Guest Artist Collaborators

Jan Lisiecki’s interpretations and technique speak to a maturity beyond his age. At 28, the Canadian performs over a hundred yearly concerts worldwide, and has worked closely with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding, Manfred Honeck, and Claudio Abbado (†).

In 2021/2022, Lisiecki presents a new recital programme featuring Chopins Nocturnes and Études in more than 30 cities all around the globe. Recent return invitations include Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for performances at Carnegie Hall and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Lisiecki recently performed a Beethoven Lieder cycle with baritone Matthias Goerne, among others at the Salzburg Festival, and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, Bavarian Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestra.

At the age of fifteen, Lisiecki signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The label launched its celebrations of the Beethoven Year 2020 with the release of a live recording of all five Beethoven concertos from Konzerthaus Berlin, with Lisiecki leading the Academy of St Martin in the Fields from the piano. His Beethoven Lieder cycle with Matthias Goerne, released shortly after, was awarded the Diapason d’Or. Lisiecki’s eighth recording for the prestigious label, a double album of Frédéric Chopin’s Complete Nocturnes which he also showcases in his current recital programme, appeared in August 2021 and in February 2022 on vinyl, immediately topping the classical charts in North America and Europe. Most recently, his previous solo programme Night Music, featuring works by Mozart, Ravel, Schumann and Paderewski, was released as a digital album. His recordings have been awarded with the JUNO and ECHO Klassik. At eighteen, Lisiecki became both the youngest ever recipient of Gramophone’s Young Artist Award and received the Leonard Bernstein Award. He was named UNICEF Ambassador to Canada in 2012.

Praised by Menahem Pressler for his “uniquely beautiful sound and special sonority“, German pianist Julius Asal is quickly establishing himself as one of the promising performers of his generation.

In October 2023, Deutsche Grammophon announced the exclusive signing with Julius Asal. Moreover, he was recently selected as a BBC New Generation Artist. The young pianist, named as Rising Star 2024 by Classic FM, has performed in prestigious concert halls such as Wigmore Hall London, Musikverein Vienna, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Seoul Arts Center, and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He is also a regular guest at major festivals, including Oxford Piano Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Gustav Mahler Festival Toblach, L‘Esprit du Piano Bordeaux, and the Piano aux Jacobins Toulouse.

In March 2025, he received the Terence Judd-Hallé Award and became the first-ever ASMF BBC New Generation Associate of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Also in 2025, he made his debut as a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Julius Asal’s debut album (2022) was released by the Spanish label IBS Classical featuring works by Sergei Prokofiev as well as Asal‘s own arrangements from the ballet “Romeo and Juliet”, which gained international recognition.
His first album for Deutsche Grammophon, “Scriabin-Scarlatti,” was released in spring 2024. Meanwhile, the pianist was involved in further projects in collaboration with DG, such as the US campaign for World Sleep Day, for which he recorded an improvisation. For World Piano Day 2024, Deutsche Grammophon released Julius Asal’s version of Gustav Holst’s “Mars,” for which he modified the composer’s piano duo version and expanded it with a third piano part.

Improvising and thus an almost native-like access to the piano are also evident in his concerts; for example, in 2024 at his debut at the Seoul Arts Center and as part of the Yellow Lounge in October 2023, where the pianist stepped in at short notice with an innovative concept that combines classical works with improvisations.

His interpretations and the composition of his programs were described by the French newspaper Le Monde as “enchanting uniqueness,” with the headline, “The secret and subtle alliances of Julius Asal.”

Julius studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin and the Kronberg Academy. Among his most important influences were his mentors, the pianists Eldar Nebolsin and Sir András Schiff, as well as the violinist Gidon Kremer.

Watkins’s argument — full of surprises, although easily followed — began with a throbbing crotchet pulse led by the violas, layered above with curling phrases biting each other’s tails. From this point Watkins built a fast, exciting, harmonically plush edifice, rich in calls and responses, and spiralling climaxes cut off to reveal thoughtful musings percolating underneath.

– Geoff Brown on Symphony, The Times

Huw Watkins was born in Wales in 1976 and studied piano with Peter Lawson at Chetham’s School of Music and composition with Robin Holloway, Alexander Goehr and Julian Anderson at Cambridge and the Royal College of Music. In 2001 he was awarded the Constant and Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music, where he later taught composition. He currently teaches composition at the Royal Academy of Music.

