“Lizzie Ball lit the place on fire with her solos”  San Francisco Chronicle

Named as one of the most 50 inspirational women of 2018 by The Daily Mail  ‘Femail at 50’ feature, and awarded an honorary degree from the University of Derby for her services and contribution to classical music, Lizzie is recognised increasingly for her refreshing and unique approach to classical music performance. Her creation of Classical Kicks, a unique brand of energetic reinvigorated classical music shows at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, has seen continued success. She is also known for her solo violin/vocal collaborations with numerous artists such as British violin superstar Nigel Kennedy (as a soloist with him and leader of his Orchestra of Life for 8 years), and legends Jeff Beck and Brian Wilson (as a featured frontline band member), Brit pop legend Bryan Ferry and more recently as lead violin for Ariana Grande and Hugh Jackman. Performance highlights include headlining at Madison Square Garden NY for Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, several critically acclaimed US-wide tours, and directing the historical Palestine Prom for BBC Proms 2013 in the Royal Albert Hall. Her brand new co-production with Producer/Writer/Director Emily Blacksell Corrido-A Ballad for the Brave a musical and visual storytelling of the life and times of Frida Kahlo received widespread acclaim at its premiere alongside the V and A’s celebrated Frida Kahlo Making Her Self Up exhibition.

Lizzie is passionate about outreach projects and has given hundreds of workshops for various orchestras and projects over the years, involving visits to a wide range of establishments from private boarding schools to Pupil Referral Units, and loves working with young people. More recently Lizzie has been working locally with the brilliant Sheffield Music Hub on a number of projects, including an original commission for a piece for Electric violin and orchestra called The Lone Star in partnership with Hugh Sykes Charitable Trust. This piece was composed by Andy Smith together with the children of 6 schools of over 200 children in the Sheffield are in who all also participated in the concert premiere of the piece in December 2017 in Sheffield Cathedral.  Lizzie has also become Ambassador for PRISMA, a charity founded by her colleague Morgan Szymanski to help children in need in Mexico by providing arts workshops to rural underdeveloped areas of Mexico. So far the project has reached over 15,000 children in just two years of existence.

Lizzie has been regularly director of the Mikroorkestra – a young and exceptionally talented group based in Vilnius, founded by accordion virtuoso, Martynas Levickis. Before lockdown in 2020, Lizzie was a special guest artist in an Arena Tour of Lithuania with Martynas and the orchestra, performing to audiences of over 20,000 in Martynas’ spectacular audio-visual production ‘Cinema Live’.

www.lizzieball.com

“The piano concerto is full of detail and deftness. Sophia Rahman, known for her deep velvet playing in late-Romantic music, shows that she can be just as articulate when adopting a more brittle and brilliant style”.  The Daily Telegraph

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.

www.sophiarahman.com

Sam is a stalwart of the UK jazz scene. As well as appearing on numerous film soundtracks such as ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ and ‘Hannibal’. Sam’s thumping, pounding, relentlessly driving bass lines have been heard accompanying the likes of Bob James, Billy Kilson, Gary Novak, Joe Lock, Dave Kekowski, Guy Barker, Dave O’Higgins, Pete King, Gareth Williams, Claire Martin, Jim Mullen, Alan Barnes, Tim Whitehead, John Horler, Gwyneth Herbert, John Dankworth, The BBC Big Band and Robbie Williams. He is also a composer and songwriter for the film and pop genres, and a member of the Ronnie Scotts All Stars quintet and the James Pearson Trio. 

“Classical music lovers may also want to experience an evening which incorporates other genres. How often do we come across such eclectic nights? Not often enough, but Classical Kicks – the brainchild of musician Lizzie Ball – does just that. Ball is mixing things up superbly…” Fringe Opera

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 Scott’s 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 has featured in 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 at St.James Studio, which explores themes from opera and song to jazz and whiskey, in a more ensemble focussed bespoke manner, whilst Ronnie’s mash up of different ensembles and bands continues to be the flagship residency.

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 Scott’s), Blue Topaz Trio, Navarra Quartet, Sideris Wind Quintet, Una Palliser (viola/vocals), Classico Latino, Eclectica, Thomas Kemp (Violin), Adrian Bradbury (cello) and many more…

www.classicalkicks.com

“…warm, contemplative and deeply rewarding performances.” Wholenote

Thomas Bowes is one of the UK’s most versatile and accomplished violinists – as a soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster and artistic director.

His concerto work in the UK, Germany and the USA has included performances of the Elgar, Walton, Britten and Szymanowski concertos. At the invitation of the late Lady Walton, Tom spent three weeks on Ischia studying the history and score of the Walton concerto. His subsequent critically acclaimed recording of the work (along with the Barber concerto) reveals a special connection to Walton’s music.

Tom undertook an extensive ‘Bach Pilgrimage’ in 2013, giving fifty concerts of the unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas of JS Bach in churches across mainland Britain and raising over £20,000 for various charities. His recording the works is due for release in early summer 2018 when he will be again be making a Bach Pilgrimage across Britain. Further Pilgrimages are planned for every year.

Tom’s partnership with his wife, the composer and pianist Eleanor Alberga, has played a significant role throughout his career. As the duo “Double Exposure” they toured extensively across the USA, made a ground-breaking trip to China in 1997 and gave regular performances and broadcasts in the UK. The Duo established a reputation for adventurous programming and regularly performed commissions and world premieres of American and British composers.

As an enthusiastic champion of the music of Eleanor Alberga, Tom gave the world premiere of her first Violin Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Joseph Swensen. A second Alberga concerto is in the midst of composition and a premiere is planned for the 2019/20 season.

Chamber music has been a major part of Tom’s artistic life – he was the founding leader of the Maggini Quartet – and between 2003 and 2016 he was the Artistic Director of the Langvad Chamber Music Jamboree in northern Denmark. More recently, with Eleanor Alberga, he founded the music festival Arcadia in north Herefordshire, England. Central to the ethos of both festivals is to bring fresh, authentic and vibrant music making to local communities and their audiences.

Equally at home in the commercial recording studio, Tom is in great demand as soloist and concertmaster and works closely with many of today’s most eminent film composers. Amongst numerous film credits are such hit-movies as the Bond films “Spectre” and “Skyfall”, The Hunger Games trilogy, “The King’s Speech” and “The Da Vinci Code”. Tom is privileged to own and play a violin by one of the great Cremonese makers – a splendid 1659 Nicolo Amati.

www.thomasbowes.com

“…filigree or glitter, arpeggios or runs, virtuosity or sheer feeling, Webb is master of them all.” The Gramophone

Hugh has worked extensively in the contemporary music field and Javier Alvarez, Robert Keeley, Paul Archbold and Ian Dearden have all written solo works for him, with funding from The Arts Council of England. Classical CD recordings include Bax’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe and Harp with the Academy of St. Martin’s Chamber Ensemble (Chandos), a collection of Bach Flute Sonatas (Guild), Villalobos’ Quartet (Clarinet Classics), Bax’s Fantasy Sonata (Koch International) and the complete Spohr Violin and Harp Sonatas (Naxos).  His most recent recordings are a CD of French Renaissance songs with the medieval group, Joglaresa and a recording of solo and chamber music by Nino Rota for Zitto Records. 

From 2001 to 2012, Hugh Webb was principal harp of the Philharmonia Orchestra and now freelances as guest principal of the major London orchestras and is active in the film and television music worlds.

Hugh has composed a show for children based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen.

“For purity and precision of tone, and flawless intonation, Nigel Short’s chamber choir Tenebrae is pretty much unbeatable.” The Times

Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision.

Under the direction of Nigel Short, Tenebrae performs at major festivals and venues across the globe, including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Wigmore Hall, Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany) and Melbourne and Sydney Festivals (Australia). The choir is renowned for its highly-acclaimed interpretations of choral music ranging from the hauntingly passionate works of the Renaissance through to contemporary choral masterpieces, and is a dedicated advocate for contemporary composers, having worked with Judith Bingham, Ola Gjeilo, Alexander L’Estrange, Alexander Levine, Paweł Łukaszewski, Paul Mealor, Hilary Tann, Joby Talbot, Sir John Tavener and Will Todd. Tenebrae is also frequently engaged with the world’s finest orchestras, regularly appearing alongside the Academy of Ancient Music, Aurora Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia, and also curates an annual Holy Week Festival in partnership with St John’s Smith Square.

