“she lit the place on fire with one of her solos” San Francisco Chronicle

Lizzie Ball enjoys a varied career weaving between many genres of music but with her heart still firmly rooted in classical. Lizzie has carved out her own version of classical fusion- Classical Kicks a team of fantastically versatile musicians who perform concerts in a variety of platforms from a residency at Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club to the festival stages of Bestival and Henley.

Lizzie has enjoyed collaborations as a featured artist with some of the world’s finest artists on the worlds finest stages, including a long-standing collaboration and tours with Nigel Kennedy, as both a soloist with him and also leader of his Orchestra of Life, New York Polyphony, Martynas Levickis and the James Pearson Trio. Her collaboration as a featured band member with rock guitar legend Jeff Beck between 2013-14 included a solo performance at Madison Square Garden NY, and a US-wide double-bill tour with Brian Wilson, in which Lizzie was also featured as vocalist on some of his most iconic songs from the revered fusion album Pet Sounds.

Lizzie has an MA in Music from St. Johns College, Cambridge University and postgraduate performance diplomas from Royal College of Music/Guildhall School of Music. She plays a Joseph Kantucsher violin (1967) and is currently endorsed by Strymon pedals, AER amplifiers, Thomastik strings, and Eastman Music LA. Lizzie is also co-founder of Tracks4Change, a unique songwriting competition whose aim is to increase the awareness and involvement of young people in democracy, by challenging them to write a song about what they want to see change in the world.

Matt Ford is widely regarded as the finest big band singer in the UK, performing for 5 years with ihe multi-award winning Syd Lawrence Orchestra. In 2006 Matthew was voted ‘Best UK Male Big Band Vocalist’ and nominated alongside Jamie Cullum in the inaugural Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards (Best UK Male Vocalist category).

As a soloist Matthew makes regular appearances with the RTE and BBC Concert Orchestras, and has also worked with the Northern Sinfonia, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic,Halle and Philharmonia Orchestras. Matthew has w’orked under many conductors including John Wilson, Neil Thompson, David Brophy, Robert Ziegler, Richard Balcombc, Steve Bell, Sofi Jeannin and Larry Blank.

As a big band vocalist Matthew is always in demand, working with the BBC Big Band, Grammy nominated John Wilson Orchestra and many others including the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra. Matthew has been invited to perform for both domestic and international royalty.

In 2009, Matthew broadcast with the BBC Big Band for the 30th Anniversary of BBC Radio 2’s ‘Big Band Special’ programme. His appearances with the RTE Concert Orchestra are regularly broadcast on RTE 1 and Lyric FM throughout Eire, whilst his album recordings have aired across the UK on Radio 2.

2010 saw Matthew invited to join the cast of‘Singing in the Rain’ for the first ever concert performance of the original film score, reconstructed by John Wilson and performed at Festival Hall.

May 2011 saw Matthew recording at Abbey Road Studios for EMI Classics on the album ‘That’s Entertainment’. The album is a celebration of the MGM musicals and was released to critical acclaim in August 2011.

Matthew broadcast on BBC Radio 2 (Friday Night is Music Night) with West End Star Lee Mead and John Barrowman, paying tribute to Irving Berlin and Gene Kelly.

A second appearance at the BBC Proms, in ‘Hollywood Rhapsody’, was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and later on BBC Four. 2013 also included a UK tour with the John Wilson Orchestra, and appearances with the Halle Orchestra.

In 2014 appeared with the RTE CO (broadcasting on RTE 1 across Eire), toured the UK with ‘Rags To Ritzes’ (celebrating the music of Irving Berlin), and broadcast live on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Friday Night Is Music Night’ (celebrating Doris Day’s 90th birthday). Matt also made several festival appearances, including Aldeburgh, Henley, Music@Malling and Lichfield. The year ended with appearances on The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV1), The One Show (BBC One), a UK tour with the JWO, a BBC Radio 2 broadcast on ‘Big Band Special’, and a TV broadcast on SKY Arts – ‘Cole Porter in Hollywood’.

2015 began with Matt featuring on the acclaimed series ‘Sound Of Song’, broadcast on BBC Four, and has continued with appearances at Aldeburgh, Harrogate, Thaxted, Newry and Cheltenham festivals. Matt has also performed in concert with celebrated BBC Radio 2 jazz star Clare Teal, the Halle Orchestra, and the RTE Concert Orchestra, broadcasting with the latter on RTE radio. Matt completed the year with a nationwide tour, a live album recording (from the Royal Abert Hall) with the JWO, and a sold out performance celebrating Frank Sinatra’s 100th Birthday with the London Concert Orchestra at The Royal Festival Hall.

This year Matt has made his France debut, broadcasting on Radio France in Paris on St Valentines Day with his own jazz trio and Le Maitrise de Radio France, broadcast on Lyric FM in Eire with the RTE Concert Orchestra, and performed a concert of the songs of the James Bond films with the Halle Orchestra.

Equally at home in modem and vintage Jazz styles Matt enjoys a diverse musical career that also encompasses Symphonic and Light Orchestral Music.

