Our Story

“A perfect afternoon of music!”. “Amazing!” These are just some of the audience reactions to the performances of this outstanding group of international artists whose enthusiastic and dedicated following continues to grow with every concert.

The ChamberMusicBox journey originally started in the most unlikely of ways when, halfway through 2015, the weekly delivery of organic vegetables landed on the doorstep of the food-obsessed household of violinist Yuri Kalnits and cellist Julia Morneweg, both at that point already well-known on the chamber music circuit. As Julia marvelled at the wonderful quality and variety of these ingredients in her veg box that had led her to discover so many new flavours and recipes, a thought came to her mind: “Why not come up with a similar concept for chamber concerts? Why does it always have to be a whole programme of string quartets, piano trios or cello sonatas when there is so much fabulous chamber music repertoire out there that barely gets heard and we have so many amazing musician friends from all over the world to play it with?” She shared her thoughts over dinner with Yuri – a man well-accustomed to his other half’s late-night musings – and, several glasses of wine later, the idea had a name: ChamberMusicBox!

Six months later, in January 2016, the first ever CMB concert took place in the cosy surroundings of Burgh House in Hampstead, North London, a picturesque historic building and museum that became our first ‘home’ for two seasons. The artist roster grew quickly, with renowned soloists, members of leading ensembles and principals of top UK and European orchestras all joining forces to perform programmes that are as diverse as they are unique. Having outgrown the capacity of Burgh House by 2018, ChamberMusicBox moved its base to nearby Rosslyn Hill Chapel, a wonderful concert venue boasting ample space and a Steinway concert grand piano. In the first four seasons, more than 55 CMB artists from over 20 nations performed more than 60 different works ranging from duos to nonets!

Then came the 2020 season and with the arrival of Covid-19 everything changed. As lockdown #1 dragged on, the loss of live performance was keenly felt, by our musicians as much as by our audience. A couple of hastily arranged, but hugely successful, outdoor concerts confirmed our instincts that live chamber concerts had to return as quickly – and as safely – as possible. With our Hampstead base having decided to keep its doors shut to concerts until further notice, ChamberMusicBox suddenly found itself homeless, forcing a total rethink of our plans. With audiences not just in London, but especially further afield so deprived of live classical musical performance, our Artistic Directors and Trustees quickly agreed that we shouldn’t find “a” new venue, but as many as we could make Covid-secure on short notice. Within less than two weeks, we had agreed dates with venues in London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex and Suffolk and in early October we performed our first indoor concert since the start of the pandemic in front of a large, but socially distanced audience at St Cuthbert’s Earl’s Court. With the incredible support – both financial and otherwise – of our loyal and ever-growing audience, we managed to put on a sold-out autumn season of concerts in between lockdowns before everything ground to a halt once again in December 2020.

Little did anyone know that this silence would last for almost five months, but this painfully difficult period also gave birth to CMB’s most ambitious project to date: the ChamberMusicBox Fermata Festival in June 2021 that brought together concerts by some of the UK’s most renowned artists with an exhibition of over 100 visual artworks created by classical musicians during the pandemic. At once a celebration of the arts as well as a tribute to the sheer resilience, resourcefulness and indefatigability of those within the profession, the festival was featured in publications such as The Strad, Pizzicato, and Australia’s Limelight Magazine.

Since 2022 ChamberMusicBox continues to perform concerts of exceptional calibre across London and the rest of the UK, both in our own series as well as by invitation for some of the country’s leading chamber music promoters. Recent appearances include the 2023 Swaledale Festival, a tour of South West England for Concerts in the West, a recital at the London School of Economics as well our international debut in the prestigious Pharos Arts Foundation Series in Nicosia, Cyprus. We look forward to the next chapter of this unique journey that is made so special by the incredible talent, friendship and dedication of all those involved.

ChamberMusicBox is a registered charity and continues to be run entirely by its players and trustees.

Our Artists

Yuri Kalnits

violin

Anna Kandinskaya

violin

Vadim Tsibulevsky

violin

Evgenia Epstein

violin

Alicja Smietana

violin

Tom Aldren

violin

Maria Fiore Mazzarini

violin

Roger Chase

viola

Mikhail Bereznitsky

viola

Lisa Bucknell

viola

Kay Stephen

viola

Matthew Kettle

viola

Julia Morneweg

cello

Alexander Volpov

cello

Tim Lowe

cello

Pierre Doumenge

cello

Tony Hougham

double bass

Roger Vignoles

piano

Ilya Kondratiev

piano

Zeynep Özsuca

piano

Dina Duisen

piano

Simone Tavoni

piano

Kathryn Thomas

flute

Emanuel Abbühl

oboe

Chris O'Neal

oboe

Philip Haworth

oboe

Peter Cigleris

clarinet

Sacha Rattle

clarinet

Anthony Pike

clarinet

Igor Ahss

bassoon

Susana Dias

bassoon

Ashley Myall

bassoon

Martin Grainger

horn

Our Repertoire

Duos

Beethoven Duo in G major for clarinet and bassoon WoO 27
Dvorak 4 Romantic Pieces for violin and piano
Franck Sonata in A major for cello and piano
Handel/Halvorssen Passacaglia for violin and viola/cello
Martinu Sonatina for clarinet and piano H.356
Mozart Duo for violin and viola in G major K423
Mozart Sonata for piano and violin in e minor K304
Mozart Sonata for bassoon and cello in B flat major K292
Poulenc Sonata for flute and piano
Schnittke Moz-Art for two violins (1783/1976)
Schubert Sonatina in a minor for violin and piano D385
Schumann Fantasy Pieces for clarinet/cello and piano Op. 73
Schumann Märchenbilder for viola and piano Op. 113

Quintets

Bowen Phantasy Quintet for bass clarinet and string quartet
Brahms String Quintet in G major Op. 111
Brahms Clarinet Quintet Op. 115
Debussy Danse Sacreé and Danse Profane for harp and string quartet
Dvorak String Quintet in G major Op. 77
Elgar Piano Quintet
Faure Piano Quintet in d minor Op. 89
Glazunov String Quintet Op. 39
Jacob Suite for bassoon and string quartet
Kaminski Quintet for clarinet, horn, violin, viola and cello
Mozart Clarinet Quintet K581
Mozart Horn Quintet K407
Nielsen Serenata in Vano
Prokofiev Quintet in g minor for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass
Schubert String Quintet in C major D956
Shostakovich Piano Quintet in g minor Op. 57
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders for violin, clarinet, bassoon, horn and double bass

Trios

Arensky Piano Trio in d minor Op. 32
Arnold Divertimento for flute, oboe and clarinet
Beethoven Serenade for flute, violin and viola Op. 25
Brahms Horn Trio Op. 40
Bruch Eight Pieces for clarinet, viola and piano Op. 83
Dohnanyi Serenade for string trio Op. 10
Farrenc Trio for flute, cello and piano Op. 45
Haydn London Trio in C major for flute, violin and cello
Ibert Cinq Pièces en Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon
Glinka Trio Pathètique for clarinet, bassoon and piano
Khachaturian Trio for clarinet, violin and piano
Klein String Trio
Kodaly Intermezzo for string trio
Mozart Divertimento “The Marriage of Figaro” for two clarinets and bassoon
Mozart Trio for clarinet, viola and piano “Kegelstatt” K498
Piston Three Pieces for flute, clarinet and bassoon
Rachmaninov Trio Élégiaque in d minor Op. 9
Reger Serenade for flute, violin and viola
Rota Trio for flute, violin and piano
Schubert String Trio in B flat D471
Schumann Märchenerzählungen for clarinet, viola and piano Op. 132
Shostakovich Piano Trio no. 1 in c minor Op. 8
Shostakovich Five Pieces for two violins and piano
Sibelius Suite for string trio in A major
Saint-Saens – Tarantella for flute, clarinet and piano
Suk Elegy for piano trio
Weinberg String Trio
Whitlock Three Pieces for wind trio

Sextets

Beethoven Sextet for two horns and string quartet Op. 81b
Ireland Sextet for clarinet, horn and string quartet
Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes for clarinet, string quartet and piano
Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht
Strauss Sextet from ‘Capriccio’
Tchaikovsky Souvenier de Florence for string sextet Op. 70