Tenebrae’s ever-increasing discography has brought about collaborations with Signum, Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, and Warner Classics. In 2012 Tenebrae was the first-ever ensemble to be multi-nominated in the same category for the BBC Music Magazine Awards, securing the accolade of ‘Best Choral Performance’ for the choir’s recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605. The following year Tenebrae’s Fauré Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra was nominated for the Gramophone Awards, having been described as “the very best Fauré Requiem on disc” and “the English choral tradition at its zenith” (Richard Morrison, Chief Music Critic, The Times). In 2014 the choir’s recording of Russian Orthodox music, Russian Treasures, reached number 1 in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. In 2016 Tenebrae received its second BBC Music Magazine Award for a recording of Brahms and Bruckner Motets, the profits from the sale of which benefit Macmillan Cancer Support, and in 2018 it received a Grammy nomination for Music of the Spheres, its album of part songs from the British Isles.

‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to deliver dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences, allowing audiences around the world to be moved by the power and intimacy of the human voice.

www.tenebrae-choir.com

Jon Carnac regularly plays Guest Principal Clarinet with the country’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and 10 Downing Street with ensembles including London Winds, Soloists Of The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Philharmonia Orchestra and the Belcea Quartet. He frequently broadcasts as a chamber musician and soloist on BBC Radio 2 and 3.

Jon’s commercial experience includes film scores, jingles and recordings with John Williams, Howard Shore, Burt Bacharach, Michel Legrand, Howard Goodall, Howard Blake, Jerry Goldsmith, Barrington Pheloung, Karl Jenkins, Wynton Marsalis and The White Stripes.

Jon is a passionate Arsenal fan, and holds a Season ticket for the Emirates Stadium!

“Nigel Short’s superb musical sensitivity to phrasing and texture illuminates everything… the endless dovetailing of the musical lines, all within an overall architectural vision, is exquisitely sustained.” BBC Music Magazine

Award-winning conductor Nigel Short has built up an enviable reputation for his recording and live performance work with leading orchestras and ensembles across the world.

A singer of great acclaim, Nigel was a member of the renowned vocal ensemble The King’s Singers from 1994–2000. Upon leaving the group he formed Tenebrae, a virtuosic choir that embraced his dedication for passion and precision. Under his direction, Tenebrae has collaborated with internationally acclaimed orchestras and instrumentalists and now enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.

To date, Nigel has conducted the Academy of Ancient Music, Aurora Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English Chamber Orchestra, English Concert, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Scottish Ensemble. He has directed the London Symphony Orchestra alongside Tenebrae in a live recording of Fauré’s Requiem, which was nominated for the Gramophone Awards (2013) and since then, he has conducted the orchestra at St. Paul’s Cathedral as part of the City of London Festival. Other orchestral recordings include Mozart’s Requiem and Ave Verum Corpus with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and a new release of music by Bernstein, Stravinsky and Zemlinsky with the BBC Symphony Orchestra described as a “master stroke of programming” (Financial Times). Recent guest conducting appearances include the BBC Singers, Leipzig’s MDR Rundfunkchor and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble.

Nigel has vast recording experience having conducted for many of the world’s major labels including Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, Signum and Warner Classics. In 2018, he received a Grammy nomination in the category of ‘Best Choral Performance’ for Tenebrae’s album of parts songs from the British Isles, Music of the Spheres. As a Gramophone award-winning producer, Nigel works with many of the UK’s leading professional choirs and vocal ensembles including Alamire, Ex Cathedra, Gallicantus and The King’s Singers.

James trained at the Royal College of Music, London. Since graduating with a first class degree, he has gone on to perform with many leading orchestras such as the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Concert and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras.

James is heavily involved in the west end, performing in the musicals Made In Dagenham, Guys & Dolls, I Can’t Sing! – The X-Factor Musical, The Bodyguard, Priscilla – Queen Of The Desert, Imagine This, Spring Awakening, Menopause The Musical, Jerry Springer The Opera and High School Musical. He has deputised on Aladdin, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Miss Saigon, Shrek The Musical, Singin’ In The Rain, Dirty Dancing, La Cava, Closer To Heaven, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, Cabaret, Porgy & Bess, Ragtime and The Fantasticks.

He has also backed top artists such as Hayley Westenra, Dame Shirley Bassey, Kerry Ellis, Adam Guettel, Jason Donovan, Andrea Bocelli, Boy George, Curiosity Killed The Cat, Belinda Carlisle, Paul Young, Altered Images, Pepsi & Shirlie, Midge Ure, Brother Beyond, Kid Creole, The Real Thing, Marti Webb and Lee Mead.

www.jtpercstudio.com

“Bewitching…” Songlines Magazine

Una Palliser has toured as a solo violinist and backing singer on Shakira’s Sale El Sol world tour. She performed with Take That on the Beautiful Wold Tour which won the Best Live Act at The Brit Awards. She has toured the USA, Europe and the UK with Patrick Wolfe including performances on the Arcade Fire and Amy Winehouse tours. Una has toured Europe with the Gnarls Barkley’s Band and with her electric string quartet, Siren. Siren have performed as a headline act in South Korea, Japan, Dubai and throughout Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland and have supported Girls Aloud and Rod Stewart.

Una also regularly performs as guest solo violinist and singer with BBC Radio 3 World Music Award winners, Terrafolk, including as a soloist with the Slovenian Symbolic Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London and the Snape Proms, Aldeburgh. She regularly tours with the band of Full Circle and features as a singer/violinist on “Still Resist The Storm.”

Una’s latest project “Una and the Balkan Bears” is a collaboration with some of Eastern Europe’s most virtuosic musicians. They have just completed tours of Ireland and the UK to critical acclaim including performances at Baltimore Fiddle Fair and Ronnie Scott’s, London.

As a string player, Una has worked and toured with Sir Colin Davies, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Thomas Ades, Arvo Pärt, Maxim Vengerov and Vladimir Ashkenazy and has recorded with The Killers, Brand New Heavies, Mr.Hudson, Paloma Faith, Carl Barat, Aled Jones, Tony Christie, Hugh Cornwell from The Stranglers, Shapeshifters, Gwilym Simcock, All Angels, Nicky Spence, and Peter Kay.

She has also performed live with the Bueno Vista Social Club, P Diddy, Elbow, Mica Paris, Sandy Shaw, The Noisettes, Ladyhawke, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Amy Winehouse, Stereophonics and many others.

As a singer, Una features on the Specsavers advert singing her arrangement of the Irish folk tune “Mo ghile mear” and is the vocalist on the ITV primetime show, Love on a Saturday Night presented by Davina McCall.

Una was the solo vocalist on the film Eva – voted Best Foreign Film in the Long Island Film Festival and screened at the National Film Theatre, London and the Edinburgh Film Festival.

“Expansive…” The Independent

Gabriella Swallow has emerged as one of the most versatile and exciting cellists of her generation. She studied at The Royal College of Music with Jerome Pernoo. She was awarded the coveted Tagore Gold Medal and performed the Hugh Wood Cello Concerto in her final year. As a soloist, Gabriella went on to make her South Bank debut with the London Sinfonietta in the world premiere of ‘About Water’ by Mark-Anthony Turnage. In the same year she performed Paul Max Edlin’s Cello Concerto with the South Bank Sinfonia, which firmly launched her place as a leading performer of contemporary music. This has led her to commission and work with many of the major living Composers of today.

In 2013 she made her Wigmore Hall debut with the soprano Ruby Hughes and in the same season performed at the La Jolla SummerFest in San Diego, the Aldeburgh Festival with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the Cambridge Jazz Festival as a member of the Gwilym Simcock Quintet.

