Composers such as Biber, Boccherini, Dvorak, Suk, Bartok, Vaughan Williams, Rachmaninov, and many others were inextricably linked to the music of their homelands but were also intrepid musical voyagers who forged new paths through their extensive travels.
See guest artists biographies below.
Internationally-acclaimed viola player Lawrence Power is widely heralded for his richness of sound, technical mastery and his passionate advocacy for new music. Lawrence has advanced the cause of the viola both through the excellence of his performances, both in recitals, chamber music or concertos and in the creation of the Viola Commissioning Circle (VCC), which has led to a substantial body of fresh repertoire for the instrument by today’s finest composers. Lawrence has premiered concertos by leading composers such as James MacMillan, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Julian Anderson, Alexander Goer, and through the VCC has commissioned works by Anders Hillborg, Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Cassandra Miller and Magnus Lindberg.
Lawrence devised his critically acclaimed Lockdown Commissions project as an artistic response to the coronavirus crisis, filmed in and around empty performing venues with specially commissioned works by Huw Watkins, Garth Knox, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Cassandra Miller, Martyn Brabbins, William Marsey and Thomas Larcher. Following on from the success of these short films, Lawrence founded the production company Âme with film maker Jessie Rodger, to produce films that explore the boundaries between music and other art forms. Lawrence and Jessie presented Fathom, a boundary-pushing concert experience at the Southbank Centre in December 2022 performing a unique selection of old and new music fusing live performance, cinematic projection and intricate, 360-degree sound design. Lawrence has a Southbank residency starting later in 2024 during which he will be joined by composer Thomas Adès, soprano Heloise Werner and lutenist Sergio Bucheli. The residency will also feature Lawrence as the soloist in the UK premire of Marcus Lindberg’s viola concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Over the past decade, Lawrence has become a regular guest performer with orchestras of the highest calibre, from Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Stockholm, Bergen and Warsaw Philharmonic orchestras to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, BBC Scottish Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestras, with conductors such as such as Osmo Vänska, Lahav Shani, Parvo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrew Manze, Edward Gardner, Nick Collon, Ilan Volkov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He is familiar to audiences around the UK and has made 12 BBC Proms appearances, with the James MacMillan Viola Concerto, Walton Viola Concerto and Mark-Anthony Turnage On Opened Ground among other works.
Lawrence enjoys play-directing orchestras from both violin and viola, most recently at the Edinburgh International Festival with Scottish Ensemble, Australian National Academy of Music and with Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and leads his own orchestra, Collegium, made up of fine young musicians from across Europe. He is on the faculty at Zurich’s Hochschule der Kunst and gives masterclasses around the world, including at the Verbier Festival. With his intelligent approach to programming, Lawrence is often invited to work with venues and festivals as curator. He has enjoyed residencies at Turner Sims Southampton and with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, served as Artist in Residence with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and curated a concert series at Kings Place. He is founder and Artistic Director of West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival; this year’s festival, the thirteenth, runs from 19th – 21st September and takes place in Hambleden, near Henley.
As a chamber musician he is in much demand and regularly performs at Verbier, Salzburg, Aspen, Oslo and other festivals with artists such as Steven Isserlis, Nicholas Alstaedt, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Vilde Frang, Maxim Vengerov and Joshua Bell. Lawrence was announced in 2021 as an Associate Artist at the Wigmore Hall, a position lasting for five years, with artists performing at least once each season.
Lawrence plays a viola made in Bologna in 1590 by Antonio Brenzi and also a Brothers Amati viola from 1580 on loan from the Karolina Blaberg Stifftung.
German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt is one of the most sought after and versatile artists today. As a soloist, conductor and artistic director, he performs repertoire spanning from early music to the contemporary.
Season 2023/24 includes tours with Australian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre des Champs-Elysées with Philippe Herreweghe, EUYO with Gianandrea Noseda and Arcangelo with Jonathan Cohen. Altstaedt makes his debut with Bamberger Symphoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal with Rafael Payare and NAC Orchestra Ottawa with Alexander Shelley, Bergen Philharmonic while re-invitations include London Philharmonic Orchestra with Ed Gardner, OPRF Paris, Tapiola Sinfonietta amongst others.