Quartets

Arnold Oboe Quartet
Brahms Piano Quartet in g minor Op. 25
Britten Phantasy Quartet for oboe and string trio
Copland Two Threnodies for flute and string trio
Devienne Quartet for bassoon and string trio in g minor Op. 73 No. 3
Elgar Andante and Allegro for oboe and string trio
Jacob Four Fancies for flute and string quartet
Mahler Piano Quartet in a minor
Mozart Flute Quartet in D major K285
Mozart Oboe Quartet K370
Mozart Piano Quartet in g minor K478
Ravel Chansons Madécasses for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello and piano
Ravel String Quartet

Septets

Beethoven Septet Op. 20
Ravel Introduction & Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet
Strauss (arr. Leopold) Metamorphosen for string septet
Stravinsky Septet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, violin, viola and cello
Zemlinsky Maiblumen blühten überall for soprano and string sextet

Octets

Balakirev Octet for flute, oboe, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano

Nonets

Martinu Nonet flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass

Please contact our Artistic Directors for more options

Yuri Kalnits

A recipient of two prestigious Diapason d’Or awards for his recording of Weinberg’s Violin Sonatas Yuri Kalnits was described by reviewers as ‘an interpreter of the highest order’. He has participated in festivals throughout the world such as Festival Musicales Internationales Guil-Durance (France), Young Artist Peninsula Music Festival (USA), Festival Cziffra (France), Waterford International Music Festival (Ireland), Irina Kandinskaya and Friends (Russia), Pharos Trust Festival (Cyprus), Festival “Musica da camera” (Germany), Festival International Ciudad de Ubeda (Spain), Beyond the music Festival (Spain), Loch Shiel Spring Festival (Scotland) and has played at many important venues including The Purcell Room, Kings Place, St. John’s Smith Square, Barbican, St. Martin-in the-Fields, Small Hall of Moscow Conservatoire, Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center and Suntory Hall. Tours have taken him to Russia, Ireland, Germany, Israel, France, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, USA, Hong Kong and Cyprus. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the London Festival Orchestra, Mozart Festival Orchestra, Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra, London Soloist Chamber Orchestra, Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra, Kazan Chamber Orchestra “La Primavera”, London Musical Arts Ensemble, Minsk Symphony Orchestra and the New Philharmonia Koln to name a few and his playing has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as well as New Zealand national radio. Equally active as a chamber musician, he joined the Erato Piano Trio in 2010 and has since performed with the group at many prestigious venues across the UK, most recently in their much acclaimed Purcell Room debut and released a CD recording on Toccata Classics. Yuri is one of the organisers and a jury member for the Moscow String Project, a series of masterclasses and competition aiming to provide an opportunity for young players to obtain scholarships to leading European conservatoires. Born in Moscow into a musical family, he received his first violin lessons from his father and went on to become a pupil at Moscow’s Central Music School and later at the Gnessin Music School for Gifted Children. At the age of 16 he began studying at the Royal College of Music (London) with Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky, winning several major College prizes, including the Foundation Scholarship, W.H. Reed, Isolde Menges prizes and Leonard Hirsch Prize for the outstanding string player of the year. He went on to win major prizes, notably the Bromsgrove and Watford Music Festivals in England, the Yehudi Menuhin Award from the Sudborough Foundation, KPMG/Martin Musical Scholarship (UK), Cziffra Foundation competition (France), Web Concert Hall Competition (USA), Barthel Prize from the Concordia Foundation. Upon graduation from the RCM Yuri was awarded the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholarship for postgraduate studies there. He completed his training with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School of Music and Vasko Vassiliev at Trinity College of Music whilst receiving further artistic guidance from eminent musicians such as Shlomo Mintz, Abram Shtern, Igor Oistrakh, Edward Grach, Sergei Fatkulline, Sylvia Rosenberg and Valentin Berlinsky.

Anna Kandinskaya

Born and raised in Moscow, Anna Kandinskaja began playing the violin at a young age and subsequently studied at the Moscow and Bern Conservatories, completing her postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music, London.

Her musical path has been illuminated by several successes in international competitions. She has been awarded the First Prize in the International Violin Competition of the Munich Konzertgesellschaft and was winner of the International Yehudi Menuhin Competition in Paris. Following this achievement, Anna Kandinskaja had the privilege of working regularly with Lord Menuhin and touring all Europe under his conduct.

Anna Kandinskaja has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, amongst others, with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared in the Wigmore Hall, Barbican, Münchener Philharmonie am Gasteig, Münchener Residenz, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, Musikverein Wien and the Wiener Konzerthaus.

Among the international music festivals she has been invited to the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Tivoli Copenhagen, to Bad Kissingen, to the Santander Festival, the Haydn-Festival Eisenstadt, the International Oleg Kagan Festival Tegernsee and the Mozartwochen Salzburg.

At Gidon Kremer´s invitation Anna Kandinskaya appeared at the Lockenhaus Festival, touring in the following years as an artistic guest with the Kremerata Baltica.

On Valery Gergiev´s invitation she has appeared at the Stars of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg both as a soloist and in recital as well as the Mikkeli Festival, Finland, where she performed the Alban Berg Violin Concerto.

She is regular performer at Yuri Bashmet´s Music Festival Elba, Italy. Recently she appeared as a soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and their conductor Alexander Rudin.

Anna Kandinskaja performed chamber music together with partners as András Schiff, Gidon Kremer, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Natalia Gutman, Boris Pergamenschikow, Yuri Bashmet, Lars Vogt, Mikhail Rudy, Miklos Perenji, Nabuko Imai and the Altenberg Trio.

Since many years Anna Kandinskaja is holding a teaching position for violin at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna having already built up various finalists of major international competitions and players on prominent positions in some of Europe´s leading orchestras.

Anna Kandinskaja is tutor for violin on masterclasses in Europe and all over the world, including Asia, where she is regularly invited to teach in metropolises of Japan, South-Korea and Malaysia.

Anna Kandinskaja is primaria of the Vienna-based Razumovsky-Stringquartet.

2012 she was appointed to a professorship for Solo-Violin at theJoseph Haydn-Konservatorium Eisenstadt.

Vadim Tsibulevsky

Vadim Tsibulevsky began studying the violin at the age of four and at the age of seven entered the Baku Special School of Music. In 1977, at the age of ten, he was awarded First Prize at a Republican Contest in Baku. In 1983 he moved to Moscow to study at the Central School of Music, and in 1996 he was admitted as an apprentice to study with Professor Kravchenko at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory. He was a concert master with the Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, and appeared in many recitals and concerts throughout the former Soviet Union. In 1990 Tsibulevsky relocated to Israel, where he joined the Israel Chamber Orchestra and studied with Professor Kless at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. In 1992 he won the Israeli Competition for New Immigrant Musicians in Netania, leading to performances throughout Israel. In 1996 he became a concert master in the I Fiamminghi Chamber Orchestra, Belgium.

Since 1997 Tsibulevsky has lived in Antwerp, Belgium. He has performed as a guest concert master with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Belgian National Orchestral and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and performed widely as a soloist and chamber musician. Since 2001 he has been First Concert Master of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. He plays a violin made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, on loan from the collection of the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

Evgenia Epshtein

Evgenia Epshtein was born in Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg), Russia. She began her violin studies at age of six and completed the High School for Gifted Musicians with Vladimir Milshtein. Evgenia immigrated to Israel in 1990. There she studied with Arthur Zisserman, Yair Kless and Irena Svetlova at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music and Benzion Shamir at the Rotterdam Royal Academy, where she received her Masters Degree. During her studies at the Academy she won several violin prizes and chamber music competitions and took part in the masterclasses of Isaak Stern, Henry Mayer and Zakhar Bron.

Evgenia Epshtein was a co-founder of the Aviv string quartet, who won the 3rd Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (1999 Grand Prix and four special prizes), the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition (2003) and the Charles Hennen Music competition (1999 Netherlands). Other top prizes include the Schubert and Modernity competition (2003 Graz, Austria, 2nd prize and special Schubert prize) and the Prague Spring Competition (1998 2nd prize). The Aviv quartet were also proclaimed as the “Best young ensemble” by the Culture Ministries of Germany and Israel (1999, 2000, 2003, 2008).

As a soloist she has performed with Reconsil Sinfoniega Vienna, the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zadar Chamber Orchestra, the Split Symphony Orchestra and the Ashdod and Ramat Gan Symphony Orchestra. She has given recitals in all major Israeli venues and radio broadcasts in Stockholm, Paris, Toronto, Ottawa, Guadalajara, Lagos, Vienna, Zagreb, Varaždin, Split, Prague, London.

