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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The Bell Quartet was established in 2018 by four postgraduate students at the Royal Academy of Music. Sisters Rebecca and Hannah Bell quickly formed a strong musical and social bond with violist Erik Fauss (from California) and cellist Joseph Keenan (from Wales), and their shared passion for chamber music led to the formation of the Bell Quartet. Within a few weeks of establishing the quartet, the ensemble was successful in winning one of six places on the Royal Academy of Music’s prestigious Frost ASSET (Advanced Specialist String Ensemble Training) scheme, coached by Garfield Jackson of the Endellion Quartet. Since then, the Bell Quartet has given debut recitals in London and at Eton College, and has taken part in masterclasses with the renowned Doric Quartet and coaching with Jo Cole, Mats Lidström, and Martin Outram. The Quartet is looking forward to upcoming engagements including a second recital at Eton College Chapel, masterclasses with the Doric Quartet and Natalie Clein, the Wolfe Wolfonsohn String Quartet Prize, as well as a performance at the ‘Amazing Women of The Academy’ chamber music series at the Royal Academy of Music.

I am a cultural theorist and musicologist, working on a range of topics in music- and sound-related areas. I am a specialist in the Holocaust, and music and politics. My work ranges from the cultural history of music and masculinity, theorising music's intervention in communities and subjectivities, sound, soundscapes and urban experience, the politics of noise, music in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies. I have interests in memory studies, sound studies, Italian workerist and autonomist theory, psychoanalysis and theoretical approaches to 'affective' states. I am co-founder and co-ordinating editor (with Richard Middleton) of the journal Radical Musicology.

Jan Bradley is a freelance percussionist based in Manchester UK. He plays for various orchestras including the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Opera North, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra and Manchester Camerata.
As well as performing regularly as an orchestral percussionist, he is also known for his work with 4-MALITY Percussion Quartet. Jan has been part of the quartet since it was formed in 1999. Since then the quartet have performed extensively around the UK and have also been fortunate to give concerts in Ireland, Finland, Germany, Belgium, France, Turkey, Spain, Australia and Taiwan.
He is also a composer and arranger, primarily for percussion. although he has in addition written for Trumpet, Voice and a percussion concerto with full orchestra.
His works have been performed worldwide, including at .... More

Swiss conductor Monica Buckland has been based on Tyneside since 2016, after 25 years in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany. She originally trained as an opera conductor but has gone on to enjoy a wide-ranging career, from guest concerts with orchestras such as the Tonhalle Zurich, through conducting ballet at the Semperoper Dresden, to conducting the backing orchestra for a rock group. She has worked with both professional and amateur orchestras and choirs, and has recorded for CD and radio. Monica Buckland has won several awards, including a scholarship to the Musik-Akademie Basel, a prize at the Leeds Conductors’ Competition (England), and the conducting prize of the Schweizerischer Tonkünstlerverein / Kiefer-Hablitzel Stiftung. From 2004 to 2006, Monica Buckland was Principal of the Conservatoire Supérieur et Académie de Musique Tibor Varga in Sion, Valais, becoming the first woman to head a conservatoire in Switzerland. .... More

Alice is an actress and theatre maker based in County Durham. Since graduating with a First Class BA Hons in English and Theatre Studies from the University of Warwick (2017) Alice has been pursuing her acting career in the North East. Her recent theatre credits include The Little Maid Who Danced to Every Mood with the Northumberland Theatre Company, Hear Her Roar with the Workie Ticket Theatre Company and appearing as a storyteller for the November Club’s Beyond the End of Road. Alice is very excited to be performing in War Mother and to share this unique theatre piece as part of the Brundibár Festival.

