TALA TUTUNJI (PIANO)

Tala started piano lessons at the age of nine. Upon completing her grade VIII (ABRSM) performance examination after only four years tuition, she was awarded a joint scholarship from the Purcell Anniversary Fund and Chetham’s School of Music to pursue her musical education in Manchester. She studied under the supervision of Alicia Fiderkaewicz, and graduated in 1999.

Tala was awarded a scholarship from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester; she graduated in 2003 with a BMUS Honours degree. She had master classes with renowned artists including Emmanuel Ax, Alexander Melniknov, Arnaldo Cohen, Peter Lawson, Karin Georgerian, Douglas Finch and Martino Tirimo.

Tala is an avid chamber musician, having performed extensively in Europe and the Middle East. As a soloist, she was selected to participate in the Royal Northern College of Music concerto performances in 2003. She was also invited to represent Jordan in the Breaking the Veils Art Exhibition at the Royal Palace of Naples and Milan in 2005, under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Wijdan Ali.

Tala’s concert performances to date include the Ormuz festival in Syria and Lebanon, the Arab Perspectives festival in Cairo, the Jerash festival in Jordan, and Leighton House in London. She worked as a fulltime lecturer at the University of Jordan in 2004, and became the Assistant Dean for Music Affairs in 2005.

Tala was awarded a scholarship from Al Qattan Foundation to purse her masters at the Trinity College of Music in London. Current projects include the artistic coordinator for the Adventures of Prince Ahmed project, a joint collaboration between musicians from Jordan and the UK.

 

ANTHONY DRAKE (CLARINET)

Anthony was born in London in 1976 and started playing the clarinet at the age of 14, inspired by musicians such as the late Jack Brymer and Michael Collins. Between 1994 and 1997, he studied clarinet with Paul Allen and graduated with a degree from Goldsmiths College, University of London. In 2003, he began studying the clarinet with David Campbell.

In 2006, Anthony entered the Trinity College of Music as a postgraduate student on the PG Dip/MMUS course, and now studies clarinet with Joan Enric Lluna. In 2007, he was awarded the Leverhulme Orchestral Mentorship Scholarship and an educational placement with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to studying, he is a private music teacher.

Anthony is a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and has performed throughout the UK, Germany, Italy, Croatia and Denmark. Recent projects include participating in a rare performance of Stockhausen’s Trans with the Trinity College of Music Symphony Orchestra, and as principal clarinet in the Trinity College of Music Symphony Orchestra in a production of the opera Les Diaglogues Des Carmelites by Poulenc.

Anthony has undertaken master classes with the late Jack Brymer, Wissam Boustany, Roger Heaton and Emma Johnson.

 

TARA-LEE BYRNE (CELLO)

Tara-Lee is studying for a Masters Degree in the Trinity College of Music with Naomi Butterworth, where she is a Dora Ashton Scholar. She previously lived in Italy, where she studied with Elizabeth Wilson. She holds a P.G Diploma in Performance from Utrecht Conservatorium, Holland; a P.G Diploma in Chamber Orchestra, Saluzzo, Italy; and a BA Music Performance Honours Degree from the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

In 2007, Tara-Lee was awarded a place on the Mentorship Scheme with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. She is a deputy cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland; the RTE Concert Orchestra; the Irish Film Orchestra; and the Orchestra Classica di Alessandria, Italy.

Tara-Lee has held the position of principal cellist with the Trinity College of Music Symphony Orchestra, London; the Orchestra da Camera Di Scuola APM, Saluzzo; the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra, Holland; the Opera Orchestra di Teatro Mancinelli, Orvieto, Italy; the RIAM Symphony and Chamber Orchestras; and the Hibernian Orchestra, Dublin.

As a soloist, Tara-Lee has performed with the Hibernian Orchestra; the RIAM Chamber Orchestra; the Dublin Orchestral Players; and the Orchestra Classica di Scuola APM, Saluzzo. She recently performed in a Wigmore Hall Young Artists Lunchtime recital, and a concert tour in the Middle East.