Currently Evgenia Epshtein is a docent of Split Academy of Arts, professor of violin and chamber music since 2011, and Artistic Director of the summer school ‘Summer Con Spirito’ in Trogir, Croatia, and the winter string school ‘Winter Con Spirito’ in Vinkovci, Croatia.

Previousy, Evgenia had taught as an assistant to violin professor Mr. Benzion Shamir at the Rotterdam Royal Academy.

As a violinist and chamber musician Evgenia frequently gives masterclasses, for example at the Isa international Summer Academy, Prague Music Academy, ‘Keshet eilon’ violin course and other courses throughout Europe.

Alicja Smietana

Born in 1983 in Krakow, Poland Alicja Smietana performs works from Bach to Contemporary music with – what was described as – “Extraordinary brilliance and sensibility”;

Winner of numerous competitions and awards (including First Prize at the Israeli International Competition and Brahms Society Award) Alicja studied at the Krakow Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Kronberg Academy where her teacher was Christian Tetzlaff.

Gaining respect of many world-famous musicians Alicja has performed as a soloist and chamber musician together with Gidon Kremer, Nigel Kennedy, Ivan Monighetti, Yuri Bashmet, Martha Argerich, Simon Rattle, Gustav Dudamel, Boris Pergamenshikov and others all around the world.

As a soloist she’s been also performing together with many world-renowned orchestras and ensembles and she’s made her international debut in London under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. She’s performed in worlds most important venues including Berlin Philharmonic and Royal Albert Hall.

Attending many international masterclasses such as Bachakademie, Sommerakademie Prag-Vien-Budapest, Kronberg Academy Alicja’s been privileged to get artistic guidance from many wonderful musicians including Hagai Shaham, Dorothy DeLay, Tabea Zimermann, Erich Gruenberg, Zvi Zeitlin and most recently Itzhak Perlman.

Alicja’s also been a guest at many prestigious festivals such as Verbier, Buxton, Les Musiques and Schleswig-Holstein.

Since 2003 she’s been occasionally involved with KREMERATA BALTICA – an internationally renowned group led by Gidon Kremer – which gave her the opportunity to work closely with many of the worlds finest musicians and conductors of our time. In 2010 she’s been asked by Nigel Kennedy to become a co-artistic director of his new ORCHESTRA OF LIFE with which she has also performed in the most renowned halls including Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Palais des Congres and the Royal Festival Hall.

Alicja’s also keen on improvisation and is performing a lot of experimental music, jazz and contemporary music. She has also played in some of important venues like The 100 Club, The Vortex, Ronnie Scott’s and many others.

Alicja records for Solo Musica and plays a magnificent Camillus Camilli violin dated for 1740 and a Jean Persoit bow thanks to Mr Nigel Brown and the Stradivari Trust.

Tom Aldren

Thomas Aldren is enjoying an exciting international career as a violinist, encompassing a wide range of musical genres. In the past two seasons his performances have encompassed sets at Ronnie Scotts’, the Hammersmith Apollo and Glastonbury festival, as well as performances in concert halls from Mexico City to Seoul. He is a regular player with the English Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the London Sinfonietta and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Thomas has given several performances of the major concerti by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Sibelius, Mozart and Bach, and most recently gave his first performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in High Wycombe. He is in high demand as an orchestral leader and director, following on from his leadership of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 2011. His activity as a chamber musician has included performances alongside some of the foremost musicians of today, including Anthony Marwood, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Valeriy Sokolov, Lawrence Power and Adrian Brendel. Last season he performed live on BBC Radio 3 and at King’s Place Hall One with the Solem Quartet, and recently travelled to Orleans to perform with the Delmege Quartet alongside the award-winning Quatour Diotima.

Thomas achieved a Distinction in his Master’s at the Royal Academy of Music, during which time he was the winner of numerous competitions including the Winifred Small Violin Prize and the York International Chamber Music Festival Competition. He went on to complete his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with Christoph Poppen. He plays a violin by Antonio Gragnani made in Livorno, 1779.

Maria Fiore Mazzarini

Maria Fiore studied at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where in 2012, under the guidance of Prof.Matthew Trusler, she was awarded a Master in Perfomance with Distinction. After her graduation, she moved to Vienna to continue her studies with Prof. Anna Kandinskaya and Prof. Peter Schuhmayer. Maria Fiore has performed in various festivals in the UK and abroad as soloist and orchestral leader, including the London Handel Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Greenwich International Early Music Festival, Klangspuren Schwaz Festival, Palazzina Liberty in Musica (Milan), Taormina Arte Festival, Brighton Fringe and Tête à Tête Opera Festival.
She has been a member of Southbank Sinfonia, and has played with the London Mozart Players, I Musicanti Ensemble, European Union Chamber Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and London Contemporary Orchestra.

On the side of her activity as orchestral and chamber music player in the UK and abroad, Maria Fiore has nurtured an interest for contemporary music, which led her to successfully take part to the London Sinfonietta Academy, Ensemble Modern International Academy Klangspuren, and has been invited to perform as part of the Bang on a Can Festival 2016 in the USA.
Following her experience in the USA, in 2018 Maria Fiore has created and curated the project MusArt Collective. The ensemble proposes established and emerging American composers, creating cross-art performances which include audio, electronic and visual material.

Roger Chase

Roger Chase has performed as guest principal violist with most of the major British orchestras and many others in North America and Europe. The current owner of the 1717 Montagnana viola, he has recorded for EMI, Virgin, and Hyperion, and taught at the Royal College of Music, Guildhall, and Oberlin.

Born in London, Roger Chase studied at the Royal College of Music with Bernard Shore and in Canada with Steven Staryk, also working for a short time with the legendary Lionel Tertis.

He made his debut with the English Chamber Orchestra in 1979, and has since played as a soloist or chamber musician in major cities throughout the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East, India, most of Eastern and all of Western Europe, Scandinavia and South Africa.

He was a member of many ensembles including the Nash Ensemble for more than 20 years, the London Sinfonietta , the Esterhazy Baryton Trio, the Quartet of London, Hausmusik of London, and the London Chamber Orchestra, and has been invited to play as principal viola with many major British orchestras and others in North America and Europe, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has recorded for EMI, CRD, Hyperion, Cala, Virgin, Dutton, Centaur, Naxos and Floating Earth Records, demonstrating his diverse interests by playing with a folk group on an amplified viola, as a soloist on an authentic instrument and as an exponent of the avant-garde.

Mr. Chase has taught in the UK at the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School and the Royal Northern College of Music. He has been a professor at Oberlin College, and currently teaches at Roosevelt University in Chicago and at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London.

Mikhail Bereznitsky

Described by the composer Rodion Shchedrin as ‘one of the most brilliant violists in the world’, Russian-born Mikhail Bereznitsky started his career as a violinist, having quickly gained an outstanding reputation as a soloist and ensemble player. Whilst performing a wide variety of repertoire ranging from classical works to contemporary music and rock, he realised, aged 26 that the sound and style of the viola lay much closer to his heart. After only a month of study he made his debut as a violist in the Concert Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire.

Having trained as a violinist at the Moscow Conservatoire at the hands of such distinguished teachers as Maya Glezarova and Nadezhda Beshkina and gained experience in ensemble-playing under the direction of musicians such as Alexander Bakhchiev, Valentin Berlinsky, Mikhail Kopelman and others, Misha soon mastered the viola, and within six months enrolled at the Conservatoire as a postgraduate viola student in the class of Yuri Bashmet. During these years he was active as both violist and violinist, often playing both instruments in the same concert.

Already a winner of International Vincenzo Bellini Chamber Ensembles Competition in Italy in 1990, he then began to prepare for solo competitions as a violist. In 1997, after eighteen months of study, he became a laureate of the prestigious Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition on the Isle of Man, the first Russian prize-winner at that competition since its establishment in 1980. He went on to win the Yuri Bashmet Moscow International Viola Competition.

Since then he has performed in all of the world’s major venues, and with some of its most outstanding musicians, among them Ivri Gitlis, Yuri Bashmet, Kolja Blacher, Natalia Gutman, Gidon Kremer, Alexei Lubimov, Aleksander Rudin and Naum Shtarkman. The festivals at which he has appeared include December Nights of Sviatoslav Richter, Territory, Moscow Autumn in Russia, Berliner Festwochen, the Oleg Kagan Musikfest in Germany, the Bath International Music Festival in England and Gaudeamus in the Netherlands.