Gabriella is the string curator of Music Orbit’s string night ‘Strung Out’ and performs frequently at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club ‘Classical Kicks’ night curated by violinist Lizzie Ball and at Gabriel Prokofiev’s Nonclassical club nights. As a recording artist, she has recorded all the chamber music of Hugh Wood for Toccata Classics with the London Archduke Piano Trio, which was released to critical acclaim in 2009. 2012 saw the release of ‘Ivr d’amour’, a disc of Massenet Songs where she appeared with soprano Sally Silver and celebrated pianist Richard Bonynge for the Guild label and also soprano Lucy Shaufer’s debut disc ‘Carpentersville’ for ABC Classics where Gabriella features as a soloist. This CD was launched with a concert at The Aldeburgh Festival 2013.

In 2010, she co founded the duo ‘G Project’ with percussionist Genevieve Wilkins. They made their debut with a sellout concert at the Forge in Camden and continue to perform regularly in the UK and Europe. Alongside her classical career she regularly crosses over in the fields of jazz and pop and is a sought after session musician appearing on many movie and television scores. She has recorded with many of the leading Jazz musicians on the UK scene including Ian Shaw, Barb Jungr, Liane Carroll, Guy Barker, Laurence Cottle, Pedro Segundo, Graeme Flowers, Jannette Mason and Claire Martin OBE. She has performed and recorded with Skunk Anansie, Sade, Dionne Warwick, Charlotte Church and has been a member of Judith Owen’s band since 2007.

This year she continues her collaboration with Gwilym Simcock’s Quintet – whose members include the outstanding violinist Thomas Gould – on a UK tour beginning at King’s Place, London.

Gabriella is also a passionate broadcaster and arts commentator and has been a regular guest on BBC 4’s coverage of The Proms, Radio 3’s In Tune and Music Matter. She has been a guest speaker at the Bath Literary Festival and The Battle of Ideas.

Gabriella plays a cello by Charles Harris Senior built in 1820 and an electric cello by Starfish Designs.

www.gabriellaswallow.com

“He has all the virtuoso velocity and firepower, and then some.” BBC Music Magazine

Pianist Daniel Grimwood is a performer of international renown, combining an exceptional talent, rare versatility and refinement, with an inquisitive personality.

With a repertoire ranging from Elizabethan Virginal music to the works of living composers, he enjoys a solo and chamber career, which has taken him across the globe, performing on the most prestigious concert platforms, including the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room in London, Saffron Hall, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Symphony Hall Birmingham, the Sage Gateshead, the Three Choirs Festival, the Rachmaninoff and Gnessin Halls in Moscow, the Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as venues in Germany, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Estonia, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman.

His musical interest started as a 3-year-old playing next door’s piano, and from the age of 7 he was performing in front of audiences. His training continued with Graham Fitch at the Purcell School, where he also studied violin, viola and composition, giving him a broad appreciation of classical music, and later with Vladimir Ovchinnikov and Peter Feuchtwanger.

Although primarily a pianist, he is frequently to be found performing on harpsichord, organ, viola or composing at his desk. Grimwood is a passionate exponent of the early piano, and has given a recital of Chopin’s Etudes on the composer’s own Pleyel piano.

As a solo recording artist his growing discography ranges from Scriabin on Somm Recordings to Algernon Ashton, a world premiere recording on Toccata Classics. His discs of Liszt and Chopin, performed on an 1851 Erard piano, received a unanimous chorus of praise from the press; the Liszt album was Daily Telegraph CD of the week and Editor’s Choice in Gramophone Magazine. He was the first artist to record on the Edition Peters Sounds label, the complete Fauré Nocturnes album was released to excellent reception in The Sunday Times, which was followed by a disc of solo piano works by Adolph von Henselt, described as “a blizzard of dazzling pianism” by the Observer.

Daniel Grimwood regularly performs on live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, and has been featured in BBC Four’s TV documentary series “Revolution and Romance”. His media work continues with performances and video masterclasses in the “Piano Masterworks” collection on Tido Music, a new iPad app launched in 2016.

www.danielgrimwood.co.uk

“Full of passion… I’m sure he’ll make a great impact” The Strad

Violinist Tom Pigott-Smith was a Scholar at the Royal College of Music where he studied under Itzhak Rashkovsky winning all the major prizes. On leaving, Tom went on to win the Myra Hess Award, enabling him to make his Debut at the Wigmore Hall to critical acclaim. He has since played at countless Music Festivals as recitalist not only in standard repertoire but giving World Premieres by composers including Huw Watkins (Tom’s duo partner for several years), Judith Bingham, Jean Sibelius and Anthony Payne whose Storm Chorale was commissioned for and dedicated to him.

Tom continues to perform regularly, leading several ensembles including Continuum and Chamber Domaine with whom he has recently performed Bach Double and Sibelius’ Suite for Violin and Orchestra at Music@Malling.  As well as regular chamber music including leading Errollyn Wallen’s Ensemble X in recordings and live, Tom often sits guest principal in major orchestras (recently RPO on tour with Zuckerman and several operas at ENO.) Tom has guest led the Heritage Orchestra at the Barbican, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra and regularly leads the RPCO. He has also been lucky enough to lead orchestras live for Shirley Bassey, Squeeze, Kylie, Jeff Beck, Sparks and many others.

In 2006 Tom translated several of Pablo Neruda’s poems which he then set to arrangements of music by Astor Piazzolla for the concert which reopened the Union Chapel, Islington. The poems were read by Charles Dance and the music performed by Tom’s group, Soundstage. The programme has been performed several times with success.

Tom continues to enjoy a very wide ranging career in all spheres of musical life.

“…[Electra Mourns] stole the show as a moving study of madness and remorse.” The Daily Telegraph

Bombay was Brian Elias’s first home; he lived there until he was sent to school in England at the age of thirteen. By then he had already composed a fair amount – or rather improvised, as it was not until the need arose to make parts for school performances that Elias began properly writing his ideas down. He still has fond memories of a youthful Flute Sonata and a music-theatre piece based on MR James’ ghost story Lost Hearts. In 1966 he entered the Royal College of Music, officially studying composition under Humphrey Searle and Bernard Stevens, though it was the experience of ‘moonlighting’ with the composer Elisabeth Lutyens he found most stimulating. Under Lutyens’s influence, Elias produced a Webern-like cantata La Chevelure, which made a promisingly positive impression at its first hearing in 1968. After leaving the RCM, Elias spent a few years in New York where he studied briefly at the Juilliard School, New York.

On his return to England he produced a modest number of small-scale works, culminating in the unaccompanied choral Proverbs of Hell, based on William Blake. This and a revival of La Chevelure gave Elias the confidence to tackle larger-scale structures. The first significant product was Somnia (‘Dreams’, 1979) for tenor and orchestra, based on words by the hedonistic Roman writer Petronius, followed in 1982 by the song cycle At the Edge of Time. Then in L’Eylah (1983), he at last felt free to write a large, abstract orchestral work. L’Eylah was greeted with enthusiasm by audience and critics at its BBC Proms premiere in 1984. By now the broad features of Elias’s mature style were fully in focus. A fastidious and imaginative craftsman, he was also beginning to show the impassioned urgency and capacity for sustained compelling invention that remain evident in his work to this day.

Geranos for chamber ensemble (1985) confirmed his growing confidence and mastery, as did Variations for solo piano of 1987 (composed in homage to Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor) and the vividly atmospheric Pythikos Nomos (‘The Law of the Python’, 1987-8) for alto saxophone and piano. But even these were surpassed by Elias’s next major work, an orchestral song cycle Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya (1989), commissioned by the BBC. The dark intensity and lyrical eloquence of Elias’s settings fully matched the power of the Soviet dissident Ratushinskaya’s poetry. It is an extraordinary demonstration of creative empathy from a composer brought up under very different political conditions, at the same time showing Elias’s exceptional skill in finding and responding to the musical qualities of the Russian language. Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya was such a success at its London premiere that it was toured by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and repeated at the 1991 BBC Proms. Then in 1992 came one of Elias’ greatest successes, The Judas Tree, a riveting forty-minute score written for the Royal Ballet and choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, with designs by Jock MacFadyen. The Judas Tree has remained securely in the Royal Ballet’s repertory, and it has been taken on tour to France, Germany, Russia and the USA. Although written to be danced, The Judas Tree is scarcely less impressive performed purely as an orchestral work. Not only is the material strong and vibrant, the score is proof of Elias’s capacity to sustain a gripping musical narrative over a long time scale.