Tara-Lee’s awards and scholarships include the Leverhulme Orchestral Mentorship Scholarship, Trinity College of Music London; the ESTA Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Bursary; Dublin City Council’s Advanced Instrumentalists Bursary; and CDVEC Scholarship.

Tara-Lee is currently Treasurer and Chamber Music Coach of the Dublin Youth Orchestra Summer Music Courses. In 2006, she founded MAMI Music Artists Management Ireland®, a company providing concert platforms for young artists in Ireland. Future engagements include Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Dublin Symphony Orchestra on 1 December 2007.

Tara-Lee is represented by MAMI Music Artists Management Ireland® Tara-Lee Byrne © 2007

 

OSAMA KHOURY (QANOUN)

Osama was born in Amman in 1989, and grew up in a house surrounded by different kinds of music (Arabic, Turkish and Western classical). He started with violin for one year. It was not long before his interest in Arabic and Turkish classical music overtook his interest in Western classical traditions, and he decided to study the qanoun at the age of seven, an instrument indispensable to Arabic and Turkish classical music.

Osama gave performances as a qanoun soloist in many local scenes, as well as performing with the National Music Conservatory’s orchestra and the ECCUME orchestra in Syria and Bahrain. He is a member of the Music in Me ensemble, where he performed in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, the UK, France and Holland. He won several awards for his outstanding talents in composition and performance.

Osama was the youngest player in the International Qanoun Meeting that was held in Amman in 2004. He is continuing his mastership on the qanoun with the great Turkish qanoun master Khalil Karaduman, and is studying music composition under Bernard Cavanna in Paris.

 

BASIL KHOURY (VIOLIN)

Born in Amman in 1984, Basil started playing violin at the early age of six, showing extraordinary progress in his study of Western music. He played darabukka, which exposed him to Oriental classical music at an early age. It was during this period that he began to experiment and pursue his interest in classical Arabic and Turkish music, in addition to his interest in classical Western music.

Basil was granted an Applehill Chamber music scholarship, and represented Jordan in the US, Egypt, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, Tunisia, Oman, Syria, Holland and France, as well as many local events.

Throughout different stages of his studies, Basil was granted distinction degrees many times. In the last few years, he has deeply immersed himself in different Oriental playing styles on the violin, and honoured his skills as an Oriental violin player. He has a BA in music performance, and is pursuing his postgraduate studies in violin performance in Paris.

 

RIYAD NICOLAS (PIANO)

Riyad was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1989. He started playing the piano at the age of six, studying with Joumana Ilias. Having displayed remarkable progress, he joined the Arab Institute of Music in Aleppo in 1997. Under the supervision of Michael Kotcharov, he won the Best Piano Student Prize of the Syrian Arab Republic for two consecutive years (1998-1999).

From 1999, Riyad continued his studies with Vladimir Kasatkin, and gave several concerto performances with the chamber orchestras in Aleppo and Damascus, as well as solo recitals. During a visit from the Apple Hill Centre (New Hampshire, US) musical team to Syria, he was chosen as the most promising pianist and invited to visit the US for a month. He also had several invitations to perform in Lebanon and the Gulf.

Riyad won the top prize in the 1st Syria National Piano Competition in 2004, and subsequently performed with the Grand Syrian Orchestra at the opening of the Opera House. In 2005, he was selected to take part in the London International Piano Competition, where he won an Educational Award. That year, he was accepted at the Purcell School, where he has been awarded a two-year scholarship to study with Sulamita Aronovsky.

Recent engagements include recitals at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Steinway Hall in London. In September 2006, Riyad won second prize in the Seiler International Piano Competition, Greece. In June 2007, he performed the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra at St. John’s, Smith Square, London. He is one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from the Middle East.

 

LAURENCE HILL (PERCUSSION)

Laurence is currently in his fourth year at the Trinity College of Music, studying orchestral percussion with Kevin Nutty, drum kit with Dave Wickins, jazz vibraphone with Roger Beaujolais, and marimba with Gillian McDonaugh. He pursues a keen interest in world percussion, studying with Dawson Miller.