Mikhail Bereznitsky has given the Russian premieres of works by composers such as York Bowen, Mikhail Bronner, Morton Feldman, Michael Nyman, Nino Rota, Efrem Podgaits, Valentin Silvestrov, Vladimir Dashkevich, and some of the leading Russian composers of the day have dedicated viola works to him.

Lisa Bucknell

Lisa enjoys a varied career as a guest artist with chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the UK and abroad. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with the Sacconi Quartet and Manchester Collective, is the principal solo violist for The Opera Story, and performed in the Alan Bennett play Untold Stories at the National Theatre and on the West End. Lisa has enjoyed trials with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and performs regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Lisa holds both an Artist Diploma and a Master of Performance with Distinction from the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Simon Rowland-Jones. During this time, she was a competitor in the 2016 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, a prizewinner at the North London Festival of Music, and a finalist in the Kenneth Loveland and Brian Boak Outstanding Performer Awards. A firm believer that education is never complete, Lisa has been fortunate to enjoy lessons with many leading violists around the world and has had master classes with luminaries including Thomas Reibl, Nobuko Imai, and Antoine Tamestit.

Lisa is very grateful for the support of the Richard Carne Trust, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, the Tait Memorial Trust, and the Clemence Charitable Trust. Lisa currently plays a 1930 Natale Carletti viola thanks to the generosity of donors worldwide who contributed to her fundraising campaign.

Kay Stephen

Scottish violist and violinist Kay Stephen is passionate about ensemble playing in all of its forms, and loves the spontaneity and communication of making music with others.

As a chamber musician, she has been a recipient of numerous awards including the Royal Overseas League Chamber Music Prize and the Audience Engagement Prize at the Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition, Graz. She has been supported by the City Music Foundation, the Tunnell Trust and twice by the Park Lane Group, performing regularly at major UK venues including Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Cadogan Hall and frequently on BBC Radio 3.

Kay is a member of the Jacquin Trio, alongside clarinettist Jessie Grimes and pianist Charis Hanning. With a line up that allows them the rare freedom of music for both violin and viola trio in a single concert, they have a vast and varied repertoire at their fingertips; from works by Mozart and Kurtag to Stravinsky’s virtuosic violin writing in The Soldier’s Tale or Bartok’s Contrasts. The trio have performed together all over the world, most recently touring New Zealand at the end of 2019.

Concerto performances have included first viola in Brandenburg 6, under the baton of Nicholas Kremer, and Bosso’s ‘Towards the Golden Hour’, both with the Manchester Camerata; Telemann Viola Concerto at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and violin concertos by Brahms, Mozart and Joe Cutler.

For nearly ten years, Kay was violist with the award winning Gildas Quartet, performing with them world wide throughout China, South Africa and Australia, among others and recording for Champs Hill.

She has performed with ensembles such as the Elias, Navarra, Florian and Edinburgh quartets, and the Manchester Collective, the Vonnegut Collective, Ensemble Deva and Red Note Ensemble. Formerly co-principal viola with the Manchester Camerata, she appeared many times as principal and as soloist with the orchestra. She has been invited as guest principal viola with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Camerata Alma Viva, as co-principal with the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia and the Britten Sinfonia, and as a freelance player with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. She also performs as violinist with orchestras such as the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Hallé and the Gabrieli Consort.

Through a long time musical collaboration with clarinettist and composer Jack McNeill, Kay joined twelve piece cross-genre ensemble, Propellor in residency at Snape Maltings. The group’s debut recording ‘Loom’ and subsequent tour received very favourable reviews.

As a teacher, Kay is thrilled to have been invited to curate the chamber music strand of the incredible Aldeburgh Young Musicians programme. This has involved devising and leading residential courses at Snape Maltings, and more recently coordinating a month long online project during the Covid 19 lockdown.

Matthew Kettle

Matthew enjoys a varied career as a guest artist with chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the UK and abroad. As a chamber musician, Matthew has given recitals across the UK at venues including Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Kings Place, Barbican, Purcell Room and Snape Maltings. He has also performed internationally across Europe, the USA and Asia. He is the recipient of many awards including Royal Philharmonic Society, Park Lane Group, Hattori Foundation and Philharmonia/MMSF.

As an orchestral player, Matthew performs with many of the UK leading orchestras including Sinfonia of London, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Aurora Orchestra and Philharmonia. He regularly appears as principal with London Contemporary Orchestra and 12 Ensemble and appeared as guest principal with Heritage Orchestra for their 2021 UK Tour and has played co-principal for BBC National Orchestra of Wales. As well as recording regularly for film and television soundtracks, Matthew also enjoys playing in the West End for shows including Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

Matthew studied at Chethams School of Music in Manchester before moving to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for his undergraduate degree. He also holds an International Artist Diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Following his studies at Guildhall, Matthew was a member of the European Chamber Music Academy where he studied with Hatto Beyerle of the Alban Berg Quartet, and Johannes Meissl.

Following his performance of Bartok’s Viola Concerto in London, Classical Source described it as “far and away the most convincing I have ever heard – and I include some of the most renowned viola-players and conductors of the last half-century. I found myself totally absorbed within the music.”

Julia Morneweg

London-based cellist Julia Morneweg enjoys a remarkably versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician and artistic curator that regularly sees her perform at prestigious venues and alongside distinguished artists.

The recipient of an EMI Music Foundation Award, she made her London concerto debut in 2006 performing the Elgar Concerto at St John’s Smith Square which immediately led to further engagements including a performance of Haydn’s C major Concerto with the International Mahler Orchestra at the same venue as well as Elgar with the Ternopol Philharmonic Orchestra in the Ukraine. Other concerto performances have included Lalo in London and Vivaldi in Cologne. As a recitalist she has appeared around the UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany and at venues such as the Purcell Room, Oxford’s Holywell Music Rooms, Trieste Opera House, St. Martin in the Fields, the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the 2007 Charterhouse Festival (by invitation of renowned flautist Susan Milan) and the Tacoma International Music Festival, USA when she was only 16. Most recent festival appearances have included the Leamington, Lower Machen, Uckfield and Shipley Arts Festivals. Julia has collaborated with many renowned artists including Shlomo Mintz, Anna Kandinskaya, Mikhail Bereznitsky, Madeleine Mitchell, Roger Chase, Emanuel Abbühl, Joan Enric Lluna, Sergei Podobedov, Kathron Sturrock, and Oleg Poliansky to name a few.

A passionate chamber musician, she spent eleven years performing as the cellist of the Erato Piano Trio, one of the UK’s leading young ensembles which she founded in 2005. After winning the 2006 Anglo-Czech Trust Competition the Trio performed at many important venues across the UK and mainland Europe such as the Purcell Room, Martinu Hall Prague, Zurich’s famous Tonhalle, St. David’s Hall Cardiff, as well as for the prestigious Pharos Trust series in Nicosia, Cyprus. In 2013 they gave their debut in Asia with an extensive tour across China, performing in major halls in cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Xiamen. During 2012/13 they were members of the Making Music Concert Promoters Scheme, which awarded them numerous recitals across the UK. Previously, the Trio were also invited onto the Concordia Foundation Young Artists Scheme, courtesy of which they performed recitals at St Martin in the Fields and St James Piccadilly. Their recording of chamber works by David Braid was released on the Toccata Classics label in 2012. Julia’s other chamber music engagements have included tours to Croatia and Italy with the acclaimed British ensemble Fibonacci Sequence as well as chamber music recitals in Singapore and Montenegro. Since 2016 she is Artistic Director of ‘ChamberMusicBox’, a London chamber music series that brings together distinguished artists from the UK and all across Europe to perform hugely diverse programmes.

As an orchestral player, Julia has been a guest with distinguished orchestras including the Orchestra of La Scala Milan, Northern Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Contemporary Orchestra and has played guest principal and co-principal cello with Northern Ballet Sinfonia and the London Concert Orchestra. Julia’s varied schedule increasingly also features commercial music, appearing on BBC and ITV television, as well as with rock legends such as Rod Stewart.

