YCAT Artist File 2023-24

YCAT ARTISTS 2023-24

I would definitely recommend YCAT to any young aspiring musicians looking to build their career as a soloist and chamber musician...

Timothy Ridout, violist YCAT Artist 2016-20 © Kaupo Kikkas

Throughout the years I spent with YCAT I felt I had the most loving and most knowledgeable support network I could ever ask for. I felt heard and understood, and...I was embraced for being exactly who I am.

Ema Nikolovska, mezzo-soprano YCAT Artist 2019-21 © Kaupo Kikkas

ycat artists 2023-24

Adelphi Quartet

Maciej Kułakowski

Cello

Quatuor Agate

Magdalena Kuźma+

Soprano

*Atenea Quartet

Ariel Lanyi+

*Trio Chagall

Jonathan Leibovitz+

Clarinet

Piano

*Hana Chang+

Violin

*Ignas Maknickas

Piano

Armand Djikoloum

Oboe

Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux+

Violin

*Will Duerden

*Charlotte Spruit

Violin

Violin

Iyad Sughayer

Piano

Sterling Elliott

Cello

Samuele Telari

Accordion

*Njioma Grevious+

Violin

Irène Duval

Double Bass

*Selected in 2023 + jointly supported with Concert Artists Guild (USA) Photography ©Kaupo Kikkas unless stated

About ycat

Giving young artists the best start in their careers.

YCAT is a specialist charity that supports the early careers of young musicians who show the potential to become established international artists.

What we offer selected artists Management: 3-5 years of developmental and holistic management Performance: Strategic diary of engagements secured worldwide (jointly with Concert Artists Guild USA) Exposure: Regular marketing to 5,000+ promoters and concert halls worldwide Branding: High-quality publicity materials and professional photo shoots Digital: Comprehensive social media and website consultation and support Media: Live recordings of recitals at Wigmore Hall

Artists we have supported include Alison Balsom OBE Belcea Quartet Ben Goldscheider Doric Quartet Elizabeth Watts Ema Nikolovska Ian Bostridge CBE James Baillieu Joanna MacGregor CBE Li-Wei Qin Llŷr Williams Mark Simpson Randall Goosby Sean Shibe Timothy Ridout

Adelphi Quartet

Adelphi Quartet

Maxime Michaluk, violin Esther Agusti, violin Adam Newman, viola Nepomuk Braun, cello Following its success at the Young Classical Artists Trust International Auditions, the Adelphi Quartet has been supported as a YCAT Artist since June 2021. They were also selected as the inaugural YCAT Hans Keller Artist, which resulted in the premiere and recording of "Saffron Dusk " by Bushra El-Turk.

During the 22/23 season, the Quartet has given debut recitals at Wigmore Hall, the Fundación Juan March in Madrid, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Aldeburgh Festival, where they premiered Bushra ElTurk’s Quartet: Painting Secrets. They also gave recitals at the Esterhazy Palace, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Berlin Philharmonie, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Flagey in Brussels and at the Queille Festival in France

Highlights of the upcoming 23/24 season include return performances at the Wigmore Hall, and recitals at the Brighton Festival, Festival Nepomuk and Privatmusikverein Nürnberg. The quartet will also be performing widely across the UK at venues such as the Holywell Room Oxford, Saffron Hall, Theatre Clwyd and many more.

Founded in 2017, the quartet studied with the Hagen Quartet at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and received valuable support from Eberhard Feltz, Valentin Erben and György Kurtág.

The young musicians convinced with a first-class sound culture and, thanks to their empathetic and highly sensitive music-making, effortlessly found a wonderful collective sound.

KULTUR, Peter Füssl

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Quatuor Agate

Quatuor Agate

Adrien Jurkovic, violin Thomas Descamps, violin Raphaël Pagnon, viola Simon Iachemet, cello Formed in 2016, the Paris-based Quatuor Agate studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Eberhard Feltz, in Paris under the guidance of Mathieu Herzog, and with the Quatuor Ebène at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. In 2021, they were prize-winners at the YCAT International Auditions.