Since his highly acclaimed debut with Wiener Philharmoniker and Gustavo Dudamel at the Lucerne Festival, recent notable residencies and collaborations include Budapest Festival Orchestra with Iván Fischer, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg with Teodor Currentzis, Helsinki Festival with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Robin Ticciati, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra with Lahav Shani, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Philippe Herreweghe, Münchner Philharmoniker with Krzysztof Urbánski, European Union Youth Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko, Seoul Philharmonic and Osmo Vänskä, all the BBC Orchestras including with John Storgårds, Orchestre National de France with Cristian Măcelaru, NHK and Yomiuri Nippon symphony orchestras, Washington’s National and Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney and New Zealand symphony orchestras. He also regularly performs on period instruments with ensembles as Il Giardino Armonico,Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, Arcangelo, Academy of Ancient Music and conductors as René Jacobs, Phillippe Herreweghe, Andrea Marcon, Giovanni Antonini and Jonathan Cohen.
As a conductor, he works closely with the Scottish and Munich Chamber Orchestras and the OPRF Paris. He conducted in recent seasons the Budapest Festival Orchestra, SWR, OSI Lugano, Warsaw Philharmonic, Kyoto Symphony, Orchestra of 18th century, les Violins du Roy, Aurora and Zurich chamber orchestras.
In 2012, Nicolas was chosen by Gidon Kremer to succeed him as the new artistic director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival and in 2015 by Ádám Fischer to become the new Artistic Director of the Haydn Philharmonie until 2022, within whom he regularly performed with at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Esterházy Festival and recently on tour in both China and Japan. Nicolas was Artistic Director of the Pfingstfestspiele Ittingen 2019 and 2023.
As a chamber musician, Nicolas partners include Janine Jansen, Vilde Frang, Christian Tetzlaff, Pekka Kuusisto, Barnabás Kelemen, Joshua Bell, Ilya Gringolts, Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, Antoine Tamestit, Martin Fröst, Alexander Lonquich, Jonathan Cohen, Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, and the Quatuor Ébène. He performs at both Salzburg Mozart and Summer Festival, Verbier, Utrecht, BBC Proms, Lucerne, Musikfest Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein and Rheingau.
Joint appearances with composers such as Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Larcher, Fazil Say and Sofia Gubaidulina also consolidate his
In 2012, Nicolas was chosen by Gidon Kremer to succeed him as the new artistic director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival and in 2015 by Ádám Fischer to become the new Artistic Director of the Haydn Philharmonie until 2022, within whom he regularly performed with at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Esterházy Festival and recently on tour in both China and Japan. Nicolas was Artistic Director of the Pfingstfestspiele Ittingen 2019 and 2023.
As a chamber musician, Nicolas partners include Janine Jansen, Vilde Frang, Christian Tetzlaff, Pekka Kuusisto, Barnabás Kelemen, Joshua Bell, Ilya Gringolts, Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, Antoine Tamestit, Martin Fröst, Alexander Lonquich, Jonathan Cohen, Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, and the Quatuor Ébène. He performs at both Salzburg Mozart and Summer Festival, Verbier, Utrecht, BBC Proms, Lucerne, Musikfest Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein and Rheingau.
He has a reputation as an outstanding interpreter of contemporary music. Sebastian Fagerlund, Helena Winkelman, Anders Hillborg and Fazil Say have recently written concertos for Nicolas. New Concertos by Erkki-Sven Tüür, Liza Lim and Márton Illés will be premiered in 23/24,
His most recent recordings for his Lockenhaus Festival garnered the BBC Music Magazine 2020 Chamber Award and Grammophone Award 2020. He received the BBC Music Magazine Concerto Award 2017 for his recording of CPE Bach Concertos on Hyperion with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen and the Edison Klassiek 2017 for his Recital Recording with Fazil Say on Warner Classics.
Nicolas received the Beethovenring Bonn 2015 and Musikpreis der Stadt Duisburg 2018. Nicolas was a BBC New Generation Artist 2010-2012 and a recipient of the „Borletti Buitoni Trust Fellowship“ in 2009.
Simon is a multi-festival director, conductor, renowned pianist, creative programmer with a passion for championing contemporary repertoire, and a chamber musician who regularly collaborates with artists such as Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, Roderick Williams and Anne Sofie von Otter in repertoire from Haydn and Schumann to Adès, Byström, Dean and Reich. His own ensembles include The Kungsbacka Piano Trio and Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble (resident artists at Stockholm Konzerthus). Simon is the Artistic Director of the Change Music Festival in Norra Halland, Västerås Music Festival and Co-Artistic Director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival as well as Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor of Västerås Sinfonietta, alongside multiple guesting roles.