The New Zealander Mezzo-soprano, Sarah Castle, studied at Victoria University, before moving to Manchester to study singing at the Royal Northern College of Music. Sarah Castle has been gaining attention for her committed and idiomatic performances of a wide-ranging repertoire spanning over three-and-a-half centuries of different styles and composers. Based in the UK, she has developed an ongoing relationship with London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where she debuted in 2001 as Tisbe in Cenerentola and has subsequently appeared there as Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos, Page in Salome, Mademoiselle Dangeville in Adriana Lecouvreur, and as Siegrune in Die Walküre, Flosshilde in Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Keith Warner. A seasoned interpreter of Wagnerian repertoire, Sarah Castle has appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 2004 (Wellgunde and Grimgerde in Der Ring des Nibelungen), Bavarian State Opera (Flosshilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen), .... More

Described by the Times as 'mesmerising' and 'soaringly passionate', British cellist Natalie Clein has built a distinguished career, regularly performing at major venues and with orchestras worldwide. She records regularly with Hyperion, and has recorded the two Cello Concertos by Camille Saint-Saëns as well as Bloch's Schelomo and Bruch's Kol Nidrei with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to great critical acclaim. A solo disc with works by Bloch, Ligeti and Dallapiccola was released on 27 January 2017 and awarded Diapason d'Or. She has previously released 3 discs for EMI. In the upcoming season, Natalie Clein tours Australia, the USA and Ireland, and performs a programme of Beethoven cello works at Festival Cervantino with Marianna Shirinyan. In the UK, she returns to Wigmore Hall and Eaton Square and gives recitals in Cardiff, Nottingham, Bournemouth and Jersey. Concerto dates include Bloch's Schelomo with Opole Philharmonic. .... More

“Great Britain’s most outstanding solo viola player.” – The Times As a concerto soloist, Philip Dukes has appeared with the BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, The Hallé, The Philharmonia, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, London Mozart Players, Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square, BBC Scottish Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 1995 Philip made his BBC Promenade Concerto debut returning again in 1999, 2005 and 2007. Philip has recorded a wide range of chamber and solo CDs, most notably the complete works for viola by Rebecca Clarke for Naxos and a debut recording for Deutsche Grammophon of the Triple Concerto by Sir Michael Tippett recorded live at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. The complete box set of Mozart Viola Quintets for Hyperion Records with the Nash Ensemble has also recently been released to critical acclaim. .... More

Doreen Frankland or Doz as everyone knows her has been treading the old theatre boards for nearly 40 years from Shakespeare to Dario Fo. She is absolutely honoured to be involved with the Brundibár Festival in "War Mother", such an interesting and poignant piece of theatre. Recent ventures include the beautiful play Stella which was a great success at Edinburgh Fringe 2018, Performance Live (BBC2) Taxi Tales 2018. Periplum outdoor extravaganza The Glass Ceiling which toured all the Tees Valley. 2018.

“A truly exceptional talent” (Benoît Duteurtre), “exciting, exact and subtle” (Neue Württembergische Zeitung), “confident” (The Independent), and “elegant” (The Times), violinist Daniel Garlitsky possesses “an exceptional and pure sound” (Ouest France), “incredible precision and character” (Dr K. G. Berg), and delivers “majestic interpretation” (Diapason). DG is descendant of a lineage of famous Russian violinists and pedagogues. His grandfather, Mikhail Garlitsky, was the founder of the « Step by step » violin method, still widely regarded as one of the best violin learning techniques. His father, Boris, winner of the Paganini competition, served as concertmaster of the Moscow Virtuosi orchestra and later of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Born in Moscow, Daniel Garlitsky began his musical studies (violin and piano) at the « Specialized Gnessin School » at the age of 6. Having settled in France in the early 90s, he continued his tuition at the Lyon Conservatory and graduated with highest distinctions. .... More

Eilidh is a member of Royal Northern Sinfonia, and was previously a member of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Principal Flute of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Eilidh enjoys a busy freelance career with other orchestras around the UK and abroad. Her most recent engagements include work as guest principal flute with the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Opera North and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. She has also worked with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others. Eilidh also works as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing regularly in RNS chamber music concerts at Sage Gateshead and around the North East. .... More

