orchestral freelancer, Rebecca works with symphony orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Opera and BBC Concert Orchestra, and chamber orchestras including the Irish Chamber Orchestra (currently on trial for Principal), the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Britten Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. A passionate advocate of everyone’s right to live classical music, Rebecca recently co-founded the Street Orchestra of London (www.streetorchestra.co.uk). Rebecca would like to thank the Concordia Foundation, the Park Lane Group, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and Help Musicians UK for their generous support. Thanks also to the Royal Academy of Music for the loan of the 1692 ‘Segelman’ Stradivarius (2012-13). For more information please visit: www.rebeccaherman.com
Catherine Lee has performed in venues including the Wigmore Hall, St.Martin-in-the-Fields and the Purcell Room. She regularly participates and performs in many international music festivals and academies. She is a recipient of numerous prizes and scholarships from many organisations; among them the Moncalieri European Music Competition, Young International Janigro Competition, Richard Wagner Foundation, Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, Hanggi Foundation and Meindl Society. Her eclectic performing style, has been crafted by studying with many of today's leading cellists. Her teachers include Gustav Rivinius, Ivan Monighetti and Leonid Gorokhov. She also took masterclasses with cellists including David Geringas, Thomas Demenga, Ralph Kirshbaum, Frans Helmerson & Trols Svane. Catherine was born in South Korea, and spent her childhood in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. She began learning cello at the age of ten and attended the Purcell School. A scholarship from the St.Albanstift supported her studies at the Basel Music Academy, Switzerland where she gained a BMus. She later achieved a MMus from the University of Music Stuttgart in Germany, graduating with the highest honours for both degrees. Catherine received the Trinity London Scholarship from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and support from the Zetland Foundation for her study at Trinity where she is undertaking the Artist Diploma programme. She studies with the British conductor and cellist, Richard Markson. Catherine auditioned successfully for the Concordia Foundation in 2014 and performed a concert at St.James' Piccadilly supported by the Foundation. www.catherinemusic.com
GUITARISTS
Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas has featured in Concordia projects including The Still Voice Sings Within, recitals in Switzerland and the Bach to Bernstein Gala at Queen Elizabeth Hall. “A true pioneer” (Classic FM Magazine), award-winning guitarist Ahmed is one of the finest performers of the Cuban Classical Guitar school. In 2016, he releases his sixth album with Grammy nominee and fellow Cuban guitarist Eduardo Martín. A sophisticated virtuoso, Dickinson Cardenas has performed at prestigious venues including the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Philharmonic Hall (Belarus). He has also given live performances on BBC Radio 3, Radio 2 and BBC London. Dickinson Cardenas graduated from the Superior Institute of Art (Havana). In 2005, he moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music and Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Over the last 10 years Ahmed has established a successful career in the UK, whilst maintaining strong performance links with Cuba. In 2008, Ahmed founded Cubafilin Records, a record label dedicated to the exclusive promotion of Cuban musicians and their works. Ahmed is Professor of Guitar at the London College of Music.
Updated for 2016
VIOLINISTS
Edgar Baileystudied at Chetham’s School of Music, Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music. Professors have included Gillian Bradley, Wen Zhou Li, Mateja Marinkovic, Madeleine Mitchell and David Takeno. He is currently taking lessons with Erich Gruenberg. Edgar won the Chandos Symphony Orchestra Young Musician and the Gloucestershire Young Musician Competitions in 2007. He gained 2nd prize in the Delius Society’s Competition awarded by Sir Charles Mackerras, the York Bowen Prize and the D M Lloyd Violin Prize by the Royal Academy. He was a prize winner at the 2010 Haverhill Sinfonia Soloists Competition. In 2012, Edgar was a string finalist at the Royal Overseas League Competition and in 2013 was a finalist in the chamber music category. 2013 saw Edgar on the Making Music Young Artist Scheme; (winner of the Philip and Dorothy Green Award). Through this scheme he performed Sibelius and Bruch concertos and given a number of recitals in the UK. As a Concordia Young Artist, Edgar has performed at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James’s Piccadilly, the Guildhall, St. Paul’s Church Covent Garden and the National Portrait Gallery. Edgar has performed concertos with Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra, Chandos Symphony Orchestra, Forest Philharmonic and Southbank Sinfonia. Edgar plays on a 19th century violin originated from Cremona.