Now a highly-respected teacher and chamber music coach herself, Julia was taught by Raphael Wallfisch and Klaus Heitz at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover before completing her degree at the Royal College of Music with Leonid Gorokhov, where she also trained as a pianist. She also performed in numerous masterclasses and received guidance from distinguished musicians such as Lluis Claret, Bernard Greenhouse, Alexander Ivashkin, Alexander Baillie, Salvatore Accardo and the Chilingirian Quartet.

Alexander Volpov

Born in Sverdlovsk, Russia, Alexander Volpov started playing the cello from an early age at the Yekaterinburg School for Musically Gifted Children and went on to train at the Rachmaninov Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don and at Moscow’s Gnessin Institute. A prize-winner of multiple competitions, notably the All Union Chamber Music Competition, he launched his international career in 1975 as cellist of the Rostov Quartet with which he toured extensively for many years, culminating in their Wigmore Hall debut in 1996. Other chamber music collaborations and recordings followed and he is currently a member of the Razumovsky Quartet Vienna and regularly appears at festivals throughout Europe and as far afield as China.

A distinguished orchestral player, Alexander has appeared as guest principal cello with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the BT Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Opera, Northern Sinfonia, Opera North and the London Concert Orchestra. He currently serves as Principal Cello of the Northern Ballet Sinfonia.

Equally recognised as an outstanding teacher, Alexander is a Guest Professor at Nanjing University, having previously taught at the Rachmaninov Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don for sixteen years. He regularly gives masterclasses in the UK, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Tim Lowe

Working as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Tim enjoys a busy and varied career and is rapidly building a reputation as one of the new generation of young English cellists. He spends much of his time playing recitals throughout the UK and has played in major London venues such as Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, QEH, Cadogan Hall and the Purcell Room. Tim has played live on BBC Radio 3 as well as radio stations throughout Europe. He has won numerous awards and prizes including from the Kirckman Concert Society, the Tillett Trust and the Countess of Munster Trust.

Tim has been Guest Principal Cello with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and plays regularly as Guest Principal Cello of the English Chamber Orchestra. His work with the ECO takes him all over the world including recent tours to the Far East, Doha and all over Europe. He has also played with the ECO Ensemble.

In addition to teaching at the Guildhall School, Tim teaches and coaches regularly at Eton College and on Pro Corda international chamber music courses as well as many other courses and festivals throughout Europe.

Tim was educated at Eton College where he was a Major Music scholar before studying with Louise Hopkins at the Guildhall School. Tim’s 2011-13 seasons include performances of Dvorak, Elgar, Saint-Saens, Walton and Schumann concertos. He has recently given recitals at the Brighton Festival, an innovative festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, and at Wigmore Hall.

Tim plays a cello made by Carolo Tononi in 1716 and a bow by John Dodds (made to display at the Great Exhibition in 1851).

Pierre Doumenge

Cellist Pierre Doumenge enjoys a busy career divided between solo work, chamber music and teaching. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the Dante String Quartet performing at major venues in Europe and making regular radio and commercial recordings. Pierre has also worked as guest principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Passionately fond of chamber music, Pierre regularly explores and performs the repertoire with artists such as Pascal Rogé, Lars Vogt, Daniel Hope, Carolin Widmann, Pekka Kuusisto, Lawrence Power, the Belcea and Allegri Quartets and the Nash Ensemble. He has appeared at many international festivals (Aldeburgh, Bath, Cheltenham, Kuhmo, Bucharest, La Hague, Nuremberg, Bergstaden, Hindsgalv) and frequently attends the Open Chamber Music sessions at IMS Prussia Cove in Cornwall, joining their tour of England in 2003. Pierre is also a regular performer at the Joy of Music Festival in Hong Kong. He has recorded for the Dutton, Meridian and Hyperion labels to great critical acclaim. In 2008 he was chosen to be the official cellist of the Menuhin International Violin Competition, playing the Ravel Sonata with the nine semi-finalists.

Pierre taught cello and chamber music at the Yehudi Menuhin School from 2003-2009 and is a cello professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He gives regular masterclasses at the Oxford Cello School, the International Cello Courses UK, the Violoncello Society of London, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, the West Helsinki Music Institute, the Conservatoire Royal de Mons and the Szymon Goldberg Seminars in Toyama (Japan).

Tony Hougham

Tony Hougham studied at Trinity College of Music with Frederick Wigston. Whilst at Trinity he won the Cruft prize for double bass and the Kantrovitch Prize for solo strings.

In 1986 Tony was appointed principal double bass player with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Whilst maintaining this position Tony works with symphony and chamber orchestras in London and has been invited to play as guest principal with the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tony is a founder member of the Soloists, a chamber group formed by mostly principal players of the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, which has been invited to play at many prestigious festivals at home and abroad. In May 1994 Tony was invited by the international tenor Giuseppe Sabbatini to perform the virtuosic obligato part of Mozart’s Per Questa Bella Mano at St. John’s Smith Square as part of his debut recital in London.

Tony teaches extensively and has examined and adjudicated at the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music, and coaches youth orchestras in Kent, Essex and Herts. He is also actively involved in the education work of the Royal Opera House.

Roger Vignoles

Vignoles recently celebrated his 70th birthday in July 2015 at the Wigmore Hall with a star-studded cast of singers, of which Classical Source summed up his continuing contribution to the world of music as a “wonderful pianist, superb musician and ace accompanist”.

His extensive discography includes a long and fruitful association with Hyperion Records, recently crowned by the completion of the Complete Songs of Richard Strauss. Other notable recordings include Reynaldo Hahn with Susan Graham; Schumann, Brahms and Dvorak with Bernarda Fink; Schubert, Loewe and Krenek with Florian Boesch; Britten and Finzi with Mark Padmore, Fauré, Wolf, Rachmaninov, Chausson and Koechlin with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and a wide range from Schubert to Cabaret Songs with Sarah Walker.

Recent engagements include an all-Tchaikovsky programme with Sofia Fomina at de Singel Antwerp, recitals in London, Toulouse, Marseille, Stuttgart and Quebec with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, with Roderick Williams in Aarhus, with Michael Spyres at Opéra national du Rhin and La Monnaie, with Christoph Prégardien in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Madrid, with Elena Copons and Marta Fontanals-Simmons at the Fundación Juan March and several appearances at the Wigmore Hall with Elizabeth Watts, James Gilchrist, Nash Ensemble, Julia Sitkovetsky, Nardus Williams and Johannes Kammler. Vignoles had a residency at the Bogota International Music Festival, as well as masterclasses at Tanglewood Music Center, the Marlboro Music Festival, National University of Singapore, the Cleveland Art Song Festival, and the Aldeburgh Festival.

While continuing his busy playing career, Vignoles is deeply committed to working with and coaching younger singers and pianists. He gives frequent masterclasses and workshops in Europe, Scandinavia and the US, where he is a regular visitor to the Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Tanglewood Music Center. He is an Honorary fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge and Prince Consort Professor of Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music.

Originally inspired to pursue a career as a piano accompanist by the playing of Gerald Moore, Vignoles read music at Magdalene College, Cambridge, studied piano and accompaniment at the RCM, and later joined the Royal Opera House as a repetiteur. He completed his training with the renowned Viennese-born pianist and coach Paul Hamburger.

Ilya Kondratiev

A critically acclaimed pianist, Ilya Kondratiev is the prize-winner of several renowned international music competitions, including Franz Liszt Budapest 2011, Franz Liszt Weimar 2011, the Fifth Tbilisi 2013, Brant Birmingham 2015 and Chappell Gold Medal in 2016.

Born in Russia, he studied from the age of seven in Samara with the distinguished teacher Victoria Soifer and, from the age of 16, at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with the People’s Artist of Russia Zinaida Ignatieva. In 2014 he moved to London in order to further his studies at the Royal College of Music under Vanessa Latarche and Sofia Gulyak, graduating with a Master of Performance and an Artist Diploma.

Ilya performs extensively as a soloist and chamber music player at venues such as the Great Hall of Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Gasteig Munich, Weimarhalle, Palacio de Festivales de Santander, the Palace of Arts in Budapest and the Great Hall of the Tbilisi Conservatoire.

In 2011 Ilya was invited to work with Elisabeth Leonskaya at the Franz Liszt Piano Academy in Schilllingfurst, Germany and with Pavel Gililov at the Eppan Piano Academy in Italy. He has performed in the masterclasses of Dina Yoffe, Konstantin Shcherbakov, Willem Brons, Dmitry Bashkirov, Jerome Rose, Leslie Howard, Lang Lang and Arie Vardi.