As a pianist The Guardian says Simon has “profound sensitivity and technical brilliance, achieving an expressive intensity that made for compelling listening.” He performs in premiere festivals and concert halls across Europe including Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Edinburgh, and at Wigmore Hall where he appears as the regular pianist with Chamber Ensemble in Residence, the acclaimed Nash Ensemble, and in recital with Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, and Phillip Moore. Notable concerto debuts include the NHK Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alan Gilbert, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra directing from the keyboard. Passionate about contemporary music Simon has recently given world premieres of music by Thomas Adès, Britta Byström, Steve Reich and Mark-Anthony Turnage as well as working alongside composers Sofia Gubaidulina, Simon Holt, Colin Matthews and Huw Watkins.
Simon’s numerous recordings include Fanny and Felix for dB Productions with Malin Broman and award-winning Swedish string orchestra, Musica Vitae, The Kungsbacka Trio have released two volumes of Complete Schumann Piano Trios on BIS, and the Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble released Voices of Angels (Dean, Gubaidulina, Rachmaninov). Simon also appears with the Nash Ensemble for Hyperion (Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann), and Västerås Sinfonietta’s recording, Nightingale. In addition to radio and television broadcasts in Europe, Australia and Japan Simon has also presented concerts for Sweden’s classical music radio station P2.
A renowned teacher, Simon was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2010 and currently teaches at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama. Recent guest teaching has included the Schymberg masterclasses in Sweden together with Anne Sofie von Otter and chamber music at Indiana University in Bloomington and the University of Colorado.
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore enjoys a busy life as an orchestral and chamber musician, joining the LSO as Leader in August 2023. He was concertmaster of the Philharmonia Orchestra between 2019 and 2023, and has been a member of the Navarra Quartet since 2021. He is also a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and from 2016 to 2019 was leader of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, to which he continues to return as guest leader and director. A lover of opera, he is also a frequent guest concertmaster with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
Benjamin studied with Natalia Boyarskaya at the Yehudi Menuhin School and with Pavel Vernikov in Vienna, and received further guidance and inspiration from Julian Rachlin and Miriam Fried. He won prizes at the Oskar Back, Joseph Joachim and Salzburg Mozart competitions, and has participated in festivals such as Kuhmo, Prussia Cove and Ravinia. Benjamin’s father was the musicologist Bob Gilmore, his grandfather is the conductor Lev Markiz, and his mother Maria Markiz has variously been a musicologist, interpreter, equestrian and data analyst. He is married to Hannah Shaw, a violist, and enjoys cooking and cycling, in both of which disciplines he makes up in enthusiasm what he lacks in proficiency.
Vilde Frang was unanimously awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2012 and made her debut with the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival.
Highlights among her recent and forthcoming solo engagements include performances with Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and the NHK Symphony in Tokyo, with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Ivan Fischer, Manfred Honeck, Zubin Mehta, Renee Jacobs, Teodor Currentzis, Herbert Blomstedt, Daniel Harding, Vladimir Jurowski, David Zinman, Philippe Herreweghe, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov and Sir Simon Rattle.
She regularly appears at festivals in Salzburg, Verbier, Lucerne, London Proms, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lockenhaus, Mostly Mozart Festival, Prague Spring Music Festival and George Enescu Festival Bucharest. As soloist and in recital, Vilde has performed at venues such as the Concertgebouw, Musikverein, Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Tonhalle Zurich, Bozar Brussels, Rudolfinum, Tchaikovsky Hall, in Vancouver Recital Series, Boston Celebrity Series, San Francisco Performances, and at Carnegie Hall.
Vilde Frang is an exclusive Warner Classics artist and her recordings have received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix du Disque, Edison Klassiek Award, Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Award.
Since 2020, she is artistic board member of Oslo Chamber Music Festival.
Born in Norway in 1986, Vilde was engaged by Mariss Jansons at the age of twelve to debut with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
She studied at Barratt Due Musikkinstitutt in Oslo, with Kolja Blacher at Musikhochschule Hamburg and Ana Chumachenco at the Kronberg Academy. She has also worked with Mitsuko Uchida as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship winner 2007, and was a scholarship-holder 2003-2009 in the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
Vilde Frang plays the 1734 “Rode” Guarnerius, on generous loan by a European benefactor.