Violeta Barrena is an award winning violinist from Spanish/Swiss heritage and has performed in many prestigious venues, including The Royal Albert Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, the Roundhouse, Bolivar Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields as well as at festivals and venues around the UK and abroad including Australia, Oman, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. Violeta made her concerto debut aged 14 and whilst studying with Chris Nicholls (Ruggiero Ricci’s assistant) she was offered a place at the Royal Academy of Music, where she pursued her studies with Professor Howard Davis and Professor Tomotada Soh. During her time at the Academy, she won the "Winifred Small" Solo Violin Competition for Bach and Paganini and was invited to perform the Mozart Concerto in G Major in Bern, Switzerland. After graduating with First Class Honors, she went on to study for a Masters degree at the Royal College of Music under Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky. As a baroque violinist she has performed at the Royal Festival Hall with Florileggium and in chamber concerts at Hatchlands and Kent early Music Festivals. Violeta is a keen chamber music player and is collaborating with guitarist Dimitris Dekavallas in “Duo Diez” to promote classical Spanish and Latin American music and is currently on trial with the Maxwell string Quartet as their first violinist performing concerts all over Scotland. She is also being promoted by the scheme Live Music Now to do outreach work together with pianist Nafis Umerkulova around the UK.
Yuka Ishizuka, American-born Japanese violinist, has performed across Europe, Asia and the United States, appearing at venues including Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Steinway Hall and the Drapers Hall. Solo performances include playing with the Junior Academy Chamber Orchestra, the Croydon Symphony Orchestra, the Seven Oak Symphony Orchestra and the Academy Strings Orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music, premiering the Mozart Concerto for Violin and Piano by Dr Tim Jones in 2010. She performed Brahms’ Three Violin Sonatas in London, and has collaborated in chamber music with Itzhak Perlman, Robert Cohen as well as Maurice Hasson, with whom she performed the Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. Awards and prizes include the Tillett Trust Young Artist Platform Award, the Worshipful Company of Musicians Award, the Rohm Music Foundation, the Manchester Mid-day Concerts Society Artists Award, the Philharmonia Orchestra Martyn Musical Scholarship, first prize at the International Young Musicians’ Competition in Italy and Most Promising Young Artist Award from the Oikawa music agency in Japan. Yuka holds a Bachelor and Master’s of Arts Degree with First Class Honours from the Royal Academy of Music and she won 2nd Prize at the Windsor International String Competition.
Sarah Sew is the recipient of the Emanuel Hurwitz Award for outstanding UK violinist from the Philharmonia Orchestra and Martin Musical Scholarship Fund in 2008. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, the San Martino Scholarship and the South Square Trust. Sarah has performed at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, Kings Place and St. John's Smith Square, as well as at the Zermatt Festival in Switzerland, the Bolzano Festival in Italy, the Grafenegg Festival in Austria, the Cheltenham Festival in the UK, the Accademia Gustav Mahler in Italy, the Kenmin Hall in Japan and the Open Chamber Music Session at the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove. In 2009, she recorded composer/pianist Stephen Hough’s new string sextet commissioned by the National Gallery. She has benefited from playing in the masterclasses of Ivry Gitlis, Zvi Zeitlin, Thomas Brandis, Tasmin Little, and Sylvia Rosenberg. Sarah was leader of the RAM Symphony Orchestra and currently plays as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, where she served as Concert Master from 2010-2012. Sarah was an extra with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Australian violinist Emily Sun began playing the violin at age 4 and studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Robin Wilson. She recently completed her Bachelor studies with First Class Honours as a full scholar. She will continue her postgraduate studies at the RCM studying with Itzhak Rashkovsky as a Shenkman Scholar. Emily has won numerous competitions, including the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition, ABC Young Performers Award for Strings, Marcus Edward Violin Prize, Perry Hart Memorial Prize, Israeli Nelly Apt Scholarship, Royal College of Music Violin Competition, Lorna Viol Memorial Prize in the 2014 Royal Over Seas League Competition in UK, and Vadim Repin Mozart Prize in 20th International Brahms Competition in Austria. She made her concerto debut with the East-West Philharmonic Orchestra at age 10, and has since been a regular soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra and appeared in the 2012 Sydney Festival’s “Symphony in the Domain”, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony to an audience of 10,000. Her performances have been broadcast on Australian radio station, ABC Classic FM and 2MBS Fine Music Station, Israeli Classical Music Station ‘Kol Hamusica’ and New York’s ‘WXQR’ Classical music station. She has performed as soloist in international venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Jersey Opera House, Tel Aviv Israeli Opera House, Auditorium du Louvre Paris and London’s Cadogan Hall, Wigmore Hall and Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall. Also an avid orchestral and chamber musician, Emily is a regular concertmaster of the Royal College of Music Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras and was selected for the 2014 London Symphony Orchestra String Scheme. Emily is a founding member of London based piano trio ‘Trio Incendia’ who perform extensively across Europe.