Watkins has written concertos for a number of high-profile soloists, including the widely acclaimed Violin Concerto (2010) for Alina Abragimova, premiered by BBC Symphony Orchestra with Edward Gardner. London Symphony Orchestra has commissioned two concertos: London Concerto (2005) and the Flute Concerto (2013) for Adam Walker, premiered under Daniel Harding in 2014. His longstanding relationship with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales has resulted in a number of works, including a Piano Concerto (2001-5) premiered in 2002 with the composer at the piano, and a Double Concerto (2004-5) premiered by Philip Dukes (viola) and Josephine Knight (cello). As Composer in Association, Watkins wrote the Cello Concerto (2016) for his brother Paul Watkins, premiered at the BBC Proms under Thomas Søndergård, Spring (2017) for orchestra premiered with Ryan Wigglesworth, and The Moon for chorus and orchestra, which premieres at the 2019 Proms. In 2017, the Hallé Orchestra commissioned Watkins’ Symphony No. 1, premiered under Music Director Sir Mark Elder. Following this exceptional premiere, the Hallé co-commissioned with BBC NOW Watkins’ Symphony No. 2 (2021), recipient of the prestigious Sky Arts Classical Music award in 2022.

A wealth of chamber music is central to Watkins’ output, complementing his parallel career as a pianist. His solo violin Partita (2006) was written for Alina Ibragimova and the viola Fantasy (2006) was written for Lawrence Power. Long-time supporters the Nash Ensemble commissioned a Horn Trio (2008), and his String Quartet (2013) for the Carducci Quartet was a commission from the Manchester Chamber Concerts Society. Among works for his brother Paul Watkins is Blue Shadows Fall (2012-13) commissioned by Chamber Music Society Lincoln Center, who co-commissioned Watkins’ Piano Quintet with Wigmore Hall, premiered in April 2018. Wakins’ Four Fables (2018), commissioned by clarinettist Robert Plane and the Gould Piano Trio, received its premiere at the Three Choirs Festival and has received numerous repeat performances. Seven Inventions for piano and marimba was written for Colin Currie and premiered at the 2019 East Neuk Festival in Scotland with the composer at the piano. The duo will perform the work in a number of concerts in upcoming seasons, with performances scheduled at Wigmore Hall as well as in Ireland and the US.

Watkins is increasingly recognised as a sensitive composer for the voice. In My Craft or Sullen Art (2007) for tenor and string quartet, was written for Mark Padmore and the Petersen Quartet and premiered at Wigmore Hall, and Five Larkin Songs (2009-10) for soprano and piano, written for Carolyn Sampson, won a British Composer Award. He has written two song cycles for Ruby Hughes: Remember (2014) for soprano and string orchestra, and Echo (2017) for soprano and piano, which was commissioned jointly by Carnegie Hall and the Presteigne Festival. His Four Sonnets (2014) for tenor and piano premiered at the 2014 Cheltenham Festival in 2014 with Mark Padmore. Watkins has a growing body of choral works written for, among others, Stille Antico and the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, who commissioned a new carol for the 2017 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

Music Theatre Wales commissioned two chamber operas, both with libretti by David Harsent: Crime Fiction (2008) followed by In the Locked Room (2011-12), a co-commission with Scottish Opera which received a new production at Staatsoper Hamburg in 2015 and at the Royal College of Music in July 2018.

At the 2022 Presteigne Festival in Wales, Watkins was a featured composer.

As one of the UK’s finest pianists Watkins has premiered works by Oliver Knussen, Tansy Davies, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Michael Zev Gordon and has performed concertos with numerous leading orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta. His recordings include chamber music discs on Chandos, Signum and Nimbus; Alexander Goehr’s piano cycle Symmetry Disorders Reach on Wergo; and music by Knussen on NMC. Watkins was awarded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Elise L. Stoeger Prize in 2016.

Watkins’ own music has been recorded for NMC: In my craft or sullen art, a chamber music disc, was widely praised following its release in 2012, and a second disc of orchestral music, Symphony, was released in 2018. His Five Larkin Songs were recorded by Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton on BIS in 2020 and his captivating song cycle Echo in 2023 with acclaimed soprano Ruby Hughes.

St Martin’s Voices is one of the UK’s most versatile, professional vocal ensembles. They sing for concerts and broadcasts at London’s iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields and beyond, and perform alongside the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Mozart Players, Southbank Sinfonia, and Will Todd Ensemble. They have toured to the USA and South Africa as well as undertaking extensive tours across the UK. The choir regularly feature in broadcasts including BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and Classic FM. Their recent CD, ‘A Winter Breviary – Choral Works for Christmas’ on Resonus Classics was met with critical acclaim. In response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, St Martin’s Voices have extended their digital recording projects, as well as featuring in the Church of England’s online worship resources that have attracted more than 4 million downloads. ‘The choir, under director Andrew Earis, is almost miraculously polished’ – Gramophone

Acclaimed worldwide for his profound musicianship and technical mastery, British cellist Steven Isserlis enjoys a unique and distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster.

As a concerto soloist he appears regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including the Berlin Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, London Philharmonic and Zurich Tonhalle orchestras. He gives recitals every season in major musical centres, and plays with many of the world’s foremost chamber orchestras, including the Australian, Mahler, Norwegian, Scottish, Zurich and St Paul Chamber Orchestras, as well as period-instrument ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Unusually, he also directs chamber orchestras from the cello in classical programmes.