He has accompanied many leading Internationally known Jazz figures such as Harry “Sweets” Edison,Conte Candoli,Bucky Pizzarelli John Pizzarelli, Warren Vache and Scott Hamilton. Most recently he has appeared with Steve Grossman, John Hendricks, Curtis Stigers and with Kurt Elling as part of Guy Barker’s latest large scale commission for the BBC and Aldeburgh Festival 2013. Matt is a member of Claire Martin’s group, Jim Mullen’s Organ Trio and Damon Brown’s International Quintet and he often appears at Ronnie Scott’s as a member of the James Pearson Trio. Matt has recorded and appeared with singers such a Marion Montgomery, Dame Cleo Laine and for Dame Jesse Norman in her Ellington and Gershwin Concert Series (2006). Matt was Sir Richard Rodney Bennett’s drummer and often appeared in concert with Richard including his last Wigmore Hall appearance with Claire Martin and the Nash Ensemble. For eight years Matt was the drummer for Stacey Kent’s group that included International touring and recording for BlueNote Records including her Grammy nominated 2007 release ‘Breakfast On The Morning Tram’ Matt performs with The BBC Big Band and the BBC Concert, Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras that has included several broadcasts and BBC Proms T.V appearances. Also Matt regularly plays with The LSO, Philharmonia,CBSO,RLPO, Britten Symphonia, Lahti, RTE Concert Orchestra and Big Band. He often plays in Guy Barker’s Jazz Orchestra including BBC Proms & Cheltenham Jazz Festival appearances for 2015. Matt co leads and organises the Skelton-Skinner Allstars Big Band. They regularly appear at Ronnie Scott’s Club London. 2015 sees them return to The Wigan International Jazz Festival to headline with James Pearson presenting their new Oscar Peterson Meets The Big Band show. Other 2015 highlights include a run of concert dates with his Sinatra, Close To You project featuring Matt Ford & The Tippett Quartet at venues such as The Cadogan Hall, Snape Makings and also at The Cheltenham Festival.

In July & September Matt will also be touring in the US playing concerts for Seth Macfarlane. Matt’s trio featuring multi award wining Dave Newton have their debut album for Linn Records ‘ Big Screen Take 1 ‘released this Spring. Their disc has already received a 4 star review in The Observer. Matt is the drummer for the 2015 revival of ‘Gypsy!’ at The Savoy Theatre. He is also the drummer for the Grammy nominated John Wilson Orchestra. Matt is the Jazz Drums tutor at The London College Of Music and regularly guest directs the Big Bands of The Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban College Of Music.

Callum Au is a professional trombonist, composer, orchestrator, and arranger. Based in London, Callum has worked with some of the UK’s top big bands and orchestras, and has fast made a name for himself as one of the UK’s finest young musicians.

Callum was privileged to be taught in his youth by veteran trumpet player Terry Reaney, pianist Brian Harrison, and top UK jazz trombonist Mark Nightingale. He was a member of Bill Ashton’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra from 2005 – 2010, during which time he played lead trombone and was one of the band’s principal arrangers.

Callum works as a trombonist and principal arrangers at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, alongside illustrious bandleader and clarinettist Pete Long). In this post, he has worked with many of the world’s top professional jazz and commercial artists, including Joss Stone, Seth MacFarlane, Jason Robert Brown, Liane Carroll, Tim Minchin, Peter Erskine, and two thirds of the Spice Girls!

Callum is active as a freelance trombonist and has worked with many of the top ensembles in the UK, including the John Wilson Orchestra, Echoes of Ellington, and in the pit of several West End shows. In 2014 he performed at the BBC Proms Battle of the Big Bands in the James Pearson Big Band, where he also contributed several of the arrangements.

As a freelance composer and arranger, Callum has written or arranged music for a huge variety of ensembles and artists, including the BBC Big Band, Jamie Cullum, the RTE Concert Orchestra, Clare Teal, and the Swingle Singers. Callum is in high demand for his orchestration skills, and has arranged music for severed major touring shows including “Lorna Luft: The Songbook of Judy Garland’, ‘The UK Salutes Frank’, and ‘From Rags to Ritzes: the Irving Berlin Story’. Callum has also arranged and orchestrated a variety of TV, film, and library music, including the film ‘A Royal Night Out’ starring Emily Watson & Rupert Everett.

In 2014, Callum was selected as one of seven up-and-coming arrangers from around the world to participate in the Metropole Orchestra Arrangers’ Workshop, where he worked with composer/ conductor Vince Mendoza, and vocalist Gregory’ Porter. Since then, Callum has been invited to work with the Latvian Radio Big Band, in a project arranging the music of J.S. Bach for big band, featuring accordion soloist Ksenija Sidorova.

Callum is the orchestral manager and musical director of the Callum Au Big Band, which features some of the finest jazz musicians in the UK. The band released its debut album ‘Something’s Coming* in 2012, which featured as its centrepiece a suite of music based on the musical ‘West Side Story’. The band has also worked on an arrangement of George Gershwin’s masterpiece ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, which premiered at Ronnie Scott’s in 2014 and featured pianist James Pearson. Callum also performs with his jazz quintet, co-led by baritone saxophonist Richard Shepherd, and inspired by the Brookmeyer/Mulligan group.