The 23/24 season sees the Quartet return to the Wigmore Hall as well as the Lammermuir Festival. They will be giving recitals at the Lebverkusen stART Festival and Internationales Musikfestival Heidelberger Früling.

They will also be performing extensively across the UK. Over the last year the Quatuor Agate have given recitals across Europe including at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Philharmonie de Paris, the Verbier, Salon-deProvence, Radio France and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festivals.

Highlights of their 22/23 season included debut recitals at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt and Britten-Pears Arts in Aldeburgh. They made their Wigmore hall debut and performed at the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland, collaborated with the Modigliani Quartet at the Tauber Philharmonie, Weikersheim, and the Diotima Quartet at the Lange Nacht der Streichquartette in Munich.

The Quartet have been artists in residence at the Fondation Singer Polignac and Pro-Quartet in Paris. In 2016 they founded the CorsiClassic Festival with a mission to bring chamber music to areas of the island where it is rarely heard.

From the quivering first movement to the intense finale, every phrase seemed invested with meaning thanks to the careful phrasing and vivid colouring they poured into every moment...

Seen and Heard International

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Atenea Quartet

Atenea Quartet

Gil Sisquella i Oncins, violin Jaume Angelès i Fité, violin Bernat Santacana i Hervada, viola Iago Domínguez Eiras, cello The Atenea Quartet was founded in 2019 in Barcelona.

An internationally acclaimed ensemble dedicated to exploring the vast string quartet repertoire, they were a finalist in the 2023 Young Classical Artists Trust international auditions, and are currently based in Basel, Switzerland.

The Quartet has been invited to prestigious festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Barcelona String Quartet Biennial, the Schubertíada de Vilabertran, the Musikdorf Ernen Festival, the Kulturfest Resonanzen Sils, the WIssembourg International Music Festival, Festival d’Aix en Provance and the Juan March Foundation. They have also premiered works by composers like Raquel García-Tomás, Antoni RosMarbà, and Mauro Hertig. Future engagements also include a recital at the Festival de Barcelona Obertura.

In the 23/24 season the quartet will be taking part in numerous international competitions, including the Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition, Borciani String Quartet Competition and the Geneva String Quartet Competition.

Currently the ensemble is continuing its musical training at the Hochschule für Musik FHNW in Basel, under the advice of Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet), Silvia Simionescu (Gringolts Quartet), Claudio Martínez Mehner, Anton Kernjak and Anna Gebert.

The Atenea Quartet’s impressive performance of their program was persuasive and inspiring...these musicians have a promising future ahead of them.

Michael Haefliger - Lucerne Festival

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Trio Chagall

© Federico Cardamone

Trio Chagall

Lorenzo Nguyen, piano Edoardo Grieco, violin Francesco Massimino, cello Trio Chagall was founded in 2013 by Lorenzo Nguyen, Edoardo Grieco and Francesco Massimino within the Conservatory of Music “G.Verdi” of Turin. The Trio was named as a tribute to the famous painter Marc Chagall, who has always been a deep source of inspiration, as well as being admired for his ties to music and strong expressive power through the use of colour.

Prolific competition winners, the Trio Chagall were awarded First Prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China. Further prizes include 1st overall prize of the chamber music category at the Amadeus Factory Competition (2018), numerous accomplishments at the Concorso di Giussano in 2019, the “Giovanna Maniezzo” prize by the Jury of the Accademia Musicale di Siena and, in March 2022, the Trio was chosen as the “Ensemble of the year 2020/2021” by LeDimore del Quartetto.

Trio Chagall is involved in intense concert activity all over Italy performing in prestigious venues (Vatican Museum in the Vatican City, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Reitschule in Grafenegg, Italian Institute of culture in Paris, Milan Theatre dal Verme and Conservatory, Sala Sassu in Sassari).

The Trio is now continuing its studies with Rainer Schmidt and Anton Kernjak at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel and is an Ensemble ECMA at the European Chamber Music Academy, where it receives advice from Hatto Beyerle and Patrick Jüdt.

