John Mills violin, Jeremy Isaac violin, Lydia Lowndes-Northcott viola, Bozidar Vukotic cello

For over a decade and a half, the celebrated Tippett Quartet has delighted critics and audiences alike with its animated, virtuosic performances, and its inspired and attractive programming. The quartet has performed at the BBC Proms and numerous festivals throughout the UK and abroad, and has recently toured Europe, Canada and Mexico. The quartet regularly appears at Kings Place, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre and Bridgewater Hall and frequently performs on BBC Radio 3.

Alongside a busy touring schedule, the Tippett Quartet pursues a keen interest in educational work with both schools and universities and is currently Ensemble in Residence at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. (photo - Philip Taylor)

Chamber Domaine

Under its artistic director, Thomas Kemp, Chamber Domaine has become renowned for its virtuosity and its ambitious and distinctive programming that range from the Baroque through to the Contemporary. Chamber Domaine focuses on instrumental chamber music and song in programmes that illuminate the music of today with the music of three centuries: the ensemble brings passion and commitment to a diverse repertoire that makes music come alive whilst placing it into its cultural context.

The Gramophone recently commented: "...a wealth of timbral subtlety...utterly magical...a tremendous sense of vitality and commitment." The Guardian described a recent concert as "an extraordinary performance...with a fluency that came over brilliantly under the baton of Thomas Kemp." The Times commented "Chamber Domaine brilliantly demonstrated the thrill of young players successfully climbing Mount Everest with exhilarating bravery and expressive force." The New York Times praised the ensemble for its "intriguing programming and unabashed lushness."

Fabien Reimar

Fabian Reimar was born in Vienna, Austria and started dancing at age 8. He trained at Vienna State Opera Ballet School and Marico Besobrasova in Monte Carlo. Fabian danced for Vienna State Opera before joining English National Ballet in 2002. He was promoted to Soloist in 2003 and First Soloist in 2007.

Fabian’s favourite roles are Albrecht in Giselle and Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet. Career highlights include dancing Lescaut in Manon and performing as Rothbart at Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium. Fabian has choreographed '[co][hes][ion]' in 2013 and 'we are free' in 2014 for English National Ballet's Choreographics.

James Pearson

James Pearson is one of the country’s most respected musicians. His work covers all genres of music, especially contemporary music, jazz and classical. He graduated from the Guildhall School, having completed his degree and the Advanced Solo Studies Course. Whilst at college he studied with Robert Saxton, Francis Shaw, Peter Bithell and James Gibb.

James has broadcast on all the major radio and television networks. Classic FM broadcast his concert of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd piano concerto, and BBC Radio 2 broadcast his performance of the Gershwin Piano Concerto and Rhapsody in Blue. He was the pianist in the Steve Martland Band. His work as a Jazz musician has taken him all over the world. Earlier this year, the James Pearson Trio was invited to play a four night run at New York's Birland Jazz Club. His fine piano playing and arrangements can be heard on over 50 albums.

Amongst the many artists James has worked with are Dame Cleo Laine, Maria Ewing, Marian Montgomery, Petula Clark, Kevin Spacey, John Wilson, Elvin Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Buddy Greco, Johnny Griffin, Joseph Horowitz, Richard Rodney Bennett, Ray Davies, Jeff Beck and Paul McCartney.

Adam Mackenzie

Born in Plymouth but raised in the Highlands of Scotland, Adam Mackenzie began playing the bassoon in school, obtained a first class degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was runner-up in the prestigious Guildhall Gold Medal Competition.

Following his return from a year at the Accademia della Scala, Milan, Adam embarked on what has become a hugely varied career. Adam is the principal bassoon of Sinfonia ViVA and English Sinfonia and plays regularly as principal bassoon with orchestras such as the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Alongside this orchestral work Adam is a diverse and adventurous soloist, performing concertos (recently Mozart’s G Major Violin Concerto arranged for bassoon), playing in hip-hop bands, improvisation ensembles, theatre groups and has just completed a tour of India with the world renowned sarod player Amjad Ali Khan.

He is fortunate to be able to combine this with his other musical passion, outreach and education work. As one of London’s busiest freelance workshop musicians and leaders, Adam works regularly with all the major London orchestral education departments. He is Director of Education for English Sinfonia and Head of Education for Brandenburg Sinfonia.

Adam is also a presenter of concerts and has narrated many classic works including Peter and the Wolf, Ogden Nash’s poems for Carnival of the Animals and Poulenc’s The Story of Barbar. In 2006, Adam spent three months acting in (and playing from memory) Stravinsky’s Soliders Tale in the Old Vic Theatre, a piece which he has also narrated often in straight performance.

