Biographies

Matthias Feile - Artistic Director

Matthias Feile was born in Munich and studied music in his home town and in Salzburg and Lübeck. He has had an extensive career as a soloist and chamber musician which has taken him to many European countries and beyond. From 1986 to 1991 he was co-principal cellist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and principal cellist of the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1991 to 1998. Since their inception in October 2000 he has been Artistic Director of the Marryat Players.

 

Margaret Lewisohn - Founder

Margaret Lewisohn was born in England and educated in New Zealand where she studied History and Journalism at Victoria and Canterbury Universities. As the recipient of a journalism scholarship she was awarded a job on Wellington's morning newspaper, the "Dominion". In 1985 she returned to England where she studied music and has since taught piano both privately and at The Rowans School in Wimbledon. In 2000 she established the Marryat Players, which rehearses in the Lewisohns' home in Marryat Road. She is married to Oscar Lewisohn and they have two string-playing daughters who are both founder members of the orchestra.

 

Nicola Benedetti - Violin

Nicola Benedetti was named BBC’s Young Musician of the Year in 2004. Her debut album with Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra received critical acclaim and she has recently recorded her second disc with Deutsche Grammophon. This season she will perform her BBC Prom debut in London and concerts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia. Born in Scotland of Italian heritage, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of five. In 1997 she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School where she studied with Natasha Boyarsky. Since the end of 2002 when Nicola left the Menuhin School she has been studying privately with Maciej Rakowski. She plays a Petrus Guarnerius of Venice made in 1751.

 

Alina Ibragimova - Violin

Alina Ibragimova was born in Russia in 1985 and studied first in Moscow and then at the Yehudi Menuhin School where she was a pupil of Natasha Boyarsky. She currently studies with Gordan Nikolitch and Adrian Butterfield (baroque violin) at the Royal College of Music and with Christian Tetzlaff. Concerts this year include her debuts with the Philharmonia and BBC Symphony orchestras and at the Wigmore Hall with a new solo work written for her by Huw Watkins. Performing with what The Times described as ‘a mixture of total abandonment and total control that was in no way contradictory’ Alina’s recent engagements have included concerts with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Alina performs on a 1738 Pietro Guarneri violin kindly provided by Georg von Opel.

 

Alexander Baillie - Director/Soloist

Described recently by "The Guardian" as "...one of Britain's best kept secrets..." Alexander Baillie is internationally recognised as one of the finest cellists of his generation.

He began playing the cello at the comparatively late age of twelve having been directly inspired by the late Jacqueline du Pré. He went on to study at London’s Royal College of Music and with André Navarra in Vienna.

Alexander Baillie has appeared with many British orchestras and has worked with Sir Simon Rattle, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and has appeared regularly as cello soloist in concertos, recitals and festivals throughout the world. He has given notable first performances of works by Penderecki, Hans Werner Henze, Takemitsu, Colin Matthews and H.K.Gruber. Recordings include the Tippett Triple Concerto with the composer conducting and the Shostakovich First Concerto with Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic. His version of the Britten Cello Suites achieved the highest acclaim in the New York press. He features in the film "Dvorak...who?" about the motivation of young people falling in love with classical music.

He is Professor of Cello at the Hochschule für Künste, Bremen, and Guest Visiting Professor at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.

 

Robert Max - Conductor

Robert Max enjoys a colourful career as a conductor, cellist and chamber musician. He regularly conducts the Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra and the Arad Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir in Romania, and has conducted the Oradea Philharmonic Orchestra. He was awarded the title of Honorary Professor by the Rachmaninov Institute after regularly conducting, giving recitals and directing a week-long chamber music academy in Russia. Robert has also performed as soloist and conductor with the BBC Concert Orchestra and with the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra. He currently conducts the Symphony and String Orchestras at Royal Holloway, University of London. In September 2005 he became Musical Director of the Oxford Symphony Orchestra.