Recent and upcoming highlights include performances with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Salzburg Mozartwoche; the US premiere of Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, following world and UK premieres in Lucerne and at the BBC Proms, and a further performance of the work in Amsterdam with the Britten Sinfonia, conducted by the composer; Prokofiev’s Concerto Op. 58 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, in London and at the Dresden Music Festival; and Haydn’s C major Concerto with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Adam Fischer.

As a chamber musician, he has curated series for many of the world’s most famous festivals and venues, including the Wigmore Hall, the 92nd St Y in New York, and the Salzburg Festival. These specially devised programmes have included ‘In the Shadow of War’, a major four-part series for the Wigmore Hall to mark the centenary of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War; explorations of Czech music; the teacher-pupil line of Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Ravel; the affinity of the cello and the human voice; varied aspects of Robert Schumann’s life and music; and the music of Sergei Taneyev (teacher of Steven’s grandfather, Julius Isserlis) and his students. For these concerts Steven is joined by a regular group of friends which includes the violinists Joshua Bell, Isabelle Faust, Pamela Frank, and Janine Jansen, violist Tabea Zimmermann, and pianists Jeremy Denk, Stephen Hough, Alexander Melnikov, Olli Mustonen, Connie Shih, and Dénes Várjon.

He also takes a strong interest in authentic performance. This season’s projects include a recording of the Chopin Cello Sonata and other works with Dénes Várjon for Hyperion, using ones of Chopin’s own piano; and a recital of Russian sonatas with Olli Mustonen. In recital, he gives frequent concerts with harpsichord and fortepiano. Recent seasons have featured a special performance with Sir Andras Schiff at the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, using Beethoven’s own cello; and performances and recordings (selected for the Deutsche SchallplattenPreis) of Beethoven’s complete music for cello and piano with Robert Levin, using original or replica fortepianos from the early nineteenth century. With harpsichordist Richard Egarr, he has performed and recorded the viola da gamba sonatas of J.S. Bach as well as sonatas by Handel and Scarlatti. This season, they tour together in the US.

He is also a keen exponent of contemporary music and has premiered many new works including John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil (as well as several other pieces by Tavener), Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés, Stephen Hough’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, Left Hand (Les Adieux), Wolfgang Rihm’s Concerto in One Movement, David Matthews’ Concerto in Azzurro, and For Steven and Hilary’s Jig by György Kurtág. In 2016, he gave the UK premiere of Olli Mustonen’s of Frei, aber einsam for solo cello at the Wigmore Hall.

Writing and playing for children is another major enthusiasm. He has written the text for three musical stories for children – Little Red Violin, Goldiepegs and the Three Cellos, and Cindercella – with music by Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley; these are published by Universal Edition in Vienna. He has also given many concerts for children, for several years presenting a regular series at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Steven Isserlis’ books for children about the lives of the great composers – Why Beethoven Threw the Stew and its sequel, Why Handel Waggled his Wig – are published by Faber and Faber, and have been translated into multiple languages. His latest book, a commentary on Schumann’s famous Advice for Young Musicians, was published by Faber and Faber in September 2016, and will be published in the US by Chicago University Press this season.

As an educator Steven Isserlis gives frequent masterclasses all around the world, and since 1997 he has been Artistic Director of the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall, where his fellow-professors include Sir Andras Schiff, Thomas Adès and Ferenc Rados.

As a writer and broadcaster, he contributes regularly to publications including Gramophone, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, has guest edited The Strad magazine, and makes regular appearances on BBC Radio including on the Today programme, Soul Music, as guest presenter of two editions of Saturday Classics, and as writer and presenter of a documentary about the life of Robert Schumann. Most recently, he presented a documentary on BBC Radio 4 ‘Finding Harpo’s Voice’, about his hero Harpo Marx.

His diverse interests are reflected in an extensive and award-winning discography. His recording of the complete Solo Cello Suites by J.S. Bach for Hyperion met with the highest critical acclaim, and was Gramophone’s Instrumental Album of the Year and Critics’ Choice at the Classic BRITS. Other recent releases include the Elgar and Walton concertos, alongside works by Gustav and Imogen Holst, with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Paavo Järvi; Prokofiev and Shostakovich concertos with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, also under Paavo Järvi; Dvořák’s Cello Concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Harding; and recital discs with Stephen Hough, Thomas Adès and (for BIS) a Grammy-nominated album of sonatas by Martinů, as well as works by Mustonen and Sibelius, with Olli Mustonen. His latest recordings include the Brahms Double Concerto with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and – as director and soloist – concertos by Haydn and CPE Bach, with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Forthcoming recordings include a special First World War-inspired disc with Connie Shih, including works performed on a travel cello – now known as “the Trench Cello” – played in the trenches by WWI soldier Harold Triggs.

The recipient of many awards, Steven Isserlis’s honours include a CBE in recognition of his services to music, the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau, and the Piatigorsky Prize in the USA. He is also one of only two living cellists featured in Gramophone’s Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was awarded the Glashütte Original Music Festival Award in Dresden, the Wigmore Hall Gold Medal, and the Walter Willson Cobbett Medal for Services to Chamber Music.