“An artist whose technique and musicality are matched by a broader artistic imagination.” (Gramophone Magazine, 2025), Charlotte Spruit is a violinist acclaimed for her passionate and energetic performances as both a soloist and chamber musician.
In 2022, Charlotte was awarded First Prize, the Audience Prize, and the Genuin Classics Prize at the Leipzig International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. She won the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions at Wigmore Hall in 2023 and was named a Classic FM Rising Star in 2024. Most recently, in 2025, she was named ‘One to Watch’ by Gramophone following the release of her debut album Le Mercure Galant with Linn Records, which she recorded with Jonathan Manson and Sergio Bucheli.
The 2025/26 season sees Charlotte make her recital debut at the prestigious Boulez Saal in Berlin, and return to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw with her duo partner Angus Webster. She will also make her debut with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
An avid chamber musician, Charlotte has performed chamber works with acclaimed musicians including Gidon Kremer, Rachel Podger, Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, Alina Ibragimova, and Jean-Guihen Queyras. Charlotte plays frequently at chamber music festivals across Europe, including the Chamber Music Connects the World festival at the Kronberg Academy, Heidelberger Frühling, and the West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival, where she returns regularly to perform with artists such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Vilde Frang, and Lawrence Power.
During the 2024/25 season, Charlotte played recitals at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall, and performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Jean-Guihen Queyras, Kristian Bezuidenhout, and the Orchestra of the 18th Century at the Cello Biennale. Other recent concerto performances have included concerts with the Residentie Orkest, The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Ecurie, the Pauliner Barockensemble, and Ensemble Esperanza.
Charlotte also enjoys exploring different ways of bringing music to the audience, for example by bringing together different forms of art. She has collaborated with artist Jérémie Queyras, creating performances combining painting and music. Together they won the first prize at the Goodmesh Concours in 2022.
She began her violin studies with Coosje Wijzenbeek and studied at the Guildhall School of Music with David Takeno, followed by the Royal Academy of Music with Ying Xue. Charlotte recently completed her Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music under Rachel Podger and Pavlo Beznosiuk, supported by a Bicentenary Scholarship and an ABRSM Scholarship, and was awarded the HRH Duchess of Gloucester Prize upon graduation. Charlotte is currently studying with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy.
Charlotte plays an 18th-century anonymous Italian violin, kindly on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
John Myerscough leads a busy international career as the cellist of the Doric String Quartet. Regular visitors to London’s Wigmore Hall, since 2010 the Quartet has recorded exclusively for Chandos Records, with recent releases including the complete Britten quartets, works by Mendelssohn, Schubert and Brett Dean, as well as its continuing series of Haydn string quartets. Alongside his work with the Doric, John performs widely as a solo cellist and chamber musician. In 2006 he won the Gold Medal and First Prize at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition. He is also active as a baroque cellist and has appeared with groups including La Nuova Musica and La Serenissima. Away from the concert stage John is a dedicated teacher and mentor. He is Professor of cello and chamber music at the Royal Academy of Music, London and gives string quartet masterclasses as part of Chamber Studio at King’s Place in London. John performs on a 1587 Brothers Amati cello.
Born in Mexico City, Sergio Bucheli started playing the classical guitar before moving to the UK to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School thanks to a bursary funded by the Rolling Stones. In September 2016, Sergio was awarded the ABRSM and Christopher Hogwood Scholarships to pursue his undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) with Elizabeth Kenny where he studied the lute, theorbo and baroque guitar.
A sought after continuo player, Sergio is a member of Harry Bicket’s The English Concert and is also a “New Ensemblist” with Jonathan Cohen’s Arcangelo. Recent highlights include Wigmore Hall concerts with Arcangelo, Peter Whelan’s Ensemble Marsyas and The English Concert featuring soloists such as Alina Ibragimova, Iestyn Davies, Carolyn Sampson and Louise Alder. Sergio also plays with The English Baroque Soloists, Early Opera Company, Irish Baroque Orchestra and recently recorded a Matthew Locke CD with Fretwork.
Sergio is a keen chamber musician and has recently taken part in the 2020 West Wycombe Festival which was held online where Sergio played with Lawrence Power, Timothy Ridout and John Myerscough among others. He also recently performed a programme of English music alongside countertenor Tim Mead for the 2021 Shipwright/Queille Festival.