Irmina Trynkos is of Greek-Polish descent and made her debut with the Polish Youth Orchestra aged eight years old. Leaving her native Poland at an early age, she studied with Lydia Mordkovitch at the Royal Academy of Music in London, with Martin Chalifour at the USC Thornton Music School in Los Angeles, with Martin Mumelter at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with Nina Minko-Zielinskaya at the Kiev Music Conservatory. In 2005, she was the first person in the history of the Mozarteum Music University in Salzburg to be awarded a Bachelor Degree after only two years of study. International awards and scholarships include the Belmore Woodgate Award, the AHRC Scholarship, the BPH Bank Foundation sponsorship, the Concordia Serena Neville Prize, a full scholarship with Professor Martin Chalifour at the USC Thornton School of Music, the Arcana Foundation Award and the Mozarteum Award. Recent awards include 2010 Live Music Now Artist and the Maisie Lewis Award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Her debut CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was released at the end of 2010. She has played at venues such as Wiener Saal, Mozarteum Grosser Saal, Fronborg Saal, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James’s Piccadilly, the National Portrait Gallery, the Wigmore Hall, Politeama Theatre and the Alfred Newman Recital Hall. Irmina is a Concordia Foundation Ambassador and travelled to Shanghai with them in 2011 to perform in the Rivers Cities Gala Concert as part of the Lord Mayor of London’s visit to China.
Lisa Ueda made her professional début playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra in 2009. An award-winning violinist, she has received the ABRSM Macklin Bursary Award, Carr-Gregory Award, Bach Prize, Clumber Studio Scholarship, Moir Carnegie Prize for Violin, amongst many others. Lisa is currently based in London, performing recitals and concerti around the world. (Notable recitals at Lake District Summer Music Patrons’ Concert New Generation series, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James's Piccadilly sponsored by the Concordia Foundation, and a tour around Scotland supported by the Tunnell Trust.) Upcoming engagements include Mozart Concerto no 4 with Chiltern Sinfonietta, Beethoven Triple Concerto in St John’s Smith Square, Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Watford Symphony Orchestra, a Wigmore Hall recital. Lisa plays on a 1596 Brothers Amati on kind loan from Filippo Protani Violins.
Kamila Bydlowska started to play the violin at the age of 7. Recently she graduated from the Artist Diploma program at the Royal College of Music in London, supported by the Jacqueline Ward Award. Previously she studied on a full scholarship at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, USA and Lodz Music Academy, Poland. Kamila is a winner of the Ealing Concert Competition. Other competition successes include: prizes at National Society of Arts and Letters Competition in Bloomington and Matinee Musicale Competition in Indianapolis (USA), ”Citta di Padova” competition in Italy and chamber music competitions in both Croatia and Slovenia. As a soloist she recently appeared at St. James Piccadilly, National Gallery, St Martin in the Field, Elgar Room in the Royal Albert Hall, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Charlton House and Regent Hall. Festival performances include: iPalpiti Festival of International Laureats in Los Angeles, Bowdoin International Music Festival (USA), Keshet Eilon (Israel) Orford SummerMusic Festival (Canada), New Virtuosi (Italy),Farm de Villefavard (France). A winner of multiple awards, she is the recipient of Ministry of Culture of Poland scholarship and Artistic Excellence Award from Indiana University.
