Artists
Sophie Bevan - Soprano
"...she sings with both limpid beauty and intelligence, her voice blending to perfection …"The Times
Sophie Bevan is the eldest of eight children in an extended and musically talented family. She studied at the Royal College of Music and as Karaviotis Scholar under Lillian Watson at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, where she was awarded the Queen Mother Rose Bowl for excellence in music.
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Her concert repertoire ranges from Handel to Macmillan and she has worked with many conductors including Ed Gardner, Sir Neville Marriner, Phillipe Herreweghe and Sir Charles Mackerras.
Already highly accomplished on the operatic stage, her recent engagements include Boris Godonov, Despina in Cosi fan Tutte, The Coronation of Poppea, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Télaïre in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier for English National Opera and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte for Garsington Opera.
In 2010, Sophie received the Critics' Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent, the judges noting that she had ‘already attracted warmly appreciative critical and public attention, earning rapturous praise last year for her singing of Susanna in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro at Garsington Opera and of Polissena in Handel’s Radamisto at English National Opera’.
Future engagements include a recital at the Wigmore Hall and her debut with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
James Francis Brown - Composer
James Francis Brown is a firmly established and original musical presence in the world of composition, with works heard regularly in the UK and abroad. He has recently reconstructed and orchestrated sketches for an early Wagner comic opera for the Royal Opera House and his witty score for the multiple-award winning short film, The Clap, has gained something of a cult following.
Timothy Burril - Producer
Timothy Burrill's astounding career saw him work on the Superman films before co-producing Polanski's Oscar-nominated Tess. He also produced or co-produced Supergirl, Bitter Moon with Roman Polanski, Roland Joffé's Vatel, which was the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, Roman Polanski's Oscar winning film The Pianist, which won the Palm D'Or at the Cannes Festival in 2002...
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...Francois Ozon's The Swimming Pool, Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist, and La Vie en Rose with Legende in Paris. The film went on to win numerous awards including BAFTAs and Oscars for the U.K. crew.
He was Chairman of BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Managing Director of Allied Stars, (financing Chariots of Fire), Administrator and a Governor of the National Film and Television School and of The Royal National Theatre. Timothy Burrill was Managing Director of Pathé Productions in London, one of three companies that won an Arts Council of England National Lottery Franchise. He was on the Board of the British Film Commission, is an Honorary Advisor to the Script Factory and represented the United Kingdom at F.I.A.P.F.
He was elected a Director on the Board of The European Academy for Film and Television and became the Vice-Chairman of the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (representing over 1,000 independent film producers in the U.K.). He served on Sir Peter Middleton's Advisory Committee on Film Finance set up by the Secretary of State for the Department of National heritage and subsequently served on the Labour Government's Film Policy Review Committee.
DanielCohenK Daniel Cohen - Conductor
"A keen musical intelligence"Daniel Barenboim
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.
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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.
Michael Collins – Clarinet
"5 Star"BBC Music Magazine
The Artistic Director of the Liberation Festival is one of the great clarinettists of the classical world. His dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship have made him one of today's most sought-after soloists. Awarded the Lifetime Achievement award...
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...by the Royal Philharmonic Society, Michael has played with all the great orchestras and has his own recital series at the Wigmore Hall. He has performed at the BBC Proms more often than any other wind soloist, including several appearances at the renowned Last Night of the Proms.
Phillip Dukes - Viola
"Philip Dukes... World Class, and perfect technical mastery"
The Strad
As a concerto soloist, Philip Dukes has appeared with the all the major UK orchestras including BBC Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, The Philharmonia, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Mozart Players and the Ulster Orchestra, amongst...
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many others and in 1995 Philip made his BBC Promenade Concerto début returning frequently over the following years. Philip is also Professor of Viola at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Artist-in-Residence at Queen’s University Belfast, Artistic Director of Marlborough College and Artistic Director of the Festival International de Musique de la Hague in France. Philip Dukes was unanimously elected a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in recognition of his success as an international viola soloist, and is an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
On the 20th March, 2011, Philip will perform an anniversary concert on an Archinto Stradivarius Viola (RAM Collection) celebrating 20 years since his 1991 début recital at The Purcell Room.