He gives most of his concerts on the Marquis de Corberon (Nelsova) Stradivarius of 1726, kindly loaned to him by the Royal Academy of Music.

Elena Urioste is a musician, yogi, writer, and entrepreneur (which, incidentally, is a word she spells incorrectly every single time), as well as a lover of nature, food, animals, and connecting with other human beings.

As a violinist, Elena has given acclaimed performances as soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States, including the Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Minnesota Orchestras; the New York, Los Angeles, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the Boston Pops; and the Chicago, Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, San Diego, National, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, among many others. Abroad, Elena has appeared with the London Philharmonic, Hallé, Philharmonia, CBSO, Orchestra of Opera North, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras; the BBC Symphony, Philharmonic, Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and National Orchestra of Wales; as well as the Chineke! Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille, Edmonton Symphony, Würzburg Philharmonic, and Hungary’s Orchestra Dohnányi Budafok and MAV Orchestras. She has collaborated with celebrated conductors Sir Mark Elder, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Vasily Petrenko, Christoph Eschenbach, Robert Spano, Karina Canellakis, and Gábor Takács-Nagy. She has performed as a featured soloist in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, the Concertgebouw, and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall; and has given recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Kennedy Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, Sage Gateshead, Bayerischer Rudfunk Munich, and Mondavi Center. Elena is a former BBC New Generation Artist (2012-14) and has been featured on the covers of Strings, Symphony, and BBC Music magazines.

Upcoming and recent musical highlights include the release of multiple studio albums with pianist Tom Poster, Le Temps retrouvé (2024), From Brighton to Brooklyn (2022), and THE JUKEBOX ALBUM (2021); a televised performance with the BBC NOW at the 2023 BBC Proms; and critically acclaimed debuts with the Dallas and San Diego Symphony Orchestras. 2024 saw the release of a new studio album for the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective: Brahms & Contemporaries, Vol. I, featuring piano quartets of Brahms and Le Beau. Elena also features as soloist on Max Richter’s The New Four Seasons: Vivaldi Recomposed, recorded on period instruments; and in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto and Romance, released on Chineke! Records in autumn 2022.

An avid chamber musician, Elena is the founder and Artistic Director of Chamber Music by the Sea, an annual festival on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. She has been a featured artist at the Marlboro, Ravinia, La Jolla, Bridgehampton, Moab, and Sarasota Music Festivals, as well as Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove, the Cheltenham Music Festival, Switzerland’s Sion-Valais International Music Festival, and the Verbier Festival’s winter residency at Schloss Elmau. Elena has collaborated with luminaries such as Mitsuko Uchida, Kim Kashkashian, and members of the Guarneri Quartet, and performs extensively in recital with pianists Tom Poster and Michael Brown. She is the co-director of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, appointed Associate Ensemble at Wigmore Hall in 2020.

Elena is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School. Notable teachers and mentors include Joseph Silverstein, David Cerone, Ida Kavafian, Pamela Frank, Claude Frank, Choong-Jin Chang, Soovin Kim, and Ferenc Rados. The outstanding instruments being used by Elena are an Alessandro Gagliano violin, Naples c. 1706, and a Nicolas Kittel bow, both on generous extended loan from the private collection of Dr. Charles E. King through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Elena has been practicing yoga since 2009 and received her RYT-200 hour certification from the Kripalu Center in June 2019. She is the co-founder of Intermission, a program that combines music, movement, and mindfulness, aiming to make music-making a healthier, more holistic practice for students and professionals alike through yoga and meditation.

Miscellaneous accomplishments include first prizes at the Sphinx and Sion International Violin Competitions; an inaugural Sphinx Medal of Excellence presented by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (they immediately bonded over their matching red formalwear); a 2022 BBC Music Magazine Award for THE JUKEBOX ALBUM; spreads in Latina and La Revista Mujer magazines; a 2020 Royal Philharmonic Society “Inspiration Award” and a 2021 RPS Enterprise Fund Trailblazer Grant for her #UriPosteJukeBox project with Tom Poster; a two-time Sphinx MPower Artist Grant winner; and the 2015 Brooklyn Film Festival’s Audience Choice and Best Original Score awards for But Not For Me, the independent feature film in which Elena acted as the lead female role. Writing is another passion for Elena — you can find many of her musings on her website’s blog.

In addition to her love for hiking in lush forests, swimming in the ocean, and marveling at the stars, Elena’s heart melts around corgis, vibrant vegetarian and southern Italian cooking, and beautifully crafted literature. She enjoys knitting the occasional scarf to keep her fingers busy on airplanes. Finally, Elena believes that we should all strive to spend less time looking at screens, that Oxford commas should be required, and that people should clap whenever they feel moved to do so during concerts.

