Austrian flutist and musicologist Ulrike Anton received her musical education in Austria, France and Great Britain. She is one of the leading performers of works by composers who were persecuted by the Nazi-Regime during World War II. Together with exil.arte, the Austrian research center for exiled music, she won the Bank Austria Art Award 2010 for the project "Silenced Voices – Ostracized Music". She is frequently invited to perform works by exile composers at prestigious festivals, such as the Holocaust Education Week Festival in Toronto/Canada or the Tokyo Spring Festival. One of her CD projects as a soloist for the Gramola label includes works by Erwin Schulhoff and was recorded together with the world famous English Chamber Orchestra under conductor David Parry.  .....
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Katya Apekisheva is one of Europe's most renowned pianists, in demand internationally as both a soloist and as a chamber musician. Since becoming a prize-winner in the Leeds International and Scottish Piano Competitions and collecting awards such as the London Philharmonic 'Soloist of the Year' and the Terence Judd Award, she has been marked out as a pianist of exceptional gifts, performing with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Halle Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon, Jan Latham-Koenig and Alexander Lazarev.
As a recording artist, Katya has received widespread critical acclaim for her interpretations. Her recording of Grieg solo piano works in .....
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Graduating with a first-class degree in music from Christ Church, Oxford, bassoonist Patrick Bolton took up a place at the Royal Academy of Music where he studied the bassoon with Robin O’Neill, Jonathan Davies, and Amy Harman, and the contrabassoon with Simon Estell. He was generously supported throughout his studies by the Countess of Munster Trust, Help Musicians UK, and the Isabel May Walton Scholarship. Patrick graduated with distinction and was awarded the prestigious Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music for outstanding performance in a final recital. Following completion of his masters, Patrick won second prie in the final of The Arts Club – Sir Karl Jenkins Music Award 2020 in association with Classic FM.  .....
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Silvie is the director of Northern Cultural Projects, a community history and culture organisation based in Newcastle, and an Associate Researcher at Newcastle University’s Oral History Unit and Collective. She has been active in Holocaust education for many years, through school visits, exhibitions and dramatisations of oral and written testimonies by Holocaust Survivors. Women of Belsen  

Martin Fogel has received great acclaim for his artistry in Swedish, British and Japanese press: “a Swedish genius” CD Journal, Japan, “exudes easy charm” Classical Music, UK, “sheer magic” Classical Guitar Magazine, UK. A leading exponent of the guitar music of Toru Takemitsu, he received the prestigious Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2015. He has broadcast on TV and radio in Japan and across Europe. Graduating from the Royal Academy of Music and Gothenburg School of Music, Martin won prizes in the major competitions The Tokyo International Guitar Competition and The Takemitsu Competition, Finland. He has performed in Stockholm Concert Hall, King’s Place, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Recital Hall, and has played the Takemitsu and Giuliani guitar concertos with Turku Symphony Orchestra. His CDs have won special selection awards in leading international music magazines. Martin has performed in Britain, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Spain, China, Japan and Korea, and has given masterclasses and lectures at Estonian Academy of Music, Yonsei University, Korea, Turku Conservatoire, Finland, and Leeds College of Music, UK.  .....
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Daniel Grimwood is a performer of international renown, combining an exceptional talent, rare versatility and refinement, with an inquisitive personality. With a repertoire ranging from Elizabethan Virginal music to the works of living composers, he enjoys a solo and chamber career, which has taken him across the globe, performing on the most prestigious concert platforms, including the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room in London, Saffron Hall, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Symphony Hall Birmingham, the Sage Gateshead, the Three Choirs Festival, the Rachmaninoff and Gnessin Halls in Moscow, the Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as venues in Germany, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Estonia, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman. His musical interest started as a 3-year-old playing next door’s piano, and from the age of 7 he was performing in front of audiences. His training continued with Graham Fitch at the Purcell School, where he also studied violin, viola and composition, giving him a broad appreciation of classical music, and later with Vladimir Ovchinnikov and Peter Feuchtwanger. ... More