Both from a technical and expressive point of view, Trio Chagall […] does not appear to be a group of ex wunderkind nor of young promises, but rather an ensemble of mature musicians, able to deeply relate with the score, regardless of the composer or period.

Circuito Musica

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Hana Chang | Violin

Hana Chang | Violin

Born in 2002, Hana Chang has recently appeared as a soloist with the Poznań Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony, Czech Virtuosi, Hunan Symphony, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, and Utah Symphony.

She has performed at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Deer Valley Music Festival, Vevey Spring Classic Festival, Sion Festival, and International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, among others, and is a laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin, Stuttgart, Stradivarius, and Prague Spring International Violin Competitions. Most recently, she was the youngest finalist and was awarded distinction at the Wieniawski International Violin Competition.

Highlights of Hana’s upcoming 23/24 season will include performing at the Royal Savoy Lausanne, in partnership with the Vevey Spring Classic Festival. In November this year, she performs with the Sociedad Filarmónica de A Coruña.

Hana is currently studying at Kronberg Academy with Christian Tetzlaff. These studies are funded by the Nikolas Gruber-Patronat. She also continues to be mentored by Ida Kavafian and Janine Jansen with whom she previously studied.

Impeccable, authentic, and gracious playing – Hana's focus is at all times on the substance of the music.

The Violin Channel

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Armand Djikoloum | Oboe

Armand Djikoloum | Oboe

Born in France, Armand studied at Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon and with Philippe Tondre at the Hochschule für Musik Saar.

In 2021 he was a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions.

In the 22/23 season, Armand was nominated as a 2022 Rising Star Artist by Classic FM, made his debut with London Mozart Players and returned as soloist with Chineke! performing Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. Georges Bristol, Warwick Arts Centre and the Harrogate Festival.

A top prize winner, in 2018 Armand won 3rd Prize and the Audience Award at the International Oboe Competition in Japan performing the Strauss Concerto with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and giving recitals at Kioi Concert Hall. A year later he won two Special Prizes in the Muri Competition in Switzerland leading to a tour of Asia.

This season, highlights include recordings with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and performances at the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival in Australia. Armand will also be giving concerts throughout the UK with his duo partner, pianist Iyad Sughayer.

Passionate about education, he has given masterclasses at the Royal Welsh College, and Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London), and worked with students from the Benedetti Foundation. This season he will also be giving masterclasses at the Royal College of Music and Royal Northern College of Music.

…the hugely talented Armand Djikoloum…suave and technically superb.

Stratford Herald

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Will Duerden | Double Bass

© Andrej Grilc

Will Duerden | Double Bass

Double bassist Will Duerden is a highly soughtafter artist, in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader with a growing international career spanning four continents. Will rose to prominence after reaching the Strings Category Final of 2018 BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition.

Will has had several significant new works specially written for him, with premieres in Milan and London. He recently performed Bottessini’s Gran Duo with the LGT Young Soloists alongside violinist Haeun Kim at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He has collaborated with artists such as Alexander Sitkovetsky, Lawrence Power and Maxim Rysanov.

Competition successes include winning the Yorke Double Bass Prize in this year’s Royal Overseas League Strings Competition Final, and reaching the

upcoming semifinal in the International Society of Bassists Competition.

Highlights of the 23/24 season include his debut at St. George’s Bristol, plus performances at the North Norfolk Music and Buxton International Festivals.

Soon after he started playing aged 7, Will was awarded a full scholarship to the Yehudi Menuhin School. An ABRSM Scholar at the Royal College of Music in London, he is also supported by the Drake Calleja Trust.

Professionalism was also the hallmark of Will Duerden’s performance of the Tubin Double Bass concerto...Will transfixed us with his virtuosity and musicality...

John Sherlock - Horsham Symphony Orchestra

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Irène Duval | Violin

Irène Duval | Violin

Since graduating from the Conservatoire de Paris and Kronberg Academy, Irène has firmly established herself as a captivating and passionate performer.