Eleanor Alberga is a highly-regarded mainstream British composer with commissions from the BBC Proms and The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. With a substantial output ranging from solo instrumental works to full-scale symphonic works and opera, her music is performed all over the world.

In April this year, Eleanor’s Piano Concerto was given its World Premiere in Liverpool to a flourish of positive reviews, with the performance streamed on Medici TV and BBC Radio 3. The work was commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in conjunction with the Leeds International Piano Competition, and premiered by the competition’s most recent winner Alim Beisembayev with the orchestra’s Musical Director Domingo Hindoyan conducting.

Other recent commissions and premieres for large forces have included her Symphony No.1 “Strata” – just released on the Resonus label in a premiere recording by the BBC Symphony Orchestra – her Trumpet Concerto “Invocation”, written for Pacho Flores and the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, and Rise up, O Sun!, a setting of William Blake’s poem for full orchestra and chorus, commissioned to open the 2023 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral.

Born 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica, Eleanor decided at the age of five to be a concert pianist. Five years later, she was composing works for the piano. In 1968 she won the biennial Royal Schools of Music Scholarship for the West Indies, which she took up in 1970 at the Royal Academy of Music in London studying piano and singing.

A budding career as a solo pianist – she was one of 3 finalists in the International Piano Concerto Competition in Dudley, UK in 1974 – was soon augmented by composition with her arrival at the London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1978. Under the inspirational leadership of its Artistic Director, Robert Cohan, she became one of the very few pianists with the deepest understanding of modern dance, and her company class improvisations became the stuff of legend. These in turn led to works commissioned and conceived for dance by the company, and she later became the company’s Musical Director – conducting, composing and playing on LCDT’s many tours.

At different times over the course of her early career, Eleanor was a member of the African dance company Fontomfrom, and played guitar and sang with the Jamaican Folk Singers. She was part of the duo Double Exposure with her husband the violinist Thomas Bowes, and more recently they together founded and nurtured the Arcadia Festival, an original music festival in the English countryside where they live.

However, it was on leaving the London Contemporary Dance Theatre that she was able to fully embark on her calling as a composer. Since then, interest in her music across all genres – orchestral, chamber, vocal, as well as works for stage and screen – has accelerated, while her output has continued to grow. In 2015 her commissioned work Arise, Athena! for the opening of the Last Night of the BBC Proms was seen and heard by millions, and cemented a reputation as a composer of huge originality and consummate skill.

Eleanor has gathered a number of awards, most notably a NESTA Fellowship in 2000 and a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award in 2019. In 2020 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

Eleanor was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021 for Services to British Music.

The South Korean violinist Seohyun Kim made her solo debut in 2016 at the age of only eight with the Moldova Teleradio National Symphony Orchestra at the Daejeon Woosong Art Center. In 2020, she debuted with a recital as part of the Kumho Prodigy Concerts at the Kumho Art Hall. She also performed at the “Night of Rising Stars” at the Gonjiam Music Festival at the Lotte Concert Hall.

As a soloist, Seohyun Kim has performed with orchestras such as the Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jeon-Ju Symphony Orchestra, the Mokpo Symphony Orchestra, the Daejeon Cosmopolitan Music Festival Orchestra, the New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra. Recital engagements have taken her to venues such as the Kumho Art Hall and the Elim Art Center.

Seohyun Kim has also received numerous awards, including first prizes at the Tibor Varga Competition 2023, the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition 2022, and the Ysaÿe International Music Competition 2021. As part of the Violin and Viola Masterclasses at the Kronberg Academy, she was awarded the Landgrave of Hesse Prize in 2023.

Seohyun Kim has been studying at the Seoul Central Conservatory with Sunny Lee since 2017 and at the Yewon School in Seoul since 2021. She has also received further musical inspiration through numerous masterclasses with artists such as Mihaela Martin, Leonidas Kavakos, and Maxim Vengerov.

Franco-Dutch violist Sào Soulez Larivière is quickly building himself a thriving career as a versatile musician. Captivating audiences with his playing and original programming, he endeavours to broaden the accessibility and perception of classical music in our modern world.

He was named as the 2023 ‘Young Artist of the Year’ by the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA), and was nominated as ‘Rising Star’ by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO), which will see him perform in Europe’s most prominent concert halls during the 2024/25 season.

These achievements build on his growing international career, propelled by recent competition successes, including first prize at the 2023 Prague Spring International Competition, along with top prizes at the Tokyo, Oskar Nedbal, Max Rostal, Cecil Aronowitz, and Johannes Brahms competitions.

Chamber music has always been at the heart of Sào’s musical upbringing, sharing his love for music with his sister, violinist Cosima Soulez Larivière, with whom he still regularly performs. He is also a member of the Frielinghaus Ensemble, which has released several critically acclaimed albums.

An advocate for expanding the horizons of the viola repertoire, he enjoys arranging works for his instrument as well as promoting contemporary music. Collaborating with renowned composers such as Fazil Say, Olli Mustonen and Julia Wolfe gave him the unprecedented opportunity to delve deeper into the creative side of music.