Yoshie Kawamura was born in Japan Nagoya and has been a resident in the UK since she was 11. She has given many performances worldwide where her main appearances were; in Germany 200th year of celebration for Chopin at Freiburg Musikhochschule, Switzerland Chamber Music Concert at Luzern Marianischer Saal, Berlin Chamber Music Festival Lunchtime Concert Series at Berliner Philharmoniker, and Netherlands International Stichting Apeldoon Festival. She was also invited to join the Berlin Philharmonic Quartet in performing Schumann’s Piano Quintet on their tour of Japan; subsequently she received an invitation from the Poznan Philharmonia to perform as a soloist in Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise in a series of concerts in Poland. Her most recent appearances include Lunchtime Concert at King’s Hall Newcastle University, Brahms and Shostakovich piano trio at Sage Gateshead Hall 1 and Rachmaninov Suite no.2 for two pianos at Durham Cathedral. ... More

Natalie Klouda is a British violinist and composer. Her early training was at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she was greatly influenced by Yehudi Menuhin. A project to write compositions for his 80th Birthday engaged her passion for both chamber music performance and composition. As a chamber musician Natalie has performed in major venues across Europe and in the USA including the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall and has recorded for the Resonus Classics label. Natalie was a founding member of the award winning Finzi Quartet, and prizes for their performances included the Austrian ‘Wiener Klassik Prize’ for interpretations of Joseph Haydn, 1st Prize in the 2010 Royal Over-Seas League Competition and a Swiss Global Artistic Foundation Award..  .....
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Possessing flawless technical mastery and a “beguiling silvery tone” (BBC Music Magazine), British violinist Jack Liebeck is one of the most respected musicians of his generation. Jack’s fascination with all things scientific has included collaborations with Professor Brian Cox, and his own annual festival Oxford May Music. Jack is also Artistic Director of the Desy Humboldt Science and Music Festival in Germany and the Alpine Classic in Grindelwald, Swizerland where programming is centred around themes of music, science and the arts.  A renowned soloist and chamber musician, Liebeck has performed with all the major British orchestras under conductors such as Andrew Litton, Leonard Slatkin, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Sir Mark Elder, and further afield with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (Oramo), Swedish Radio (Daniel Harding), Oslo Philharmonic (Saraste), Belgian National, Polish Radio Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Moscow State Symphony, St Louis Symphony (David Robertson), Indianapolis Symphony (Boyd), Melbourne Symphony (Hrůša), amongst many others. He can be heard on the soundtracks of The Theory of Everything, Jane Eyre and Anna Karenina. Jack is a professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music.

Spanish clarinetist Cristina Mateo Sáez has been prizewinner of several national and international competitions, including Grand Prize in the Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition (Los Angeles), Second Prize at Lancelot International Clarinet Competition (France); Second Prize in the International Clarinet Association (ICA), among others. Ms. Mateo Sáez has appeared as a soloist with different orchestras, including the Rouen Opera Orchestra playing the world premiere Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra “Summerwind” by F. Tanada; the Colburn Orchestra under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, playing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto Kv.622, Introduction, Theme and Variations by G. Rossini with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra or Tomasi Clarinet Concerto with the National Repertory Orchestra.  .....
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Much in demand as a soloist, chamber and orchestral player, Welsh cellist Steffan Morris enjoys a very varied career. At 13 years old, Steffan started studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey with distinguished cellist, Thomas Carroll. While a student there he performed as a soloist at many notable venues such as St David’s Hall and Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London. At 17 years old, Steffan won the Texaco Young Musician of Wales. In 2010, Steffan moved to Vienna to study the cello under the prestigious tutor Professor Heinrich Schiff at the University of Music and Performing Arts. He is the youngest ever guest principal cello with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and has also been guest principal cello with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In January 2020, he joined the Royal Northern Sinfonia as principal cellist.  .....
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The Opera North Youth Chorus (ONYC) provides young people aged 14–19 from across Yorkshire and beyond with exciting opportunities to further their musical education and talent through the support of a professional opera company. As well as developing their singing voices and musicianship skills in weekly sessions under the direction of Nicholas Shaw, members have the opportunity to work with professional directors and movement specialists to develop skills in drama and stagecraft. They also regularly take part in creative projects, working with composers and writers. The Chorus perform in exciting concerts and shows locally and nationally throughout the year. The Opera North Youth Chorus is supported by the late John Barchard and Dr Claire Barchard, The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, The Holbeck Charitable Trust and a grant for Arts Scholarships from the Leverhulme Trust.

