2012 Artist Biographies
Tom Seligman, a graduate of Cambridge University, Tom studied conducting in Glasgow, London and Amsterdam. Tom conducts regularly for the Royal Ballet in London, having made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2010. He made his Lincoln Center debut conducting Balanchine’s Jewels for New York City Ballet last Autumn, returning in December for performances of The Nutcracker. Opera productions include The Rake’s Progress and The Beggar’s Opera for Edinburgh Studio Opera and Le nozze di Figaro for Opera East. He has worked extensively with the BBC and London Symphony Choruses, amongst many other UK choirs, and was chorus-master for the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado at the 2007 Proms. He was Guest Chorus Director for the Hallé Orchestra’s live recording of Elgar’s The Kingdom under Sir Mark Elder, winning the 2011 Gramophone Award for best choral recording Tom made his BBC Radio 3 debut conducting the Hebrides Ensemble at the 2005 St Magnus Festival in Orkney and has taken the helm at ‘Musique-Cordiale’ since 2008.
Lisa Gross was born in Switzerland. At the age of seven she started to play the saxophone and two years later she discovered the oboe. Between 2006 and 2010 she won several first prizes at the Swiss Youth Music Competition. In April 2011 Lisa Gross won the national qualification of the Lions Club International Music Competition. She is first oboist in the Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra and plays also in different chamber music formations. She has been studying studies with Louise Pellerin at the Zurich University of Arts since 2010.
Lisa Obert (leader) was born in Freiburg, Germany, and started playing the violin at the age of 5. Lisa was awarded a scholarship to undertake a Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Jack Glickman, where in 2010 she graduated with distinction. Lisa won places in two of Britain’s most prestigious orchestral apprentice schemes – the LSO String Scheme, and LPO Foyle’s Future Firsts. Lisa now regularly plays with both the LSO and the LPO. Although much of Lisa’s experience is on modern violin, the baroque violin is a matter close to her heart. Since 2011 she has been a member of the outstanding Baroque ensemble La Serenissima.
Michel Tirabosco was born in Rome; he began playing the panpipes at the age of seven. When he was twenty he was the first ever to get a flute degree on his panpipes with honours; he then completes his studies at the Conservatoire Supérieur in Geneva to obtain a diploma in Musical Culture. At 18, he makes his first recording and begins an international career as a soloist. In 2010 he was the guest of Honour of the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation for concerts at the Théâtre Marlinsky in Moscow.. In August 20112, he will a concerto by Haydn with the soloists of Amsterdam in Libya and in February 20113 with the Orchestre des Musiciens d’Europe in Belgium. Michel Tirabosco has recorded 15 CDs in duo, trio or quartet or with orchestra.
Dima Bawab began studying at the National Music Conservatory in Amman. She joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, and made her debut at the Opéra Comique in Paris as Yniold in Debussy’s Pelleas and Melisande, with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. She is currently playing the roles of Papagena and Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte on a world tour under the direction of Sir Peter Brook. Future roles include Le Feu, La Princesse and Le Rossignol in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges and L’Amour in Rameau’s Pygmalion. both at the Opéra Comique Paris, with Sir John Eliot Gardner. Dima is co founder of Aat, a network of young artists promoting freedom of expression through the arts.
Bianca Hottinger was born in Switzerland. At the age of 10 she received her first flute lesson. Since 2010 she has been studying the flute with Philippe Racine at the Zurich University of the Arts. She has won awards at Zurich music competitions and now plays regularly in various orchestras and chamber music ensembles. As solo flute of the Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra she has been on concert tours throughout Italy, Argentina and South Africa.
Moritz Roelcke was born in 1991 in Switzerland. He started lessons on clarinet at the age of six. He attended the University of the Arts in Zurich till the age of 18. In 2007 he became the principal clarinettist of the Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra. He performed in Southern Africa, Argentina, Japan, Canada and Italy, and went on tour with the Musikkollegium Winterthur to Germany. Moritz Roelcke obtained the Prix Suisse and the Bärenreiter Urtext-Preis. He won the Swiss Youth Competition twice Since 2010, he studies at the Zurich University of the Arts with Prof. Fabio Di Càsola.
Eva Thorarinsdottirwas born in Reykjavik in 1986. She studied with Maciej Rakowski, at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music and at the REva Thorarinsdottiroyal Northern College of Music, where she won first prize in the RNCM Concerto Competition. Eva loves chamber music and has won numerous first prizes with her Piano Trio. Eva performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Manchester Camerata and shortly afterwards graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with an International Artist Diploma in Solo Performance. Since then, she has given recitals throughout the UK, and recently collaborated with Alina Ibragimova at the 2011 Manchester International Festival.