Over the 22/23 season Irène made her debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Sir András Schiff in the opening concert of the Kronberg Festival in the new Casals Forum Concert Hall and returned as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jamie Phillips. Irène also made her debut with the Royal Northern Sinfonia conducted by Janusz Piotrowicz, and gave solo and chamber music recitals at Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie in Paris and across the UK. Solo highlights include appearances with the Dresdner Philharmonie, Kremerata Baltica and Orchestre Colonne, working with conductors such as Maxim Emelyanychev and Michael Sanderling. In 2017 she released her first CD ‘Poèmes’ for Mirare/Harmonia Mundi to critical acclaim.

Irène also took part in the IMS Prussia Cove 50th Anniversary concerts and a Boccherini Concert with Steven Isserlis at Wigmore Hall (live streamed), and gives recitals at Perth Concert Hall (broadcast by Radio 3), Konzerthaus Berlin, the Bath and Brighton International Festivals.

In the 23/24 season, Irène will be recording two solo albums to be released by Capriccio. She will also be performing at the Festival Aix en Provence in France, the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland, and the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival in Australia.

With her subtle vibrant and noble sound, her audacious and vivacious way of making music, and her brilliant technique...this was indeed an experience for everyone.

Freie Presse

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Sterling Elliott | Cello

©Ralf Dombrowski

Sterling Elliott | Cello

Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Sterling is also the 2023 YCAT–Music Masters Robey Artist.

He has appeared with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, with conductors Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, Mei Ann Chen and others.

The 22/23 season saw his debuts at the Aspen Music Festival, performing the Brahms Double Concerto with Gil Shaham, as well as with the Colorado Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, North Carolina Symphony and Ft. Worth Symphony, among others.

This season, Elliott debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Pacific Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and New Jersey Symphony. He also performs the world premiere of a new orchestral version of John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, commissioned for him by a consortium of orchestras including the Orlando Philharmonic and music director Eric Jacobsen. He makes his UK recital debut at Wigmore Hall in February.

Sterling is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim, following completion of his Master of Music and undergraduate degrees at Juilliard.

Elliott’s impeccable musicianship, as well as his discernible love for the music won over the audience, which responded with sustained standing applause.

Victor Carr Jr., Classics Today.com Read more

Njioma Grevious | Violin

©Jiyang Chen

Njioma Grevious | Violin

Described as “superb” by the Chicago Classical Review, violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious is an emerging, passionate and versatile solo, chamber and orchestral musician and performer. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a winner of its John Erskine Prize for scholastic and artistic achievement.

A founding member of the Abeo Quartet, Njioma recently completed graduate studies with Ryan Meehan and the Calidore String Quartet at the University of Delaware where she was also a fellow in the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence Program. They quartet have won numerous prizes including First Prize and the Audience Favorite Prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition 2022, and Third Prize of the 2023 Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition. The quartet has appeared in performances in the Schneider Concert Series, Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center, in Montreal, and Oslo, Norway, and in residence at the Glenstone Museum, where they premiered “Moonshot” by Alistair Coleman.

As a soloist, Njioma has appeared with the Chicago Philharmonic, the Western Michigan Symphony and the Newark Symphony Orchestra.

For many years, Njioma was a scholarship recipient through Boston’s Project STEP string training program for Black and Latino youth and at the time also earned summer study scholarship assistance through Winsor Music. Her principal teachers have also included Ronald Copes, James Buswell, Mariana Green-Hill and Farhoud Moshfegh.

The young, exceptionally gifted, D.C.based violin virtuoso Njioma Grevious, did a terrific job with the piece, digging into the rocking, Vivaldi-esque arpeggios that occupy the latter pages.

Chicago Classical Review

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Maciej Kułakowski | Cello

Maciej Kułakowski | Cello

At the age of 19, Maciej won 1st Prize and a special award at the Lutoslawski International Cello Competition. He was a Laureate in the Finals of the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and a prize winner at the 2019 YCAT International Auditions in London. In 2022 he completed his studies at Kronberg Academy with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.

Highlights in the 22/23 season included concerts at Wigmore Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus and the Kronberg Festival. He took part in the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam and gave recitals at the Bath, Newbury Spring, Brighton and Machynlleth Festivals in the UK. Maciej joined Chamber Music at the World's Edge (AWE) in New Zealand and returned as a Faculty Guest to Morningside Music Bridge in Boston, USA. Also in 2022, Delphian Records released his debut album of French music ‘Beau soir’ to critical acclaim. He went on to record Penderecki’s complete solo cello music, due for release in 2023.