Callum is the trombonist and principal arranger for the ‘Close To You’ ensemble, a collaboration between the acclaimed Tippett Quartet and the James Pearson Quintet. A unique chamber ensemble featuring both jazz and classical elements, this hand-picked group explores the canon of the Great American Songbook, working with top vocalists Matthew Ford, Claire Martin, and Anna-Jane Casey.

In Autumn 2014, Callum was appointed as the guest MD of the Leeds College of Music Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, where he directed the band through his West Side Story Suite for a term. Callum has also directed workshops with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, and his arrangements are played in many schools and colleges around the w’orld.

In his free time, Callum likes tropical fish, Asian food, Star Trek, and strategy games.

Serbian born classical accordionist Miloš Milivojević began his musical education in Kragujevac. Winning numerous prizes in Germany, France, Italy and Denmark, he moved to London in 2002 and was awarded a full scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music. In 2004, Miloš was selected to perform as soloist at the Foundation Awards Ceremony before HRH The Princess Royal at the University of London Senate House. In 2007 Miloš became the first accordionist ever to win the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) Club Prize open to all instrumentalists and in 2008 was selected to represent the RAM and subsequently won the prestigious Derek Butler London Prize at the Wigmore Hall – contested by students from all four of the London conservatoires. Following successful completion of his studies, Miloš was awarded a Distinction and the Vice Principal’s Special Prize.

Miloš has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at many prestigious classical and world music festivals across the UK, Russia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Serbia, Montenegro, Spain, the Canary Islands, Malta, Australia and New Zealand. Performance credits include Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Sidney Opera House, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Purcell Room. Milos is regular member of the London Tango Quintet, Kosmos Ensemble, AccordDuo and the Balkan group Paprika. He performs with violinists David Juritz, Harriet Mackenzie and classical guitarist Craig Ogden. In 2014 has been elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in recognition of his contribution to music. In 2015 he performed a tango live on Strictly Come Dancing Show and in 2016, Opera North selected Miloš to be both soloist and Musical Director for the production of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love.

Sophia Rahman has recorded concertos with the Scottish Ensemble, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and twenty-five chamber discs for companies including Linn records, cpo, Guild, Naxos, ASV, Dutton/Epoch, Meridian and Resonus.
She has acted as a class pianist for IMS/Prussia Cove for Kim Kashkashian, Atar Arad, Hartmut Rohde and, for the last six years, Steven Isserlis. Since 1994 she has acted as official accompanist for the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and has also appeared for the Barbirolli International Oboe Competition and the Samling Foundation, as well as the 2013/14 inaugural Australian Cello Awards. She was a class pianist for the last few years of masterclasses given by William Pleeth at the Britten Pears School.
Together with colleagues Robert Plane (clarinet) and Philip Dukes (viola), she was Artist- in-Residence at Queen’s University, Belfast for eight years, where she developed her love of teaching. She is currently a guest-coach on the string Masters programme at the University of Limerick.
Alongside her touring schedule she has given masterclasses at conservatoires throughout the UK and in Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Finland (coaching chamber music at Sibelius Junior Academy), Estonia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. She is also a member of Trittico with John Anderson (oboe) and Nancy Ruffer (flute). She has appeared in recital with Steven Isserlis, Thomas Riebl, distinguished wind players such as Karl Leister and Alex Klein, and also works regularly with her partner, the violinist, violist and conductor Andres Kaljuste.
Sophia Rahman studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Peter Norris, with additional guidance from Vlado Perlemuter and Louis Kentner.
She took a first-class honours degree in English from King’s College, London and completed her piano studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Alexander Kelly and Malcolm Martineau.
She was the winner of the Royal Overseas League’s Accompanist Award and the Liza Fuchsova Memorial Prize for a chamber music pianist in consecutive years.

Stile Antico is firmly established as one of the world’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Working without a conductor, its twelve members have thrilled audiences throughout Europe and North America with their fresh, vibrant and moving performances of Renaissance polyphony. Its bestselling recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label have earned accolades including the Gramophone Award for Early Music, the Diapason d’orde I’annee, the Edison Klassiek Award and the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and have twice received Grammy® nominations.

Based in London, Stile Antico has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals. The group enjoys a particularly close association with the Wigmore Hall, and has appeared at the BBC Proms, Buckingham Palace, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Cite de la Musique, the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Luxembourg Philharmonie. Stile Antico is frequently invited to perform at Europe’s leading festivals: highlights include the Lucerne Easter Festival, the Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein and Wroclaw Festivals and the Antwerp, Barcelona, Bruges, Granada, Utrecht and York Early Music Festivals.