In 2015 and 2017 Ilya was invited to the ‘Encuentro’ Festival in Santander and in 2016 appeared as a guest artist in the Gumusluk Festival in Turkey, and the Beethoven Music Festival and Academy in Altaussee in Austria.

Together with his performing, Ilya is developing his teaching career and in 2019 was appointed Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music in London.

Zeynep Özsuca

The Turkish pianist Zeynep Özsuca has performed worldwide as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Born in Ankara, she began piano lessons at the age of four and continued her studies at Ankara Conservatory of Hacettepe University. After winning Istanbul Symphony’s Young Soloists Competition in 2001, Zeynep moved to the United States to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory under Prof. Peter Takács. She then majored in accompaniment and vocal coaching at Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler”, Berlin with Prof. Alexander Vitlin and graduated with an MA in 2013. Zeynep currently lives in London and pursues her career as concert pianist and repetiteur.

Zeynep has worked with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Simon Halsey, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Antonio Pappano, and acted as rehearsal pianist for singers Magdalena Kozená, Rolando Villazón, Gerald Finley, Annette Dasch, Michael Schade to name a few. She has been working as a repetiteur and orchestra member with renowned opera companies and orchestras like London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Staatsoper Berlin, Aix-en-Provence Music Festival, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

As a chamber musician, she has performed on prestigious stages including the Berlin Philharmonie, Palau de la Musica Valencia, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall as well as live radio broadcasts on Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandradio, RBB Kulturradio (Germany), RNE (Spain), BBC 3 and 4(UK), alongside co-hosting the BBC Young Musician Podcast. She also regularly appears in concert with her duo partners saxophonist Jess Gillam and clarinetist Sacha Rattle, as well as her wind and piano sextet Berlin Counterpoint.

Zeynep has a close working relationship with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she has acted as accompanist, music director of opera scenes and currently as lecturer of the Opera Skills course.

Dina Duisen

Kazakh – British pianist Dina Duisen was born into a family of musicians in Almaty, Kazakhstan. At the age of five, Dina started studying piano at Kulyash Bayseitova State Special School for Gifted Children together with her two brothers Ordabek and Ilyas, who are both violinists. By the age of thirteen she had made her debut with the Symphony Orchestra. After graduating from school, Dina continued her studies at the Kazakh National Academy of Music, graduating with distinction in 2005, before being awarded a full scholarship on the Artist Diploma programme at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, from which she graduated in 2008. At the same time, Dina was invited to work as a teacher of music at the Texas Wesleyan University. In September 2008, Dina started studying for the new Master of Arts Degree in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, under the tutelage of Christopher Elton, Hamish Milne and Kathryn Stott, and graduated with distinction in 2011. She took part in IMS Prussia Cove Masterclasses and Open Chamber Music and her thanks go to Hamish Ogston for his sponsorship and on-going support. Twice Dina participated at Sergei Babayan Piano Academy in Cleveland Institute of Music. Dina was a regular participant of the Oxford Piano Festival and played at the 20th Anniversary Alumni Concert in 2018.

Along with her brother Ordabek, Dina has been playing chamber music as part of the Duisen Duo in the UK, Italy, USA and at The Presidential Centre of Culture in Kazakhstan. Dina has performed is at Jacqueline du Pré Music Building in Oxford, Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, King’s Place, Milton Court, Cadogan Hall, The Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall. In April, 2011 Dina had a concert as a guest artist at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, USA, and in 2012 Dina performed Prokofiev’s 1st Piano Concerto at the Season Opening Concert of Astana Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2014, she gave the Asian premiere of ‘Mazurkas’ by British composer Thomas Adès. She has been the resident class pianist at the IMS Prussia Cove and Casalmaggiore International Music Festival, currently working at the Royal College of Music. In October, 2016 Dina performed with two principal clarinetists of Cleveland and London Symphony Orchestras – Franklin Cohen and Chris Richards. In 2017 Dina joined Sinfonia Cymru for Twisted Rhythms: Mark-Anthony Turnage Birthday Concert at the Vibrate Festival. Dina was invited to make her debut at George Enescu Festival in Bucharest with the Mercury Quartet. She regularly plays with the BBC Young Musician of the Year – Martin James Bartlett. In October, 2018 she made her debut at Cadogan Hall in a dramatised concert ‘Byron: Angel & Outcast’ with actors Simon Russell Beale and Rob Heaps, the same concert was given in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Dina released her solo debut album ‘Mazurkas from Chopin to Adès’ which was recorded at Kings Place with the Grammy-award winning producer Andrew Keener.

Simone Tavoni

The Italian pianist Simone Alessandro Tavoni has given recitals internationally, including in the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Hungary, France, Spain, Malta, Estonia, Greece and across Italy. He has been awarded a place on the BBC Pathway scheme during the 2015/2016 academic year and through this, he has had the opportunity to rehearse and perform as an orchestral pianist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and some of these performances have been played by BBC Radio 3.

In 2019 Simone has been selected as a Parklane Group Artist, as Keyboard Charitable Trust Artist and received the Luciano and Giancarla Berti full-ride scholarship to attend the Aspen Music Festival and School studying with renowned Professor Fabio Bidini.

He has featured as a soloist with the East London symphony orchestra, the Kensington Chamber Orchestra, the Ashod Symphony Orchestra, the Alion Baltic symphony orchestra and the Luigi Cherubini Symphony Orchestra. Performance venues have included the Liszt House (Budapest, Hungary), Salon Christophori (Berlin, Germany), the Florence Conservatory Concert Hall (Florence, Italy), the Royal Festival Hall, the Wigmore Hall, St.Mary’s Perivale, 1901 Art Club, the Brunel University, St Martin in the Fields, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Regent Hall, St. James’ Piccadilly (London. U.K.) The Winchester Cathedral (U.K.), Petit Palau in Barcelona ( Spain),The Talliin Philarmonia and Glehn Castle (Talliin, Estonia) the Hausmusik of Aarhus and the Italian institute of culture in Copenhagen (Denmark). He is also a regular guest artist at the En Blanc Et Noir Piano Festival in Lagrasse, (France) and of the Aegean international art festival in Heraklion ( Crete). During a recent recital in Spain his recording has been broadcasted by the Canal du sur ( Almeria, Spain).

After graduating from the Giacomo Puccini Conservatoire in La Spezia, Liguria (Italy) when he was 18, where he studied the piano under Marco Podestà, he then moved to Florence to study at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatoire, continuing piano studies with Giuseppe Fricelli, and studying composition with Rosario Mirigliano.

Winner also of numerous national competitions in Italy, he had also the opportunity to participate in an exchange programme in Budapest on a full scholarship at the Franz Liszt Academy studying with Professors Kesckes Balazs and Rita Wagner.

In 2014, he moved to London to study on the Master of Performance programme at the Royal College of Music with Professor Andrew Ball. After winning a second exchange bursary in Autumn 2015, he pursued his studies for one term at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Germany with Dr. Peter Nagy. He has received also masterclasses by Dmitri Bashkirov, Fabio Bidini, Aldo Ciccolini, Zoltan Kocsis, Antonio Pompa Baldi and Malcolm Bilson.

Simone has been generously supported by the Talent Unlimited organization and by the Henry Wood Trust at Royal college of Music. During the 2018/2019 academic year he obtained an Advanced Diploma course at Trinity Laban Conservatoire with professors Deniz Gelenbe and Peter Tuite majorly supported by a scholarship and selected as a Alfred Kitchin and Trinity College London Scholar.

Simone is a trustee of the Kensington and Chelsea Music Society and artist director of Paisajes Piano Festival. He is currently performing, closely assisted and supported by Prince Dr. Donatus Von Hohenzollern.

Kathryn Thomas

Kathryn Thomas is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music where she studied with Sebastian Bell. She was subsequently made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for distinction in the musical profession.

Kathryn is an established recitalist and chamber musician at venues including the Wigmore Hall, the South Bank Centre, Bridgewater Hall, and at festivals including BBC Proms, Cheltenham, Two Moors and Presteigne. As a founder member of the Galliard Ensemble whose awards have included participation in the BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme, Kathryn has given live and recorded broadcasts at festivals nationwide, including live chamber and solo broadcasts appearance at the BBC Proms.

