Born in London in 1994, 23 year old Mathilde Milwidsky recently won the string section of the 2017 Royal Overseas League Music Competition and was awarded a place on the St John's Smith Square Young Artist Scheme for the 2017/18 season. She won the 2011 Madeira International Violin Competition and was a finalist in Orchid Classics' Young British Soloist Competition (2015), RAM's prestigious 'Patron's Award' (2015) and the Karl Jenkins Classic FM Music Competition (2017). She has been awarded scholarships from the Hattori Foundation, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Philharmonia Orchestra's Martin Musical Scholarship, the Drake Calleja Foundation, the Tillett Trust and the Sir John Cass Foundation. In 2016 Mathilde was one of 20 selected from 300 to participate in the international Menuhin Competition.Upcoming performances include several recitals at St John's Smith Square as part of Mathilde's place on the Young Artist Scheme, including a world premiere of a commission by Sally Beamish, concerto performances at Kings Place, the Lake District International Summer Music Festival, the Pitville Pump Room and Oxford's Ashmolean Museum and chamber music alongside artists such as Tom Poster, Elena Urioste and the Heath Quartet. Mathilde's studies began at the Royal College of Music Junior Department where she was a Tsukanov Scholar taught by Viktoria Grigoreva and David Takeno. Mathilde subsequently studied at the Royal Academy of Music as a full scholarship student under György Pauk, graduating in July 2017 with First Class Honours and the Regency Award for notable achievement, the Louise Child Memorial Prize for highest-achieving graduate and the Marjorie Heyward Fund for the highest violin mark of the year. She is currently studying under Professor Mi-kyung Lee at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.

John Reid ‘s career to date has shown him to be a pianist of notable versatility and range, with wide experience as an outstanding chamber musician, song accompanist, soloist and exponent of new music. He is a principal of the Aurora Orchestra, with whom he has appeared at the major London concert venues and elsewhere. projects during 2017 include recitals in Germany and the UK with violist Timothy Ridout; a collaboration with soprano Gillian Keith and flamenco dance group  Dot Dot Dot at the Buxton Festival in a new work by Tom Randle; and his concerto debut in Germany (Brahms No.1 with Deutsche Philharmonie Merck in Darmstadt). He has recorded numerous times for Radio 3 and made several CDs. He studied at Clare College, Cambridge and at the Royal Academy of Music. He was a recipient of the 2004 Gerald Moore Award and the 2003 Kathleen Ferrier and Maggie Teyte Pianist Prizes, and he is now an Associate of the RAM. Increasingly in demand as a coach of chamber music, he teaches in London at both the RAM and at Goldsmiths College.

 

Florisma are an exciting young historical chamber ensemble featuring soprano voice with period instruments.They have a creative, playful and personal approach to the music they perform, and are known for their sense of unity, “creating a rare feeling of intimacy around their performances.” They perform a varied repertoire of predominantly baroque music, are inventive with their programming and instrumentation, and aim to bring a real sense of energy and emotion to their audiences. They function as a chamber ensemble, rather than as a solo singer with accompanists.The ensemble was formed in 2011 by three early music students at the Birmingham Conservatoire, in order to receive historical chamber music coaching with baroque cellist Henrik Persson. The group had a distinctive sound and energy that was recognised early on, quickly going on to win first prize in the Birmingham Conservatoire's Early Music Prize in which they were praised for their communication, expression and creative ornamentation. They appeared on the Conservatoire's early music concert platform and received specialist guidance in French baroque music from Dr Shirley Thompson. All graduating with Distinctions in performance, they each went on to pursue performing careers, particularly involving historical music. Since the group began they have added further instrumentalists to the line-up, providing more opportunities to be creative. Most recently this has included the addition of the baroque or ‘triple' harp which has added an extra dimension to their performances, and they have enjoyed the opportunity to promote the use of this instrument in baroque repertoire. Florisma is excited to be releasing their first disc together in 2016: Handel's Neun Deutsche Arien with Convivium Records, featuring guest artists Gail Hennessey (Baroque Oboe) and Penelope Spencer (Baroque Violin). They are planning a series of concerts in historical settings around the UK to promote this

 

 

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