Since making its critically acclaimed North American debut at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2009, Stile Antico has returned frequently to the US and Canada, performing regularly in Boston and in New York’s Music before 1800 and Miller Theatre series. Further appearances include Washington’s Library of Congress, the Chan Centre in Vancouver, the Quebec Festival of Sacred Music, at Duke, Michigan and Yale Universities, and in concert series across nineteen US states. In 2010 Stile Antico made its debut at the Cervantino festival in Mexico.

Stile Antico is renowned for the committed and expressive performances that arise from its uniquely collaborative style of working: its members rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing artistically to the musical results. The group is also noted for its intelligent programming, drawing out thematic connections between works to shine new light on Renaissance music. In addition to its core repertoire,
Stile Antico has given world premieres of works by John McCabe and Huw Watkins, and recently juxtaposed the music of William Byrd and James MacMillan to great acclaim. Its diverse range of collaborations has included performances with viol consort Fretwork, pianist Marino Fomenti, orchestra B’Rock, and Sting.

Alongside its concert and recording work, Stile Antico is passionate about sharing its repertoire and working style with the widest possible audience, and its masterclasses and workshops are much in demand. The group regularly leads courses at the Darlington International Summer School, is often invited to work alongside ensembles at universities, festivals and early music forums, and is expanding its education work in schools under the auspices of the newly-created charitable Stile Antico Foundation.

Stile Antico marks its tenth anniversary with celebratory projects and performances throughout the 2015-6 season. Highlights include a birthday concert at the Wigmore Hall, where the group premieres a new work by Nico Muhly, landmark European appearances at the BBC Proms and the Antwerp, Bruges, and Utrecht Early Music Festivals, a collaboration with the Folger Ensemble in Washington DC and New York, and a bursary for young singers in association with the Stile Antico Foundation and the University of York. Harmonia Mundi honours this milestone with the launch of a tenth-anniversary compilation album, Sing with the Voice of Melody, the reissue of the group’s debut, Music for Compline, and the release of its tenth disc, A Wondrous Mystery.

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.

Sami Junnonen (b. 1977 in Tampere, Finland) has established a versatile international career by performing as a flute soloist with a wide repertoire from early music to contemporary works. Junnonen collaborates frequently with some of the most significant composers of our time. His 2012 Debut Recital at the Helsinki Music Centre received outstanding reviews.

Junnonen has been academically trained at the Sibelius Academy, the Conservatoire national musique et danse de Lyon, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and various masterclasses. He holds a Master of Music with Distinction from the Sibelius Academy, completed in 2008.

Junnonen performs on 24-carat and 14-carat gold flutes, handcrafted by the Muramatsu Flute MFG. Co., Ltd.

“Junnonen keeps impressing his audience with his great talent, technically sovereign, and his intensity and longing for musical expression. He keeps exploring the repertoire and possibilities on the flute, and is showing a remarkable mastery of his instrument throughout the whole range of expression, dynamics, pitch, rhythms.”

Emmanuel Pahud
Soloist and Principal Flute, Berliner Philharmoniker

The creation of violinist and vocalist Lizzie Ball, Classical Kicks is a unique night of classical music performance which has an exclusive quarterly residency at the world renowned Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club in Soho, London. Hailed by Classical Music Magazine as “genre-bending”, Classical Kicks strives to bring the most talented, exciting and also diverse classical artists into the intimate and special space that is Ronnie’s Bar, and to maintain the best quality of musicians and musicianship, but most importantly within a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Classical Kicks also has an adapted touring version of its own unique brand of classical music which last year (2013) debuted to some great UK festivals including Henley, Music in the Garden for Dame Cleo Laine, and a performance for the English Speaking Union. Classical Kicks Records was formed in 2013 as a means to provide further promotion for exciting young artists and new ways of performing classical music, and released its first EP in the same year. Classical Kicks now runs a brand new series running throughout 2015 at St. James Studio, which explores themes from opera and song to jazz and whiskey, in a more ensemble focussed bespoke manner, whilst Ronnies mash up of different ensembles and bands continues to be the flagship residency. CK Records hopes to release a record compilation of CK artists in 2016.

Previous artists who have performed include Thomas Gould (violin), Martynas Levickis (accordion), Aquinas Piano Trio, Barbara Barradas (soprano), Njabulo Madlala (bartione), Morgan Szymanski (guitar) and Machaca, G Project (cello and percussion), Filip Kowalski (viola), Bernard Gregor-Smith (cello), James Pearson (pianist and Artistic Director at Ronnie Scotts), Blue Topaz Trio, Navarra Quartet, Sideris Wind Quintet, Una Palliser (viola/vocals), Classico Latino, Eclectica, Thomas Kemp (Violin), Adrian Bradbury (cello) and many more….

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. In 2014, Richard became the cellist of the Sitkovetsky Trio.

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 includes 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 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.

Adrian read Veterinary Science and Music at Churchill College, Cambridge before further study at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and in Berlin.
He has since developed an international career in chamber music as the cellist in Composers Ensemble (winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Award, 2002), Jane’s Minstrels, Trio Gemelli, Touchwood Piano Quartet and Chamber Domaine, involving regular appearances at major festivals all over Europe together with a busy recording and broadcasting schedule.
He also collaborates with neuroscientist Professor Alan Wing to carry out conservatoire-based research into string playing, and curated a series of Music and Brain events at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival.
He is Cello Tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and holds an Honorary Research Fellowship at the RAM as well as an Artistic By-Fellowship at Churchill College.

