Alex Aldren studied medicine at the University of Birmingham, and worked as a doctor at the Royal London Hospital, before joining the Royal Academy of Music Opera School in 2016. After graduating in 2019 Alex immediately went on to cover Vašek in The Bartered Bride for Garsington and D’Esparaudieu in Gerald Barry’s The Intelligence Park for The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He then performed the role of Alfonso in Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella (Opera de Baugé) and Alfredo in La Traviata (Hampstead Garden Opera). That year he also reached the finals of both Maureen Lehane and Emmy Destin competitions, as well as the semi-final of the international Clermont-Ferrand competition. During the Covid pandemic, Alex went back to work as a doctor in A&E departments around London. While working a shift, he sang Nessun Dorma for some colleagues, a video of which went viral on Twitter, receiving 100,000 views in just a few hours.  .....
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Katya Apekisheva is one of Europe's most renowned pianists, in demand internationally as both a soloist and as a chamber musician. Since becoming a prize-winner in the Leeds International and Scottish Piano Competitions and collecting awards such as the London Philharmonic 'Soloist of the Year' and the Terence Judd Award, she has been marked out as a pianist of exceptional gifts, performing with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Halle Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon, Jan Latham-Koenig and Alexander Lazarev.
As a recording artist, Katya has received widespread critical acclaim for her interpretations. Her recording of Grieg solo piano works in .....
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Born to an Armenian family in Riga, Anna was sent to violin lessons in the hope that every family feast would be accompanied by music. The satisfaction from bringing joy to the listener was transformed into a deeper interest while studying at the Latvian Academy of Music. During her exchange year in Budapest at the Ferenc Liszt Academy she purchased her first viola and never looked back. Anna enjoys a varied career performing as a chamber musician as well as with many of the UK’s leading orchestras. She has worked under the baton of prominent conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Semyon Bychkov, Sakari Oramo, Sir Andrew Davies and Marin Alsop. Recent highlights have included a European tour with Aurora orchestra and performing with Pynarello, a pioneering Dutch ensemble that transforms the traditional concert experience by performing from memory and without a conductor. .....
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Julian Bliss is one of the world’s finest clarinettists, excelling as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, jazz artist, and masterclass leader. Julian started playing the clarinet aged four and went on to study in the United States at the University of Indiana and in Germany under Sabine Meyer. In recital and chamber music he has played at the world’s leading festivals and halls, including Gstaad, New York’s Lincoln Center, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Verbier and London’s Wigmore Hall. As a soloist, he has appeared with a wide range of international orchestras, including the Auckland Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Paris, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sao Paolo Symphony and the Queensland Symphony.  .....
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Described by The Strad as a player of ‘authority and passion, with an unerring sense of direction, full of colour and underpinned by a clear musical intelligence’, Welsh cellist Thomas Carroll launched his career when he won both Young Concert Artists Trust, London and Young Concert Artists, New York, following on from many prizes at numerous international competitions. He has since gone on to give critically acclaimed debut recitals at Wigmore Hall (London), Alice Tully Hall (NY), Konzerthaus (Vienna) and in Boston, California, Florida and Washington DC, as well performing in many major venues and festivals across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and America. As a concerto soloist Thomas has appeared with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Mozart Players, Royal and London Philharmonic Orchestras, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Heinrich Schiff), English Chamber Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra. .....
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“Great Britain’s most outstanding solo viola player.” – The Times As a concerto soloist, Philip Dukes has appeared with the BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, The Hallé, The Philharmonia, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, London Mozart Players, Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square, BBC Scottish Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 1995 Philip made his BBC Promenade Concerto debut returning again in 1999, 2005 and 2007. Philip has recorded a wide range of chamber and solo CDs, most notably the complete works for viola by Rebecca Clarke for Naxos and a debut recording for Deutsche Grammophon of the Triple Concerto by Sir Michael Tippett recorded live at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. The complete box set of Mozart Viola Quintets for Hyperion Records with the Nash Ensemble has also recently been released to critical acclaim. .... More

