Guest Artists:
We feel very privileged to be working with our friends and fellow artists. At Classics with my Baby, our aim is to bring to our audiences musicians of the highest calibre, for the enjoyment of adults and children alike.
Torbjorn Hultmark - trumpet
...its fiendish trumpet part particularly crisply delivered by Torbjörn Hultmark, ~Richard Morrison, The Times (Britten's1 Midsummer Night's Dream)
Torbjörn Hultmark was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Torbjörn studied trumpet and composition at the Gothenburg Conservatoire of Music and at the National Centre for Orchestral Studies, Goldsmith's College, London. His main teachers were Bengt Eklund (Gothenburg) and John Wallace (London). Torbjörn is a member of Notes Inégales and the Headspace Ensemble, and works with the London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Torbjörn has been a regular soloist with the Northern Sinfonia and with the BBC Philharmonic, on BBC Radio 3 and at the Albert Hall Proms. He was a founder-member of Chaconne Brass. Torbjörn’s compositions have been performed in Scandanavia, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. His output is wide-ranging and includes works for large orchestra and choral music as well as scores for different types of chamber ensemble. Commissions have included those from the BBC Radio 3.
Torbjörn teaches the trumpet at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music and also runs TootProductions, a specialist recording business.
Torbjörn joins us in concert for June 2012
http://www.hultmark.me/
Anna Tilbrook - piano
One of Britain's most exciting pianists, Anna Tilbrook has collaborated with many leading singers and instrumentalists including James Gilchrist, Ian Bostridge, Emma Bell, Willard White, Natalie Clein and the Fitzwilliam, Sacconi and Elias String Quartets. Since her debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1999 she has become a regular artist at all the leading concert halls and festivals. She has also accompanied Jose Carreras, Angela Georghiu and Bryn Terfel in televised concerts. Recent performances include the Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, St John’s Smith Square, Leicester International Music Festival, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham Festival, Oxford Lieder, Three Choirs, Anima Mundi (Pisa), Wroclaw Cantans, Perth Schubertiad. Anna also regularly coaches the Young Artists at the Royal Opera House. Anna studied at the University of York and the Royal Academy of Music where she was made an Associate in 2009.
Saleta Suarez Ogando - flute
Spanish flautist Saleta Suarez Ogando is the flautist of the dynamic wind quintet, Quinteto Ethos. A passionate chamber musician, she has performed widely across Europe’s concert halls. As a devoted pedagogue, she currently holds the prestigious position of Professor of Flute at the Cordoba Superior Conservatory in Spain. Previously, Saleta was the principal flautist of the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra. Supported by full scholarships, Saleta studied at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague and the Royal Academy of Music in London, under the tutelage of Emily Beynon of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Willam Bennett, former principal of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Saleta joins us in concert in May 2012.
Miloš Milivojević – classical accordion
Accordionist Miloš Milivojević is a first prizewinner at International Competitions in Germany, France, Italy and Denmark. After his early musical education in Serbia, Miloš completed the Bachelor andMasters Degrees at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has performed in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, St. Johns Smith Square, and has performed at the RAM Foundation Day awards ceremony in front of HRH The Princess Royal. Appearances at festivals include: Park Lane Group Young Artists, Cheltenham International Festival of Music, Aldeburgh Festival Britten-Pears Orchestra, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Chichester, Nomus and Grad Teatar. Internationally he has given recitals in Russia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Montenegro, Spain, the Canary Islands and Malta, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. He has also given live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, ABC and the Serbian National Radio and television networks. He is a member of the London Tango Quintet, Kosmos Ensemble and AccordDuo.
Milos joins us for concerts in March 2012.
“A hurricane of imaginative invention” Hilary Finch, The Times
www.milosmilivojevic.com
Norbert Meyn, tenor
Karen Stephenson, cello
A former Principal cello of the National and European Youth Orchestras, Karen Stephenson recently left her position of Co-Principal cello with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to take up the position of No. 2 cello with the Philharmonia in September 2008. She is regularly in demand as a Guest Principal with orchestras including the Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Concert Orchestras, London Sinfonietta and the English Sinfonia. Karen also enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, guesting with numerous ensembles including the Allegri Quartet, Chamber Domaine, and the RPO soloists, at the Wigmore and Cadogan Halls, Buxton Festival and the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. She has broadcast as a soloist on BBC Radios 2 and 3 and has given many recitals and concerto performances. She read Music at Trinity College, Cambridge before completing her studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Karen is widely involved in education; she is a tutor for Pro Corda and NYO, and a visiting professor and examiner at the Royal Academy of Music. She plays a beautiful Thomas Kennedy cello dated 1819.
Karen joins us for our December 2011 concerts.
