Elizabeth Watts won the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Prize, the 2007 Outstanding Young Artist Award at the Cannes "MIDEM Classique Awards" and gained international recognition at the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, winning the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize and selection for BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists Scheme.  The critical success of her first recording of Schubert lieder, as part of an exclusive contract for SONY Red Seal, has now established her as "one of the brightest new talents" (The Independent). The recording wasGramophone magazine’s ‘Editor's Choice’ in February 2009.  Her operatic work has included working for Santa Fe Opera, Welsh National Opera, the Royal Opera House, and English National Opera while she has performed in concert with all the major UK orchestras from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to the London Philharmonic.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti has captivated audiences and critics alike with her musicality and poise.  Winner of the Classical BRIT Award for Young British Classic Performer in 2008 and an exclusive Universal/Deutsche Grammophon artist, she has recorded four critically acclaimed albums reaching No 1 in the Classical charts.  In recent seasons Nicola has performed with most of the UK’s major symphony orchestras from the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and worked with many international orchestras in Europe, the US and the Far East.  Nicola has also taken part in many prestigious events, including a performance at Windsor Castle for her Majesty the Queen, at the opening of the Scottish Parliament, and the G8 Summit at Gleneagles.

Click here for her website.

Alexander, born in Moscow into a family with an established musical tradition, made his concerto debut in Montpellier at the age of eight. Lord Menuhin was his inspiration throughout his school years and they performed together on several occasions including at St James’ Palace. He now performs with orchestras across the world from the Royal Philharmonic to the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Alexander has recorded for Angel/EMI, and Decca including the Bach Double Concerto with Julia Fischer. He is in much demand with chamber music partners including Julia Fischer, Janine Jansen, Misha Maisky, and Julian Rachlin.

From working with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Kammerphilharmonie Graz to the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, this multiple award-winning young conductor is a rising star tipped for the very top of the musical world. Daniel has worked and studied with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, George Hurst, Colin Metters and Sir Colin Davies. He won first prize at the Admont International Conducting Competition in Austria,and the Aviv Competition in Israel, the 'Yuri Ahronovitch prize'. Daniel has recently made his Queen Elizabeth Hall Debut with the Eden Sinfonia, of which he is music director and founder.

Prepare to be intoxicated by entrancing dance rhythms, soulful improvisation and Gypsy passion delivered with panache and virtuoso technique as Kosmos explore the boundaries of classical music with Gypsy, Klezmer and Tango music.

Since winning the Leonard Bernstein Award at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival for his performance of the Brahms Double Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter under Christoph Eschenbach, 24 year old cellist Leonard Elschenbroich has been widely regarded as one of the most important and original German cellists of his generation. In recent years, the winner of the Borlettti-Buitoni-Trust and long time protégé of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation has caught the attention of today’s greatest international conductors such as Valery Gergiev and Christoph Eschenbach. A passionate chamber musician, he has performed with Katia & Marielle Labéque, Helene Grimaud and Gidon Kremer’s Kremerata Baltica. This Summer Leonard will give his American debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as at the Musikverein in Vienna with the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Selected as one of Classical Music’s brightest young stars in 2007 by the Independent, the young Shanghai musician Wu Qian received scholarships to study at the Menuhin School and then the Royal Academy of Music.  A multiple award and prize winner, when only 15, Qian performed a Mozart Piano Concerto in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, and the Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No 2 with the Philharmonia Orchestra.  Since then she has gone on to perform at international festivals and concerts halls across the world from the Royal Festival Hall, London to the Steinway Halls in New York.

The 2010 composer in residence is Jon Lord. His fanfare and melody based on a traditional Jersey ballad called the “La Chanson de Major Peirson” will feature its world premiere as the theme for the Festival. After straying from the classical path, Jon hit pop stardom with Deep Purple playing a pivotal role in one of the world’s most popular and creative bands from 1976 to 2002 selling over 150 million albums. Between albums and tours, he found time for classically themed solo work such as The Gemini Suite and the Sarabande album. Since leaving Purple, two compositions, "Boom of the Tingling Strings" and "Disguises (Suite for String Orchestra)", were recorded in Denmark in 2006 and released in April 2008 on EMI Classics. His Durham Concerto, commissioned by Durham University for its 175th anniversary celebrations in 2007 premiered in Durham Cathedral with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Stacey made his concerto début on the Bass at the age of thirteen. He has since won the Eugene Cruft Prize for the Double Bass, and became a prize-winner at the Koussevitsky Double Bass competition in Moscow in 1995. Now forging a busy career as a soloist, Stacey has performed numerous concertos in world reknowned venues. Well known for his exceptional flare for chamber music Stacey has had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s finest artists including Julian Rachlin, Nigel Kennedy, Daniel-Mueller-Schott, Anthony Marwood, Steven Isserlis and Janine Jansen.

One of the finest singers of her generation, the versatile former Royal Shakespeare Company actress and daughter of Sir John Dankworth and Cleo Laine is fast establishing herself as a star in the jazz world with two award winning albums.