Sergio is passionate about outreach performance and was the 2020-2021 Wigmore Hall Learning/ Open Academy Fellow alongside his chamber music ensemble “Nobody’s Jig”.
was born in London and started playing the piano at the age of five. He currently studies at the Junior Royal Academy of Music with Victor Bijelovic and is a recent international prizewinner. Recent events include the Change festival in Sweeden, Italy where he took part in a masterclass with Joanna MacGregor and Till Felner as well as MusicWorks chamber music course where he worked with Catherine Manson, Robert Max and Alistair Beatson.“forthcoming highlights include a performance of Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto in Oslo as well as many engagements as part of the Junior Royal Academy of Music.
New Zealand born Bryony Gibson-Cornish is a keen biker, yogi and violist. Various accolades include being awarded the Tagore Gold Medal upon graduating from the Royal College of Music and studying at The Juilliard School as a Fulbright Scholar. She is the violist of the Marmen Quartet, winners of the Banff and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions. They regularly tour throughout Europe and are the Peak Fellowship Ensemble in Residence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Bryony has been teaching chamber music and assisting her former professor, Andriy Viytovych, at the Royal College of Music since 2017 and is delighted to be joining the distinguished String Faculty from 2022 as a Viola Professor. She is grateful for numerous grants and scholarships, including the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Pettman Foundation and the Kathleen Trust. She plays a 1932 Vincenzo Sannino Viola, Rome, Italy, and is grateful to the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments for their supportAs a teenager, Bryony pursued studies both in viola and opera, completing studies at the Pettman National Junior Academy of Music and the University of Canterbury with Stephen Larsen and Dame Malvina Major. She was accepted into the Master of Music degree programme at The Juilliard School at 19 years old as a Fulbright Scholar, where she studied viola with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory. During this time, she also studied historical performance and composition alongside viola. Many scholarships made her studies possible, a full list can be found here. In 2015, Bryony moved to London to pursue an Artist Diploma in viola at the Royal College of Music, studying with Andriy Viytovych. Upon graduating, she was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal, awarded by HRH the Prince of Wales to graduating students judged to have made outstanding contributions musically and in other important ways to the life of the Royal College of Music. Bryony stayed on at the RCM, completing another Artist Diploma in chamber music with the Marmen Quartet, as well as assisting her former professor, Andriy Viytovych, with teaching his viola class and teaching chamber music from 2017 onwards. She is thrilled to be joining the distinguished international String Faculty as a Viola Professor from 2022 at the Royal College of Music.
Anna Madeley is an English actress. She has been described by the British Theatre Guide’s Philip Fisher as one of the United Kingdom’s “brightest and most versatile young actresses”. She grew up in London and started her career as a child actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in three off-West End productions. She has starred in BBC TV films and on Channel 4. Anna has also done work in radio and film.
Currently, Anna will be recognised from the Channel 5 hit series All Creatures Great and Small, where she plays the role of the housekeeper Audrey Hall.
In 2012 pianist Pavel Kolesnikov became a sensation at the Honens International Piano Competition when he took home the world’s largest piano prize. The London-based pianist was born in Siberia into a family of scientists. He studied both the piano and violin for ten years, before concentrating solely on the piano. Following his Wigmore Hall debut in 2014, The Telegraph gave his recital a rare five-star review and called it “one of the most memorable of such occasions London has witnessed for a while”.
Celebrated for his imaginative, thought-provoking programming which offers the listener a fresh, often unexpected perspective on familiar pieces, Pavel has given recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, as part of the international Piano Series, Carnegie Hall and Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Louvre and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. In recent years he also performed at La Roque d’Antheron festival, the Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, and the Aldeburgh Festival, among others. In 2020/21 he is Artist in Residence at Wigmore Hall performing three recitals throughout the season.
An avid ensemble player, Kolesnikov regularly performs in piano duo with Samson Tsoy and collaborates with other musicians such as cellist Narek Akhnazarian, Hermes String Quartet and Calidore String Quartet. In 2019 he performed the complete cycle of Brahms violin and viola sonatas with Lawrence Power. He formed Trio Aventure
with Elina Buksha and Aurelien Pascal.