Steven Devine enjoys a busy career as a music director and keyboard player working with some of the finest musicians.

Since 2007 Steven has been the harpsichordist with London Baroque in addition to his position as Co-Principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He is also the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band, Apollo and Pan, The Classical Opera Company and performs regularly with many other groups around Europe. He has recorded over thirty discs with other artists and ensembles and made six solo recordings. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations (Chandos Records) has been received critical acclaim – including Gramophone magazine describing it as “among the best”. Volumes 1 and 2 of the complete harpsichord works of Rameau (Resonus) have both received five-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine and Steven’s new recording of Bach’s Italian Concerto has been voted Classic FM’s Connoisseur’s choice.

He made his London conducting debut in 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall and is now a regular performer there – including making his Proms directing debut in August 2007 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has conducted the Mozart Festival Orchestra in every major concert hall in the UK and also across Switzerland. Steven is Music Director for New Chamber Opera in Oxford and with them has performanced repertoire from Cavalli to Rossini. For the Dartington Festival Opera he has conducted Handel’s Orlando and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.

From 2016 Steven will be Curator of Early Music for the Norwegian Wind Ensemble and will complete his complete Rameau solo recording for Resonus Classics.

Matthew Owens became Organist and Master of the Choristers of Wells Cathedral in January 2005, having previously been Organist and Master of the Music at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, and Sub Organist of Manchester Cathedral. In addition to being responsible for the 1100 year old tradition of daily sung worship at Wells Cathedral, Matthew has toured, broadcast, and recorded extensively with Wells Cathedral Choir which, in 2011, was named by an international jury for Gramophone as the best choir in the world with children, and the sixth greatest overall. He prepared the choristers for Bach’s St Matthew Passion, with the Berlin Radio Choir, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sir Simon Rattle, for the 2014 BBC Proms. Matthew is the Founder Artistic Director of three initiatives at Wells: Cathedral Commissions, a scheme which commissions new works from pre-eminent British composers; the cathedral’s innovative festival, new music wells; and its counterpart, Early Music Wells.

Matthew was educated at Chetham’s School of Music; The Queen’s College, Oxford; the Royal Northern College of Music; and the Sweelinck Conservatorium, Amsterdam. His major organ studies were with Gordon Stewart, Margaret Phillips, and Jacques van Oortmerssen. From 1994-99, he was Tutor in Organ Studies at the RNCM and Chetham’s, and worked for BBC Religious Broadcasting; he was Conductor of The Exon Singers from 1997-2011, and President of the Cathedral Organists’ Association from 2010-13.

He is Musical Director of the Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society, a chorus of over 150 singers with which he has performed Bach’s St John Passion, B minor Mass, Cantata 140, Lutheran Mass in F, and Christmas Oratorio; Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms; Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem and Alto Rhapsody; Britten’s War Requiem and Saint Nicholas; Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, and The Kingdom; Fauré’s Requiem; Handel’s Messiah and Four Coronation Anthems; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Mozart’s Requiem and C Minor Mass; Orff’s Camina Burana; Verdi’s Requiem; and major works by Finzi, Purcell, Rutter, Vaughan Williams, and Vivaldi, with some of the south of England’s leading professional orchestras. Matthew has directed choral workshops and summer schools throughout the UK and abroad – including recent visits to Australia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, New Zealand, and the USA – and has made over 30 CDs as a conductor with major labels including Hyperion and Signum.

As an organist, Matthew has given recitals in Australia, France, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, New Zealand, the USA, and throughout the UK, including many festival appearances, and at venues such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, and St John’s Smith Square, and is currently performing the complete works of Bach at Wells Cathedral over a series of 36 recitals. Matthew has championed new music, particularly of British composers, conducting over 170 world premieres, including works by leading composers ranging from Jools Holland to Sir James MacMillan, and John Rutter to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. As a composer himself, he is published by Oxford University Press and Novello. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians in November 2012.

Thomas Kemp is a highly acclaimed musician and one of the most versatile and eclectic conductors of his generation, acclaimed for his innovative programming and passionate advocacy in concerts, opera, ballet and as an award winning recording artist. The Guardian recently commented “…an extraordinary performance…with a fluency that came over brilliantly under the baton of Thomas Kemp.”

Thomas is Music Director of the internationally acclaimed ensemble Chamber Domaine, which is at the forefront of ensembles focusing on 20th and 21st century music. He has directed Chamber Domaine in festivals and concert series in the UK, Europe and North America and has a distinguished discography with the ensemble including world premiere recordings of Britten, Bridge, Bliss, Turnage, Pärt, Gorecki, Rorem and Bingham. He is a recording artist for Resonus Classics and forthcoming releases include world premiere recordings of Jean Sibelius and Mark Simpson.