Her CD recordings as a soloist and with the Galliard Ensemble have been awarded Gramophone Editor’s Choice, The Observer CD of the Week, and Critics Choice in BBC Music Magazine. Particular recommendations have been given by Gramophone magazine, The Times, BBC Radio 3 CD review. BBC Music Magazine featured a cover CD devoted exclusively to the Galliard Ensemble.

Kathryn has a particular affinity for contemporary music, has worked with eminent composers and has given many world and British premieres. She has also worked with orchestras including the London Sinfonietta, New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Theatre Wales, CLS and ensembles including Chroma and Ensemble 360. Her concerto performances include works by Ibert, Honegger, Arnold, Bach, Rawsthorne, Barber, Mozart, Telemann, Cecilia McDowall and Christopher Gunning.

Kathryn performs rock flute with the award-winning progressive rock band ‘Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate’.

Emanuel Abbühl

Emanuel Abbühl was Principal Oboist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and from 2006 for nearly a decade Principal Oboist with the London Symphony Orchestra. He is regularly invited as soloist, guest principal and as member of chamber music concerts all over the world.

He performed with the LSO, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Mariinsky Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Osaka Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boston Symphony, the World Orchestra for Peace. Mariinski Orchestra, St.Pertersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Sir Colin Davis, Witold Lutoslawski and others appearing at many important music festivals.

He was a teacher at the Rotterdams Conservatorium, Royal Academy of Music London and is now professor at the Musikakademie Basel and the Musikhochschule Mannheim.

He was futhermore visiting professor in numerous universities all over the world.

A review of one of the Strauss Oboe Concerto performances with the LSO and Valery Gergiev described him as “a master of his instrument and musician par excellence”.

His most recent recording is the Oboe Quartet of Peter Maxwell Davies with the Hebridies Ensemble was published in 2017.

He is a HonRAM – Royal Academy of Music – London.

Chris O’Neal

Christopher O’Neal has been established as a leading freelance Principal Oboe for over 25 years. He currently holds Principal Oboe positions in the Orchestra of St Johns, the London Mozart Players and the New Queens Hall Orchestra. Previous positions have included the Mercury Ensemble of Ballet Rambert, Kent Opera under Roger Norrington and Ivan Fischer, and the English Sinfonia with whom he recorded Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Sir Charles Groves. He now appears as guest Principal Oboe in symphony and chamber orchestras all over the country and with many other smaller ensembles such as Endymion, the Composers Ensemble and the Albion Ensemble.

He played in the National Youth Orchestra for two years, and studied at the Royal College of Music with Terence MacDonagh. He then won Countess of Munster, Vaughan Williams Trust and Martin Musical Scholarships to continue his studies in London and in Germany with Heinz Holliger. Chris is well known for his expertise in the performance of contemporary and experimental music, and has been oboist in the ground-breaking ensemble Capricorn since 1977. He now plays in the internationally renowned ensemble The Fibonacci Sequence, with whom he is shortly to make a CD of oboe chamber music. He has performed and broadcast as a soloist since 1976, being described by Paul Griffiths in the Financial Times as “an outstanding musician, one who seems to exist within his instrument, rapt in concentration” at his Purcell Room debut recital.

Philip Haworth

Philip was born in Lancashire and took tutelage from Rachael Clegg at Chethams School of Music. He then went on to study at the Royal Northern College where he had the rare opportunity to record a premiere of Edwin Roxburgh’s oboe trio – Shadow Play, with the renowned oboist Paul Goodey. During his time at the RNCM Philip won numerous prizes including the Cronshaw Lancaster Prize for Wind, Evelyn Rothwell Oboe Prize and a Henry Wood Scholarship. After which he moved to London to study a Masters of Music at the RCM studying with Christopher Cowie.

As a keen chamber musician, Philip has performed with many chamber groups, most notably his award winning group, the Atéa Quintet, in venues across the UK and across Europe. With this passion for chamber music he is also a tutor on several Wind Ensemble courses including the Malvern Winds, Wind Ensemble Retreat in Yorkshie and Dartington International Festival.

As part of the Atéa Wind Quintet, who are the Associate Ensemble in Residence at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Philip has recently become an oboe tutor at the Conservatoire getting to work with some fantastic young oboists. The Quintet were previously Artists in Residence at the Purcell School and double prize winners in the 2015 Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition. The group are very thankful for the support of the Tunnell Trust, Live Music Now and the Kirckman Concert Society schemes, with whom they gave their Wigmore debut in 2015.

With a passion for new music, Philip is also a member of the award winning ‘Riot Ensemble’ whom primary focus is new music which has taken him across the UK around Europe and beyond. Philip has recently worked with such orchestras as the Orchestra of Opera North, Liverpool Philhamonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Ensemble, Den Fynske Opera in Denmark, London Mozart Players and the Orchestra of St Johns.

Peter Cigleris

English clarinet soloist Peter Cigleris is enjoying a wide and varied career.

Peter studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire from 1997 where his professors were Michael Harris and Colin Parr. Whilst at the Conservatoire, Peter won the prestigious John Ireland Chamber music award with a performance of that composer’s Fantasy Sonata. He was also awarded a place on the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Training Scheme. At the Conservatoire Peter performed numerous concertos with the college’s ensembles, he also developed an interest in early clarinets, which led to a performance with the Conservatoire’s Baroque Capelle Orchestra with the Chalumeau Concerto by Fasch. Peter also premiered Guy Woolfenden’s arrangement of Malcolm Arnold’s Pre-Goodman Rag for wind ensemble; he later performed the complete Arnold Concerto with the Warwickshire Symphony under Guy Woolfenden as part of the composer’s eightieth birthday celebrations.

Peter went on to graduate from the Royal College of Music in 2002 with a PGDip. There his professors were Janet Hilton, Richard Hosford, Robert Hill and Tim Lines. During the summer of that year, Peter was awarded the Prix de Fossat and was invited to France to perform for Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark at a private reception.

As soloist he has performed in many venues across the UK and Europe and premiered several new works for the instrument as well as giving performances of concertos by Mozart, Weber, Finzi and Arnold to name a few.

Peter has been involved with several major projects, most notably with the BBC as a member of the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique in the BBC docu-drama ‘Eroica’. Peter was also awarded a place on the prestigious Jerwood Foundation Scholarship for Young Players in association with the Orchestra in the Age of Enlightenment. As an orchestral player he has worked with several well-known English orchestras including the CBSO, BBCCO and Orchestra of the Swan and is in demand as a session player. Peter has also held the principal clarinet seat with the Symphony Orchestra of India and has worked with conductors Charles Dutoit and Rafael Payare amongst others.

As a chamber musician Peter works with numerous pianists and musicians including Martin Cousins, John Lenehan and Julian Lloyd Weber. This has lead Peter to perform in the Windsor and Wooburn Festivals and also various music clubs from Scotland to the South of England. Peter also played with the dynamic Canteloube Trio for many years; they were hand-picked for the Concert Promoters Network for the 2009/10 season. Peter left to concentrate on solo projects and the making of his debut CD “English Fantasy” released on Cala Records.

“This is a fresh and impressively pleasing collection which mixes the usual and the unusual to good effect with more of the latter than the former.” – Rob Barnett (Musicweb-International)

“…this pairing is not lacking, and they bring nuance and insight to bear, as well as fine tone and ensemble…” Jonathan Woolf Musicweb-International

Engagements further afield have included giving a recital and master class at the University of New Hampshire USA as well as working with local high school clarinetists and the Seacoast Wind Ensemble, performances in Russia, Spain for the inaugural Groba Festival and Mexico where Peter performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and gave the Mexican premiere of Malcolm Arnold’s 2nd Clarinet Concerto. Peter has also coached chamber music for the Music for You Summer School. Peter is a Backun Musical artist and a Silverstein Works Artist.

Sacha Rattle

Since his highly praised 2009 solo debut at Berlin’s Philharmonie, Sacha Rattle has become an established soloist. Noted for his immense sensitivity, warm character and unique sound, his career has developed rapidly with performances throughout Europe, including festival appearances at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Spannungen, Heimbach, Musikfest Stuttgart, Bremen Musikfest, Gidon Kremer’s Kammermusikfest, Lockenhaus and Italy’s AnimaMundi Festival. Sacha has also appeared at many prestigious concert halls,such as the Philharmonie (Berlin), Cadogan Hall (London), Palau de la Musica (Valencia), Herbst Theater (San Francisco), Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), and the Sociedad Filarmónica (Bilbao). In 2011, he made his Asian debut as soloist with the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Taipei, performing works by Copland and Debussy.

