Alexandra Wood
Alexandra Wood, 'a talent to watch' (The Strad), has won major prizes at international violin competitions including the Wieniawski, Tibor Varga and Yampolsky.She has given recitals for numerous international festivals including Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Bath and Brighton, and also in London at the Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall.
She has performed concertos with orchestras such as the Philharmonia, City of London Sinfonia and the Orchestra of St John’s, Smith Square, working with conductors including Richard Hickox and Roger Norrington. Alexandra has won many prestigious awards including the Worshipful Company of Musicians Medal, Maisie Lewis Award, Wingate Scholarship and Junior Fellowships at the Royal College of Music.
She was selected for the Tillett Trust Young Artists Platform, and was an NFMS Recommended Artist. Her CD of world premiere recordings, Chimera, was described as 'splendid' in the Sunday Times, and in BBC Music Magazine as 'agile, incisive and impassioned'.
She is Associate Professor of Violin at Leeds College of Music, and also teaches at Birmingham Conservatoire.
Deborah Calland
'A superb recital by the notable trumpeter Deborah Calland'
(Malcolm Miller, Musical Opinion)
Deborah Calland has given trumpet and organ recitals in the USA, France, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, as well as venues throughout the United Kingdom, and has performed concertos with, among others, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Virtuosi di Kuhmo (Finland) and the Britten Sinfonia. She has also appeared as a recitalist at many of the major festivals in England, such as the Cheltenham and City of London.
She has a special interest in contemporary music and has played an active role in increasing the repertoire for the instrument. Compositions have been written for her by the British composers Hugh Wood, Robin Holloway, Sally Beamish, Diana Burrell, Jonathan Dove, Huw Watkins, Rhian Samuel, and John Hawkins, as well as the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara and Bent Lorentzen from Denmark. She has also given British premieres of works by Peter Sculthorpe and Aulis Sallinen. A CD of contemporary British music for trumpet and organ, recorded by Deux-Elles at Douai Abbey with organist William Whitehead, was released in 2006 to critical acclaim.
Helen Reid
'In Yorkshire-bred Helen Reid there is not only a fearsome technical ability contained within her slight frame, but also an emotional quotient beyond her years…she can immerse herself in any mood without a shred of artifice'
(Ham & High, May 2005)
Helen Reid first came to public attention when she appeared on BBC2 in the National Keyboard Finals of the BBC Young Musician competition in 1998. In 2000 she won first prize in the Karic International Piano Competition.
She has given recitals at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Fairfield Halls and Blackheath Halls, London, St George's, Bristol, Cheltenham, the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and the Aldeburgh and Buxton Festivals. In addition, she has performed in Jordan, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, following success in the Anglo-Czech competition. She has appeared as soloist in concertos by Ravel, Beethoven, Mozart and Grieg.
Helen's solo repertoire is wide-ranging, with a particular focus on contemporary music; she has given world premieres of works by David Matthews, Anthony Powers, Rhian Samuel, Emilio Solla, Peter Wiegold and John Woolrich.
She is currently professor of piano at Trinity College of Music Junior Department, at Leeds College of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Kyle Horch
Kyle Horch is one of Britain’s leading saxophonists. After studying at Northwestern University (Chicago) with Frederick Hemke and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) with Stephen Trier, he was a prizewinner at numerous young artist competitions in Britain, the USA and Europe and has performed as a soloist at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, British and World Saxophone Congresses and numerous other venues in this country and abroad.
His two CD recordings on the Clarinet Classics label, ChamberSax and AngloSax, have received international praise from reviewers. He has also recorded John Carmichael’s Aria and Finale for ABC Classics. He has worked with many well-known ensembles including the CBSO, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Opera House, Philharmonia and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, London Musici, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Mistral and Paragon Saxophone Quartets, Carlos Bonell Ensemble and the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra. He is saxophone professor at the Royal College of Music in London, and has given masterclasses in Britain, Holland, Norway, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia and the USA.