He is the Artistic Director of Music@Malling – an international festival that promotes the works of contemporary composers alongside the masterworks from the classical and romantic periods. The festival is held each September in historic venues in and around West Malling, Kent and has a year around outreach programme that engages hundreds of young people in creative activities from across the county. Music@Malling was featured in Best Classical Concerts 2015 in The Artsdesk.

Thomas is regularly in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras and ensembles in the UK and Europe.

Forthcoming engagements include concerts in the US, Asia and Europe with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducting Strauss – Rosenkavalier in the 1926 version for silent film together with salon arrangements of songs that were made for early cinema.

Thomas has performed at many leading festivals in the UK and abroad including the Edinburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Huddersfield Contemporary, Wien Modern, Kuhmo,The Proms, Vale of Glamorgan and Brighton Festivals. He has also broadcast regularly on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, ORF (Austria), ABC, Australia, WNYC (USA), RNZ (New Zealand) and SR (Sweden.)

He has regularly performed at the Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, Carnegie Hall and as a guest artist for Bargemusic, New York.

From 1989-1992, Thomas read music at St.Catharine’s College, Cambridge and went on to study violin and chamber music at the Royal Northern College of Music.

From 2003-2007, he studied conducting at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm with Jorma Panula and Alan Gilbert winning the prestigious conducting prize from the Swedish Academy.

Thomas has enjoyed an international career as a guest concertmaster and chamber musician with many renowned orchestras and ensembles and has led many recording sessions for TV and film in London.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. From 2000-2014, he was a professor of violin and chamber music at the Royal Northern College of Music and has given masterclasses worldwide as well as coaching and conducting orchestras and ensembles at leading conservatoires in Sydney, Perth, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Auckland, Stockholm and Tallin.

Under it artistic director, Thomas Kemp, Chamber Domaine has become renowned for its virtuosity and its ambitious and distinctive programming that illuminates the music of the 20th and 21st century with the music of three centuries. The ensemble brings passion and commitment to a diverse repertoire that makes the music of today come alive, placing it into its historical context.

The New York Times praised the ensemble for “…intriguing programming and unabashed lushness”. 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 praised the ensemble: “Chamber Domaine brilliantly demonstrated the thrill of successfully climbing Mount Everest with exhilarating bravery and expressive force.” The Gramophone commented on a recent recording “…a wealth of timbral subtlety…utterly magical…a tremendous sense of vitality and commitment.”

The ensemble has worked with many of the world’s leading composers including Mark-Anthony Turnage, Judith Bingham, Ned Rorem, Arvo Part, Mark Simpson, Henrik Gorecki, Piers Helliwell, Huw Watkins, Judith Weir, Brian Ferneyhough, HK Gruber and David Horne giving many territorial and world premieres in concerts and recordings. The ensemble regularly collaborates with leading figures from across the arts world, including Sir Anish Kapoor, Edward Fox, Nicky Spence, Yeree Suh,Sara Fulgoni, Craig Ogden, Irina Takahashi and Anna Grevelius.

Chamber Domaine gave its highly praised South Bank and Wigmore Hall debuts in 1999 and has since performed at leading festivals and concert series in the United Kingdom, Europe and North America including Cheltenham, Brighton, Vale of Glamorgan, City of London and Edinburgh Festivals. The ensemble has also had groundbreaking residencies at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Imperial War Museum, Arnold Schonberg Centre, Vienna, Gresham College and Bargemusic, New York.

Chamber Domaine is the resident ensemble for Music@Malling and has a year around outreach programme engaging hundreds of children from across Kent in creative activities. This groundbreaking programme has included collaborations with national, regional and local organisations to create an artistic resource for the local area that is of outstanding quality.

The ensemble has a distinguished and highly acclaimed discography with recordings winning international plaudits and regularly broadcasts worldwide.

With its innovative programming, collaborations and recording Chamber Domaine is at the forefront of music-making today.

Matthew Sharp studied cello with Boris Pergamenschikow in Cologne, voice with Ulla Blom in Stockholm and English at Trinity College, Cambridge. He has performed at major venues and festivals worldwide as solo cellist, baritone and actor. Matthew has appeared as solo performer with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra, English Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Orchestra of the Swan, Arensky Chamber Orchestra, and Ural Philharmonic. Matthew has performed principal roles for Opera North, ROH2, Almeida Opera, Young Vic and National Theatre Studio.

Matthew has given solo performances at the Glastonbury and Latitude festivals, and has recorded for Sony, EMI, Decca, Naxos, Somm and Avie. Matthew has given over fifty world premieres – including the title role in Sir John Tavener’s The Fool and Errollyn Wallen’s Cello Concerto. As writer, composer and performer he collaborates regularly with leading artists from film, theatre and dance.

Frank Ilfman began studying Trombone and Piano at the Jaffa Conservatorium of Music in Israel as a young child and a precocious talent was soon evident. By the age of thirteen he was composing and arranging original and popular music for the Tel Aviv Dixieland Band where he played Lead Trombone. 