Dov Goldberg studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Alan Hacker. On leaving the RNCM in 1988 Dov became a founder member of Jane's Minstrels and subsequently joined the Northern Chamber Orchestra as principal clarinet. He has also played first clarinet with the BBC Philharmonic and Manchester Camerata and he is now a member of the Northern Sinfonia. In 1990 Dov made his London Debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Park Lane Group Recital Series and has since made many solo and concerto appearances. In 1994 Dov was invited to join Psappha by Tim Williams and together they recently premièred and gave the first broadcast of Peter Maxwell Davies' Stedman Doubles (1955) in the original version which had been locked away in the British Library for forty years! Dov has played Principal Clarinet with BBC Philharmonic, BBC NOW, CBSO, Hallé, RPO, RPCO, BBC Scottish, SCO, Northern Sinfonia & Opera North. Dov has also worked with Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Opera, Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, Haffner Ensemble & Northern Ballet
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Award-winning British pianist Anthony Hewitt is well-known and respected as a musician of integrity, and a pianist of versatility and virtuosity. His performances and recordings have been met with critical acclaim (“a remarkably gifted artist”, The Gramophone), and his unique projects have captured the imagination and admiration of the public. Anthony has performed internationally with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C, with with orchestras in Germany, Poland, and Russia, and with many of the UK’s leading orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, English Chamber, Orchestra of the Swan, Manchester Camerata and Royal Northern Sinfonia. Venues in the UK include London’s Royal Festival Hall, Purcell Room, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and no less than eight recitals at Wigmore Hall.
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Kyra Humphreys is an accomplished orchestral and chamber musician. She has performed with most of the major UK symphony and chamber orchestras and appeared as guest leader or director with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Orchestra of Opera North. She has appeared as a soloist in the BBC Proms and performed in music festivals around the world. Her world premiere of John Casken’s ‘Après un Silence’ (violin and orchestra version) was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and described as “authoritatively dramatic” by The Times. As the violinist/violist of the Zanfonia Trio Kyra was a finalist in the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and the trio performed frequently throughout the UK as award winners in both the Munster and John Tunnell Trust concert scheme competitions. .....
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Yoshie Kawamura was born in Japan, Nagoya and moved to the UK when she was 11. She was awarded a scholarship to study at Wells Cathedral School with Sanae Nakajima, before receiving Bachelor and Master of Music at Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Joan Havill. A year later she auditioned to study with Prof. Gilead Mishory at Musikhochschule Freiburg in Germany. Yoshie has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician in England, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Japan. She was invited to join the Berlin Philharmonic Quartet in performing Schumann’s Piano Quintet on their tour of Japan; subsequently she received an invitation from the Poznan Philharmonia to perform as a soloist in a series of concerts in Poland. In 2013 Yoshie moved to Newcastle to study Cultural Management at Northumbria University where she received her second Master’s degree. This lead in co-founding Brundibár Arts Festival with Alexandra Raikhlina in 2016. Yoshie is one of the festival’s administrator as well as a performer. Since 2016, she has been actively involved each year in the festival’s organisation, management of the artists and audience, venue coordinator and as a performer. More

Born in Philadelphia, Bartholomew LaFollette has lived in Britain since the age of 13. He trained at the Yehudi Menuhin School, and later the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which he received two first class degrees. At the age of twenty-six he was appointed Professor of Cello at the Yehudi Menuhin School.   Bartholomew is Artistic Director of the Marryat Players Chamber Music Festival, now in its sixth year, which takes place in Wimbledon Village and welcomes internationally renowned artists.   As a YCAT artist (Young Classical Artists Trust) Bartholomew gave numerous performances at the Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Royal Festival Hall, and Bridgewater halls. He went on to win first prize at The Arts Club's and Decca Records’ inaugural Classical Music Award. Bartholomew was also the first recipient of the Irish Chamber Orchestra's prestigious Ardán Award. Bartholomew's highlights with orchestra include performances of Dvořák's Cello Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Walton and Elgar Cello Concertos in the Barbican Hall More

Jessica Lee was born in Chichester, West Sussex. She began to learn the clarinet aged nine whilst one of the first girl choristers at Salisbury Cathedral. Jessica graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2005 after which she had a busy freelance career in London working with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English National Opera, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Nash Ensemble. Jessica joined Royal Northern Sinfonia as Principal Clarinet in 2009.More