Adam will be performing Peter and the Wolf again in November with London Winds in Hackney.

Polly Gibbons

Polly Gibbons is one of the most respected and talked about young singer/songwriters of her generation. Nominated for a BBC Jazz Award back in 2006 with no album release to her name, was clear indication of just how special a singer and performer Polly is. Much esteemed by her contemporaries, Polly has built a reputation as being an original and gifted voice. With warm, rich, soulful vocals and an innate blues sensibility, Polly has been likened to many of the jazz and soul greats bringing her own storytelling and earnest depth alongside unique humour and fun to performances. Having developed her craft over the past decade, Polly has performed at all the leading UK jazz clubs, international festivals and is a regular at Ronnie Scott’s performing with the All Stars.

My Own Company, her debut UK jazz album with James Pearson, Musical Director of Ronnie Scott’s and pianist with the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars has just been released – long overdue, yet not before time, with Polly sounding more beautiful and rarer than ever.

Polly’s influences are brilliant, broad and inspired ~ from the poetry of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, to the be-bop of Charlie Parker, the deep wails of Mahalia Jackson’s gospel, to the emotional depth of Donny Hathaway, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone; the soul of Marvin Gaye, the blues of Buddy Guy and more contemporary brilliance in the sounds of Prince and D’Angelo.

Richard Harwood

Since his critically acclaimed concerto debut at the age of ten, the award-winning English 'cellist Richard Harwood has performed concerti and recitals in major venues including London's Royal Albert Hall, all of the South Bank Centre venues, Wigmore Hall, Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), Thomaskirche (Leipzig), and the Auditorium du Louvre (Paris).

As concerto soloist, Richard has collaborated with conductors such as John Wilson, Okko Kamu, Marko Letonja, Douglas Bostock, En Shao, Shuntaro Sato, David Parry and Yehudi Menuhin, and with numerous orchestras including the The Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, and the Ural Philharmonic.

As chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Jerusalem and Endellion Quartets, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Olivier Charlier, Benjamin Schmid, Alena Baeva, Ilya Gringolts, Pekka Kuusisto, Vilde Frang, Chen Halevi, Julian Bliss, Martin Roscoe, Finghin Collins, Ashley Wass, Gottlieb Wallisch, and Julius Drake, among others.

Richard is regularly heard on BBC, having made his BBC Radio 3 debut at the age of thirteen with a live recording of the Elgar Concerto. He has also given performances for Radio France, MDR, RTÉ, and Radio New Zealand.

Richard's discography include a critically acclaimed debut disc for EMI Classics, recorded with pianist Christoph Berner, and Composing Without The Picture, a 2013 solo album of concert works written by film composers, on Resonus. In addition, Richard can be seen and heard in Phil Grabsky's 2009 documentary In Search of Beethovenwhich received its theatrical premiere at the Barbican Theatre, London, was broadcast on Sky Arts, and shown in cinemas worldwide.

Contemporary music plays an important role for Richard. This started in 2002 when he took part in the Park Lane Group Young Artists' Series on the South Bank and premiered solo works written for him by Dominic Muldowney and Martin Butler. He has also worked with Philip Grange, giving the London premiere of his Nocturnal Image and given the European premiere of David Horne's Zip with the composer at the piano. For his solo album Composing Without the Picture, Richard premiered works written for him by Christopher Gunning, Alex Heffes, Fernando Velázquez, and Benjamin Wallfisch.

Richard began his studies with Joan Dickson, before continuing with other eminent teachers such as Steven Doane, David Waterman, Heinrich Schiff (University of Music and Dramatic Art, Vienna), and Ralph Kirshbaum (Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester).

He complemented his studies by taking master classes and lessons with Mstislav Rostropovich, Janos Starker, Steven Isserlis, Boris Pergamenschikow, Miklós Perényi, Bernard Greenhouse, Valentin Erben (Alban Berg Quartet), William Pleeth, Zara Nelsova, and Ferenc Rados.

Richard has won many awards beginning in 1992 when he became the youngest ever winner of the Audi Junior Musician Award. The recipient of many awards from the MBF, Hattori Foundation, and KPMG / Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Richard continued this success by winning the 2004 Pierre Fournier Award. He was also the first British 'cellist ever to be awarded the title "Bachpreisträger" at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition, Leipzig 2004. Among many other accolades, he received the special "mention" prize from the jury at the Rostropovich Competition, Paris in 2005.

Richard plays a 'cello by Francesco Rugeri, dated 1692.