In the 80s, while he was writing about education in Marie Claire, Jean-Jacques Greif taught French and physics now and then in a small school. He wrote some articles about science in a magazine for children. His first published opus was a documentary book for children about computers (1986). From 1988 to 1995, he wrote how-to books about the Macintosh computer and its software. After more than twenty books in French (two of which aimed specifically at children), he wrote seven in English under the name Adam Greif. Four books were published by a London publisher, then three by Peachpit Press in Berkeley. Greif's first novel for teenagers was published in Paris in 1996. L’École des Loisirs, a leading French publisher of children’s literature, has published sixteen of his books so far. Most of his books tell the story of one central character. Sometimes, it is a famous person: Beethoven, Mozart, Einstein (a book for teenagers and one for adults), Joan of Arc (a novel and a picture book), Marilyn Monroe. Sometimes, a not so famous person: his father, his mother, other unknown heroes. .... More

Training and skills:
Trained at A.L.R.A 3 year acting course, Sorrell Carson Stockton Billingham Tech, Foundation drama, 2 yrs. Ken Parkin Fencing (Most Bladed weapons) A.F.A Basic coach Foil, Epee, Sabre. Eskrima (stick fighting). Martial arts: Basic Kung Fu, (Sholin Golden Fist) Karate (Wado Ryu) Progressive combat. Archery. Guitar. Video Production. Juggling, Stilt walking.

Film credits include:

The Boy on the Bus	Simon Pitts	Flourishing Pictures
Harrigans Nick		Tall Trees Films
Sleepworking	Gavin Williams	Hook Pictures

 
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Robert studied Music at Newcastle and Acting and Directing at The School of the Science of Acting and the National Theatre in London. He has worked extensively in London and the North of England as Head of Theatre in Colleges, Theatre in Education, Youth Theatres and Community Theatre projects. He has directed many plays and music theatre but has a particular passion for early and Contemporary Opera. He is also a singer, instrumentalist and conductor working with and directing various early music ensembles touring the UK . He is presently working with Edinburgh Studio Opera on Gianni Schicchi and Dido and Aeneas for March 2018.

After reading Zoology at the University of Nottingham, Siân went onto complete a postgraduate course at the Royal Northern College of Music under Corin Long. She was awarded the Professional Performance Diploma and established herself as a freelance bassist in great demand. She has performed with most of the country’s top orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, Orchestra of Opera North and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, as well as many chamber ensembles including Composers Ensemble, Kantak, and European Union Chamber Orchestra. With the Manchester Camerata, she premiered the virtuosic ‘Rondo for 9’ by John Manduel, written to celebrate the life of Ida Carroll, a past figurehead of the double bass. This was made all the more special as she had won the Ida Carroll Award for young bassists several years earlier. ... More

Vanessa Lann (New York, 1968) began composing and playing the piano at the age of five and has continued ever since. She studied composition with Ruth Schonthal at the Westchester Conservatory of Music, where she received the William Petchek Scholarship. For two summers she was a scholarship student at the Tanglewood Institute, and she holds degrees from Harvard University and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands. Her works are performed throughout the world, in such venues as the Philharmonie (Berlin), Lincoln Center (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), the Doelen (Rotterdam) and the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), as well as at leading European and American festivals. She has received commissions and prizes from internationally renowned soloists, ensembles and organizations. ..... More

Jessica was born in Chichester, West Sussex. She began to learn the clarinet aged nine whilst one of the first girl choristers at Salisbury Cathedral. Jessica graduated from the Royal College of Music with a First Class Honours degree in 2004, where she studied with Janet Hilton, Michael Collins and Tim Lines. In 2005, Jessica gained her PGDip with distinction from the RCM where she was the Wilkins-Mackerras scholar and was supported by a full grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. After a busy freelance career in London working with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the London Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jessica joined Royal Northern Sinfonia as Second Clarinet/Principal Bass Clarinet in September 2009.

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.