Not long after Frank was asked to leave the Conservatorium for skipping classes which he found dull and on a chance visit to Berlin he met composer Klaus Doldinger (Das Boot) who was at the time scoring the film The Never Ending Story. Frank visited the set and impressed everyone with his imagination and enthusiasm which prompted Doldinger to invite him to a scoring session. Frank subsequently fell in love with the world of cinema and film music. 

Frank Ilfman worked on his first television production at seventeen with composer Jan Hammer on the ever so popular television series The Chancer starring Clive Owen and since then has contributed original music to more than forty film and television projects. Amongst his many talents, his sensitivity to genre and ability to diagnose how music can best contribute to a film, has gained him wide respect in the field. 

Ilfman’s music can be described as dark and atmospheric, romantic and evocative. He combines exotic instruments, electronics and symphonic orchestra to produce a powerful dramatic style that brings a vibrant and fresh contemporary feel to the big screen.

Frank Ilfman is best known for the worldwide critically acclaimed and multi-award winning, twisted thriller Big Bad Wolves (Quentin Tarantino’s Best Film Of The Year) and for which he won the Israeli Oscar for Best Score and the prestige’s Saturn Award for Best Music in LA.

Ilfman recent works includes the new Legendary Pictures Fanfare logo, recorded at Abbey Road studio with the London Metropolitan Orchestra, Christian Hallman’s thriller Sensoria and the upcoming movie Ghost Stories starring Martin Freeman

Born in Nottingham in 1952, and raised in Mansfield and Sheffield, Judith Bingham began composing as a small child, and then studied composing and singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She was awarded the Principal’s prize in 1971, and 6 years later the BBC Young Composer award. Recent composition prizes include: the Barlow Prize for a cappella music in 2004, two British Composer Awards in 2004 (choral and liturgical) one in 2006 (choral) and the instrumental award in 2008.

Judith Bingham was a member of the BBC Singers for many years, and between 2004 and 2009 she was their ‘Composer in Association’, during which time she wrote a series of choral works. Several of these were for the BBC Singers, but there were also pieces for other professional, amateur and collegiate choirs, including Salt in the Blood, written for the BBC Symphony Chorus to perform at the 1995 Proms, a Magnificat andNunc Dimittis for King’s College Cambridge, and diverse anthems and church works for many UK cathedrals. A CD of some of her choral works –‘Remoter Worlds’ by the BBC Singers was released in 2009 on the Signum label. In 2007 she was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music for distinguished services to church music. Judith Bingham has, until recently, combined the careers of professional singer and serious composer – an almost automatic coupling in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, but a rarer one in more recent times. Judith Bingham’s compositional voice is a distinctive one: her singer’s feeling for expressive melodic lines is complemented by a strong rhythmic and harmonic sense. Her music is never purely abstract in conception, but always shaped and coloured by extra-musical sources of inspiration – both from the natural world and from the world of arts and ideas.

Although Bingham’s output is marked by the number and variety of its choral works, she has always been seen as an all-rounder, and the scope of her activities has included pieces for brass band, symphonic wind ensemble and various chamber groups and solo instruments, concertos for trumpet and bassoon, oboe and tuba, and several impressive works for large orchestra. She has written a substantial body of pieces for organ including Jacob’s Ladder, a concerto written for Stephen Cleobury and Philip Brunelle. A CD of her organ music performed by Tom Winpenny was released in 2010. A carol God would be born in thee was performed at the King’s College Cambridge Nine Lessons and Carols at Christmas 2004 and was released by EMI on the CD ‘On Christmas Day’. Recently xommissions have been for for the BBC Singers and Guy Johnston, Sarah Connolly and Tenebrae, Benedict Nelson and Graham Johnson, and St. Paul’s Cathedral, as well as works for choirs in America and Sweden.

Born and educated in Edinburgh, Richard Gwilt has degrees in music from the University of Birmingham, and the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), U.S.A. While at Birmingham, he studied violin with Orrea Pernel. He started playing the baroque violin in 1980 while at the University of Michigan, and on returning to England in 1983 joined the mainstream of the English period instrument performing scene.

He has played and recorded with many orchestras in the UK, including the English Concert with Trevor Pinnock, the Academy of Ancient Music with Christopher Hogwood, the English Baroque Soloists with John Eliot Gardiner, and the London Classical Players with Roger Norrington. He has also worked with many orchestras in Europe, including Anima Eterna with Jos von Immerseel and La Chapelle Royale with Philippe Herreweghe.

It is, however, as a chamber musician that Richard Gwilt has built his reputation. He has been a member of London Baroque since 1984, and has worked with numerous chamber ensembles throughout Europe. He has performed in most of the major chamber music concert halls (including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna, the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room in London and the Alice Tully Hall in New York) as well as other venues throughout Europe, Japan and the Americas. He has also made frequent radio and television performances, and recorded over thirty CDs, as both chamber musician and soloist.

In addition to his work as a chamber musician, Richard Gwilt also works as a conductor and musical director, and is very active as a teacher. As conductor and musical director, he has worked among others with the Remix Baroque Ensemble in Porto (Portugal) with Concerto Armonico in Freiburg, and with the Altemusik ensemble in the Musikhochschule in Köln.