Alexandra Raikhlina was born in Moscow in 1983 and moved to Belgium in 1990. At the age of 13 she was Laureate of the “Charles de Beriot” competition before being awarded a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natalia Boyarsky. Later she received a full scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Takeno and Krzsisztof Smietana. Alexandra has performed extensively as a soloist and a chamber musician in Belgium, England, Switzerland, Russia, Greece, Germany, Portugal and Hong-Kong. She has appeared in Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Fairfield Halls, Sage Gateshead, Centro Cultural de Belem, Elbphilharmonie.  .....
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Royal Northern Sinfonia, orchestra of Sage Gateshead, is the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra. Founded in 1958, RNS has built a worldwide reputation for the North East through the quality of its music-making and the immediacy of the connections the musicians make with audiences. The orchestra regularly flies the flag for the region at major festivals, including the BBC Proms, most recently performing Handel’s Water Music at Stage @theDock in Hull – the first Prom performed outside of London since 1930. They appear frequently at venues and festivals in Europe, including La folle journée in Nantes. In recent seasons they have toured to Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul and Tokyo.  .....
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Nicholas Shaw is Youth Chorus Master of Opera North and Organist and Director of Chapel Music at Lincoln’s Inn in London. For Opera North this season he has prepared children for productions of La Bohème and Kurt Weill’s Street Scene as well as week by week work with the Youth Ensembles of the company. Next summer he will conduct these ensembles in productions of Britten’s The Golden Vanity and Weir’s The Black Spider in Halifax and Edinburgh. Nicholas is equally at home working with adult voices and in the last season has prepared the Chorus of Opera North for Garry Walker as well as preparing singers for English Touring Opera’s St Matthew Passion. As Director of Music at Lincoln’s Inn he is half way through a ten year commissioning project of substantial new choral works based on extracts from the writings of John Donne, one of the Inn’s most famous Preachers, and he has directed first performances of works by Casken, Dove, Esenwalds, Frances-Hoad and Woolf. Nicholas trained as organ scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford and studied at the Royal Academy of Music, specialising in choral conducting. He was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2012.

One of the UK’s busiest young organists, Jeremiah’s work has taken him across Europe and to America, performing in venues such at Westminster Abbey, Church of the Advent in Boston, St Peter’s church Görlitz and Bratislava castle. His work has been broadcast on television and radio in the UK, France and the Czech Republic, appearing alongside the BBC singers on Radio 3 and playing a televised recital as part of the Janácek May International Music Festival. Most recently, Jeremiah joined the French chamber choir Dulci Jubilo performing Escaich’s Trois Motets in the presence of the composer, which was recorded for broadcast. Upcoming projects include recitals in venues such as Uppsala Cathedral, Sées Cathedral, Selby Abbey and Buckfast Abbey, as well as further concerts and a CD recording with the Bettancourt prize winning choir La Maîtrise de Toulouse.  .....
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Liubov Ulybysheva was born in Moscow and started playing the cello at the age of five. Having studied at the Gnessin Special Music School and the Russian Music Academy, she came to London in 2003 to continue her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Stefan Popov and Oleg Kogan, graduating with 1st class honours. Following that, Liubov completed a Master of Music Degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Professor Felix Schmidt, winning the Moir Carnegie Prize for cello on graduation. Liubov became the only cellist to win a prestigious scholarship from the Paganini International Competition funded by the Investment Programme Foundation, Moscow. She was also featured in the Reader's Digest magazine as one of the young stars of the Russian Hope feature.  .....
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Rosalind Ventris is a leading advocate of the viola, and works as a performer, teacher, researcher and writer. As a recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, West Cork, Purcell Room, Aldeburgh Festival, Auditorium du Louvre, Bozar, Great Music in Irish Houses, Slovak Philharmonic and Het Concertgebouw. She has been invited to perform concerti with the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Cymru, l’Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie and the Belgian National Orchestra.  .....
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Noted for his rich sound, purity of tone and uncompromising musicality, Jamie has appeared throughout much of Europe, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the UK in both solo and chamber capacity. He has performed concertos with many world-class orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Philharmonia. Jamie, who was born in Germany but now lives in North Yorkshire, has recorded 13 concertos with the Philharmonia and the RPO, which include the Dvořák and Schumann with Vladimir Ashkenazy, released to great critical acclaim.  He has also recorded much of the sonata repertoire with Daniel Grimwood, the complete works for cello by Britten and a film of the Britten Suites for solo cello, premiered on Sky Arts, all released on Signum.  .....
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