Maltese violinist Nadine Galea started playing the violin aged 9. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Music London, where she is now studying for a Master of Performance, having studied with Dona Lee Croft and Radu Blidar, and Jazz violin with Christian Garrick. Nadine has won First Prize in several competitions in London, Italy and Malta, such as London’s Richmond Competition. Prior to her studies at the RCM, she was one of only five musicians on a full two-year (high school) scholarship studying chamber music with the legendary Trio di Trieste and Trio di Parma. Nadine was then awarded bursaries by the Janatha Stubbs, R.D Ltd, Seary, ACM, Mack., WTH and Farsons Foundations to support her studies in London. She has performed as a professional orchestral musician since the age of 16, when she joined Malta’s National Orchestra. Nadine is a very passionate chamber musician and has been coached by many international musicians including the Chillingarian and Sacconi Quartets, and the Florilegium Ensemble. Apart from the standard combinations, she also played with winds and percussion, rare string combinations and early music and jazz groups. She is also a member of the Maltese five-piece folk ensemble NAFRA and the contemporary Crossbreed Ensemble, performing internationally in major festivals and broadcast on international TV networks. Nadine enjoys collaborating with different artists. Recent performances include Ruben Zahra’s Pan the Goat God at the Hagar Qim Temple Complex, where she played in a trio together with visuals and acting. She also collaborated with the “Blam! Jazz quartet” in a concert at St James’s Church Piccadilly, for which they received a standing ovation. Leading Maltese composers dedicated pieces to her such as Crimson Sunrise by Ruben Zahra. Nadine also enjoys recording for film composers and has done a number at the RCM including a number of violin solos. Nadine plays on a violin on loan from the Royal College of Music.
Rosemary Hinton started the violin at the age of six. She began to learn the Suzuki method locally with Jennifer Gray and then Roger Owen in Ipswich. At the age of eleven she joined the Junior Guildhall School of Music, where she studied the violin and piano for five years. Rosemary was a member of Suffolk Youth Music, a member of the National Children's Orchestra from 2003-2007 and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from 2007-2011 with which she played in venues such as Birmingham Symphony Hall, Barbican Hall and the Roundhouse. She held the position of Co-Leader for two years, as well as leading performances at the Royal Albert Hall in the BBC Proms in 2010 and 2011. Rosemary studied at Chetham’s School of Music from 2009–2011. With the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra, she performed at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Festival Hall. Rosemary has taken part in various orchestral projects during her time at the Academy, leading the Musical theatre show ‘The Pyjama Game’ and co-leading the Academy String Orchestra. Through the Academy Manson ensemble Rosemary has collaborated with the London Sinfonietta. Outside the Royal Academy, Rosemary is a member of the Britten Pears Orchestra and took part in the Aldeburgh World Orchestra, touring Munich and Amsterdam, performing in world class venues such as the Concertgebouw and the Royal Albert Hall.
Eunsley Park currently studies with Itzhak Rashkovsky, as a full ABRSM postgraduate student at the RCM where she also recently graduated first class degree. She was an RCM Foundation scholar, in receipt of Henry Wood Awards, the Douglas and Hilda Simmonds Award and was awarded the BMus1 award. Eunsley was selected as 'RCM Rising Star 2013', and her awards include: the MBF Postgraduate Performance Award 2013 and the Counter of Munster Award. As soloist, Eunsley has performed concerti with the Guildford Symphony Orchestra at the Polesdon Lacey festival and at the Mostly Mozart Festival with the Romanian Radio Orchestra in Istanbul. She has performed as a soloist at the Wigmore Hall and has also performed as a soloist with the London Chamber Orchestra in St. John's Smith Square. In summer 2006 she gave several performances of 'Spring' from Vivaldi's Four Seasons while on tour with the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra. She was also invited to perform by the Korean Embassy at Stockholm’s Konserthuset.
Daniel Rainey studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Andrea Gajic and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Prizes include the Nan Christie Memorial Prize for Strings, the Robert Highgate Scholarship for Violin, the Hilda Bailey Prize for Violin, the Bessie Spence Prize for Violin and the Headley Postgraduate Award. In December 2014, Daniel will make his debut in Japan performing two recitals as well as a performance of Vivaldi Four Seasons with the Osaka Concert Orchestra. Future engagements also include concerto appearances with Glasgow Orchestral Society, NYOS Senior Orchestra and Mid-Somerset Orchestra. Daniel is kindly supported by the Robertson Trust.