Robert’s career as a solo cellist has taken him all over the world. As cellist of the Barbican Piano Trio for eighteen years he has made many recordings and performed live on the BBC World Service and Radio 3 and on television and radio in Europe and the USA. Robert was Musical Director of Pro Corda, the National School for Young Chamber Music Players, from 1998 to 2000 and now coaches chamber music at MusicWorks. He is also Principal Cellist of the London Chamber Orchestra.

 

Tamsin Waley-Cohen - Soloist

Tamsin Waley-Cohen has been described by Ruggiero Ricci as the “most exceptionally gifted young violinist I have ever encountered”. She has performed in London at the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, and in venues across England, Scotland, France, Italy, Israel and USA. Tamsin has won numerous national and international awards and competitions, as well as appearing on national television and radio.
Born in 1986, she has been a Foundation Scholar at the Royal College of Music since 2004. In 2005 she won their concerto competition, was their String Player of the Year, and won numerous other RCM awards including the Ian Stoutzker prize.
Tamsin won the Royal Overseas League Strings prize in 2005, and during 2003-2006 has won an MBF educational award, been a strings finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year, and a prize winner at the International Violin Competitions in Kloster Schontal (Germany) and Sion (Switzerland).
Tamsin is now playing the 1720-21 Stradivarius violin which used to belong to maestro Lorand Fenyves.

 

 

Jamie Walton - Soloist

Jamie Walton was born in 1974 and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and with the late William Pleeth. He has given numerous recitals to critical acclaim throughout the UK and the Continent, establishing him as one of the rising international
soloists of his generation. He regularly performs at many of the major Festivals such as Cheltenham, Brighton, Three Choirs and Harrogate, as well as at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Bridgewater Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
Last year his debut CD of the Chopin and Rachmaninov cello sonatas with pianist Charles Owen received the highest critical acclaim, and his second CD with duo partner Daniel Grimwood will be launched later this month.
Jamie plays on a 1765 Guadagnini cello acquired by a syndicate of supporters headed by the
Co-operative Bank.

 

 

Mengla Huang- Violin Soloist

Born in 1980, Mengla Huang has performed throughout Asia, Europe and North America. Last year saw his New York debut at the Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Centre and his Boston debut at the Jordan Hall. He won first prize in the Paganini International Violin Competition in Italy in 2002 and is under contract as a recording artist for Universal Music. His first CD was released under the Deutsche Grammophon label in 2005. He is currently continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Professor Gyorgy Pauk. He plays on a Giovanni Paolo Maggini violin.

 

 

Mei Yi Foo - Piano Soloist

Mei Yi Foo is fast becoming one of the most respected young artists of her generation. Since the release of her critically acclaimed debut recording this year, Mei Yi has been hailed as “a pianist to watch” by BBC Radio 3 and as a “Rising Star” by International Piano Magazine. She has earned a reputation as an outstanding musician with a truly distinctive character, and as a pianist who is at home in repertoire ranging from Bach to Ligeti.

Foo’s early training in her home country of Malaysia enabled her to perform extensively throughout Asia. At the age of thirteen she won her first international piano competition in the Czech Republic. Since her arrival in the UK in 1996, Mei Yi has captivated audiences at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Wallace Collection and Steinway Hall. Recent engagements have included recitals in Hamburg, Munich, Hong Kong, Santander, Vienna and Kuala Lumpur.

Mei Yi is currently studying with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music and is grateful for the support from the MBF Trust, Philharmonia/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Hattori Foundation, Munster Trust, Tillet Trust, Ricci Foundation and the Yamaha-Kemble Foundation.

 

Joy Lisney - Cello Soloist

Joy Lisney was born in 1993. She started the cello when she was nearly five and her progress was so rapid that she appeared a year later as soloist in Westminster Central Hall and was featured on Carlton Television as a potential high achiever of the new century. She has studied with Christine Livingstone and Alexander Boyarsky and is at present working with Melissa Phelps. She achieved High Honours at Grade 8 at the age of eight and is currently an Academic and Musical Scholar at Lady Eleanor Holles School.