For all his achievement as a composer of large-scale works, Elias has not forgotten his early liking for music of a more intimate scale and manner. Two of his most recent successes include Three Songs (2003) on poems by Christina Rossetti for alto voice and harp, and a piece for solo clarinet, Birds Practise Songs in Dreams (2004).

Elias has never been a prolific composer, and all his work – from ambitious orchestral scores to the tiniest instrumental pieces – is executed with meticulous care. Yet the result is music that never sounds merely ‘careful’. The House That Jack Built is bold, dazzlingly inventive and full of dancing energy. Elias’s basing of much of the material for The House That Jack Built (2001) on perhaps the simplest and most memorable of all playground chants also means that one doesn’t need a degree in musicology to follow its many ingenious developments – the process is clear for anyone who has ears to hear. In 2004 Elias was commissioned by the Cheltenham Festival to write A Talisman, which was performed by the National Youth Orchestra Sinfonietta and Paul Putnins, and scored for bass-baritone and small orchestra. It is based upon Hebrew text inscribed on a silver 19th century amulet which was given to Elias by his late mother.

Elias is the recipient of two British Composer Awards; the first in 2010 for the orchestral work Doubles, which was commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the second in 2013 for Electra Mourns. This piece, a setting of Sophocles in ancient Greek, was written for Susan Bickley (mezzo soprano) and Nicholas Daniel (cor anglais) and first performed with the Britten Sinfonia at the BBC Proms in 2012. Elias’ String Quartet, composed in 2012 for the Jerusalem String Quartet, was premiered at Wake Forest University in North Carolina in 2013. The piece was performed and broadcast by the EBU at the Zeist Festival in Holland in 2014 and received its London premiere at the Wigmore Hall in 2015.

In spring 2017 a recording of Geranos, Electra Mourns and Elias’ vocal music was released on the NMC label. The release coincided with the premiere of his Oboe Quintet by Nicholas Daniel and members of Britten Sinfonia. Leonard Elschenbroich and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales gave the premiere of his Cello Concerto at the 2017 BBC Proms. The following autumn The Royal Ballet staged a revival of The Judas Tree as part of its Kenneth MacMillan anniversary celebrations.

© Stephen Johnson – updated by Brian Elias

www.brianelias.co.uk

“Daniel Kidane’s Metamorphosis were strong and expressive.” The Independent

Daniel Kidane’s music has been performed extensively across the UK and abroad as well as being broadcast on BBC Radio 3, described by The Financial Times as “quietly impressive” and by The Times as ‘tautly constructed; and “vibrantly imagined.”

Daniel began his musical education at the age of eight when he started playing the violin. He first received composition lessons at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and then went on to study privately in St. Petersburg, receiving lessons in composition from Sergey Slonimsky. He completed undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the RNCM under the tutelage of Gary Carpenter and David Horne. Currently, he is undertaking a doctoral degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, supervised by Julian Anderson.

Recent projects include the premiere of his orchestral work Zulu by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; a new work for the CBSO Youth Orchestra, which is inspired by Grime music; a chamber work for the Cheltenham Festival which draws inspiration from Jungle music and a new type of vernacular; a song cycle commissioned by Leeds Lieder and inspired by the poetry of Ben Okri; and a new piece entitled Dream Song for the baritone Roderick Williams and the Chineke Orchestra which was premiered at the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in April, 2018.

This season Dream Song receives its US premiere with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Dausgaard. His piece Woke was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms in 2019.

Recent commission for Michaela Petri (recorder) and Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) were released on CD and premiered in the UK at Wigmore Hall. Works for members of the London Symphony Orchestra, which have focused on multiculturalism, and an orchestral work for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, motivated by the eclectic musical nightlife in Manchester, also received critical acclaim.

“Stevie Wishart’s Eurostar: A journey in sound between cities (2016), the evening’s most experimental work, explored improvisation using vocalise, with whooshes, whines and a whole variety of modern loco impressions: motion in poetry.” The Guardian

Stevie Wishart is a composer, performer and improviser. She explores medieval and contemporary extremes, using voices, ancient technologies such as the hurdy gurdy, and electronic music technologies of our own time.

Stevie’s music explores medieval and contemporary extremes, using voices, ancient technologies such as the hurdy-gurdy, and emerging technologies of today. She studied composition at York University with Trevor Wishart, improvised and aleatoric music with John Cage in Edinburgh, postgraduate studies in early music (violin and voice) at the Guildhall, London and with a Vicente Cañada Blanch JRF at New College, University of Oxford, and through many collaboration.

She has composed for modern orchestras and vocal groups and for her own group, Sinfonye. As a composer she works acoustically with music notation, sometimes combined with improvisation, sometimes using computer music systems, and sometimes using all these elements.

The challenge of creating music for a wide range of contexts is important, such as composing for productions by Michèle Noiret (Théâtre National de Bruxelles) and Wayne McGregor, a large-scale choral work for a Proms commission with the BBC Singers & Sinfonye, and for the designer Philippe Starck. With the support of a Visiting Music Fellowship at the University of Cambridge she is currently composing a Double-Bass Concerto for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London.

Exploring music’s unique ability to express new ideas on a level which transcends other routes of communication motivates her work as a composer (and improviser).

Stevie Wishart studied composition and electronic music at the University of York with Trevor Wishart and Richard Orton, as well as improvised and aleatoric music with John Cage and David Tudor in Edinburgh. She continued postgraduate performance studies in early music (baroque violin and voice) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Diploma in Advanced Performance) and with a Nuffield Foundation award and a Vicente Cañada Blanch Junior Research Fellowship at the University of Oxford (Degree of MLitt) for research into medieval musical iconography.

Invited for a number of composer residences and fellowships, she has presented her work at IRCAM in Paris; the Institute for Music and Acoustics in the ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) in Karlsruhe, Germany; the ADK, Akademie der Künste, in Berlin, and Mills College in California. She received a Wellcome Trust award to develop her compositions using musical gestures and sound-to-control computers, and to work at the University of Cambridge with the neuroscientist Ian Winter on audio processes based on the physiology of the ear.

She is currently a Visiting Music Fellow at the University of Cambridge with the AHRC Research Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice (CMPCP).

​Stevie Wishart’s Cantata for the Seasons was given its world premiere at Snape Maltings in April 2014. Other major projects include a Concerto Grosso, a double bass concerto, commissioned for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which premiered at London’s Southbank Centre, a solo piece for piano for Joanna MacGregor, a choral piece for Ex Cathedra, and a new piece for the Dunedin Consort for the 2019 BBC Proms.

www.stevie-wishart.com

“…superbly conveyed by Thomas Kemp who conducts with unerring perfection.” Musicweb

Thomas Kemp is an acclaimed conductor renowned for his innovative programming and passionate advocacy in concerts, opera, ballet and recording. The Guardian recently commented: “…an extraordinary performance… with a fluency that came over brilliantly under the baton of Thomas Kemp.”

Thomas is the Music Director of Chamber Domaine, which is at the forefront of ensembles focusing on 20th and 21st century music. He regularly directs Chamber Domaine in festivals and concert series in the UK, Europe and North America including Edinburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Huddersfield Contemporary, Wien Modern, The Proms, Aldeburgh, Vale of Glamorgan, Kuhmo and Brighton Festivals. The ensemble has made regular appearances at Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre and have had residencies at Bargemusic, New York; The Schoenberg Centre, Vienna; The Victoria and Albert Museum and Gresham College, London. Thomas has a distinguished discography with the ensemble including world-premiere recordings of Benjamin Britten, Jean Sibelius, Frank Bridge, Arthur Bliss, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Arvo Pärt, Henrik Gorecki, Ned Rorem and Judith Bingham.

The Times recently praised the ensemble for its “superb artistry…with pungent playing from Chamber Domaine under the baton of Thomas Kemp.” A recent recording with the ensemble of the Mozart Flute Quartets was YLE Recording of the Year.