Kolesnikov records for Hyperion, with repertoire ranging from rarely heard harpsichord pieces by Louis Couperin to Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons. His Chopin Mazurkas album won Diapason d’Or de l’annee, one of world’s most prestigious awards in the area of recording. His 6th album, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, was released in Autumn 2020. He collaborated with legendary Belgian dancer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker on a new choreographic work based on the Goldberg Variations which was premiered in August 2020 at the Wiener Festwochen and is currently touring the world.
In 2019, together with Samson Tsoy, Kolesnikov started Ragged Music Festival at the Ragged School Museum, former “ragged school” of Dr Barnardo in London’s East End. In the same year Kolesnikov was honoured with the Critics’ Circle Young Talent Award 2019 for piano, praised for his “intensely personal interpretations, often daring in their originality” and his “crusading vision”.
Tom Poster is a musician whose skills and passions extend well beyond the conventional role of the concert pianist. He has been described as “a marvel, [who] can play anything in any style” (The Herald), “mercurially brilliant” (The Strad), and as having “a beautiful tone that you can sink into like a pile of cushions” (BBC Music).
During the 2020 lockdown, his #UriPosteJukebox series with Elena Urioste – featuring Tom as pianist, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, writer, backing dancer and snowman – brought a staggeringly diverse selection of music to audiences across the world through 88 daily online performances, for which the duo won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Inspiration Award. Their subsequent recording, The Jukebox Album, received glowing reviews and a BBC Music Magazine Award nomination.
Tom is co-founder and artistic director of Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, appointed Associate Ensemble at Wigmore Hall in 2020. With a flexible line-up featuring many of today’s most inspirational musicians, and an ardent commitment to diversity through its creative programming, Kaleidoscope broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio 3 and has recently enjoyed residencies at the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Ischia festivals. Its debut album for Chandos Records, American Quintets, was awarded Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, and immediately led to an invitation to record a series of albums for the label.
Tom has performed over forty concertos from Mozart to Ligeti with Aurora Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, China National Symphony, Hallé, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, collaborating with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nicholas Collon, Robin Ticciati and Yan Pascal Tortelier, or sometimes directing from the piano. He has premiered solo, chamber and concertante works by many leading composers, made multiple appearances at the BBC Proms, and his exceptional versatility has put him in great demand at festivals internationally.
Tom has recorded albums for BIS, Champs Hill, Chandos, Decca, Orchid and Warner Classics, appearing as soloist and in collaboration with Elena Urioste, Alison Balsom, Guy Johnston, the Aronowitz Ensemble, Aurora Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and London Symphony Orchestra. He regularly features as soloist on film soundtracks, including the Oscar-nominated score for The Theory of Everything. He studied with Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and at King’s College, Cambridge. He won First Prize at the Scottish International Piano Competition 2007 and the keyboard section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition in 2000.
Tom’s compositions and arrangements have been commissioned, performed and recorded by Alison Balsom, Matthew Rose, Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott. His chamber opera for puppets, The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak, received an acclaimed three-week run at Wilton’s Music Hall in 2017. He is a lifelong fan of animals with unusual noses.
Wallis has carved out a multifaceted performing career in both in her home city of London and abroad. In July 2025 she became a member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Equally at home as a soloist, orchestral musician and chamber player, Wallis also enjoys teaching cellists of all ages.
As an undergraduate, Wallis read music at Pembroke College Cambridge, where she was an Instrumental Award Holder, active soloist, chamber musician and principal cellist of The Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra. While at university, Wallis took lessons with Melissa Phelps. She graduated with a Masters in Performance with distinction from the Royal College of Music in July 2019, during which time she studied under Richard Lester.
On a freelance basis, Wallis regularly plays with ensembles including The Philharmonia, London Sinfonietta, London Mozart Players, The London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Orchestra of The English National Opera, among others.
Wallis is a founding member of the Brompton String Quartet, with whom she won the St Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Music Competition in 2019. They were Park Lane Artists from 2020-2021 and have performed for music societies around the UK and at prestigious venues such as Conway Hall, Kings Place, St Martin-in-the-Fields, The Red House Aldeburgh and St James’s Piccadilly. They made their debut at London’s Wigmore Hall in June 2021.
In April 2022, Wallis made her Concerto debut at the Easter Endellion Festival with a performance of Errollyn Wallen’s Cello Concerto. She recently appeared as a soloist with Her Ensemble as part of the CrossCurrents Festival in Birmingham and looks forward to performing the Bach Cello Suites across venues in London.
