Benjamin Baker was born in New Zealand in 1990, and was a prodigy, playing on television aged 7. He won a scholarship to the Menuhin School when aged 8. Since then he has played in the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Bath Pump Room at the International Bath Festival and has given recitals in Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand. He has received acclaim both as a soloist and also as a member of the string ensemble, Trio Boyarsky. In May 2011 he was awarded 2 nd Prize at the Postacchini International Violin Competition in Italy. Most recently in February 2012 Benjamin was awarded 1 st prize in the string section of the Royal Overseas League Competition, and in March 2013 was selected for representation by YCAT. This season Benjamin appears as soloist and director in Paris and attends IMS Prussia Cove. He gives recitals at Wigmore Hall on 29 September and 1 December and performs the Beethoven Concerto with Sinfonia Cymru and the Amadeus Orchestra. Further afield he tours New Zealand under the auspices of the Royal Over-Seas League.

Jonathan Bloxham studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music, where he won the RCM Cello Prize and the Guilhermina Suggia Gift. In 2012 he gave his concerto debut at the Berlin Philharmonie as a soloist in Brahms' Double Concerto with the CJD Youth Orchestra of Germany. From 2010 - 2014 he was a member of The Busch Ensemble, an award-winning piano trio. As a soloist and chamber musician he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Bridgewater Hall Manchester, and has toured Japan and China. In 2010 he won the Weiz International Conducting Competition and has since then enjoyed a varied performing schedule of both instrumental and conducting engagements.  He is now the Assistant Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Artistic Director of Northern Chords Festival. The 2016-17 season has seen Jonathan conduct the CBSO with repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Elgar and Tchaikovsky.

Daniel Lebhardt was born in Hungary and was admitted to the preparatory class of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest when aged 9. He subsequently won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He won First Prize at the 2014 Young Concert Artists Auditions in Paris, and then won YCA's International Auditions in New York, where he was also awarded the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize and four concert prizes. Among his many other accolades, Mr. Lebhardt won First Prize at the Russian Music International Piano Competition in California, First Prize at the Citta di Gorizia International Piano Competition in Italy, First Prize at the Kosice International Piano Competition in Slovakia, and First Prize at the Carl Filtsch International Piano Competition in Romania. Most recently, he won the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) 2015 Auditions in London. He is still studying at the Royal Academy of Music, where he has won the Sterndale Bennett prize . He is an avid chamber musician and regularly works with other students at the Royal Academy of Music.

 

 

 

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