In 2004 Richard Gwilt was appointed Professor of Baroque Violin at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. Previously he was professor of baroque violin and viola at Trinity College of Music in London (1986-2005), and has taught at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London and on courses in Portugal, Norway, Israel and Germany. He is also a tutor for the EUBO audition courses. As an expansion of his pedagogical activities, he has recently embarked on a series of articles about different topics concerning the violin and baroque performance practice. These essays can be found at www.baroque-violin.info.

As well as performing and teaching, Richard is also active as a composer and music editor. As an editor and publisher (RG Editions), he concentrates on currently unavailable 17th and 18th century string music. As a composer he writes mainly chamber music for strings and sometimes voice.

Simon Speare was born and brought up in Cornwall. He studied composition with Simon Holt at City University, London. His music has been widely performed by professional and amateur performers in the UK and abroad and broadcast on national radio and television. Head of Composition and Contemporary Music at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, he also teaches composition at The Purcell School. His students have won many national and international awards (including this year’s BBC Proms Inspire competition), and a number of his students have developed successful careers as composers. He has lectured and examined at Universities and Conservatoires and is an experienced leader of workshops, devising and leading education projects in schools for leading orchestras and education authorities. He was a lead composer on the award winning SPNM Sound Inventors project and has recently helped to develop the Go Compose project for Sound and Music, both aimed at pre-university aged composers. He was Composer in Association with London Concert Choir and Composer in Residence at the Centre for Young Musicians, London. He is currently collaborating with the author Tony Bradman on a music-theatre piece for children. He has devised and presented a contemporary music show on Resonance FM and been a judge for the British Composer Awards. Married with a son and daughter, he has often dabbled in rock and pop music and lives in East London.

Nicola Wydenbach is a graduate of the RCM where she was supported by a scholarship from Diva Opera. She has sung for English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera RaRa, the Monteverdi Choir, Philharmonia Voices and London Voices.
She has performed the roles of Russian Mother and Newspaper seller in Death in Venice at the Aldeburgh and Bregenz Festivals, created the role of Nymph in Ludd and Isis for ROH Education as well as performing the soprano solos for Streetwise Opera Fables. Other roles include Virtu in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Sandmann in Humperdink’s Hansel und Gretel, La Sorella Infermiera in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Bridesmaid in Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, Giannetta in Donizetti’s Elixir of Love for Opera South, Juno in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld for Kentish Opera and the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni for Longborough Festival Opera/CS Collaboration. She has also performed Dido in Dido and Aeneas with the Brook Street Band and created the role of Teacher in a newly composed opera “Hedgemond the Hedgehog” by Emily Leather.

Nicola is an experienced oratorio soloist having worked for societies throughout England. She has sung the Brahms’ Requiem conducted by Sir Neville Marriner. Future plans include Goodall’s Eternal Light and Bach’ s St. Mathew Passion.

Holly Lowe graduated with a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Performance from The Royal College of Music (RCM) supported by a Richard Carne and Beckwith Scholarship. Before this she received a Bachelor of Music from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD)
Originally from North Wales, Holly started the harp at the age of 8 and was accepted into the Junior Department of The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) where she studied piano, organ and harp, the latter with Professor David Watkins. She achieved Grade 8 in all 3 instruments before deciding to continue on with the harp to a professional level.
Holly has performed extensively as a soloist not just in the UK but in France, Italy, Budapest and Switzerland. She has attended masterclasses with many of the top harpists including Alice Giles, Marisa Robles, David Watkins and many more.

As an avid orchestral musician Holly performs regularly with orchestras and ensembles. Since her appointment as Principal harp with The Hallé Youth Orchestra Holly has gained much experience and continues to enjoy playing in this field. She has had the honour to work with world renowned conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Edward Gardner and Bernard Haitink and has performed with orchestras such as The Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra, Milton Keynes City Orchestra, Sinfonia d’amici and many others. She recently played in the world premiere of the opera ‘The Freedom Games’ at The Royal Albert Hall.

Holly is a member if the award winning Trio Lilium which won the RCM inter-college chamber competition in 2010. They went on to win the North London Music Festival ensemble Competition and have performed concerts all over the UK including St Martins in the Fields and Southwark Cathedral. The ensemble are committed to exploring original trio repertoire, alongside transcriptions and arrangements for this combination of instruments.
Since the end of 2014 Holly has been collaborating with Nonclassical. She performed in and helped organise Hackney Classical and became part of the duo Tendons which is an experimental, theatrical approach to new music creation.. Alongside performance artist and DJ, Nwando Ebizie they devise music combining harp, spoken word and electronics. They recently performed at The Royal Opera House for Deloitte Ignite: Nonclassical Club Night and are co- missioning and writing new works for this exciting new venture.

Holly considers outreach and charity work a very important part of her career. While at the RCM she was a member of RCM Sparks with whom she gave group workshops in schools in London and performed concerts in hospitals. She continues this work, performing in retirement homes and hospitals in London and her native North Wales.

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.

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.