Thomas is regularly in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras and ensembles in the UK and Europe. Forthcoming engagements include guest conducting with The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, RTE National Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and a tour of an interactive production of Stravinsky – The Soldiers Tale with Chamber Domaine.

An acclaimed exponent of late nineteenth and early 20th century repertoire, recent engagements include groundbreaking concerts in the UK, Europe and Asia with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducting the 1925 film version of Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier. Thomas was a featured artist at the Oxford Lieder Festival conducting Mahler and Strauss with the OAE and outstanding vocalists Toby Spence, Dietrich Henschel and Louise Alder. The Spectator commented “It’s supremely, exhaustingly virtuosic writing…the OAE conducted by Thomas Kemp gave their all…” Seen and Heard praised the performances for their “marvellous sweep.”

The critical edition of Der Rosenkavalier prepared for these performances will be published in 2020 by Schott. .

Thomas has worked with many of the world’s leading contemporary composers and has given numerous world and territorial premieres including Judith Weir, Thomas Ades, Judith Bingham, Charlotte Bray, Arvo Part, Ned Rorem, David Horne, Huw Watkins, Brian Ferneyhough, Alexander Goehr, Mark Simpson, Magnus Lindberg, Danny Elfman, Brian Elias and Mark- Anthony Turnage. Forthcoming projects include six commissions to run alongside performances of Bach – Brandenburg Concertos which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2021.

He made his operatic debut in a new production of Cosi fan tutte for Opera Holland Park with the City of London Sinfonia to widespread praise. “Cosi fan tutte was conducted with real shape and nuance by Thomas Kemp…Altogether this was the most original and idiomatic attempt on this ungraspable work London has seen in a long time” Opera Now.

Thomas is the Artistic Director of Music@Malling – an international festival that promotes the works of contemporary composers alongside classical, jazz, world, film and vocal music. Founded in 2011, 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 from across the county in creative activities. In 2019, the festival had 30 events and profiled the music of Alexander Goehr. Music@Malling was recently featured the annual international roundup of The Best Classical Concerts in The Artsdesk.

From 1989-92, 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, Manchester where from 2000-2014 he worked as a professor. He has given masterclasses, conducted and coached ensembles in conservatoires and universities worldwide.

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

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

The Strad recently commented: “He displays a remarkable variety of tone in playing that’s lyrical yet assertive, and there’s a real sense of sincerity to his glowing interpretations.”

www.thomaskemp.eu

“A virtuoso stunt of technique and imagination…exuberant commitment.” The Times

Under its artistic director, Thomas Kemp, Chamber Domaine has become internationally recognised for its virtuosity and its ambitious and distinctive approach to programming – illuminating the music of the 20th and 21st Centuries. A project based orchestra, its programmes feature outstanding musicians that bring passion and commitment to a diverse repertoire that makes the music of today come alive whilst placing it into its historical context. In a recent review The Times praised the ensemble for its “superb artistry.”

​Chamber Domaine has worked with many renowned contemporary composers and has given World and territorial premieres in numerous concerts and recordings that span nearly two decades including highly acclaimed recordings of Mark-Anthony Turnage, Ned Rorem, Judith Bingham, Arvo Part, Jean Sibelius, Benjamin Britten, Frank Bridge and Mozart. Forthcoming recordings include Stravinsky,  The ensemble regularly collaborates with leading figures from across the arts world to create unique and culturally significant events.

​A trailblazing ensemble, Chamber Domaine are in demand at leading festivals and concerts series in the United Kingdom, Europe and North America including Brighton, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Edinburgh, Brighton Festivals and have regularly appeared at The Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre. The ensemble has developed groundbreaking residencies at The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Imperial War Museum, The Arnold Schoenberg Centre, Vienna, Gresham College, London and Bargemusic, New York.

​Since 2011, Chamber Domaine has been the resident ensemble for Music@Malling giving concerts and delivering a year-around outreach programme that has engaged thousands of young people from across Kent in creative activities – building audiences from scratch and introducing new music to new audiences.

​The ensemble has a distinguished and highly acclaimed discography, winning international plaudits and receiving many broadcasts Worldwide. Recent plaudits include Recording of the Year with a disc of Mozart Flute Quartets from YLE – The Finnish Broadcasting Company. Forthcoming recordings include releases of Stravinsky – The Soldier’s Tale and work by Judith Weir and Alexander Goehr.

​With its innovative programming, collaborations, outreach and recording, Chamber Domaine is in the vanguard of music-making today: a flexible and dynamic ensemble that brings music alive and creates new audiences.

www.chamberdomaine.com

“An articulate musician with zest, spontaneity, technical assurance and a lovely sense of line…a major talent.” BBC Music Magazine

Since his concerto debut at the age of ten, the award-winning English ‘cellist Richard Harwood has performed concerti and chamber music in major venues including London’s Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), Thomaskirche (Leipzig), Auditorium du Louvre (Paris) and Alice Tully Hall / Lincoln Center (New York).

As concerto soloist, Richard has worked with conductors such as Mark Wigglesworth, Case Scaglione, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Michele Mariotti, John Wilson, Okko Kamu, Marko Letonja, Douglas Bostock, En Shao, Shuntaro Sato and Yehudi Menuhin, and with numerous orchestras including The Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, RTÉ National Symphony, RTÉ Concert, Auckland Philharmonia and the Ural Philharmonic.

As chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Jerusalem and Endellion Quartets, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Olivier Charlier, Guy Braunstein, Benjamin Schmid, Alena Baeva, Ilya Gringolts, Pekka Kuusisto, Vilde Frang, Chen Halevi, Julian Bliss, Martin Roscoe, Peter Donohoe, Gottlieb Wallisch and Julius Drake, among others. Richard was cellist of the Sitkovetsky Trio from 2014-2016.

He 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 live performances on other radio networks including Classic FM, Radio France, MDR, RTÉ and Radio New Zealand.

Richard’s discography includes a debut disc for EMI Classics; recorded with pianist Christoph Berner, Composing Without The Picture (Resonus); a solo album of concert works written by film composers, and Christopher Gunning’s Cello Concerto recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. On screen, Richard can be seen and heard in Phil Grabsky’s 2009 documentary In Search of Beethoven and is regularly featured as a soloist on movie soundtracks, most recently in Patrick Doyle’s score to Kenneth Branagh’s Murder On The Orient Express.

Contemporary music is important to Richard and he’s premiered solo works written for him by Dominic Muldowney, Martin Butler, Christopher Gunning, Alex Heffes, Fernando Velázquez, Benjamin Wallfisch and given the European premiere of David Horne’s Zip with the composer at the piano. In recent years, he has developed a close association with Judith Weir and regularly performs her Unlocked for solo cello.

Richard was appointed principal cellist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the beginning of 2018. He has also been a principal of the John Wilson Orchestra, and guest principal at the London Symphony and RTÉ Concert orchestras.

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.

He has won many major awards ever since 1992 when he became the youngest ever winner of the Audi Junior Musician Award. Richard won the 2004 Pierre Fournier Award and, in that same year, also became 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 enjoys teaching and has given masterclasses at the Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Bruckner University (Linz), in addition to other teaching and summer course coaching.

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

www.richardharwood.com

“Bradbury is wholly alive to these touches of colour and character…nicely capturing the physical thrill of Piatti’s often spectacular fireworks as well as the wholly fitting bel canto warmth of Bradbury’s more lyrical playing.” The Gramophone

Adrian Bradbury was principal cello in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain before winning scholarships to Churchill College, Cambridge (where he read Veterinary Science and Music) and then to the Royal Academy of Music. After further study in Berlin he 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, giving world premieres of solos, duos, trios and quartets by Thomas Adès, Judith Bingham, Tansy Davies, Dai Fujikura, Hugh Wood and John Woolrich.

Adrian is a regular guest principal player with orchestras including London Sinfonietta, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera and Welsh National Opera and is Cello Tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of GB.

His research into ensemble synchronisation, in collaboration with Professor Alan Wing, was published by the Royal Society and led to invitations to curate the ‘Music and Brain’ series at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival and to appear as speaker on BBC Radio 4’s ‘PM’ and ‘Today’ programmes and as soloist on BBC Radio 3’s 2015 ‘Why Music?’ weekend.