Joseph Spooner, cello
Joseph Spooner’s work as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist has taken him across the UK, France, the Netherlands and Russia. He developed interests in both neglected and contemporary repertoire while studying on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. His work since then with various contemporary music ensembles (notablyContinuum and New Music Players) has included performances at major festivals and broadcasts on BBC Radio and Channel 4. Joseph’s interest in neglected repertoire has led, after much research, to performances and recordings of previously ignored works. Critics have praised Joseph’s discs and the initiative they entail, and audiences have greatly appreciated hearing these pieces. February 2009 saw the release of Romantics in England: Music for Cello and Piano on Dutton Epoch, which includes premiere recordings of important works by Macfarren, Balfe, Coleridge-Taylor and Bainton. Plans include a further volume of English repertoire for cello and piano and chamber concerts in New York. Joseph is proud to be the dedicatee of Alwynne Pritchard’s Danaides and Errollyn Wallen’s Spirit Symphony: Speed Dating for Two Orchestras. He plays a Nicholas Vuillaume cello of c.1865.
Joseph joins us for our December 9th concert in Borough.
Amanda Cook, classical guitar
Amanda is one of the leading guitarists of her generation. She has appeared in the USA, South America and throughout Europe. In the UK she has performed at South Bank, Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham International Guitar Festival, Kings Place and The Sage Gateshead. She has given concerts in Spain and the US and is soon to release a recording of William Lovelady’s solo repertoire. She has performed live and been interviewed on BBC Radio 3 and Woman’s Hour. Amanda is a member of the guitar trio ‘Appassionata’, they have released two CDs given performances across UK, Europe and the USA. She is also a member of the new music group G Plus, which released their debut CD last year, and was recorded at the invitation of Peter Gabriel’s label ’Real World’. Amanda teaches guitar at theGuildhall School of Music Junior Department. She has sat on the jury for several International Competitions and regularly gives masterclasses and adjudicates music festivals. Amanda is a patron of the Federation of Guitar Societies.
Amanda will be joining us for the November 2011 concerts.
Errolyn Wallen, composer/singer-songwriter
Errollyn, 'renaissance woman of contemporary British music' is as respected as a singer-songwriter of pop influenced songs as she is a composer of contemporary new music. Communication is at the centre of both worlds: engaging the audience, speaking directly to hearts and minds.Errollyn studied at London and Cambridge. After university she performed as a keyboard player with numerous bands, on the comedy circuit, then ran a commercial recording studio and wrote the music and performed live as a tap-dancing hostess on a 21-episode television game show. On becoming a full-time composer she formed her own group Ensemble X. She is the winner of numerous awards and recent commissions and performances include the film Falling for Channel 4 and ABC Television, Faultline (with Scanner) for Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, The Girl in My Alphabet for the American Composers Orchestra and Music for Tigers for the New Juilliard Ensemble at the Museum of Modern Art. Her tenth opera, Cautionary Tales (Hilaire Belloc, adapted by Pia Furtado) for Opera North premiered to critical acclaim. Errollyn is currently working on her eleventh opera, YES (libretto by Bonnie Greer) which will be premiered at Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House in November. Performances this year by Errollyn (voice/piano) include Symphony Space in New York and Tanglewood Music Festival.
Jasmina Samssuli, piano
Noted for her lyrical and passionate interpretations, Jasmina Samssuli has a rare ability to communicate the essence of music. She draws in her audience with a very intimate sound and compellingly open, spirited playing. She studied solo piano in Berlin, Hamburg and London with such eminent teachers as Maria Curcio, Joan Havill and Joanna MacGregor. Her performances as a soloist and chamber musician, have been widely acclaimed throughout Europe, Africa and Asia and featured in numerous international festivals, on radio and television. She combines her performing career with teaching and musicological research. This diversity has brought her an equally diverse range of prizes: as a soloist in France, for musicology at the Royal Academy of Music and for her work in interdisciplinary arts in Germany. She has a particular interest in the interaction between music and other arts. As part of a team of eleven musicians and other artists, she won the prestigious transdisciplinary Karl Hofer prize, subsequently becoming professor of interdisciplinary arts at the University of the Arts in Berlin. She now divides her time between performing all over Europe and teaching postgraduate courses on music outreach programs to educate a new generation of musicians and music teachers.
Jasmina joins us for our October 14th and 21st, 2011 concerts.