Upcoming engagements in the 23/24 season include performances at the Wigmore hall, Frankfurt Alter Oper, Kiel Musikfreunde, Leverkusen stART Festival, and the Vancouver Recital Society.

Born in Poland, to a family of classical and jazz musicians, Maciej studied at the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, Mannheim University and the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar, prior to entering the Kronberg Academy.

Maciej plays a Giovanni Baptista Ruggeri Cello made in Cremona, 1700 on loan from a Charitable Trust.

...the ‘wackiness’ of Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc has rarely been better demonstrated…of the intelligence and artistry on display there is no doubt.

BBC Music Magazine 5* review

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Magdalena Kuźma | Soprano

© Dario Acosta

Magdalena Kuźma | Soprano

Polish-American soprano Magdalena Kuźma was a Prize Winner in the Concert Artists Guild (New York) and Young Classical Artists Trust International Auditions in 2022.

She is a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York as a Lindemann Young Artist and is in her second year.

During her first year her roles included Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and Sister Catherine in Dead Man Walking. Future engagements as a Young artist include Papagena in The Magic Flute and Yvette in La Rondine.

Magdalena’s recent performance highlights include her debut at Santa Fe Opera performing the role of Frasquita in Carmen, and Juliet in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet at the Glimmerlgass Festival. She also returned to San Francisco Opera's Merola Program and was a fellow at Ravinia's Steans Music Institute.

Magdalena is an alumna of Renee Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall and is an avid song performer. The 22/23 season saw her give a debut recital at Merkin Concert Hall (New York) and in the 23/24 season she will be making her Wigmore Hall debut with James Baillieu, performing a programme of Samuel Barber, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Sibelius.

Recent awards include 1st Prize at the 2021 ACPC Marcella Sembrich Vocal Competition, the 2021 Opera Mississippi John Alexander Vocal Competition, and the CT District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In 2021 she was honored as valedictorian at Yale University.

Polish-American soprano Magdalena Kuźma…has a voice that instantly engages the listener: shining, free and lustrous.

Seen and Heard International

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Ariel Lanyi | Piano

© Fika Magarik

Ariel Lanyi | Piano

In 2023, Ariel was honored to receive the Prix Serdang, a Swiss prize awarded by the distinguished Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. He was also nominated as a Rising Star Artist by Classic FM in the same year. Prior to this Ariel won 3rd Prize at the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition, and was a prize winner in the inaugural Young Classical Artists Trust (London) and Concert Artists Guild (New York) International Auditions in the same year.

Highlights of the 23/24 season include returns to the Wigmore Hall, Vancouver Recital Society, Miami International Piano Festival and Nottingham International Piano Series, as well debuts with the Frankfurt Alter Oper and Merkin Hall in New York.

Ariel has appeared with orchestras in Israel, the UK, Argentina and USA, highlights including the Israel Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the latter of which he will return to this season for Mozart K503.

In 2021 Linn Records released his recording of music by Schubert to critical acclaim, with future releases also planned.

Born in Jerusalem in 1997, Ariel is now based in London having recently completed his studies at the Royal Academy of Music.

...Lanyi is no showman. He shines with technical perfection, a subtle exploration of the works' subtext, and always has the proverbial draw to the goal. But - as Buchbinder rightly emphasizes - without any hint of vanity or self-promotion.

Here rises a new star in the musical sky.

Peter Jarolin - Kurier

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Jonathan Leibovitz | Clarinet

Jonathan Leibovitz | Clarinet

In 2022 Jonathan was a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) and Concert Artists Guild (New York) International Auditions held at Wigmore Hall.

He went on to receive the prestigious Arthur Waser Foundation and Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Award.

The prize is endowed with 25,000 Swiss francs and includes debut appearances with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra this autumn.