CelloJohnstonGuy Johnston - Cello
"Lovely burnished and varied sound."New York Times
One of the leading cellists of his generation, Guy was the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2000, led the 2001 Opening Night of the Proms and won a Classical Brit Award. He performs with many of the world's greatest orchestras including the Philharmonia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, St.Petersburg Symphony, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and has undertaken tours of Japan with the Osaka Philharmonic.
Harriet MacKenzie
"Full of panache... Captivating"The Times
Harriet has toured Europe, America and Japan as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Harriet gave her highly acclaimed Purcell Room recital debut as part of the Park Lane Young Artists Series. Since then she has given recitals in prestigious venues...
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such as the Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouwe and the Beers Van Berlage Hall in Amsterdam, the Marble Hall in Budapest, Leeds International Concert Series, the Lysenko Hall of Marble Columns in Kyiv, the Expo Dome in Japan - which was broadcast on Japanese National television. Harriet premiered Robert Fokkens violin concerto, written and dedicated to her, at the South Bank. She has broadcast recitals 'live' for BBC Radio 3, Radio London, Classic FM and for Hungarian National Radio. Harriet regularly gives concerto performances in the UK and abroad.
Victoria Simmonds - Mezzo-soprano
" dizzyingly beautiful … every note suffused the Oxfordshire evening air with a scrumptious warm glow "The Independent
Victoria was a multiple award-winning student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1999 she sang an acclaimed Rosina (The Barber of Seville) for British Youth Opera and Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito) for Glyndebourne Touring Opera...
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She made her English National Opera debut a year later with Nancy T’ang (Nixon in China) and, thereafter, became a company principal. In 2005 she took the title role in Carmen in the Royal Albert Hall and made her debut at the Netherlands Opera and at the Concertgebouw.
In addition to a host of concert engagements, including multiple performances at the Proms, Victoria has enjoyed numerous festival appearances including as Wellgunde (Das Rheingold) for the Salzburg Festival under Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Victoria created the title role in Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and Dorabella in Tim Albery's production of Cosi fan Tutte (both for Opera North); she recently played Zaida in Martin Duncan's critically acclaimed production of Il Turco in Italia (for Garsington Opera).
In 2012/13 she is due to perform at the Aix Festival and in a host of European opera houses in the world premiere of Written on Skin by George Benjamin.
Alexander Sitkovetsky - Violin
"One of the Stars of the New Century"The Strad
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.
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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.
Mark Stone - Baritone
"Stone sings with meticulous care for clarity and shape."The Independent
Mark Stone studied at King's College, Cambridge and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
In the UK he has sung for The Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North¸ Glyndebourne and Garsington Opera...
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...His performances abroad have taken him all around the world with operatic roles including Ford (Falstaff), Silvio (I Pagliacci), Figaro (The Barber of Seville), Don Giovanni, Onegin (Eugene Onegin), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) and Chou En-lai (Nixon in China).
He has sung at all the major UK concert halls with all the major UK orchestras including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras. He has also performed song recitals at Wigmore Hall (London) and Carnegie Hall (New York).
He is a director of the CD label Stone Records, and he has also recorded for Sony BMG, EMI, Virgin, Opera Rara, Dutton and LSO Live.
Jennifer Stumm - Viola
"If one player should be singled out it is Jennifer Stumm"The Guardian
Violist Jennifer Stumm is internationally recognized as a musical innovator and dynamic advocate for her instrument. Hailed by the Washington Post for the "opallike beauty" of her playing, Ms. Stumm is the winner of three major competitions: Concert Artists Guild in 2006...
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... where she took First Prize as the first solo violist in the nearly 60 year history of the Competition; and the William Primrose and Geneva Competitions in 2005. Also in 2005, Ms. Stumm was honored with an award from the Vriendenkrans of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw.
Recent appearances of note include at Carnegie Hall, the famed "Grachten" Festival in Amsterdam, at the International Viola Congress in Montreal, the Kilkenny Festival in Ireland and performances with orchestra at Alice Tully Hall in New York and Bridgewater Hall in Manchester with Yan Pascal Tortellier.
Wu Qian - Piano
"richly coloured, majestic, a dreamy lyricism."The Independent
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...
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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.
Laura Wright - Soprano
Soprano Laura Wright kicks off 2012 in spectacular style touring with Alfie Bow having performed live to over 150,000 people in the last 12 months.
In 2011 Laura became one of the biggest selling classical artists in the Uk, our-selling some of the world's biggest classical names.