Born in Paris in 1998, Sào began his musical journey playing the violin, and at a young age received a scholarship to study with Natasha Boyarsky at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. It was there that he discovered the viola through chamber and orchestral music, deciding to fully commit to the instrument in his later school years.

His artistic development has been deeply enriched by working with many distinguised musicians such as Jean Sulem, Nobuko Imai, Antoine Tamestit, Boris Garlitsky, and Steven Isserlis.

Based in Berlin, Sào completed his Bachelor of Music under Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’. He earned a Master’s Degree at the Kronberg Academy, where he is currently enrolled in the Professional Studies programme, supported by the Leber patronage.

Teaching has become a great passion in Sào’s musical life, and he is thrilled to have been appointed professor of viola from autumn 2023 at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

He has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the ‘Ritter Preis’ on behalf of the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation and the Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis, which enabled him to release his debut album, Impression.

Sào is also a scholarship holder of the Yehudi Menuhin ‘Live Music Now’ e.V. Berlin, and served as a Classeek Ambassador for the 2023/24 season. He has received generous support from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz Foundation. For 2024-26, he will participate in the Günther Caspar-Stiftung Career Advancement Programme.

Sào plays a viola made in Montpellier in 2013 by Fréderic Chaudière.

Yamaha Young Artist, Eva Gevorgyan, is a laureate in more than forty piano competitions, including top prizes at the 2018 Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists and the 2019 Van Cliburn Young Artist Competition. More recently she has won the Prix du Bern in Switzerland in 2023, Discovery Award at the 2019 International Classical Music Awards, the Grand-Prix Prize at the Russia National Orchestra Competition in 2021, in addition to being finalist and winner of the Special Prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland.

She has performed as soloist with the Dallas Symphony, Lucerne Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, Russia National Philharmonic, Ontario Philharmoic, Russian National Orchestra, Evgeny Svetlanov Academic State Symphony, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Neue Philharmonie Hamburg Orchestra , Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, Liechtenstein Philharmonic, Armenia National Philharmonic Orchestra, Morrocan Philharmonic Orchestra, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Tatarstan Symphony Orchestra and many others.

She has also appeared in recital in such Festivals as Verbier (Switzerland), Duszniki International Chopin Piano Festival (Poland), Brescia and Bergamo International Piano Festival (Italy), Ruhr Klavier Festival (Germany), White Nights Festival (Russia), Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (Germany), BEMUS (Serbia), Montreal Bach Festival (Canada), Eilat Chamber Music Festival (Israel), Shanghai International Piano Festival (China), ArtDialog Festival (Switzerland), Osor Music Evenings (Croatia), The International Keyboard Odyssiad Festival (USA), Chopin Festival (Brazil), VP Bank Classic Festival (Switzerland) and in 2023 debuted at La Roque d’Antheron Festival (France), obtaining rave reviews.

Eva pursues studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s Central School of Music in Moscow with Natalia Trull and at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, under the guidance of Stanislav Ioudenitch. She has also been granted the prestigious scholarship at the 2020 Klavier-Festival Ruhr by Evgeny Kissin.

She has already performed at major concert venues including the Royal Albert Hall, KKL Lucerne, Gewandhaus, the Mariinsky Concert Hall, Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Asahi Hall in Tokyo, Teatro B32 in Brazil, Teatro Juarez in Mexico, Salle Bourgie in Montreal and Salle Cortot in Paris.

Her first CD under the Melodiya, featuring works by Chopin and Scriabin was released in 2022, receiving great acclaim.

Eva has appeared with such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Lawrence Foster, Stephane Deneve, Vladimir Spivakov, Alexander Sladkovsky, Andrzej Boreyko, Roberto Beltrán-Zavala, Vasily Petrenko, Alexander Liebreich, Eduard Topchjan, Marco Parisotto, Sergey Smbatyan, Cezar Alvarez, Roberto Tibiriça, Dimitris Botinis, Gerhardt Zimmermann, Fabio Mastrangelo, Wayne Marshall, Anatoly Levin, Yuri Medianik, Dmitry Jurowski, Georg Christoph Sandmann, Ivan Nikiforchin, Maximilian Haberstock, Ruth Reinhardt and others.

Lucas and Arthur Jussen are among the most sought-after piano duos of our time. Given their illustrious international careers, it is fair to say the Jussen brothers (born 1993 and 1996) are the Netherland’s pre-eminent ambassadors for classical music. With their energetic, almost symbiotic playing, their great refinement of sound, and gripping interpretations, they are praised vigorously by press and audiences alike. “It is like driving a pair of BMWs”, exclaimed conductor Michael Schønwandt about the two pianists after directing them in concert.
The Jussen brothers have performed with orchestras internationally, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, Budapest Festival Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. They collaborate with the renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Iván Fischer, Sir Neville Marriner, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezét-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste und Jaap van Zweden.