Together with pianist Oliver Davies, Adrian has recently recorded the complete operatic fantasies of the 19th Century cello virtuoso Alfredo Piatti on the Meridian label which have received excellent reviews.

www.musicianscience.org

“A work that takes one’s breath away.” The Gramophone

Deborah Pritchard won a British Composer Award for her solo violin piece ‘Inside Colour’ in 2017. She has been broadcast by BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, released commercially by NMC, Signum and Nimbus and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Sinfonietta, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Singers, Manchester Camerata and the English String Orchestra.

As a synaesthetic composer she has worked with numerous visual artists including Maggi Hambling, Hughie O’Donoghue and Icelandic sculptor Steinunn Thorarinsdottir. Her violin concerto ‘Wall of Water’ after the paintings by Maggi Hambling was performed at the National Gallery, Sainsbury Wing Theatre and held to critical acclaim by Gramophone as a ‘work that will take ones breath away’. She also paints music and has been commissioned a series of ‘music maps’ for the London Sinfonietta, described in The Times as ‘beautifully illustrated…paying visual homage to those wonderful medieval maps of the world.’

She studied composition with Simon Bainbridge for her MMus Degree in Composition at the Royal Academy of Music and was awarded her DPhil from Worcester College, Oxford where she studied with Robert Saxton. She currently teaches composition tutorials at the University of Oxford. She was composer in residence at the Lichfield Festival, 2016 through the Sound and Music Embedded scheme and her work features in the ‘Hitting the right note: Amazing Women of the Royal Academy of Music’ exhibition on display at the Royal Academy of Music.

www.nmcrec.co.uk

“Six beautifully restrained impressionist essays which comprise an affecting journey.” BBC Music Magazine

Joseph Phibbs was born in London, and studied at The Purcell School, King’s College London, and Cornell University. His teachers have included Param Vir, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and Steven Stucky.

Described by BBC Music Magazine as “one of the most successful composers of his generation”, Phibbs’s works have been championed by some of the world’s leading conductors, including Edward Gardner, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Vassily Petrenko, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alexander Shelley, and Leonard Slatkin. Rivers to the Sea, the first of several large-scale orchestral works composed in recent years, was premiered to acclaim in 2012 by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen, and has since received numerous performances in the UK and abroad, winning a British Composer Award in 2013.

His most recent large-scale work is a Clarinet Concerto, a three-way commission between the soloist, Philharmonia Orchestra, and Malmo Symphony Orchestra, and first performed in 2017 by Mark van de Wiel and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Edward Gardner. A recording was released recently on Signum, attracting critical acclaim in The Sunday Times, Classic FM, Classical Source, and elsewhere. It was recently selected by The Sunday Times as one of the 100 Best Albums of 2019. He has also composed concertos for Evelyn Glennie (Bar Veloce), Sarah Williamson (Concertino for clarinet, strings, and harp), and Nicholas Daniel (Towards Purcell, a concertante work for oboe, horn, harp), as well as Evian Variations (Dacha Savoyarde) for cello and orchestra, premiered under Laurence Dale at the 2013 Evian Festival.

Other orchestras to have performed and commissioned his works include the London Symphony Orchestra, Washington Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Symphony Orchestra, for which he has written five works to date, including In Camera, Lumina (Last Night of the Proms), and Partita, for which he received a Koussevitzky Music Foundation Award.

His instrumental music includes three string quartets, the most recent receiving its premiere at Carnegie Hall in 2018 by Belcea Quartet, before coming to the Wigmore Hall earlier this year. String Quartets 1 and 2 were commissioned by Piatti Quartet and Navarra Quartet respectively, and are performed regularly throughout Europe, with No.2 featuring at this year’s Three Choirs Festival. A work for viola and piano, Letters from Warsaw, has been performed extensively by its commissioner Krzysztof Chorzelski, on whose family background it is based.

Additional chamber works have been performed and commissioned by London Sinfonietta, Chroma, Orchestra of the Swan, Britten Sinfonia, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Michael Chance, Katya Apekisheva, Iestyn Davies, Tim Mead, James Boyd, and Andrew Matthews-Owen (Richard Thomas Foundation commission), and have appeared at festivals including Aldeburgh, Three Choirs, Cheltenham, Spitalfields, Tanglewood, and Hampstead Arts. Over the last decade he has been closely associated with the Presteigne Festival, for which director George Vass has commissioned numerous works, including (jointly with Nova Music Opera and Cheltenham Festival) the chamber opera Juliana, to a libretto by Laurie Slade.

Large-scale choral works include Rainland (commissioned and premiered by Phillip Scott), Tenebrae, and Choral Songs of Homage (commissioned by Aldeburgh Music Club for the Britten centenary). His unaccompanied choral works are performed regularly, and include Nesciens Mater (commissioned and recorded by The Sixteen/Harry Christophers), a Missa Brevis, and the carol ‘Lullay, Lullay, thou lytil child’ (toured by The Sixteen/Christophers last Christmas). Night Songs, was recently released by Chromium Music Group.

Future commissions include a concerto and a set of piano pieces for Tomoaki Kimura, a Cello Sonata for Guy Johnston, jointly commissioned by Wigmore Hall and 2021 Hatfield House Festival, a string symphony for Basel Symphony Orchestra, and a Bass Clarinet concerto for Malmo Symphony Orchestra. He is currently writing a Violin Sonata, commissioned for the 2020 Presteigne Festival to be premiered by Chloe Hanslip.

From 2008-2018 Phibbs was a director of The Britten Estate Limited. He has held teaching positions at Wells Cathedral School (2009-2010), King’s College London (2011-14), and Cambridge University (supervisor, 2014-15), and currently teaches composition part time at The Purcell School.

His works are published by Ricordi London (Universal Music Publishing Group) and Boosey and Hawkes.

www.josephphibbs.com

“Extraordinary cellist, virile baritone, compelling actor – astonishing.” The Daily Telegraph

Described by The Times as a “virtuoso of the arts,” Matthew Sharp is internationally recognised as both a compelling classical artist and a fearless pioneer. His adventures in and through music and across disciplines are ‘unrivalled’ and ‘unprecedented’, balancing provenance and vision in a unique and potent way.

He studied cello with Boris Pergamenschikow in Cologne, voice with Ulla Blom in Stockholm and English at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was taken to Jacqueline du Pré when he was 12, Galina Vishnewskaya when he was 18 and studied chamber music with the Amadeus Quartet. He performs at major venues and festivals worldwide as solo cellist, baritone, actor and director.

Matthew has appeared as solo performer with the RPO, LPO, RLPO, CBSO, Orchestra of Opera North, SCO, EUCO, ESO, Manchester Camerata, Orchestra of the Swan, Orchestra X, Arensky Chamber Orchestra, and Ural Philharmonic.

In opera, he has performed principal roles for Opera North, ROH, Almeida Opera and Mahogany Opera Group, amongst many others.

In theatre, he has performed principal roles at the Young Vic and National Theatre Studio, collaborated with Kneehigh, Complicité and, most recently, with legendary illustrator and film-maker, Dave McKean.

He has recorded for Sony, EMI, Decca, Naxos, Somm, NMC, Avie and Whirlwind and appeared in recital as both cellist and singer at Wigmore Hall, SBC and Salle Gaveau.

As a director (music, theatre and opera), he has written, conceived and directed shows for Opera North, BBC, Breakthru Films, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and West Green Opera. His own music and theatre works have toured to major festivals in Europe, India, China and the US, including Glastonbury, Latitude, Wilderness, Mumbai LiveLit, Philadelphia Live Arts and NCPA, Beijing. In addition, he has given over sixty world premieres by composers from all walks of music – including the title role in Sir John Tavener’s The Fool and Errollyn Wallen’s Cello Concerto – at festivals from Sydney to Toronto, Sao Paulo to Delhi.

www.matthewsharp.net

“… proved to be a brassily exuberant concert overture … Skilfully layered, neatly tailored, it did what it needed to do in five minutes, then stopped. If only all new music were so concise”. The Independent

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.

www.simonspeare.co.uk

“This music will enhance anyone’s life: if you’ve ever wondered if good string quartets are still being written, here’s proof that they are.” The Artsdesk

With her 2015 Last Night of the Proms opener Arise Athena! Eleanor Alberga cemented a reputation as a composer of international stature. Performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Chorus and conducted by Marin Alsop, the work was heard and seen by millions.