Mick says he is delighted and privileged to be involved  in the Brundibár Arts Festival 2019 and looking forward to exploring "War Mother".  Theatre credits include: George in "A Nightingale Sang" and Bernie in "My Night With Reg", both with less is MORE productions at the Middlesbrough Theatre, John O` Gaunt in tours (Yorkshire & Germany) of "Richard II", Falstaff in a pub tour of "Henry IV", Nick in "The Beggars of York" at York Theatre Royal, Alfie in "One Man Two Guvnors", Ebenezer Scrooge in a Northern tour of "A Christmas Carol", L/Cpl. Jones in "Dad`s Army" at the John Cooper Studio, York and as Michael in Lisa Holdsworth`s "Cutting The Cake" for Slung Low Shorts, The Hub, Leeds.  Film work includes: Sid in "Love`s Best Habit"-Shakespeare Short Film Festival Stratford-on-Avon 2016, Peter Lumley in "The Great Yorkshire Bank Robbery"(2016), Richard Layton in "Fractal"(2017) and Paul in "Magdalene, A Girl Out Of The Blue"(2018). TV credits include commercials for Ladbrokes(2018) and Glossop Caravans(2017 & 2018), Coronation Street, Cold Feet and The Queen & I.

Author of an autobiography, Bubelè l’enfant à l’ombre (“The child playing with his shadow”, published in the Belgian literary Heritage Collection, “Espace Nord”). Several of his plays were awarded. He was honor guest in Angers (France) of the International Conference Charles Chaplin. Orphan of the Holocaust, he survived a numerous family destroyed. He refuses the status of victim considering himself as saved. He lives in homage of his saviors, continuing their spirit of resistance. To be alive is a daily victory. In Chaplin’s humor he studied he finds inspiration for his own resilience. And the theater, as a living art, offers him the chance to give life to his deaths. Despite all the genocides, he believes in humanity. See www.adolphe-nysenholc.be.

Michael O’Donnell was born in Newcastle, but spent most of his childhood growing up in Perthshire, Scotland. He took up the oboe aged 13 and two years later gained piano and oboe scholarships to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Junior Department, studying with Stephen West. During these years he played principal oboe and cor anglais with the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland and Great Britain respectively. Mike moved to London in 2002 to study with Christopher Cowie and Gareth Hulse at the Royal College of Music as a Foundation Scholar, graduating in 2006 with 1st class honours. Mike was appointed 2nd oboe in the Irish Chamber Orchestra in 2009. Prior to this he worked as a freelance oboist in London playing guest 2nd oboe with many orchestras around the country, also appearing as guest principal oboe with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others ... More

Helena began the harp at age six, beginning on the clarsach before moving onto the pedal harp. She attended the Royal College of Music, supported by the Henry Wood Trust. She studied with Daphne Boden and Ieuan Jones and participated in masterclasses with Marisa Robles and Isabelle Perrin. Whilst at RCM she performed as principal harp with the RCM Philharmonic, Symphony and Opera Orchestras as well as with the London Arts Orchestra and Orchestra Vitae. With the Orion Trio (flute, viola and harp) she reached the final of the British Harp Chamber Music Competition. Helena is interested in using arts in healthcare and has worked with schemes at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.

One of Portugal’s foremost musicians, both nationally and internationally, Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro is considered a ‘poet of the piano’, whose musical interpretations, characterized by profound emotion and intellectuality, are highly appreciated by the public and by music critics. Born in Porto, he studied in various countries before becoming a disciple of Lyudmila Roshchina at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where he obtained a Doctorate in Musical Performance in 2000, with maximum classifications, holding the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Scholarship. Playing the whole spectrum of the piano repertoire, from the Baroque to Contemporary Music, he has premiered many works from composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Marcelo Nisinman, Eurico Carrapatoso and Sofia Gubaidulina. ... More

