Carl Davis

A native of New York, Carl Davis is in equal demand as conductor and composer for the stage, screen and concert hall. Carl believes that all music has an important place in the world. This is reflected in the diversification of his concert programming. Whether conducting or composing music for feature films, television, silent films, ballets and musicals as well as an Oratorio - his versatility is extraordinary.
In 1959 Carl and fellow student, Stephen Vinaver wrote the revue His

He has composed a unique series of scores for restored prints of ‘The Silents’ originally commissioned by Channel Four in 1980. Carl Davis has made an astonishing impact on music in Britain. He has performed an integral role in the reappraisal of silent film classics, the raising to hitherto unheard of standards of the once humble television theme tune, and now as a conductor/ composer in the world of symphonic music.'

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood

Jonathan is a performer, writer, recording producer and Vice-Principal & Director of Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He studied at the University of Toronto and subsequently engaged in research at Christ Church, Oxford. Soon after, he became Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Academy, where he led a pioneering new degree course in performance studies under the aegis of King's College, London. In 1997, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music and in 2001 received a personal chair in his conferment as a Professor of the University of London.

As a trumpet player, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood has performed and recorded both as a soloist and as a member of various ensembles, most notably as an exponent of the piccolo trumpet

Ian Partridge

In 1958 Ian Partridge made his operatic debut as a singer in Bexhill, and from 1962 he pursued a solo career. He is one of Britain's leading lyric tenors. His wide repertoire encompasses the music of Monteverdi, J.S. Bach and Georg Frideric Handel, Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs with piano, and contemporary works including first performances. He appeared regularly as soloist with major choirs and orchestras in Britain and throughout the rest of the world.
In recitals Ian Partridge was frequently accompanied by his sister Jennifer - a partnership that has received great critical acclaim. Ian Partridge was awarded the CBE in the 1992 New Year's Honours, for distinguished service to music. Ian Partridge's interests include bridge and racing.

David Cairns

David Cairns was chief music critic of the Sunday Times from 1983 to 1992, having earlier been music critic and arts editor of the Spectator and a writer on the Evening Standard, the Financial Times and the New Statesman. From 1967 to 1972 he worked for the London branch of Phonogram, where he was involved in planning and carrying out large-scale recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz and Tippett. He has been Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of California at Davis, a visiting scholar at the Getty Center in Santa Monica, and a visiting fellow of Merton College, Oxford. In 1991, in recognition of his services to French music, he was made Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has always been actively involved in music making; he was co-founder of the Chelsea Opera Group and is now conductor of the Thorington Players.

Arthur Reynolds

Arthur’s philanthropic interests include serving as a Director of The International Festival Society and Chairman of The Elgar Society, North American Branch www.elgar.org. . He is a premier collector of Elgar artifacts and an acknowledged expert on Elgar, his life and times. He has also been the producer for many of Tony Palmers films and knows many people in the Arts World. He has presented at least two other evenings for Putney Music and on one occasion brought a large quantity of his artifacts with him so that people could handle items that had either been owned by the composer and had close association with him. Arthur lived in England for several years and visits here on a regular basis. I think that he has also published various articles about Elgar.

Rivka Golani, Viola Soloist

Rivka Golani is recognized as one of the great violists and musicians of modern times. Her contributions to the advancement of viola technique have already given her a place in the history of the instrument. More than 215 pieces have been written for her, of which more than 50 are concertos, a record matched by no other violist in history.
Ms. Golani's awesome technique, riveting stage presence, and superbly sensitive musicianship have made her a favourite with music-lovers and critics alike. Rivka Golani is also a painter of distinction, and has worked closely with composers as a visual artist in presenting multi-media performances of works for viola and orchestra. Exhibitions of her paintings have been held throughout Britain, Germany, Israel and North America.