Tanya Sweiry held the prestigious Meaker Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music for 2013/14, during which time she was given the incredible honour of preparing and performing on the Viotti Ex-Bruce 1709 Stradivarius, as well as recording Bach and Enescu on it for the RAM. Tanya was awarded the fellowship after receiving a Distinction for the Master of Arts in Violin Performance at the Academy, where she studied with Remus Azoitei. Her impressive final performance meant that she was also awarded a Diploma of the RAM and the Moir Carnegie Prize for an outstanding final recital. During her Masters, Tanya was appointed Principal 2nd Violin of the Sainsbury Royal Academy Soloists (directed by Clio Gould) and held many principal positions in the RAM ensembles and orchestras, a highlight being Concertmaster for 'Ein Heldenleben' at the RAM conducted by Semyon Bychkov. Since completing the MA, Tanya has been in demand as a young and upcoming leader and soloist, as well as enjoying freelance work with professional orchestras and ensembles. In August 2014 Tanya was selected to be Concertmaster of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra and soloist with the Lucerne Festival Academy Ensemble, working closely with Sir Simon Rattle and Matthias Pintscher. She is the official leader of the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of London and LGSO, as well as regularly being invited to guest lead many semi-professional and amateur orchestras and ensembles as she develops her professional goals. As a soloist, she has performed with the North London Symphony Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia and Trinity Camerata. In 2011/12 she was selected as a Recommended Artist under Making Music's Philip & Dorothy Green Award scheme and was chosen to receive Making Music's ‘Music for Alice Bursary’.
Lyrit Milgram is a Canadian violinist and Purcell School alumna, recently graduated from the Royal College of Music in London. Lyrit has achieved numerous successes at competitions and festivals in Canada, having won awards for her playing at the Kiwanis and Peele Music Festivals, as well as being a national finalist at the Canadian Music Competition. Her notable awards in the UK include the Soirée d’Or and Dasha Shenkman Scholarships from the Royal College of Music and a Hattori Foundation Scholarship. As winner of the Purcell School Concerto Competition, Lyrit was invited to perform as guest soloist with the Purcell School Symphony Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Lyrit has given performances in Canada, USA, England, France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Malta and Israel. Her solo/chamber recitals in London include appearances at the Wigmore Hall, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Outside of London she has performed in such prominent venues as the Assembly Rooms in Bath, the Ra’anana Civic Centre and the Tel Aviv Opera House in Israel, the Studzinsky Theatre in Maine (USA), the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and the Conservatoire de Toulouse.
Michał Ćwiżewicz was born in London in 1984 and was first taught violin by Lisette Meguerditchian at the Alexandria Conservatoire in Egypt, by Krzysztof Smietana as a music scholar at Alleyn's School, and later at the Royal College of Music. He has since completed with Distinction a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance at the Royal College of Music. Winner of first prize and the audience award at the Eastbourne Young Soloist Competition in 2008, Michal also won the Imperial College Concerto Competition for two consecutive years, and in 2004, was string-finalist in the BBC Young Musician Competition, appearing on BBC4. Michal has also performed as a soloist at various venues including St. John’s Smith Square, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Église de la Madeleine in Paris and London’s Cadogan Hall with a performance of the Sibelius Concerto Michal performs frequently abroad including recitals in France at the Festival Année Musicale en Vaux d’Yonne, and in Zakopane, Poland. He is in the ATMA-duo with pianist John Paul Ekins. The duo’s newly formed Cremona Piano Trio with cellist Liubov Ulybysheva were finalists and winners of the Audience Award at the St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Competition 2012 in their sixth months together.
Liv-Marie Kourand completed her post-graduate violin studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Distinction in 2008, and was awarded the Miriam Jenkins Scholarship, the Moir Carnegie Prize, the Homi Kanga Memorial Prize and the Delius Society Prize. She has been a prize winner at major competitions, and is greatly in demand as a solo recitalist and concerto performer in London and throughout the UK. Her concerto performances include the works of Bach, Vivaldi, Bruch, Mendelssohn and Sibelius. As a soloist and chamber musician, Liv-Marie has performed at major international music festivals, notably the Pablo Casals and Soesterberg International Festivals. She has participated in masterclasses given by IdaHaendel, Pavel Vernikov, Hagai Shaham and Thomas Brandis and András Keller. Liv was a solo artist for the Concordia Foundation, has performed as part of the International Young Artists Series at St George’s, Bristol, and has given centenary concerts for the Elgar Society. She is also an active performer on period instruments, performing and recording extensively on the baroque violin with some of the UK’s leading ensembles at venues such as the Cadogan Hall. She has performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Liv-Marie performs on a 1721 Joseph Albani violin.