In the 2024/25 season, the Jussen brothers will be Artists in Residence at the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, performing multiple programmes there. Other highlights of the season include concerts in Leipzig and then a European tour with the Gewandhausorchester. In addition to their debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Israel Philharmonic, reinvitations will take the Jussens back to perform with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Bamberger Symphoniker, Dresdner Philharmonie, Bergen Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, and Warsaw Philharmonic. They will also be performing with the Wiener Kammerorchester at the Konzerthaus Wien. Together with the Brasilian youth Orchestra of Neojibá, they perform the captivating work ‘Nazareno’ by Argentinian Osvaldo Golijov in tour concerts in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands and in June 2025, they return to Asia for multiple concerts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In recital, they can be heard in Paris, Amsterdam, the Hague, London, Rome, Naples, Zürich, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Potsdam, among others.

Recording exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon since 2010, their debut recording of works by Beethoven received platinum status and was awarded the Edison Klassiek audience award. Following a Schubert album and ‘Jeux’, a recording of French piano music, in 2015 their recording of Mozart’s piano concertos KV 365 and KV 242 together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner was released and the album reached gold status. The Jussen brothers also recorded Poulenc’s double piano concerto and Saint-Saëns’ ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ with the Concertgebouworkest and Stéphane Denève, and in 2019 they released a recording of concertos and chorales by Bach with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. On ‘The Russian Album’ (2021) they interpret works for two pianos by Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Arensky. The latest addition to their discography is ‘Dutch Masters’ (April 2022) which is devoted to works by Dutch composers, in collaboration with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. The recording was awarded an Edison Klassiek, as well as the audience award.
Lucas and Arthur received their first piano lessons in their native town of Hilversum. As children, they were invited to perform for the Dutch Queen Beatrix; and distinctions and awards in competitions followed. In 2005, the brothers met the Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires. During the following years they took lessons from both Pires and renowned Dutch teachers. Lucas completed his studies with Menahem Pressler in the US and with Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid. Arthur graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he studied with Jan Wijn.

Born in Georgia, Khatia Buniatishvili discovered the piano at the very early age of three. She gave her first performance with the Tbilisi Chamber Orchestra when she was six years old and was performing internationally by the age of ten. Khatia studied in Tbilisi with Tengiz Amiredibi and in Vienna with Oleg Maisenberg.

In 2008, Khatia made her U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall and has since appeared at the Hollywood Bowl, Apple Music Festival, BBC Proms, Salzburger Festspiele, Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, La Roque-d’Anthéron Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, and The Progetto Martha Argerich. She has performed in eminent concert halls across the world, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Musikverein Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berliner Philharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro La Fenice, Palau de la Música Catalana, Geneva’s Victoria Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, the Rudolfinum, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Beijing’s NCPA, NCPA Mumbai, Suntory Hall, and Singapore’s Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

One of the most dazzling American pianists of her generation, Anne-Marie McDermott has played concertos, recitals, and chamber music in hundreds of cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. She is one of the most versatile, respected, and best-reviewed pianists of our time. McDermott continues her tenure as music and artistic director of the Bravo! Vail music festival, in Colorado, through 2026, which hosts world-renowned artists and orchestras from around the world. She is also the artistic director of the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival, in Florida; the artistic director of the McKnight Center’s Chamber Music Festival, at Oklahoma State University; and a former curator of the Mainly Mozart Spotlight Series, in San Diego.

Highlights of McDermott’s 2024-25 season include three performances of the Piano Concerto by the 20th-century American composer Amy Cheney Beach with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with which she makes her subscription debut, and with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA); her debut in Galway, Ireland, performing music by Bach, Busoni, and Brahms at a Music for Galway recital; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra (KY); Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Des Moines Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA (WA); performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, and on tour in Chicago, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Ashland (OR), and Vienna (VA); a special chamber music program at the New World Symphony, in Miami Beach, that includes Mozart’s Quintet in E-flat major and Olivier Messiaen’s wartime masterwork Quartet for the End of Time; performances as a member of the SPA Trio—with soprano Susanna Phillips and violist Paul Neubauer—at the Rockefeller University (New York City), and at Arizona Friends of Chamber Music (Tucson); and a chamber music program at the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, in Stillwater (OK).

McDermott’s 2023-24 season included performances with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, both resulting in immediate re-engagements. She also performed Mozart with the New York Philharmonic at the McKnight Center in Stillwater. Recent international highlights include recitals in France at the famed Piano aux Jacobins, in Toulouse; performances with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra at the Cartagena International Music Festival; and an all-Haydn recital tour of China.

The breadth of McDermott’s repertoire ranges from Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven to Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Scriabin, also including works by today’s most influential composers. A recording artist, McDermott is currently recording the complete Beethoven piano concertos with Mexico City’s illustrious Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, under conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. She has also recorded the complete piano sonatas of Prokofiev, solo works by Chopin, Bach’s English Suites and Partitas (Editor’s Choice, Gramophone Magazine), and Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (also Editor’s Choice, Gramophone Magazine). In 2013 she released an album of Mozart concertos with the Calder Quartet that was praised as “exceptional on every count” by Gramophone Magazine. She has recorded five Haydn piano sonatas and two Haydn concertos with the Odense Philharmonic, in Denmark, including two cadenzas written by the late American composer Charles Wuorinen.