 

Max Baillie - Leader and Soloist

Max Baillie represents a new generation of artists at the cutting edge of modern performance: multi-skilled, innovative and cross-cultural. Beginning with the violin aged 6, he went on to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School under Russian pedagogue Natasha Boyarskaya, and is now building a career which spans solo, chamber and orchestral performance as well as conducting, teaching, and collaborations with dance and music from across the world.

In the last two years alone, traditional performances as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player in classical music have taken him to more than 16 countries worldwide, from across Europe to as far afield as Mali and Malaysia. He composes and arranges for the dynamic new group Kamben, in which he duets with Senegalese kora (harp/lute) player Mamadou Cissoko in an uplifting mix of Baroque dance music and traditional songs from West Africa.

He is an experienced and dedicated teacher, having worked regularly with the Marryat Players chamber orchestra for young musicians since its foundation, and as director on a number of occasions. In 2005 he founded the chamber music course Es Muss Sein! which he will run this summer on its third consecutive year.

He graduated in 2004 from Christ’s College, Cambridge, with a 1st in Political Science, and is now based in London and Berlin.

 

Colin Alexander - Cellist and Composer

Colin Alexander was born in Guildford in 1986 into a family of musicians - both his parents, his uncle, aunt and grandmothers were all musicians. After attending Guildford Grammar School, where he won the Royal Grammar School Young Musician of the Year in 2002, Colin decided to pursue music at the specialist Purcell School where he has been a student since September 2002. There his joint first studies are cello with Oleg Kogan and composition with David Buckley. At the end of Colin’s first year at the Purcell School he won the Tim Stevenson Prize for Composition and next year, after completing his A-levels in English, Music and Music Technology, he plans to study cello and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

 

Rosenna East - Leader and Soloist

ROSENNA EAST currently lives in Edinburgh where she holds the position of Co-Principal Second Violin with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She performs regularly in chamber music concerts in Scotland, is Playing Director on the Board of the SCO, works for the Friends of Edinburgh Prison and enjoys playing Big Band Jazz and Scottish folk music. Rosenna also works as Guest Principal with the Halle in Manchester and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow. Before moving to Scotland, Rosenna lived in London where she began her life as a violinist learning the Suzuki Method from Helen Brunner. Subsequently she studied with Rodney Friend while at Putney High School, throughout her Modern History degree at Brasenose College, Oxford, and in the following three years as a Postgraduate and Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music, London.

 

Richard Smith - Leader and Soloist

Born in 1977, Richard was leader of Northamptonshire County Youth Orchestra and a scholar at Wellingborough School before winning an Entrance Scholarship to Birmingham Conservatoire where he gained first class honours. Having studied with Philippe Graffin, he went on to study at the Royal College of Music under Rodney Friend with a scholarship from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.
In 2002-3 Richard was a member of Southbank Sinfonia, including a period as leader, and a performance in Westminster Abbey in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales. He is also leader of the Chameleon Arts Orchestra, the Marryat Players and a member of the London Piano Trio. Recently Richard performed the Lark Ascending with Southbank Sinfonia at the Chichester and Arundel Festivals.
On leaving Southbank Sinfonia in July 2003, Richard has continued his work as a chamber and orchestral musician as well as developing his teaching practice.

 

Rachel Calaminus - Viola Soloist

RACHEL CALAMINUS read music at Cambridge University before continuing her studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Lydia Mordkovitch and John White. She enjoys a full and varied career, which encompasses solo, chamber and orchestral playing as well as teaching. Rachel works regularly with numerous orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Opera North and Northern Sinfonia. Rachel has performed in concert series and festivals throughout the UK, both as a soloist and as a member of the Trelawn Quartet. In her educational work she enjoys teaching the viola and violin, coaching chamber music, and is the viola tutor for the Marryat Players.