In the 22/23 season Jonathan was nominated as a 2022 Rising Star Artist by Classic FM and appeared as soloist with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic Košice conducted by Tomaš Brauner, Jyväskylä Sinfonia conducted by Yoel Gamzou, and the Israel Sinfonietta. He also recorded and performed chamber music with Südwestrundfunk in Bruchsaal and gave concerts in the Verbier Festival, the Crusell, Rauna and Hauho Festivals in Finland.

Highlights of Jonathan’s 23/24 season include performances at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Vancouver Recital Society, plus numerous appearances in the UK, including at Saffron Hall, Wigmore Hall and St. George’s Bristol, as well as a concerto performance with the London Firebird Orchestra at St George’s Hanover Square. Jonathan will also complete his debut recording with Delphian Records, alongside violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux and pianist Joseph Havlat.

Born in Tel-Aviv, his musical education began with Eva Wasserman, and with Yevgeny Yehudin at the Buchmann Mehta School of Music.

From the very first note, there is a great artist on stage. He plays for the orchestra, not the other way around….it is not only the technique that impresses.

Everything sounds smooth and played with care, as it only sounds when a musician has really made a piece his own Luzerner Zeitung

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Ignas Maknickas | Piano

Ignas Maknickas | Piano

Ignas Maknickas is a 2023 Young Classical Artists Trust winner and has performed in numerous competitions.

He took first Prize at the XIX Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Youth in Szafarnia, First Prize at the XX Piano Competition “Young Virtuoso” in Zagreb, Third Prize at the Aarhus Piano Competition and, in 2021, was the semi-finalist of the Vendome Prize. In the same year, he received “The Queen’s Commendation for Excellence” as the highest-scoring graduate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Ignas has appeared with many orchestras as a soloist including the Aarhus Symphony, Lithuanian National Symphony and London Mozart Players. As a soloist he has appeared at prestigious concert halls including the Steinway Hall in London, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Charlottenborg Festival Hall in Copenhagen and Lithuanian National Philharmonic in Vilnius.

Highlight of Ignas’ 23/24 season include Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major K467 with the London Mozart Players, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana and his solo debut recital at the Wigmore Hall in London. He will also perform in recital throughout the UK, including opening the University of Leeds Concert Series in October.

Born in California in 1998, Ignas was raised in Lithuania.

In September 2021 he commenced the Master of Arts Programme at the Royal Academy of Music with Professor Joanna MacGregor CBE, on full scholarship.

There was subtle beauty in the slow movement with a ravishingly beautiful sound and such subtle embellishments that made these jewels sparkle even more brightly.

Christoper Axworthy Music Commentary

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Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux | Violin

Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux | Violin

In 2021 Charlotte was a prize winner in the inaugural Young Classical Artists Trust (London) and Concert Artists Guild (New York) 2021 International Auditions. In 2022 she was also nominated as a 2022 Rising Star Artist by Classic FM. 2022 also saw Champs Hill Records release her debut solo album Ostinata to critical acclaim, with Gramophone magazine describing her as “an artist with something of her own to say”.

In the 22/23 season, Charlotte returned to Wigmore Hall, Radio France, Britten-Pears Arts and to the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival where, as leader of the Quatuor Confluence, they won 1st Prize. She also took part in the Australian Chamber Music Festival in Townsville, and made her debut with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and CBSO Youth Orchestra.

Upcoming performance highlights include a tour to the United States in partnership with the Concert Artists Guild, a chamber tour with Sinfonia Cymru, recordings of Schubert for Delphian Records, a return to the CBSO to perform Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and a lunchtime recital in the Konzerthaus Berlin. Charlotte will also be performing various chamber and solo recitals across both the UK and Europe.

An avid chamber musician, recent highlights include appearances at Wigmore Hall, a BBC Prom with the dynamic 12 Ensemble, and a performance of the Franck Piano Quintet at the Gstaadt Festival with Alina Ibragimova, Lawrence Power, Sol Gabetta and Bertrand Chamayou.

This sensitively recorded debut presents an artist with something of her own to say, and something worth hearing …

Gramophone

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Charlotte Spruit | Violin

© Marco Borggreve

Charlotte Spruit | Violin

Charlotte Spruit is a passionate chamber musician and soloist, and was a winner at the 2023 Young Classical Artists Trust international auditions.

