Natalia Lomeiko - Violin
Natalia performed Barber's Violin Concerto on 10 March 2012
Born into a family of musicians in Novosibirsk, Russia, Natalia has already established herself internationally as a versatile performing artist. In the year 2000 she received the Gold Medal and the 1st Prize in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition (Genoa, Italy) and the 1st prize in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (Auckland, New Zealand) in 2003.
Natalia studied at the Specialist Music School in Novosibirsk, at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England with Lord Menuhin, at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. In 2011, Natalia was appointed Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music, London.
Natalia has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in such prestigious venues in London as the Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Buckingham Palace, the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall.
Emil Huckle-Kleve - Violin
Emil performed Vaughan Williams: "Lark Ascending", Saint-Saens: "Danse Macabre" and Monti: "Czardas" at Colston Hall on 19 November 2011
Emil is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music with Remus Azoitie, having previously been taught by Hu Kun and his father Roger Huckle. So far, his endeavours at RAM have led to him winning the Mica Comberti prize for solo Bach and reaching the final of their annual concerto competition. In 2005 Emil became the Bristol Rotary Young Musician of the Year, Bath Young Musician of the Year and semi-finalist of the strings in the BBC Young Musician of the Year. He also took part in the BBC competition 'Classical Star' where he reached the last eighteen instrumentalists. Emil has appeared as soloist with the Bristol Ensemble, Stroud Symphony Orchestra and Capriol Chamber Orchestra. He has strong interests in chamber music having given many concerts with the Stilig Quartet and is currently playing in various groups formed at RAM. Emil performed the Dvorak Violin Concerto with the Orchestra on 3 July 2010.
Mihai Cocea - Viola
Mihai performed Berlioz: "Harold in Italy" on 2 July 2011
Mihai Cocea is a student of Professor Paul Silverthorne at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Born in 1990, in Bucharest, Mihai graduated from the "George Enescu" High School as a student of Professor Dumitru Ene. He has been a winner of national and international awards, including the Second Prize at the Delius Competition in London in 2008, third Prize Winner of the "Watson Forbes" International Viola Competition and a finalist of the 2008 Eurovision Young Musicians Competition. Mihai plays on a Salomon viola made France in 1780, kindly lent to him by the Royal Academy of Music.
Benjamin Hughes - Cello
Benjamin performed the Shostakovich Cello Concerto on 5 March 2011
Benjamin Hughes, Principal Cello of the BBC Concert Orchestra, is making a name for himself as one of the UK’s most dynamic and versatile young cellists. He is in great demand as a chamber musician and performs regularly with the Fibonacci Sequence and the London Mozart Trio at prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, Conway Hall, the Holywell Rooms in Oxford and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Australia. He appears regularly on BBC Radio and Television as a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and is equally at home playing Bach, Bartok or Brubeck.
Charlotte Newstead - Soprano
Charlotte performed Strauss: "Four Last Songs" on 6 March 2010
Charlotte read music at the University of Bristol, graduating with a Masters Degree and has built a career as a concert soprano in the West of England, appearing with all the major groups and at all the major venues of the area including St George’s Brandon Hill, Bristol Cathedral, Clifton Cathedral, Colston Hall and Bath Abbey. She sings every week at the Lord Mayor’s Chapel in Bristol.
Penelope Roskell - Piano
Penelope performed Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 on 14 November 2009
Penelope Roskell is an international concert pianist and Professor of Piano at Trinity College of Music and at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She has performed as soloist at major concert halls throughout Britain, including the Barbican Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. She has also travelled widely in over thirty countries in Western and Eastern Europe, the United States, Africa, Asia, and the Middle and Far East.