The pianist Mariam Batsashvili gained international recognition at the 10th Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht 2014. Her musicianship seems to connect directly with one’s heart and her colours of sound, thoughtful interpretations and stupendous touch move and delight her audiences. As BBC New Generation Artist, she made her debuts at the Cheltenham Festival, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and with the Ulster Orchestra at the BBC Proms. The summer of 2019 saw the release of her first album for Warner Classics and her second album has already been recorded.
Thanks to prolific careers both as pianist and award-winning broadcaster, Iain Burnside is one of the UK’s best known musicians. Iain has worked with a huge number of international singers, notably Dame Margaret Price, Rosa Feola, Ailish Tynan, Joyce DiDonato, Laurence Brownlee, Roderick Williams, and Bryn Terfel, among many others. He has recorded more than 60 CDs, often created around neglected composers, where his curatorial skills are displayed to the full.
Megan Clarke was born in 2006 and is a music scholar at the Lady Eleanor Holles School. She has attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department since the age of 8 where she is currently studying the cello with Leandro Silvera and the piano with Clara Rodriguez. Megan gave her debut solo recital in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall at the RCMJD in 2014 and in the same year she was invited to her first of many performances in Italy.
Will Everitt is an 18-year-old trumpeter and composer, performing and writing in both classical and jazz mediums. He began playing cornet with his local brass band at age 6, and attended the Junior Guildhall School of Music from age 12. He has previously played with the National Children’s Orchestra, and enjoyed performances at Cadogan Hall and the Hideaway Jazz Club as a music scholar at Reed’s School, Cobham.
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sasha Grynyuk studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine and later at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Sasha was described by legendary Charles Rosen as “an impressive artist with remarkable, unfailing musicality always moving with the most natural, electrifying, and satisfying interpretations”.
Sophie Kauer is a British-German cellist and actress, born in London in 2001. She is currently studying for a BA in Classical Cello Performance at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, in the class of world-renowned cellist Torleif Thedeén. She started cello lessons aged 8 and, just 18 months later, was accepted into the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music in London where she studied for 7 years and received a scholarship. From the ages of 13 to 18, she was a private student of distinguished cello professor, Melissa Phelps. She has also studied with Maria Zachariadou.
Pianist Stefanija Nikolich started studying with Ruth Nye at age 11. Two years later, in 2017, she joined the Yehudi Menuhin School, graduating in July before embarking on a gap year. In the past 5 years, Stefanija has taken part in three tours of Scotland, the Amsterdam Piano Duo Festival in 2018, and the Augustin Aponte Piano Competition. She played at the Menuhin Leavers concert at Wigmore Hall in 2019 and won the 2022 Woking Young Musician of the Year competition.
Alison Rhind is recognised as one of the leading collaborative pianists specialising in the repertoire for piano and strings. Her ability to accompany was recognised and nurtured at an early age whilst still at Chetham’s School of Music and she became increasingly in demand throughout her time at Oxford University where she read Music at Wadham College. Chetham’s invited her back immediately she had finished her degree but she completed her studies with Edith Vogel at the Guildhall School of Music before returning there.
Rhia Thomas, 18, is a sixth form student and music scholar at Guildford High School. She started playing violin at the age of 4, having heard her brother play amazing pieces that she wanted to play too! Rhia continues to study the violin with her inspirational teacher, Lucy Ellen Spencer.
Keila Wakao was awarded the 1st prize and the Junior Composer Award in the 2021 Menuhin International Violin Competition. She was also the 1st prize winner of the Stulberg International String Competition and was awarded the Bach prize in 2021.
Born in 2006, 16 year old violinist Keila Wakao is from Boston, MA and began playing the violin at the age of 3. At age 6, the late Mr. Joseph Silverstein accepted Keila as a student. Currently, she is an eleventh grader at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and studies with Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Keila has also been receiving Kyoko Takezawa's private instruction in Japan.
Craig White is a versatile and highly acclaimed chamber musician with a focus on both instrumental and vocal repertoire. After his studies at St Catherine’s College, Oxford he completed a Postgraduate Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying with Michael Dussek and Diana Ketler. Craig has since been based as Fellow in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music and now works with the string department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Roderick Williams is one of the most sought after baritones of his generation and performs a wide repertoire from baroque to contemporary music in the opera house, on the concert platform and in recital. He enjoys relationships with all the major UK opera houses and has sung world premieres of operas by, among others, David Sawer, Sally Beamish, Michel van der Aa, Robert Saxton and Alexander Knaifel. He performs regularly with all the BBC orchestras, and many other ensembles including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Philharmonia, London Sinfonietta, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, Britten Sinfonia, Bournemouth Symphony and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.