In recent years, McDermott participated in the New Century Chamber Orchestra’s Silver Jubilee all-Gershwin program and embarked on a cycle of Beethoven concertos at Santa Fe Pro Musica. She also premiered and recorded a new concerto by the Danish composer Poul Ruders with the Vancouver Symphony, alongside Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations, and returned to play Gershwin with the New York Philharmonic at Bravo! Vail. Other recent highlights include performing the Mozart Concerto, K. 595 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Sir Donald Runnicles; the Bach D minor concerto with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra; and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the New York City-based Le Train Bleu.

McDermott continues to perform with many leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the symphonies of Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Colorado, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, San Diego, New Jersey, Columbus, and Baltimore. She has also toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Virtuosi.

McDermott, who studied at the Manhattan School of Music, is a winner of the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women, the Young Concert Artists auditions, and an Avery Fisher Career Grant. She is the recipient of a 2024 Honorary Doctorate from

St Martin’s Voices is one of the UK’s most versatile, professional vocal ensembles. They sing for concerts and broadcasts at London’s iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields and beyond, and perform alongside the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Mozart Players, Southbank Sinfonia, and Will Todd Ensemble. They have toured to the USA and South Africa as well as undertaking extensive tours across the UK. The choir regularly feature in broadcasts including BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and Classic FM. Their recent CD, ‘A Winter Breviary – Choral Works for Christmas’ on Resonus Classics was met with critical acclaim. In response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, St Martin’s Voices have extended their digital recording projects, as well as featuring in the Church of England’s online worship resources that have attracted more than 4 million downloads. ‘The choir, under director Andrew Earis, is almost miraculously polished’ – Gramophone

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is the principal orchestral partner of St Martin-in-the-Fields, its historic London home.

St Martin-in-the-Fields is a landmark church, concert venue and visitor attraction on London’s Trafalgar Square. It is a friendly and forward-thinking community and the building itself is steeped in beautiful Georgian architecture. With a huge programme of services, concerts, events, exhibitions and lectures, St Martin’s welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year. A strong musical tradition flourishes at St Martin’s. Their concerts series includes over 350 performances and gigs every year, featuring some of the UK’s finest ensembles, chamber orchestras, choirs and musicians. An outstanding music programme is provided by the Choir and Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields, some of London’s finest voices who are regular performers on the BBC and in concert. In the Crypt you can find St Martin’s award-winning Café, Shop, Brass Rubbing Centre and a number of excellent spaces available for hire for meetings, celebrations and corporate events.

Jackie has led the Academy’s work with people experiencing homelessness for 25 years.

She is a composer and percussionist, whose work sits at the intersection between improvisation and composition. Jackie has devised community and participation projects for leading arts organisations in the UK and overseas, and her work on Musical Portraits at Wigmore Hall was shortlisted for an Innovative Practice award by the National Autistic Society in 2017. She is a lecturer at The Royal Academy of Music. Her research there investigates improvisation and interaction in ensembles, and has attracted funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Art Fund, Thamesmeade Community Fund and Research England.

Yusuf Narcin is a London-based trombonist, performance artist, and community music leader whose practice spans classical, jazz, contemporary and experimental music. Alongside an extensive career as a performer, Yusuf is deeply committed to making music accessible, collaborative and empowering in community settings.

Yusuf is an artistic associate with the Multi-Story Orchestra and a graduate of the Spitalfields Music Traineeship, where he has also supported training for emerging leaders. He has also worked as a music leader with Wigmore Hall, Britten Pears Arts, and the Paraorchestra, among others. He is also lead artist at ARK: Inspiring Excellence. His community practice is rooted in co-creation, group improvisation, and inclusive musicianship, often using percussion, voice and movement practice as integral tools for musical expression.

Yusuf has delivered creative projects in schools, prisons, healthcare settings and a variety of other spaces. At ASMF, he is contributing to the development of their social purpose programme in homeless shelters.

Equally at home on stage and in workshop spaces, Yusuf performs with a wide range of ensembles including the London Contemporary Orchestra, The Heritage Orchestra, and Chineke! Orchestra. He also plays with The London Jazz Orchestra and is a founding member of Patchwork Jazz Orchestra and interdisciplinary performance-music group Perhaps Contraption. His dynamic career includes performing and recording with artists such as Dua Lipa, Elton John, Laura Mvula and Little Simz, as well as theatrical work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Whether leading a songwriting session in a school or performing at a major venue, Yusuf brings energy, warmth, and playfulness to his work. He believes in the transformative power of making music together and in nurturing spaces where everyone can find creative freedom.