Chiara Enderle, born in 1992 in Zürich, discovered her love for the cello at an early age. She has had experience as a soloist, and has won many prizes in various competitions, including 1st prize in the international Bischofszell Competition (2011),and four first prizes in the Swiss Youth Competition. She has received valuable inspiration from masterclasses including the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove with Steven Isserlis, the London
Masterclasses with Ralph Kirshbaum, and with Jens Peter Maintz. In 2011, she participated in the international Chamber Music festival at Prussia Cove. Since 2007, Chiara has been studying with Thomas Grossenbacher at the ZHdK.
Louise Golbey is an inspiring, emerging singer, songwriter and musician. Having already played at Glastonbury and recorded at the famous Maida Vale studios. A frequent performer on the live soul/jazz circuit she plays regularly at many legendary venues such as Ronnie Scotts and The Jazz Café. Louise has also developed a strong reputation within the UK soul scene performing extensively across London and beyond over the years. She has worked with Example and The Newham Generals and has supported and shared the stage with a number of acclaimed artists. She has also been asked to support Mitch Winehouse at Floridita on 10th January
2012 in aid of The Amy Winehouse Foundation.’ Louise has been working with a wealth of producers including 8Trak, Alex Morris & Cato Hoeben, Nick Doe. It is not often that you get the chance to witness the emergence of a complete artist and that is exactly what the Soul scene has acquired in the form of Louise Golbey.
Claude Meier studied at the Zurich Music and theatre school and in New York, where he had such celebrated teachers as Lincoln Goines, Hillard Greene und John Hebert. He finds inspiration in various different genres of music, including Jazz, Hip Hop, and music from South America. Claude plays as an Elektro and Bass player in various bands, with a wide band of styles. He has toured in Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, England, Germany, and Austria. He organizes Jazz concerts in Switzerland, and holds jazz workshops.
Samuel Rohrer, Born in Switzerland, Samuel grew up in a music-connected family. He played the piano from age seven and switched over to drums when he was 14, taking lessons with Gilbert Paeffgen. At that time, he started to play in local Funk-and Rockbands and later studied at the Swiss Jazz School in Berne with Billie Brooks. In 2000, after studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for over a year with Hal Crook and Ian Froman, he became in demand as a drummer in Switzerland and started touring Europe with Patrick Muller Trio, Escape, Nya, Wolfert Brederode, Susanne Abbuehl Group, Malcolm Braff, Bänz Oester a o. Since 2003 he lives in Berlin and became a much demanded musician for improvised music in Europe.
Andrew Staples was a member of the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the RCM. In concert he has appeared with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Andrew Manze, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra with John Eliot Gardiner, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Swedish Radio, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Harding, the Gävle Symphony and Robin Ticciati, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and Trevor Pinnock, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic with Yannick Nezet Seguin and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Accademia Santa Cecilia and Semyon Bychkov, the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra all under Sir Simon Rattle. He made his Royal Opera House debut as Jacquino (Fidelio), returning for First Armed Man (Die Zauberflöte), Artabenes (Arne’s Artaxerxes) and Narraboth (Salome). He sang Belfiore (La Finta Giardiniera) for La Monnaie in Brussels and the National Theatre, Prague. Future engagements include returns to the LSO, SCO, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Swedish Radio as well as debuts with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Hamburg State Opera and Tamino at the ROH next summer.
Cecilia McDowall has been described by the International Record Review as having ‘a communicative gift that is very rare in modern music’. She has won many awards and been several times short-listed for the British Composer Awards. Spotless Rose, won a Grammy award in 2009 and was nominated for Best Classical Album. Cecilia McDowall has recently been signed by Oxford University Press as an ‘Oxford’ composer. She works as ‘composer-in-
residence’ at Dulwich College, London.
Kate Howden was born in Sydney, Australia, In 2011 she was awarded a First Class Bachelor of Music (Hons) from Trinity College of Music, London. She is currently studying on a two-year Master of Arts at the Royal Academy of Music. Kate’s soloist performances include the entire Berlioz Les nuits d’ete, Mozart Requiem, Haydn Nelson Mass, Poulenc Gloria and Durufle Requiem. Kate also performed the Soprano 2 solo in Mozart C Minor Mass with the Trinity College of Music Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sian Edwards. She has sung in numerous
opera productions.
The Academy will again be directed by violinist Skye Carman. She has been concertmaster of the Holland Symfonia and violin professor at the ARTEZ Conservatorium in the Netherlands. Since 1992 she has given her Audition Training course in Europe and the U.S.A. She maintains a private class of violin and viola students and conducts the Galamian String Orchestra, which is a part of the Galamian Foundation, of which she is is founder and director. Skye will this year be working with Jane Hyland, an experienced cellist and teacher from London who will be her co-instructor & mentor to the students throughout the week. Jane was Principal Cellist of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Solo-Cellist with the Orchestra of the Staatstheater, Kassel, Germany and has played with all the London orchestras. She now concentrates on teaching, recitals and chamber music and is also a keen sculptress.