Further prizes Charlotte has won include the first prize and audience prize and the Genuin Classics prize at the Leipzig International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. Following this success Charlotte will be making a recording with the Genuin Classics label.

Charlotte plays frequently at chamber music festivals across Europe, including the Chamber Music Connects the World festival at the Kronberg Academy and the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival where she performed with the Doric String Quartet. She has performed chamber works with acclaimed musicians including Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, and Christian Tetzlaff. She has also made her debuts at the Concertgebouw in the Netherlands, the Wigmore Hall in London and at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

This season highlights for Charlotte include performing at the Rheingold Festival Wageningen, in the AVROTROS Vrijdagconcert in TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht and the Bachfest Münster.

Charlotte studied at the Guildhall School of Music with David Takeno and at the Royal Academy of Music with Ying Xue. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Rachel Podger and Pavlo Beznosiuk.

Charlotte plays an 18th-century anonymous Italian violin, kindly on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

With a sparkling and stylistic performance, Charlotte Spruit is convincingly establishing herself as one of the most promising young talents, and deserves her place on stage.

Het Kersjes Fonds Read more

Iyad Sughayer | Piano

Iyad Sughayer | Piano

Chosen as ‘One to Watch’ by International Piano Magazine, Iyad’s debut album Khachaturian Piano Works for BIS Records was described by Gramophone as “exhilarating and delivered with perfect clarity” and “an outstanding debut” by BBC Music Magazine. Iyad’s second recording for BIS with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Andrew Litton was released to critical acclaim in autumn 2022.

Nominated as a 2022 Rising Star Artist by Classic FM, Iyad was a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions in 2021.

Highlights of Iyad’s 23/24 season include a return to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2, performances at the Berlin Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Lammermuir Festival and Barber Institute Birmingham, plus a series of recitals at the Leicester International Music Festival performing the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas alongside newly commissioned pieces inspired by these great works.

In 2022 Iyad co-founded and launched a new specialist music school in Amman - the Mashrek Academy of Music, with a mission to discover and nurture a new generation of creators and musicians.

As soloist Iyad has appeared with leading orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Cairo and Amman Symphony Orchestras.

Born in Amman, of Jordanian-Palestinian heritage, Iyad was made an Associate of the RNCM in 2021.

Iyad Sughayer is an inaugural YCAT Concordia Artist.

He captures the music’s essence with such a close sense of recreative identity that it feels on occasion as though he could be composing it as he goes along...

BBC Music Magazine

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Samuele Telari | Accordion

Samuele Telari | Accordion

Sought after as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher, Samuele’s recent solo engagements include recitals at Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Berlin Konzerthaus.

In 2021 Delphian released Samuele’s recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Queens Hall Edinburgh to critical acclaim. He regularly features on BBC Radio 3, Rai RadioTre, Radio Classica and Radio Popolare Milano.

Highlights during the 2022/23 included his debut at the Trasimeno Festival in Italy with Angela Hewitt and a ‘Storyteller’ event for the Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg) with mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska. He returned to the MiTO Festival in Milan and Torino to perform Mussorgsky’s Pictures alongside a newly commissioned arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and was a resident at the Machynlleth Festival in Wales.

The 23/24 season brings Samuele’s solo debut at the Wigmore Hall, the Tauber Philharmonie Weikersheim and the Wimbledon International Festival, and chamber performances with Frankfurt Alter Oper. He will be returning to perform with Music in the Round in Sheffield, alongside Tabea Debus, with whom he premiered a new programme Sounds of Now: Rotations with a choreographer and dancer in 2022.

Awards include 1st Prizes at the 2018 Arassate-Hiria (Spain) and 2013 Castelfidardo (Italy) Competitions. In 2017 he released his first solo CD LIMES, and in 2020 a duo CD for accordion and clarinet, BROKEN SHAKE.

the musicianship is so big, so irrepressible that he transcends the instrument he is playing BBC Radio 3 Record Review

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