John Preston Amis

(Born 17 June 1922), is a British broadcaster, classical music critic, music administrator, and writer. He has been a frequent contributor for The Guardian and to BBC radio and television music programming.
Amis had a number of roles, including gramophone record salesman, and orchestra manager before becoming a music critic, initially with The Scotsman in 1946. He was for several years manager for Sir Thomas Beecham.
In 1948 Sir William Glock invited him to run the a summer school for musicians at Bryanston public school. The summer school moved to Dartington in 1953. Amis remained administrative director until 1981. He has written a number of books, with titles including My Music in London: 1945-2000. Amis spends much of his time giving talks and one-man shows, after dinner speeches and concert works. Amis is a patron of the Music
Libraries Trust,and vice-president of the Putney Music society.

Roger Vignolles

Roger is internationally recognised as one of the world’s most distinguished piano accompanists and musicians of today. He regularly partners the finest singers in major venues around the world and is
regarded as a leading authority on the song repertoire, both as an art and execution.
He regularly performs with the world’s leading singers – including Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Allen, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Hampson, Gitta-Maria Sjøberg, Sarah Walker, Susan Graham, Felicity Lott, Stephan Genz, Monica Groop, Wolfgang Holzmair, Bernarda Fink, Christine Schäfer, Brigitte Fassbaender and Kathleen Battle – at many halls and festivals. He also accompanies instrumentalists such as Joshua Bell, Heinrich Schiff, Nobuko Imai and Ralph Kirshbaum, and gives masterclasses around the world.

David Mellor

David Mellor pursues a multi-faceted career. When he's not busy introducing listeners to the wider world of classical music, the former barrister and politician runs his own international
business consultancy and writes for the Evening Standard, The Guardian and The People on sport and the arts.
David practiced at the bar until 1981 when he joined the Government. He was Member of Parliament for Putney from 1979 to 1997, a Government Minister from 1981 to 1992, and served
in the Cabinet from 1990 to 1992.
A prolific newspaper and magazine columnist, he also heads the Government's Football Taskforce and has presented regular programmes on Radio 5 Live.
He is a former member of the Board of English National Opera, and a former Trustee of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a council member of the of the National Youth Orchestra.

Piers Lane

London-born pianist Piers Lane has performed in over 40 countries, and his wide-ranging repertoire of some 60 concertos has led to engagements with many great orchestras.
Piers is also a well-known broadcaster for BBC Radio 3.
He grew up in Brisbane and holds dual Anglo-Australian nationality.
Early successes included broadcasts for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from the age of 12; a Special Prize in the Liszt-Bartok Competition, Budapest at 18; the prize for the Best Australian Pianist in the first
Sydney International Piano Competition at 19; and a Churchill Fellowship Special Performance Award when he was 20, which financed two years’ study in the USA and at the Royal College of Music in London.
Piers Lane was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, where he has been a professor for twelve years, in 1994.

Martin Roscoe

The English pianist, Martin Roscoe, studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music, with Marjorie Clementi and Gordon Green. He won the Davas Gold Medal in 1973, Silver Medal of Worshipul Company of Musicians in 1974, British Liszt Piano Competition in 1976, and Sydney International Piano Competition in 1981.
Martin Roscoe performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician all over the world.
Martin Roscoe was a professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music for six years (now holding an Honorary Associateship). His services to music have been recognised with the award of an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Hull. The Artistic Director of the Beverley Chamber Music Festival, he also initiated and directs the Ribble Valley International Piano Week.

John Gilhooly

Irishman John Gilhooly became Director of Wigmore Hall in 2005, aged 32, making him the youngest leader of any of the world’s greatest concert Halls. John is a native of Limerick. He was educated at University College, Dublin, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. In addition to his academic studies, tenor John pursued classical vocal studies at the Dublin City College of Music and the Leinster School of Music, and continued his vocal studies with baritone Neil Howlett in Manchester.
John joined Wigmore Hall in October 2000, as Executive Director. He is a Director of the Association of British Concert Promoters (ABCP), Honorary Secretary of The Royal Philharmonic Society, and a Trustee of The Opera Group and The London String Quartet Foundation and was an occasional broadcaster on Irish radio (RTE), presenting classical and chamber music programmes. In 2005, John Gilhooly became overall Director of Wigmore Hall, adding artistic programming and administration to his executive role and overseeing the largest chamber music series in the world.