Sacha is also a much sought-after chamber musician, having collaborated with artists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Lars Vogt, Isabelle Faust, Katia and Marielle Labèque, François Leleux, Guy Braunstein, Pascal Moragues, Chi-chi Nwanoku and Claudio Bohorquez. He is a founding member of the ensemble “Berlin Counterpoint”, a wind and piano sextet that has been enjoying great success world-wide, releasing their debut CD in 2014 under the ‘Genuin’ label.

Wanting to spread his love for chamber music, Sacha helped to create the organization “Classical Revolution Berlin”, an offspring of the Classical Revolution in San Francisco that is devoted to bringing chamber music to unusual locations such as bars, clubs and cafes.

Born in London in 1983, Sacha began studying the clarinet at the age of 9 at the Birmingham Conservatoire. In 2005 he received his Performance Diploma at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music under Professor Richard Hawkins. Interested in the German school of clarinet playing, Sacha then moved to Berlin to study with Karl-Heinz Steffens at Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’, Berlin. In 2010, he completed his studies with Wenzel Fuchs and Ralf Forster. In addition, he has been influenced heavily by his work with historical clarinet performers Antony Pay and Lorenzo Coppola.

In 2015, Sacha moved to London as a member of the Southbank Sinfonia.

Anthony Pike

Anthony Pike was born in Seoul, Korea, and studied the clarinet with Julian Farrell in London, Robert Marcellus in Chicago and Dame Thea King At the Royal College of Music. Anthony is the principal clarinet with the English Chamber Orchestra (E.C.O.), and has performed concertos with them worldwide.

He has also appeared as guest principal with most of the British orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Chamber music collaborators have included Christian Zacharias, Ralph Gothóni, Joachim Trio, Medici and Tippet Quartets and E.C.O. Ensemble. He is a founder member of the London Soloists Ensemble (John Lenehan, Lorraine McAslan, Sarah-jane Bradley and Karine Georgian),the resident ensemble at St. Johns Smith Square.

He is regularly invited, as chamber musician and soloist, to appear at international festivals which have included Edinburgh, Johannesburg, Nordland, Hong Kong and Bermuda.

Despite reading Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, Anthony gradually became more absorbed with playing the clarinet. The National Federation of Music Societies’ “Young Artist” award provided a springboard for his recital career, and he made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1994. Concerto appearances at the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, Cadogan Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall followed.

Anthony’s discography includes Mozart Concerto for Basset Clarinet with Ralph Gothóni and the E.C.O., the complete works for clarinet by Max Reger (Martin Jones, piano), Copland Clarinet Sextet and a recent recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Quintet on the London Soloists Ensemble debut CD.

Anthony is also a sought after and experienced teacher. He was a Professor of Clarinet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama between 1997 and 2003, and currently teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. He is regularly invited to sit on judging panels for Music Colleges and awards committees. Anthony plays on Selmer Recital Clarinets.

Igor Ahss

Israeli bassoonist Igor Ahss started to play the violin at the age of 5 at the Gnessin School of Music in his native Moscow, and soon was captivated by sounds of the bassoon.

He continued his education at Thelma Yellin School of Arts in Tel Aviv studying with Walter Meroz, at Rubin Jerusalem Academy of Music with Richard Paleyand later at Basel Musik-Akademie in Switzerland with Sergio Azzolini studying modern bassoon and historical instruments at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Donna Agrell.

Former principal bassoonist of Israel Chamber Orchestra, he has collaborated with Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Orchestra in Valencia, Camerata Academica Salzburg, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Spira Mirabilis, Camerata Bern, Kammerorchester Basel and others.
Igor Ahss has performed at international festivals such as Verbier, Aldeburgh, Aix-en-Provence, Wiener Festwochen, Salzburger Festspiele, Israel Festival and many other.

Susana Dias

Since completing an MMus at the Royal College of Music, Susana has been freelancing with UK based Orchestras including the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and London Philharmonic Orchestras.

Born in Porto, Portugal, Susana attended the Music Conservatoire where she learnt with Robert Glassburner. In London at the RCM she studied Bassoon with Andrea De Flammineis and Contrabassoon with Martin Field. Alongside her Music studies Susana also gained a degree in Economics at Oporto University in 2003.

Susana was co-winner of the Yamaha Music Foundation Competition for Woodwinds and the RCM Concerto Competition in 2005 which led to a performance of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto as part of the Mozart 250th Anniversary celebrations at LSO St. Luke’s.

In 2008 Susana was bassoonist with Southbank Sinfonia and as part of this orchestra she performed in high profile concerts including the critically acclaimed revival of Tom Stoppard’s ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’ at The National Theatre.

As a recitalist, Susana has performed in London, Porto and Prague with pianists Hana Fiserova and Yuki Negishi.

Chamber Music has also been an integral part of Susana’s career as bassoonist for London Myriad Ensemble and she has played as a guest performer with Ensemble 360 and the Berkeley Ensemble.

Ashley Myall

Ashley studied at Leeds University with Laurence Perkins and Ben Hudson, Hochschule für Musik Köln with Georg Kleusch, and then at the Royal Academy of Music with John Orford, Gareth Newmann and contra bassoon with David Chatterton where he completed his studies in 2011. Whilst at the Academy, Ashley was awarded the Nicholas Blake Prize for chamber music and the June Emmerson Launchpad Prize with his ensemble the Ellipsis Quintet, and was highly commended in the Florence Woodbridge Bassoon Prize.

Ashley is the bassoonist of Rare-Scale Contemporary Music Ensemble, Azalea Ensemble and the Size Zero Opera Company as well as performing with the London Contemporary Orchestra, with whom he gave the European premiere of Gabriel Prokoﬁev’s concerto for Bass Drum and Orchestra in The Roundhouse, Camden at the Reverb Festival 2012. He plays with orchestras throughout the UK including Orpheus Sinfonia, Orion Orchestra, The Croft Orchestra, London Contemporary Orchestra, Multi-Story Orchestra and the Faust Ensemble. He has performed at venues throughout the UK including the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, Leeds Town Hall, Kings Place, Dora Stoutzker Hall – RWCMD, Dukes Hall – RAM and The Forge – Camden. This year he played bassoon with the Jules Verne Symphony Orchestra on the Rick Wakeman ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ tour as well as with the Orion Orchestra with Deep Purple at the ‘Sunﬂower Jam’, Royal Albert Hall.

Ashley is involved in numerous chamber music ventures throughout the UK and abroad, and is also a regular member of the ‘Atéa Quintet’ who are currently “Associate Ensemble in Residence” at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

He has worked on a number of music education projects, including Wigmore Hall Learning, ‘Young Persons Guide to Chamber Music’, and last year a concert presentation to pupils at the Prague Japanese School as part of the ‘Young Prague Music Festival’. He teaches bassoon at Whitgift School Croydon.

Martin Grainger

Martin was born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands. He read Music at the University of York where he studied the horn with Bob Ashworth, and later at the Royal College of Music in London with Julian Baker Whilst there he was awarded the Sir Arthur Somervell and Manns Prize for brass playing.

He spent the following years building a varied freelance playing career working with a wide variety of ensembles such as the BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras, Royal Northern Sinfonia, English National Ballet, and Royal Ballet Sinfonia. He first worked with the London Mozart Players in 2006 and continued to play with them regularly before being appointed sub-principal horn in 2014. He also guests with other chamber orchestras such as Britten Sinfonia and City of London Sinfonia, and regularly plays principal horn with Brandenburg Sinfonia.

Martin has also performed extensively as a chamber musician – apart from LMP chamber ensembles, he plays regularly with Locke Brass Consort, Brandenburg Brass, Camerata of London Wind Quintet and Brass Monkeys Brass Quintet. As soloist in recent years Martin has performed Strauss 2, Mozart K417, and most recently Mozart K495 with Brandenburg Sinfonia.

Martin is a firm believer in the importance of music in education and is a keen and committed teacher, holding teaching positions at Trinity School Croydon, Winchester College, Croydon Music & Arts, and Sydenham School amongst others. He also coaches the horn and brass sections for the Croydon Youth Orchestra and Croydon Youth Winds.

When not playing or teaching, Martin enjoys spending time with his family, and tinkering with cars and mostly breaking bits of them.