Wallis plays a cello by William Forster Senior.
Born in South Wales, Paul started playing percussion aged 9 and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales throughout his school years. After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with first class honours and the Eirwen Thomas scholarship prize, he entered the Royal Academy of Music for his postgraduate degree where he studied with Neil Percy and Simon Carrington. During his time at the Academy Stoneman won both the Zildjian and the James Blades percussion prizes and graduated with distinction in 2017.
After leaving the Academy, he freelanced as a percussionist and timpanist in London and around the UK, working with many of the country’s leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, John Wilson Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
In early 2019 Stoneman accepted the position of Section Principal Timpani with the Royal Northern Sinfonia before being asked to join the Philharmonia Orchestra as No.2 Percussion in the summer. He started his job with the Philharmonia in October 2019 and is a Zildjian and Vic Firth artist.
Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson works prolifically as soloist and chamber musician, adept on modern and historical instruments, and renowned as both performer and pedagogue. Notable performances in 2024 include multiple appearances at Wigmore Hall, in concert with Steven Isserlis, Viktoria Mullova and Alexi Kenney, as member of the Nash Ensemble, and in festivals including Bath Mozartfest, Ernen, Lewes, Megaron Spring Festival, Peasmarsh, Resonances, West Cork and Yellowbarn.
Alasdair is acclaimed as a sincere musician and intrepid programmer. Alongside a particular affinity with the classical repertoire and the music of Schumann and Fauré, he often explores the more exotic: Catoire, Pierné, Thuille; Debussy’s Jeux (in the composer’s arrangement for solo piano); Ligeti Horn Trio, Harrison Birtwistle’s Harrison’s Clocks; and Thomas Adès Piano Quintet. His concerto repertoire includes works of Bach, Bartok, Fauré, Hans Abrahamsen, Hindemith, Mozart, Sally Beamish, Stravinsky, and Messiaen. In recent years he has appeared with Britten Sinfonia, Moscow Virtuosi, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra and Vaasa City Orchestra.
Recent recordings include Schubert works for violin and fortepiano with Viktoria Mullova on Signum, and a solo piano recital Aus Wien on Pentatone. These join an acclaimed discography of numerous solo and chamber recordings, on modern and historical pianos, on BIS, Chandos, Claves, Champs Hill, Evil Penguin, Onyx, Pentatone and SOMM labels.
A regular participant at the open chamber music at IMS Prussia Cove, Alasdair took part in their tours of 2007, 2011, and 2021, and collected the 2008 RPS Award for Chamber Music on their behalf. He has enjoyed working closely with composers George Benjamin, Harrison Birtwistle, Tom Coult, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Thomas Larcher, and Heinz Holliger.
Alasdair was a student of John Blakely at the Royal College of Music, London, and Menahem Pressler at Indiana University. He teaches solo piano at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and regularly mentors for the London-based Chamber Studio. From 2012 to 2018 Alasdair was founder and artistic director of Musique à Marsac, and since 2018 is the artistic director of the chamber music festival at Musikdorf Ernen in Switzerland.
In the 24/25 season, highlights include the world premiere of Mark Simpson’s Viola Concerto ‘Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth’ at the Berlin Philharmonie with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Robin Ticciati, as well as performances of Bartók Viola Concerto with Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orchestra della Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Norrlandsoperan, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife and Taipei Symphony, Walton Viola Concerto with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Berner Symphonie-Orchester and Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with Ensemble Resonanz, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra.
Recent seasons have seen Ridout tour across Europe, Asia, USA, Canada, South America and Australia, appearing with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Hamburger Symphoniker, Camerata Salzburg, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Hallé, Orchestre National Capitole Toulouse, WDR Sinfonieorchester, BBC Philharmonic, and Philharmonia Orchestra. Across his engagements, he has worked with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Manze, Riccardo Minasi, Sir András Schiff, Lionel Bringuier, Sylvain Cambreling, Nicholas Collon, David Zinman, and Kazuki Yamada.
An iconic chamber musician, Ridout continues to present both solo and ensemble programmes across venues such as Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Alice Tully Hall New York. His partners include Janine Jansen, Isabelle Faust, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrández, Denis Kozhukhin, Benjamin Grosvenor, Federico Coli and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
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