András Schiff - András Schiff (Piano, Conductor)

Born: December 21, 1953 - Budapest, Hungary
András Schiff emerged in the last decades of the 20th century as one of the most respected pianists of his generation. András Schiff came to international prominence as a prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1974; over the next few years, he also took top honors at the Leeds (1975) and Liszt International Piano Competitions, launching him on a successful concert and recording career. Recitals and special projects take him to all of the international music capitals His playing has been singled out for its complete technical fluency and intelligent musicality. His concert career includes appearances with the world's major orchestras and conductors.
András Schiff has worked with most of the major international orchestras and conductors, but nowadays he performs mainly as a conductor and soloist. In 1999 he created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca. In addition to working annually with this Orchestra, he also works every year with the Philharmonia Orchestra London and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
András Schiff has been made an Honorary Professor by the Music Schools in Budapest, Detmold and Munich, and a Special Supernumerary Fellow of Balliol College (Oxford, UK).

Tony Palmer

Tony is one of the leading directors of music documentaries and historical drama films in the world. He has won over forty international prizes for his work, including and especially television's most coveted award, the Prix d'Italia. He joined the BBC. Following an apprenticeship with Ken Russell and Jonathan Miller, Palmer's first major film, Benjamin Britten & his Festival, became the first BBC film to be networked in the U.S.A. With his second film, All My Loving, an examination of rock 'n' roll & politics in the late 60s, he achieved considerable notoriety overnight.
In 1989, he was awarded a huge retrospective of his work at the National Film Theatre in London, the first maker of arts films to be so honoured.
He has won various platinum and gold albums for the best-selling CDs of the soundtracks of his films. He was a music critic for The Observer for seven years, and has written for numerous international magazines and newspapers, including The Times, The New York Times, Punch, The Spectator, & Life.
Tony Palmer has also directed in the theatre and in the opera house. Mr Palmer also presented the BBC Radio 3 Arts magazine 'Night Waves', for which he won a SONY Award for best arts programme.

Kathryn Wade

Executive Director of the newly formed Ashton Trust; Director and Chief Executive of English National Ballet School for 12 years and now Principal of the Outreach Programme at the Royal Ballet School. Trained by the Royal Ballet School, danced as soloist with both the Royal Ballet and Festival Ballet and only member of the Board of Trustees to have won a Genée medal.

Clement Crisp

Clement Crisp's knowledge is encyclopedic. As the Financial Times ballet critic for the past 35 years, his ability to recall dancers and scores from over four decades is uncanny. His writing is clear, hilarious and indisputably informed, making for a very entertaining read.
Crisp has been the dance critic for the Financial Times since 1957, ballet critic for The Spectator magazine, and has written or co-written nearly 20 books, including Ballet for All; Ballet Rambert: 50 Years and on and A History of Dance.

Alberto Portugheis

The distinguished pianist and pedagogue Alberto Portugheis was born in La Plata, Argentina, to parents of Russian and Rumanian descent. After winning first prize at the Geneva Concours de Virtuosité, Portugheis embarked upon an international career, visiting almost 50 countries.
He performs in recitals, chamber-music concerts and as soloist with many major orchestras. He frequently broadcasts on radio and television and gives regular Masterclasses.
Alberto Portugheis has a particularly wide repertoire, with music ranging from baroque - including his own transcriptions - to contemporary. Many works have been specially written for him. Recent engagements have taken Mr Portugheis to France, Spain, USA, Hungary, Argentina, Hungary, Greece, Germany and Norway.