 

Daniel Hammersley - Cello Soloist

Having graduated from Durham with a first class degree in music, Daniel continued his studies first privately, then as a Scholar at the Royal College of Music with Alexander Boyarsky. Since graduating from the Royal College in July 2002, Daniel has been much in demand both as a chamber and orchestral musician. As a Member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra he combines a busy touring schedule with freelance orchestral and chamber work in and around London.

 

Robert Bridge - Piano Soloist

Robert Bridge studied in London and Germany and made his South Bank debut for the Park Lane Group. Since then he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, broadcast for the BBC from St Johns’ Smith Square and was a soloist at the BBC Promenade Concerts at the Albert Hall in 1984 and 1987. Since completing his training as a homoeopath in 1991, he has continued to give regular concerts and recently performed concertos by Rachmaninoff and Gershwin.

 

Tim Hollingsworth - Narrator of Peter and the Wolf

Tim Hollingsworth studied drama at Exeter University where among other roles he played Hamlet at the Northcott Theatre. Since then he has acted in London and Edinburgh for KDC Theatre and Strutt and Fret Theatre Companies. In all this time, he has however never played a duck, but has been practising the voice with his ten month old son. He now lives in Earlsfield and works as the Director of a public relations consultancy.

 

Malin Christensson - Soprano

Malin Christensson was born in Sweden. She studied at the Royal College of Music with Kathleen Livingstone and graduated in 2002 with a first class degree. During her time as an undergraduate Malin won the Winfred Brown Duo Prize, the Henry Blower Prize and second prize in the Lies Askonas Singing Competition. She continued her studies at the RCM as a postgraduate Leverhulme Trust scholar with soprano Lillian Watson. In September 2003 she joined the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the RCM, supported by a RCM scholarship and other awards.
Recent performances include Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s C minor mass, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s St John Passion and Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate. She has worked with Malcolm Martineau at the Oxford Lieder Festival and with the British Youth Opera. Future engagements include Petite Messe Solenelle at St John’s Smith Square and a broadcast for BBC Radio 3’s programme Voices.

Diana Yukawa - Violin

Diana Yukawa was born in 1985, just three weeks after her father was tragically killed in the Japan Airlines Boeing 747 crash. She started learning the violin aged five and within months of her first lesson she was performing in public. Her teachers have included Rodney Friend, Ruggiero Ricci and currently Natasha Boyarsky.
Diana has already recorded two CDs - her first, "La Campanella", was released in September 2000 and reached No.1 in the HMV Classical charts in Japan. "La Campanella" was renamed "Elegy" for release in the U.K.
The following year Diana recorded her second CD, performing works by Saint-Saëns with the RPO. This year she is recording an album of music written for her by composer Craig Armstrong.
Diana plays on a rare Guarneri 'del Gesù' violin worth $3.5 million which was made circa 1731-2. Del Gesù lived and worked in Cremona at the same time as Antonio Stradivari, although his instruments are much fewer in number than those of Stradivari: less than a hundred survive today. Famous violinists who have played on del Gesu instruments include Paganini and more recently Jascha Heifetz and Pinchas Zuckerman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Izzy Pyper - Flute

Izzy Pyper started playing the flute when she was nine, and passed grade 8 with distinction at 12 before gaining her DipABRSM two years later. After playing principal flute with the National Children’s Orchestra, she went on to join the National Youth Wind Orchestra as their youngest member. Izzy attends the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department where she studies flute with Susan Torke and conducting with Peter Stark. She also plays in the West Sussex County Youth Orchestra with whom she will play the Ibert flute concerto next year. Among her recent solo performances was a recital at St Martin in the Fields where the programme included Prokofiev’s Sonata for Flute and Piano and the Chaminade Concertino. Izzy will leave Lancing College in July and hopes to study flute at the Royal Academy or Royal Northern College of Music, in order to achieve her ambition of becoming a professional flautist.