VIOLA PLAYERS
Mihai Emil Cocea is a Third Prize Winner of the “Watson Forbes” International Viola Competition, 4th Prize in the Yuri Bashmet Viola Competition in Moscow and a semi-finalist of the 2011 Windsor Festival String Competition. He is a student of professor Lawrence Power at the Zurcher Hochschule der Kunste. He has recently been awarded a scholarship by the Swiss Confederation to study in Zurich at ZHdK under the tutelage of Lawrence Power. Born in 1990 in Bucharest, Mihai graduated from the "George Enescu" High School as a student of professor Dumitru Ene. Since then, he has been a winner of national and international awards including the Grand Prize and Best Performance of a Contemporary Work at Icon Arts in Breaza in 2005, Second Prize at the Delius Competition, London and in 2013 he was awarded the Yuri Bashmet Special Prize at the Tertis Viola Competition in Isle of Man. Mihai has been selected by the Royal Academy of Music in London to play in a masterclass with Maxim Vengerov being the only violist chosen. He has also participated in international schemes such as: Summer Young Violinist Camp din Wroclaw, Poland, Sampling Bukarest, Vienna, Austria, Intercultural Exchange, Beijing, China, Sermoneta, Italy where he had the unique opportunity of playing alongside his mentor: Maestro Bruno Giuranna; and three of the most famous maestros of Europe: Mariana Sirbu, Rocco Filipini and Franco Petrarchi; SONORO-International Chamber Music Festival, offered him the chance of performing several concerts together with great young musicians such as: Alexander Sitkovetsky, Diana Ketler, Razvan Popovici, David Cohen, concerts broadcast by the National Romanian Radio, National Romanian Television and on BBC Radio 3. As a chamber musician and an orchestra player, he has collaborated with Youth Orchestra Wroclaw, Poland in 2005, CEY-Youth Orchestra, in 2006-2007, and EUYO-Youth Orchestra in 2008. He has given recitals in the St. James’s Piccadilly, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. Andrews Younger Hall, "George Enescu" Museum and the Romanian Atheneum.
CELLISTS
Angélique Lihou studied at the Purcell School and the Royal College of Music. She received a BMus(hons) degree from the Royal College of Music and, in 2010 was awarded a Masters in Music Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Angélique continues her studies at the Guildhall with Alexander Baillie and studies singing (soprano) with Noëlle Barker. In August 2009, Angélique was a private pupil of Bernard Greenhouse at his home in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. She is cellist of the Cosima Piano Quintet and is a member of electronic/experimental rock band CIAM, which is currently recording its second album. In 2011, Angélique made her South Bank debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall singing Baillie/Baudelaire La Mort des Amants for soprano and cello ensemble. Recent concerto performances include the Elgar Cello Concerto with the St James Sinfonia, Elgar Transcriptions with the Guernsey Symphony Orchestra and Haydn Cello Concerto in C major with the City of London Chamber Ensemble. Other recent engagements include performing cello duets for HRH the Prince of Wales and recitals of Bach Cello Suites in Denmark and at the Victor Hugo International Music Festival.
Li Lu’s natural aptitude on the cello soon took her from her home town, Zheng Zhou, to the Wu Han Conservatory of Music where she completed her undergraduate studies, and then to Beijing where she became the youngest member of the National Ballet Orchestra. In 2005, she studied in Ireland at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin and a year later won a major scholarship to continue her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, where she completed the RNCM’s Post-Graduate Diploma in Performance with Distinction in July 2008. As a soloist and chamber musician, Li Lu has given international performances at the Singapore International Music Festival, the Beijing International Modern Music Festival and the Kronburg Cello Festival in Germany. In 2006, she completed a national solo tour in Ireland playing the Bach cello suites. She also released her debut recording on Ritan Records, dedicated to the works of Maurice Ravel and Astor Piazzolla as well as including one of her own original compositions. In 2012, Li Lu was awarded a research and development grant by the Arts Council England, alongside the leading architect, theatre and opera designer Pippa Nissen, visual artist and costume designer Caroline Collinge to develop Li Lu’s new and original theatrical interpretation of the Bach Cello Suites.