Her music is not easy to pigeon-hole. The musical language of her opera Letters of a Love Betrayed (2009), premiered at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury stage, has drawn comparisons with Berg’s Wozzeck and Debussy’s Pelleas, while her lighter works draw more obviously on her Jamaican heritage and time as a singer with the Jamaican Folk Singers and as a member of an African Dance company. But the emotional range of her language, her structural clarity and a fabulously assured technique as an orchestrator have always drawn high praise.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Alberga decided at the age of five to be a concert pianist, though five years later she was already composing works for the piano.

In 1970 she won the biennial Royal Schools of Music Scholarship for the West Indies which she took up at the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying piano and singing. But a budding career as a solo pianist – she was was among the 3 finalists in the International Piano Concerto Competition in Dudley, UK in 1974 – was augmented by composition with her arrival at The London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1978. Under the inspirational leadership of its Artistic Director Robert Cohan, she became one of the very few pianists with the deepest understanding of modern dance and her company class improvisations became the stuff of legend. These in turn led to works commissioned and conceived for dance from the company, most notably the piano quintet Clouds (1984). Alberga later became the company’s Musical Director, conducting, composing and playing on all LCDT’s many tours.

The orchestral works, Sun Warrior (1990) written for the inaugural Women in Music Festival and her dramatic adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1994) for large symphony orchestra and narrators, premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in 1994 with Franz Welser Möst and the LPO, helped build her growing reputation. In 2001 she was awarded a NESTA Fellowship for composition.

2001 also saw the completion and premiere of a highly praised first Violin Concerto, written for Thomas Bowes and commissioned by The Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Joseph Swensen. A second violin concerto entitled Narcissus was premiered in 2020. Also written for Thomas Bowes, it was premiered with the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra in Wroclaw, Poland and conducted by Joseph Swensen.

Chamber music, both in the more traditional form of three String Quartets and a Piano Quintet, and for more unusual line-ups, abounds. An unfolding series of Nocturnes – notably, Shinning Gate of Morpheus and Succubus Moon – featuring horn and oboe respectively with string quartet, is an expanding project. Works for voice have more recently come to the fore with a luminous setting of George Herbert’s The Glimpse and most recently the song cycle The Soul’s Expression to poetry by George Eliot, Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barret Browning; both premiered by the baritone Jeremy Huw Williams.

Other recent works include Awed Light its Chant Entrances for Chorus and piano. It was commissioned by and premiered at the 2019 Dartington Festival with Joanna MacGregor and the festival chorus to text by the poet Alice Oswald. 2019 also saw the completion and premiere of the first portion of a large tripartite piano sonata Seraph. Entitled Presence, it was performed by Alberga herself at the 2019 Arcadia Festival.

Alberga now lives in the Herefordshire countryside with her husband the violinist Thomas Bowes and together they have founded and nurtured an original festival – Arcadia. In 2019 a prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award was presented to Eleanor for composition. This year she is to receive the honour of ‘Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music’.

www.eleanoralberga.com

“…gloriously forthright and vivid.”  Musicweb

Prior to entering the Royal College of Music in 1984, Nick Barr played with the European Community Youth Orchestra and, whilst still studying, with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Symphony Orchestra. His professors at the RCM were Frederick Riddle and Roger Best.

In 1988, he won scholarships from the Countess of Munster Trust and the Royal Society of Arts to study in Salzburg with Thomas Riebl.

As a busy freelance session player, Nick has recorded over 300 soundtracks for films, including Gladiator, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

He was a founder member of the Lyric Quartet making frequent radio and television appearances and many recordings, including the complete quartets of Dohnányi, Ginastera, Michael Nyman and Gavin Bryars.

He has appeared as Guest Principal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and English National Opera and works and records regularly with Chamber Domaine.

Nick is a passionate philatelist and enjoys Japanese tea rituals, yoga and the theatre in his spare time.

He plays a Charles Boullangier dated 1878.

“If Michael Price and David Arnold did not exist, it would be necessary for Man to invent them. Their contribution to ‘Sherlock’ is immeasurable. Thrilling, cheeky, sinister, playful and simply world-class…The music’s not bad either.” Mark Gatiss – Writer

Michael Price is one of the UK’s most sought after composers. His critically acclaimed debut album on Erased Tapes Records, Entanglement, released in April 2015, was described as ‘gorgeous’ by Rolling Stone, as ‘a neo-classical treat’ by Uncut, and Clash remarked that ‘the emotional clout of this music is quite staggering’. A new album, Tender Symmetry, was released on August 31st 2018. This ambitious musical project takes in a series of iconic National Trust locations across England as its inspiration, turning them into unlikely recording spaces.

Michael’s work for film and television has been also widely recognised, winning an EMMY award in 2014, and Royal Television Society, Music&Sound, and Televisual Bulldog awards as well as a BAFTA nomination and 2 further EMMY nominations for the critically acclaimed BBC series Sherlock, which he scores with David Arnold. Other recent TV projects include the 4th season of BAFTA-winning crime drama Unforgotten and the BBC’s new Dracula adaptation, created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

Prior to achieving acclaim as a composer himself, Michael enjoyed significant achievements as a music editor on a number of blockbuster films such as Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Richard Curtis’ Love Actually, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men. As a music editor, Michael has been nominated for 4 MPSE Golden Reel Awards, winning in 2001 for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Michael’s first film experience was as musical assistant, co-producer and arranger to the late Michael Kamen, with whom he collaborated for 5 years. During this time Michael worked on a number of prestigious projects including X-Men, Band of Brothers, The Iron Giant, Metallica – S&M, and live concerts around the world. Michael has also arranged or written additional music on a number of major film projects, including Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

Having studied there as an undergraduate, Michael has recently been appointed Visiting Professor of Composition on the Tonmeister Course at the University of Surrey, and is a full member of BAFTA, BASCA, MU, PRS and ASCAP.

www.michaelpricemusic.com

“Outstanding playing…” Seen and Heard

Ann is deeply passionate about the unique voice of the viola, highlighting the instrument in a more soloistic context, and in particular, the way in which it flexes between roles within the string quartet repertoire. Hailing from Sydney where she made her solo Opera House debut at age 18, Ann has had a career spanning solo work, chamber music, and as a principal player. She spent 10 years as a founding member of the Cavaleri Quartet, and has over the years established a uniquely sensitive, virtuosic and insightful approach. In 2019, Ann joined her colleagues Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Emma Parker & Nathaniel Boyd as part of the Albion Quartet, who are cultivating an exciting presence on the world chamber music stage, both on stage and as resident artists for Signum Records.

A prize winner at several competitions on an international level for her quartet and also as a soloist, including the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, Hamburg, Paolo Premio Borciani & Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions, Ann has appeared in many of the great concert halls of Europe & U.K., has performed in many major festivals, has performed on many varied commercial discs, and is regularly found in the recording studios of London working on scores for many high profile recording artists & composers alike. She loves the unique variety of her musical life in London, and is comfortable within a vast number of musical landscapes, from her home in the Albion Quartet to appearing on stage with the artist Björk. She plays on a wonderful modern viola by English make David Milward, commissioned by her in 2010.

“There is no way to talk about the music of Mark-Anthony Turnage without straight away mentioning the powerful presence – unmistakable, unabashed – of jazz, with expressive effects simultaneously wild and needle-sharp, noir and blue. Less immediately obvious, perhaps, is how Turnage, in drawing his basic vocabulary from the other side of the fence (and there still is one), is able to create music in ways thoroughly in line with the classical tradition, even if resolutely and necessarily new. Jazz gives him an alternative handle on a venerable engine”. Paul Griffiths, The Gramophone

A composer of truly international stature, Mark-Anthony Turnage is among the most relevant communicators and creators of today. His orchestral and operatic music is often forthright and confrontational, unafraid to mirror the realities of modern life, yet its energy is exhilarating. With his flair for vivid titles, and his complete absorption of jazz elements into a contemporary classical style, Turnage produces work with a strong appeal to an enquiring, often young audience. At the same time his music is capable of expressing deep tenderness, especially emotions associated with loss.

