Described by The Daily Telegraph as ‘in a class of his own’ James Baillieu is one of the leading song and chamber music pianists of his generation. He has given solo and chamber recitals throughout the world and collaborates with a wide range of singers and instrumentalists including Benjamin Appl, Jamie Barton, Ian Bostridge, Allan Clayton, Annette Dasch, Lise Davidsen, the Elias and Heath Quartets, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Timothy Ridout, Adam Walker, and Pretty Yende. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Ulster Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, and the Wiener Kammersymphonie.
Julian Bliss is one of the world’s finest clarinettists, excelling as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, jazz artist, and masterclass leader. He has inspired a generation of young players and introduced a substantial new audience to his instrument. Julian started playing the clarinet aged four and went on to study in the United States at the University of Indiana and in Germany under Sabine Meyer, turning professional aged just twelve.
The pianist Elisabeth Brauß has been praised by Gramophone Magazine for “the maturity and sophistication of her thoughtful interpretations” which “would be the pride of any pianist twice her age”. Born in Hannover in 1995, Elisabeth is quickly establishing herself as one of the most exciting and versatile musicians of her generation.
Simon Callaghan performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, in parallel with a highly successful career as a recording artist. A favourite performer at the internationally- renowned Husum Festival of Piano Rarities in Germany, Callaghan’s recent sell-out concert was praised by VAN Magazine as a “cleverly curated recital full of discoveries” and by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “technically brilliant”. Callaghan has developed a wide following and appears on a regular basis in the UK’s major concert halls, and on tours to Asia, North America and Europe.
Pianist Danny Driver is recognised internationally as an artist of sophistication, insight and musical depth. His studies at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music inspired his holistic approach to performance, from which he derives a vibrant brand of programming that he brings to concert halls and music festivals across the UK, Europe, Asia and North America. His breadth of repertoire and musical curiosity are also reflected in his recordings for Hyperion, in which he has explored both mainstream and neglected music from the baroque period through to the present day, recently releasing Ligeti’s complete Études for Piano to widespread international acclaim.
Named a Young Classical Star on Classic FM, the British - Portuguese violinist, Cristian de Sá, embarked on his career aged 24 with his European debut recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam where he was introduced as “poetic... a future giant among soloists”. He was subsequently invited to make his European concerto debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon under the baton of Lina González-Granados, with his performance critically acclaimed and featured by RTP Portugal and The Strad Magazine.
A stunningly virtuosic pianist, Alexander Gavrylyuk is internationally recognised for his electrifying and poetic performances. His performance of Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 at the BBC Proms was described as “revelatory” by the Times and “electrifying” by Limelight. For the 23/24 season, Alexander will be Artist in Residence at Wigmore Hall, performing three recitals across the season.
Miriam Grant was born in 2007 and is a music scholar at Guildford High School, currently studying for her GCSE's. Miriam started learning the violin at the age of six, studying for several years with Natasha Boyarsky and latterly with Lutsia Ibragimova and Alison Rhind. She has been a student at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music since 2019, where she has played with a variety of chamber music groups. Miriam also plays with the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra.
British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognized for his sonorous lyricism and understated brilliance at the keyboard. His virtuosic interpretations are underpinned by a unique balance of technical mastery and intense musicality. Grosvenor is regarded as one of the most important pianists to emerge in several decades, with Gramophone recently acknowledging him as one of the top 50 pianists ever on record.
In September 2009 Sofya Gulyak was awarded the 1st prize and the Princess Mary Gold Medal at the Sixteenth Leeds International Piano Competition – the first woman in the history of the competition to achieve this distinction. Since then she has appeared all over the world to great acclaim.
Chloë Hanslip (b. 1987) has already established herself as an artist of distinction on the international stage. Prodigiously talented, she made her BBC Proms debut at fourteen and her US concerto debut at fifteen and has performed at major venues in the UK (Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall), Europe (Vienna Musikverein, Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Paris Louvre and Salle Gaveau, St Petersburg Hermitage) as well as Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Arts Space in Tokyo and the Seoul Arts Centre.
Inez Karlsson began playing the cello at the age of 6 with Maryan Balkwill at the Colourstrings Music School. Since the age of 10 she has been studying at the Royal College of Music Junior Department. For five years she studied with the late Michal Kaznowski, and from autumn 2023 she has started to study with Professor Melissa Phelps from the Royal College of Music. She is a music scholar at the Godolphin and Latymer School.
Jamaal Kashim is a harpist, studying with Professor Daphne Boden at the Royal College of Music Junior Department (RCMJD). He was inspired to do so following a family concert with the LSO, having been dazzled by the sound of the opening twelve notes to the Danse Macabre. Since then, he has shown himself equally accomplished in both orchestral and recital settings, in addition to performing as a concert harpist. He is thrice winner of RCMJD’s Gordon Turner Harp Competition, twice runner up of their Barbara Boissard Concerto Competition and was awarded first prize at Silk Street Junior Concerto Competition.
With more than 80 albums to his credit, reflecting an enormous variety of genres and styles, John Lenehan ranks as one of the most versatile pianists on the classical scene today. This breadth of repertoire has led to his popularity on Spotify with over a quarter of a million monthly listeners worldwide. Praised by the New York Times for his “great flair and virtuosity” and the (London) Times – “a masterly recital”, John Lenehan has appeared in concerts throughout the World from Abu Dhabi to Zurich and from Aberdeen to Zimbabwe.
Steven Osborne OBE is one of Britain’s most treasured musicians with an immense depth of musicality and exceptional refinement of expression across diverse repertoire be it in Beethoven or Messiaen, Schubert or Ravel, Prokofiev or jazz improvisations. His numerous awards include The Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year, two BBC Music Magazine Awards and two Gramophone Awards.
Matty Oxtoby is 17 years old and a lower sixth former at Reigate Grammar School. He started to play piano at the age of 5 and is taught by Andrew Zolinsky, having previously been a pupil of the late Niel Immelman. He is in his sixth year attending the Royal College of Music Junior Department where he also studies cello and composition.
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.
Hailed as “one of the most thoughtful and sensitive of British pianists” (The Times), Mishka Rushdie Momen captivates audiences with her refined and expressive playing.
Mishka Rushdie Momen’s wide repertoire focuses on Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann, whilst reaching back to Gibbons and Rameau. Committed to performing new music, Mishka Rushdie Momen has commissioned works by Nico Muhly and Vijay Iyer, and premiered An Inviting Object by Héloïse Werner at the Lucerne Summer Festival in 2022.
Hailed by critics and audiences alike, Japanese violinist Coco Tomita first gained public recognition after winning the BBC Young Musician 2020 Strings Category. Her success led to an invitation to record a debut album with Orchid Classics, numerous approaches by music festivals across the UK, and an extensive concert tour of Japan. She was named as ‘One to watch’ by Gramophone Magazine and ‘Young Classical Star’ by Classic FM. Her debut album ‘Origins’ received a succession of rave reviews from The Strad, Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine and The Guardian, among others, and was selected as ‘Disc of the month’ by Apple in April 2022.