Jun Sasaki was born in London and studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Louise Hopkins and Thomas Carroll before continuing his studies with Thomas Carroll at the Royal College of Music in London as a Foundation Scholar and Fleming Scholarship recipient. Having graduated from the RCM with 1st class honours, Jun currently studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway. Jun has performed across much of Europe as both soloist and chamber musician including prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St John's Smith Square, Elgar Room Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall and Clarence House in the UK, Casa da Música in Portugal, the Chateau de Sallenoves in Switzerland and Universitets Aula in Norway, and at festivals including Bath, Edinburgh Fringe, Deal, Lake District, Victor Hugo and Leicester Music in the UK, Young Virtuosi in France, the Schleswig-Holstein and EuroArts in Germany, the Stift Festival in Holland, the Ultima, Risør, Bergen and Grieg festivals in Norway, and the HARMOS festival of Portugal. Since moving to Scandinavia in the summer of 2012, Jun performs regularly as part of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic, and has just accepted the Co-Principal position at the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden.
Jamal Aliyev made his debut with BBC Concert Orchestra live broadcast on Radio 3 at the Yehudi Menuhin Hall in 2012. Jamal is the winner of three international competitions, Trakya International Competition, Muriel Taylor Cello Competition and V. Antonio Janigro International Competition as well as the winner of Royal College of Music "RCM Concerto Competition 2014" and "RCM Violoncello Competition 2014". As well as performing with BBC Concert Orchestra, Aliyev has collaborated as soloist on several occasions with orchestras such as; Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, RCM Classical and Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra. Jamal began his musical studies at age five in Turkey before moving to the Yehudi Menuhin School in 2008, with a full scholarship. Jamal has performed in venues such as: Wıgmore Hall, Windsor Castle, The Menhuim Hall in London, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Reims Cathedral in France, The Arts Parliament House in Singapore, The Presenidential Concert Hall of Turket and Rachmaninov Concert Hall in Moscow. Jamal has also performed live as part of Sean Rafferty’s programme; “In Tune” on Radio 3, in 2012.
Huseyin Gundogdu regularly performs in Europe, and his future concerts include performing Prokofiev’s Symphony Concertante for cello and orchestra. Huseyin Gundogdu received a full scholarship to attend the Music and Performing Arts faculty of Bilkent University in 2006, and the following year he joined the Zoltan Kodaly World Youth Orchestra during their European Tour. His ambitions prompted him to move to the United Kingdom where he was awarded a place at the Royal Northern College of Music studying with Emma Ferrand. He finished his studies with Natalie Clein in London. During his studies, Huseyin has won numerous prizes and awards including becoming a Concordia Foundation artist in 2013, and winning 3rd Prize in the Dobrich Albena Music Competition in Bulgaria. The Leonard Smith & Felicity Young Duo Competition 2014 and The Vivian Joseph classical concerto Competition 2014.
Zosia Jagodzinska began learning the cello and piano at the age of 8. She studied at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Bozidar Vukotic (cello) and Krystina Budzcyk (piano), winning prizes for her solo and chamber music performances and becoming principal cellist of the Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 she graduated from the University of Oxford with a 1st class degree in Music (BA). At Oxford she won the Performance Scholarship, Philomusica Orchestral Apprenticeship Scholarship, Joan Conway Fund, and was appointed principal cellist of the symphony and chamber orchestras, performing as a solo recitalist and as a member of Le Marriette Piano Trio in the UK and France. In 2010 she was a finalist in the prestigious ‘Muriel Taylor Scholarship Fund for Advanced Cellists’, performing Shostakovich cello concerto No.1, and
GUITARISTS
Laura Snowden is a winner of numerous national and international awards. Recently selected for the Tillett Trust, St John's Smith Square and International Guitar Foundation’s Young Artists Programmes, she also won First Prize at the 2014 Ivor Mairants Guitar Award. Following studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where guitar tuition was made possible by the Rolling Stones, Laura went on to the Royal College of Music, winning the Guitar Prize in her first year. She is now a Postgraduate RCM Scholar. Laura has performed at some of the UK’s leading music and guitar festivals, and has appeared as a soloist at Cadogan Hall, The Sage Gateshead and Kings Place. Last year, she gave a series of solo and duo recitals for the International Guitar Foundation’s North East and London Guitar Festivals, which included the performance of newly commissioned works. Laura is also an established composer - her music has been played on BBC Radio 3 and premiered at Sadlers Wells, Deal Festival and Handel House. Her commissions have subsequently been performed at the Wigmore Hall and in Italy, Romania and Japan. She has collaborated as a composer both with the Royal Ballet School and with the London Film School. Her song Live Free, composed for the charity Voices For Hospices, was performed at over 300 simultaneous concerts in 60 countries, spanning Europe, USA and Asia. Laura writes and performs for folk group Tir Eolas, recipients of a City Music Foundation Award, whose debut album Stories Sung, Truths Told was released in February 2015.