Born in Britain in 1960, Turnage studied with Oliver Knussen and John Lambert, and later with Gunther Schuller. With the encouragement of Hans Werner Henze, he wrote his first opera for the Munich Biennale festival, Greek, which received a triumphant premiere in 1988. The many ensuing productions worldwide established Turnage’s international reputation. The important works that followed, Three Screaming Popes, Kai, Momentum and Drowned Out, stemmed from a four-year period as Composer in Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, from 1989 to 1993.

Three years later Blood on the Floor was commissioned by Ensemble Modern. Written for John Scofield, Peter Erskine and Martin Robertson, it demonstrates Turnage’s ability to draw inspiration from the unique sounds of particular performers, often working in close collaboration. Turnage’s major work in the late Nineties was his second full-length opera, The Silver Tassie, premiered in February 2000 to exceptional acclaim at English National Opera, where he was Composer in Association. It won both the South Bank Show and Olivier Awards for Opera in 2001. The new century also brought Turnage’s appointment in 2000 as the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s first Associate Composer culminating in a major Turnage weekend at the Barbican in January 2003.

In the autumn of 2002, Sir Simon Rattle conducted Blood on the Floor at one of his first concerts as Chief Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, attracting a largely new, younger audience to the Berlin Philharmonie and generating the Berlin Philharmonic’s first major education project. Rattle and the BPO commissioned Ceres, an ‘orchestral asteroid’ to accompany Holst’s suite The Planets, which received its premiere performance in 2006. Other significant works following the turn of the new century included Bass Inventions, premiered by the bass player Dave Holland in Amsterdam in 2001, and Scorched, co-written with John Scofield for jazz trio and orchestra, premiered in 2002 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Big Band, conducted by Hugh Wolff.

The trumpet concerto From the Wreckage was written for soloist Håkan Hardenberger, who brought it to the 2005 BBC Proms after its Helsinki premiere. Of the London performance, The Times’s critic wrote: ‘this was outstanding: a kind of rebirth piece in which the music begins hellishly but gradually picks up a bluesy swing as the soloist rhapsodically spirals higher and higher. I was mesmerised.’ Hardenberger has since performed the concerto over 20 times in 10 countries.

Working with the London Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2004/05 season led to Mark-Anthony Turnage’s appointment as its Composer in Residence between 2005 and 2010. The residency was celebrated with Turnage’s first violin concerto, Mambo, Blues and Tarantella, written for Christian Tetzlaff and the LPO with Vladimir Jurowski and premiered at the Southbank Centre in 2008, with subsequent performances in Stockholm and Toronto from the co-commissioning partners. A final new work to celebrate the residency, Texan Tenebrae, was premiered in London in 2010 and three Turnage discs were released on the LPO’s own label.

Turnage was also appointed Mead Composer in Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until 2010 for whom he wrote two new works, From All Sides and Chicago Remains, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Bernard Haitink respectively. Turnage has previously written for other major American orchestras: Scherzoid was a New York Philharmonic/London Philharmonic commission, while his viola concerto On Opened Ground was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra for Yuri Bashmet.

2009 brought the premieres of A Constant Obsession commissioned by the Wigmore Hall for the Nash Ensemble and Mark Padmore and Five Views of a Mouth for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and flautist Dietmar Wiesner, while Hammered Out at the 2010 BBC Proms and Twisted Blues with Twisted Ballad written for the Belcea Quartet were works completed before Turnage took time out to write a third opera. Anna Nicole, with text by Richard Thomas, was premiered at The Royal Opera in London in Spring 2011 in a production by Richard Jones attracting a sold-out run. Further stagings have followed in Dortmund, Nuremburg and at the BAM Next Wave festival in New York and the opera has been released on DVD by Opus Arte.

Turnage wrote two ballet scores in 2011/12: UNDANCE for Sadler’s Wells, a collaboration with Wayne McGregor and Mark Wallinger, and Trespass for the Royal Ballet Covent Garden as part of its Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 project, choreographed by Alastair Marriott and Christopher Wheeldon. Recent concertos include works for cellist Paul Watkins, pianist Marc-André Hamelin and jazz drummer Peter Erskine while in Spring 2013 Turnage was featured composer with the London Symphony Orchestra, culminating in the premiere and recording of a new work Speranza, also performed under the baton of Daniel Harding in Boston and Stockholm.

The orchestral work Frieze was premiered under the baton of Vasily Petrenko at the BBC Proms and Passchendaele was composed to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Strapless was premiered at the Royal Ballet Covent Garden in 2016 with choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, while his opera for family audiences Coraline, based on the dark fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman, was staged by The Royal Opera at the Barbican Theatre in 2018, travelling on to Freiburg, Lille, Stockholm and Melbourne. Recent Turnage scores have included the orchestral work Remembering, conducted by Simon Rattle in 2017 with the London Symphony Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic, and the double violin concerto Shadow Walker for soloists Vadim Repin and Daniel Hope with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, toured to four European countries in October 2017. His setting of Ukrainian texts for soprano and orchestra, Testament, received first performances in 2018 conducted by Kirill Karabits in Bournemouth and Weimar and his song cycle Refugee, written for tenor Allan Clayton and Britten Sinfonia, was premiered in 2019. His 60th birthday is celebrated in 2020.

Much of Turnage’s music is recorded on Decca, Warner Classics, Chandos and the LPO and LSO labels, while Scorched, on Deutsche Grammophon, was nominated for a Grammy. Turnage is Research Fellow in Composition at the Royal College of Music, and is published by Boosey & Hawkes. Works written before 2003 are published by Schott. He was awarded a CBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday honours.

“…exemplary performances…perfect blend without a note out of place.” MusicOHM

The Marian Consort is a Gramophone Award-nominated vocal ensemble, recognised for its innovative presentation of a broad range of repertoire. Led by founder and director, Rory McCleery, The Marian Consort performs across the UK, Europe and North America, and features regularly on BBC Radio 3.

Praised by The Scotsman for ‘performances that glow with golden purity and soul’, the group is composed of the very best singers performing one to a part, allowing clarity of texture and subtlety of interpretation that illuminates the music for performer and audience alike.

The Marian Consort’s repertoire encompasses music from the fifteenth century to the present day, with a particular focus on exploring lesser-known works. TMC is committed to creating new music, and has commissioned leading British composers including Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gabriel Jackson, Cecilia McDowall, and Matthew Martin.

The Marian Consort is a pioneer of projects which move beyond the confines of the traditional concert, bringing music of the past to today’s audiences. TMC has toured Breaking the Rules by musician and playwright Clare Norburn, a concert drama exploring the life and crimes of Carlo Gesualdo, to LSO St Lukes, Lichfield, Buxton, Cheltenham, Bath and Lammermuir Festivals, garnering five-star reviews.

The Marian Consort collaborates with ensembles including the Carducci Quartet, Berkeley Ensemble, Rose Consort of Viols, Illryia Consort, the Choir of Merton College, Oxford, and Ludus Baroque, in repertoire ranging from Byrd to Monteverdi and Arvo Pärt to Michael Berkeley. TMC has released ten recordings to critical acclaim, praised for ‘precision and pellucid textures’ (The Times) and for ‘drawing the listener in by quiet persuasion and musical intelligence of the highest order’ (The Guardian).

Recent performance highlights include concerts in the Bascule Chamber underneath London’s Tower Bridge; a debut performance in Estonia at the 24th Kuressaare Chamber Music Days; a residency at the Cambridge Early Music Festival; a concert at the Misteria Paschalia Festival, broadcast on Polish National Radio; and a UK tour to celebrate the group’s tenth anniversary. The Marian Consort made its inaugural tour of the US and Canada in October 2018, and will tour Japan in autumn 2021.

www.marionconsort.org

“Pearson is in shattering form on these sessions” Sunday Times

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.

He is the Artistic Director of Ronnie Scott’s, London.

www.jamespearsonmusic.com