British/German violinist, director and festival director Jack Liebeck possesses “flawless technical mastery” and a “beguiling silvery tone” (BBC Music Magazine). Jack is the Royal Academy of Music’s first Émile Sauret Professor of Violin and Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, “A diverse and interesting program, giving voice to many of the festival artists, this was a terrific offering for this year’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music.” (Limelight Magazine). Jack’s playing embraces the worlds of elegant chamber-chic Mozart through to the impassioned mastery required to frame Brett Dean The Lost Art of Letter Writing and he has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and chamber musicians. Jack’s fascination with all things scientific has led to two new concertos being written for him and regular collaborator Professor Brian Cox - Dario Marianelli’s Voyager Violin Concerto and Paul Dean’s A Brief History of Time commissioned by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in commemoration of Professor Stephen Hawking. Upcoming engagements include Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Salieca Piano Trio at Wigmore Hall, a return to Savannah Chamber Music Festival More

Maria Nemtsova is an Amsterdam based concert pianist of Russian-Jewish origin. She began her career after winning numerous International competitions including the Gold Medal at the Isabelle Bond Showcase in London, Fort Worth Concerto competition (USA), “Rosario Marciano International Piano competition” (Vienna, Austria). In addition to her solo achievements Maria got the first prize at the International Chamber Music competition «Marco Fiorindo» in Italy with her «VitaDuo» ensemble. Her recent engagements include performances at major world venues including Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York, where she gave her solo recital; Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and Steinway Hall in London, Bösendorfer Hall and Ehrbar-Saal in Vienna, National Center of Performing Arts in Beijing and Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in China, and others. She also appeared at the International Festivals in Italy, UK, USA, Poland and other countries. Maria collaborated with Boris Brovtsyn (violin, UK), Pavel Nersesyan (piano, Russia/USA), Arno Bornkamp (saxophone, Netherlands), Jean-Denis Michat (saxophone, France),  .....
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Alexandra Raikhlina is a Moscow born young and exciting violinist with a passion for chamber music. After moving to Belgium in 1990 she was Laureate of the “Charles de Beriot” competition in Belgium before being awarded a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Later she received a full scholarship to complete her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Alexandra has performed extensively as a soloist and a chamber musician in Belgium, England, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia, Greece, Germany, Portugal, Hong-Kong and Australia. She has appeared as a soloist and a chamber musician in Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Fairfield Halls, the Sage Gateshead, Centro Cultural De Belem and Helbphilharmonie. Amongst the numerous prices and awards she received are: Craxton Foundation, the Martin Scholarship Foundation and was awarded the LSO String Scheme Experience. She was a prize winner at the Richmond upon Thames Performing Arts festival and a finalist and special prize winner (for best performance of a sonata) at the International Koningin Sophie Charlotte competition.  .....
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Ilona Suomalainen performs as a freelance accordionist across the UK. She has worked with orchestras including the Philharmonia, Aurora Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta. A diverse performer, Ilona recently played in the West End production of Fiddler on the Roof, Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespeare's Globe, and featured in a UK tour with singer 'Irit' supporting Lisa Stansfield. Originally from Finland, Ilona studied at the Sibelius-Academy in Helsinki, before moving to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music.

Gabriel comes from Chichester in West Sussex. After being convinced he was going to be a concert pianist and then a sound engineer, Gabriel realised that Cello was the way forward and travelled north to Manchester where he studied with Eduardo Vassallo. At the RNCM Gabriel was a prize winning chamber musician in the Yeomans Quartet and with performances of The Quartet for the End of Time. Gabriel turned down a position with the Coldstream Guards in order to travel further north and work as a district musician in Mo I Rana, Norway. Here Gabriel performed regularly with guitarist Arne Brattland. After a few years working as a freelance musician in Glasgow, Gabriel joined the Royal Northern Sinfonia where he was joined by his wife Jane Nossek a year later. They live in Gateshead with their two daugters
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Simon Wallfisch made debuts in 2023 for the Royal Opera Covent Garden in the role of Deputato Fiammingi in Don Carlo and as the Fünfte Richter in Kongold’s Das Wunder Der Heliane at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and appears also in the roles of Kuusi in Elena Kats-Chernin’s Nils Holgerssons Wundersame Abenteuer and Barbavano in Offenbach’s Die Banditen at the Komische Oper Berlin. Wallfisch was initially engaged as a member of the International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zurich from 2009 to 2011 and subsequently has appeared in such roles as Fieramosca in Benvenuto Cellini for Staatsoper Nürnberg, Marcello in La Boheme for Teatro Verdi Casciana Terme in Pisa, and as Escamillo in Peter Brook’s La Tragédie De Carmen for Nederlandse Reisopera.
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