HARPISTS
Elizabeth McNulty is Principal Harpist with The Kantanti Ensemble and is currently on trial with The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She also freelances with many orchestras: she has worked with The English National Ballet, The RTE Concert Orchestra, New London Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra, London Gala Orchestra, London Telefilmonic Orchestra, London Metropolitan Orchestra, Symphonia Academica, Glyndebourne Youth Opera and Southbank Sinfonia. In December 2012, she performed center stage at Glyndebourne the premiere of Russell Hepplewhite’s song cycle It Was Born of The Stars for harp and children’s choir with the youth opera and in November 2013, Into The Harbour: Carry Me Home, an arrangement of Britten’s operas by Lee Reynolds for the Britten centenary. She has performed recitals as part of the 2011 New London Orchestra Young concert artists’ platform and also at St Martin-in-the-Fields with Ronald Corp and Apsara, performing works for harp and voices, and harp solo. In 2010 she featured as soloist in the Rose Bruford College Summer Festival, performing alongside tango dancers. Elizabeth enjoys teaching and outreach work: she is the harp teacher at Hill House International Prep School and Queens College, Harley Street and participates in many educational projects in schools and children’s concerts with The LPO Education department. She also plays in residential homes and hospitals, such as Great Ormond Street Hospital. Elizabeth studied for her Masters in Performance at Trinity College of Music, where she was awarded a Leverhulme Scholarship, having previously graduated in music from Royal Holloway, University of London. At Trinity, she studied with Gabriella Dall’Olio and former teachers include Janice Beven and Karen Vaughan. She has also received tuition from Letizia Belmondo, Sylvain Blassel, Fabrice Pierre and Rachel Masters.
Tamara Young graduated in 2010 with a first class honours from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Whilst at college won the John Marson prize for ‘most outstanding and creative young musician’ She has performed live on BBC radio 3’s programme ‘In Tune’ as their visiting solo artist and recently became a finalist in the strings category for the Royal Over-Seas League music competition 2013. Her most recent success has been winning first prize at the Camac Harp Competition, London which resulted in her debut solo recital in Paris this December. Tamara has performed many solo and chamber music recitals both at home and abroad including a recent solo recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields and has just returned from Israel where she was a participant in the 18th International Harp Contest. As a soloist she has performed Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp, Debussy’s Danses and Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro with the Ligeti ensemble. She frequently collaborates with composers in commissioning new works for the harp and enjoys creating multi media harp compositions, often involving electronics, choreography and film projection. She also plays regularly with her flute and harp duo ‘Syrinx’. Praised for their ‘colourful and invigorating’ performances, they have been invited to play at the Torbay music festival in November this year. Tamara enjoys freelancing as an orchestral harpist and has worked with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra amongst others. She has recently finished performing with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, Oslo in their most recent production of Salome. Tamara has performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under the baton of Sir Colin Davis, having won the audition two years in a row as principal harpist. She has also performed on the traditional Celtic harp, with The City Waites, as part of the on stage band for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre’s production of The Beggars Opera and after winning the audition for the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands has also performed at the Royal Concertgebouw with the conductor John Adams. Other collaborations have included performing at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club with Sir John Dankworth, for HRM Prince Charles 60th birthday celebrations and performing live on ITV’s Daybreak breakfast show. She is a Britten Pears Young artist for 2013 and recently performed Peter Grimes in Aldeburgh with Steuart Bedford, which was subsequently broadcast in Cinemas world wild and live on BBC radio 3. Tamara has recently completed her Masters degree with a distinction in performance at Trinity Laban.