Alexandra Raikhlina was born in Moscow in 1983 and moved to Belgium in 1990. Aged 13, she was Laureate of the 'Charles de Beriot' competition in Belgium, before being awarded a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natalia Boyarsky. Later she received a full scholarship for both her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with David Takeno and Krzsisztof Smietana. Alexandra has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, Greece, Hong-Kong and throughout the United Kingdom. She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at the Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Fairfield Halls and Sage Gateshead. Alexandra has performed as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Epsom Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra and .....
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Gemma Rosefield, born in London in 1981, studied for a Masters Degree with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music, supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. She had previously graduated with Distinction at the Royal Academy of Music. Major competition successes include First Prize in the European Music for Youth Competition in Oslo, the Royal Overseas League String Competition, the Making Music Young Concert Artists Award, the Kirckman Award, and the Prix Academie Maurice Ravel. She has taken part in masterclasses with such musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Gary Hoffman, Johannes Goritzki, Frans Helmerson, Zara Nelsova and Bernard Greenhouse. When she was only 18, The Strad wrote about her “Eighteen-year-old Gemma Rosefield & gave a heartfelt reading of Bruch’s Meditation on the Jewish chant, Kol Nidrei. Her eminent control, her fine contrast between light and shade and her broad, expressive brush strokes made this a deeply affecting performance. The sheer sophistication and depth of understanding she revealed were inspirational.” ... More

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. In 2006 she won the First Prize at the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artist Competition, followed by .....
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With a wide repertoire of styles from baroque to contemporary, the mezzo-soprano Mojca Vedernjak is as comfortable on the opera stage as she is in the concert hall. From 1999 to 2003 Mojca Vedernjak was engaged by Theater Bielefeld. Now freelance, she appears at opera houses and opera festivals throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy. Her appearances included roles such as Angelina / LA CENERENTOLA, Rosina / IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, Doralice / LA GAZZETTA, Contessa Melibea / IL VIAGGIO A REIMS, Hänsel / HÄNSEL UND GRETEL, Dorabella / COSI FAN TUTTI, Cherubino / LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Idamante / IDOMENEO, Cecilio / LUCCIO SILLA, Charlotte / WERTHER, Marguerite / LA DAMNATION DE FAUST, Carmen / CARMEN. She has given numerous concert performances, most notably with the Orchestre National de Lorraine, Janacek Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Swiss Chamber Orchestra, the Bielefelder Philharmonic, the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Orchestra National de Lille ... More

There is no doubting the quality of Simon Wallfisch’s artistry... his ceaseless shifts in tone create characterisations of quite exceptional vividness..." Gramophone. “A multi-talented musician of incredible versatility” (BBC Radio 3), Simon Wallfisch is one of Britain’s most sought after Baritones, at home on the opera and concert stage. In 2017, Simon Wallfisch performed as soloist at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall with the Nash Ensemble live for BBC Radio 3, sang leading roles at the Nürnberg Staatsoper and recorded his third Song CD for Nimbus Records entitled: "Gesänge des Orients" to be released in July 2018. Born in London into a musical family, Simon Wallfisch studied cello, voice and conducting at the Royal College of Music between 2000 and 2006. During his studies in London, he was awarded several prizes including The Georg Solti Foundation, Emmy Destinn Foundation, Giuseppe Di Stefano Competition Sicily, The DAAD, Countess of Munster Trust, The English Speaking Union and the Royal Overseas League "Young Singer of Promise" 2005 ... More

Amy joined Royal Northern Sinfonia in September 2017 having completed her MA at the Royal Academy of Music earlier that year. Whilst at the Academy Amy studied the flute with Michael Cox and Karen Jones and piccolo with Pat Morris. She graduated with distinction and a DipRAM award as well as prizes including the Woodwind Finalists’ Prize and HRH Duchess of Gloucester Prize. Amy’s studies were generously supported by the ABRSM and the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund. Originally from Bromley, Amy began learning the flute at the Bromley Youth Music Trust where she first realised how much she enjoyed playing in orchestral and chamber music settings. In 2012 she moved to Manchester to study at the RNCM where she learned with Laura Jellicoe and Richard Davis. Outside of RNS Amy has recently appeared as guest principal flute with orchestras including the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic. ... More