Retorica, violin duo featuring Harriet Mackenzie and Philippa Mo
Philippa and Harriet met at the Royal Academy of Music and discovered their passion for contemporary music as well as the wealth of rarely heard repertoire for two violins. Highlights of their performing schedule include recitals at the Barbican Centre as part of the Park Lane Young Artists Series Mostly Mozart Festival, at Goldsmith's Centre for Russian Music, St James Piccadilly, Corsham Festival, West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge, a tour of Greece and as part of their involvement in the 2D2N Festival of contemporary Music in Odessa, Retorica performed seven new commissions by leading British composers for their project 'Continuous Spectrum – shades of play'. Music has been written and dedicated to the duo by such eminent composers as John McCabe, Paul Pellay, Jim Aitchison, Robert Fokkens, Ben Ellin, Owen Bourne, David Matthews, Sadie Harrison and Dmitri Smirnov.
More recently, Retorica presented a concert series celebrating British and Kazakh new music at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London, in response to the exhibition ‘Kazakh Craftswomen of the rich Mongolian cradle’. and made their debut CD which will be released in 2012. In November Retorica will tour Taiwan and China, giving concerts at the Beijing National Center for Performing Arts and Shanghai Oriental Arts Center as well as visiting other major cities for ten concerts over two weeks. The tour will be sponsored by Japanese couture designer Hiroko Koshino and Harriet and Philippa will be wearing her dresses on the tour. In August 2012 Retorica wil be Artists-in-residence at the Presteigne Festival.
Harriet Mackenzie, violin
Harriet has toured Europe, America and Japan as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. She gave her highly acclaimed Purcell Room recital debut as part of the Park Lane Young Artists Series. Since then she has given recitals in such prestigious venues as the Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouwe and the Beers Van Berlage Hall in Amsterdam, the Marble Hall in Budapest, Leeds International Concert Series, the Lysenko Hall of Marble Columns in Kyiv and the Expo Dome in Japan. Harriet studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has been given scholarships for her studies by major trusts and foundations. Harriet enjoys working with composers and is a keen chamber music player. In addition to her violin duo “Retorica”, her group Kosmos is highly acclaimed, performing all over Europe. Kosmos perform their own compositions, arrangements and improvisations inspired by Gypsy, Jewish, Arabic, Balkan, Jazz, Tango and contemporary music. 'The Sutherland Duo' - Harriet with pianist Christina Lawrie - recently won the 'Enterprise Music Scotland Residency Award'. This will result in a commission of a Scottish composer of their choice, tours of Scotland and a CD recording featuring the commissioned work.
Harriet will be joining us for the September 2011 concerts.
http://www.harrietmackenzie.com
Chi-Yu Mo, clarinet
Chi-Yu graduated with First Class Honours and a Ph.D in Chemistry from St. John’s College Cambridge, before turning to music. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and during his time there, he won the Britten-Pears Concerto Competition and the Myra Hess and Ian Fleming Awards. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed Principal E flat Clarinet of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1998 joined the London Symphony Orchestra and since 2008, has been their Principal E flat Clarinet. Chi-Yu enjoys a varied spectrum of work with the LSO, playing for the world’s top conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Sir Colin Davis, Pierre Boulez, Mstislav Rostropovich, Bernard Haitink, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Myung Whun Chung. He is featured on many film soundtracks suchas Star Wars, Harry Potter, Tamara Drewe and The King's Speech. His work takes him round the world and last year alone he gave concerts in over eighteen countries and was a soloist with the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra. Chi-Yu is in demand as a teacher and has coached wind players at London Conservatoires and Youth Orchestras in New York and Almaty, Kazakhstan, as well as giving masterclasses in the U.S., Spain and the UK. Last year Chi-Yu was appointed as Professor of E flat clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music.
"In the reflective close...Chi-Yu Mo floated a magical clarinet solo." - En Saga, LSO, Classical Source, Colin Anderson
Olivia Jeremias, violoncello
Olivia is one of the outstanding young cellists of her generation. By the age of 20 her concert experience included a performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto with Sir Colin Davis, and a concert broadcast by the German MDR-Kultur radio. First prize-winner in the International Heran Competition in the Czech Republic, and a laureate at several others, her talent has gained international recognition at the highest level. She was taught by the international renowned cellist Peter Bruns in Germany, and Colin Carr and Josephine Knight at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Her awards at the RAM include the Montefiore Prize and the Prize of the Royal Academy of Music. In addition to the German National Merit Foundation and the Study Foundation of the German Nation awards, she received the Eduard Söring prize of the Hamburg Opera Foundation for outstanding abilities in 2008. Increasingly in demand as a soloist, she commands virtually the whole of the standard cello repertoire and a good number of contemporary works. Recent performances include the Dvorak and Haydn Cello Concertos with the Philharmonic orchestra Zagreb, the C.P.E Bach Cello Concerto in A major accompanied by the Royal Academy Soloists directed by Clio Gould and an appearance at the "Music at Menlo" Festival in San Francisco, America. Olivia is an enthusiastic chamber musician who has given concerts throughout Europe. She is currently principal cellist of the Philharmonic Orchestra Hamburg.