Laurence is a founding member of Samba Corcovado, and plays with the Vaiven Salsa Band. Next year, he plans to enhance his understanding of world music by travelling to Africa, South America and Cuba.

 

KARL SCULLY (TENOR)

Karl is studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Opera at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, while also attending Denis O’Neill’s International Vocal Academy in Cardiff. Previously he was based in Italy, where he completed two years of operatic studies with Gabriella Ravazzi. While in Italy, he was resident tenor at the Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa.

Karl was a student of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, where he studied under Dr. Veronica Dunne and Suzanne Murphy. His operatic roles include Arturo, Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti, the Annalivia International Opera Festival, Dublin; Albert, Albert Herring Benjamin Britten, the National Concert Hall, Dublin; Paolino, Il Matrimonio Segreto, Cimarosa and Ferrando, Cosi Fan Tutte, Orvieto, Italy.

Karl starred as Count John McCormack in the cinematic film Nora, starring Ewan McGregor. He has performed as a soloist in Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Centre, New York; the Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa; the Teatro Mancinelli, Orvieto, Italy; Moulin D’Ande, Normandie, France; and the National Concert Hall.

Karl has studied under the Manhattan School of Music’s Joan Patenaude-Yarnell, the Curtis Institute’s Mikael Eliason, and Maestro Fabbri of the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro. He has performed in master classes with Denis O’Neil, Henny Diemer of the Utrecht Conservatorium, Barbara Pearson and Udo Reinemann of The Hague Conservatorium, George Chamine of the Paris Conservatoire, Ian Partridge of the Royal Academy of Music, London, and Ugo Benelli, Italy.

Karl’s successes in competition include first prize in Lieder, French Song, Oratorio, Opera & Folk Songs, The John McCormack Cup, Rathmines & Rathgar Cup in the Feis Ceoil. In 2003 and 2004, he was awarded the CDVEC Bursary for Advanced Musicians studying abroad.

In 2006, Karl was chosen to participate in the Wexford Opera Festival Young Artists Development Programme. That year saw him joining Finbar Wright and Anthony Kearns to re-form The Irish Tenors. In his debut US tour last summer, The Washington Post wrote: “Scully had the most to prove, and prove it he did, with a wonderfully light voice and clear enunciation.”

Karl is represented by MAMI Music Artists Management Ireland®Karl Scully © 2007.

 

MIRIAM HILMI (VOICE)

Miriam began classical training in Jordan. She was very closely involved in singing in aid of the Al-Hussein Society for the Handicapped through the Scandinavian Ladies of Amman, and sang at the Global Summit on Tourism through the Peace Project at the Hyatt in 2001.

At the age of 17, Miriam was invited to give a solo concert at Darat-Al-Funun. She studied Drama at Exeter University, and continued to complete a Masters Degree in Intercultural Theatre. In April 2005, She won the Devon Performing Arts Festival Rosebowl Finalists trophy, as well as the Handel Opera trophy.

Miriam is studying Music at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her London events include a fundraising concert at the Royal Artillary Barracks in Woolwich in aid of a violence intervention project.

 

TAREK YOUNIS (PIANO)

Tarek finished his preliminary music studies in Jordan under the guidance of Rula Nabil. After receiving a Purcell scholarship, he continued his music education in Composition and Piano Performance under the guidance of Daryl Runswick at the Trinity College of Music, London.

Tarek also received Qattan Foundation and Chevening scholarships, finishing his Bachelors Degree in Music Composition. In 2002, he received an MBI scholarship to do a Masters in Ethnomusicology of Near and Middle Eastern Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He works in Jordan within the fields of education, composition and performance.

 

ZINA ASFOUR (PIANO)

Zina studied musicology at the Sorbonne University, and piano performance at the Ecole Normale in Paris and the Trinity College of Music in London. She had master classes with renowned artists including Philip Fawke, Christopher Elton and Raymond Banning.

Zina is a keen pianist who has performed in Europe and the Middle East. She has participated in several music festivals, such as Jerash and Asafi in Morocco. She teaches piano at the University of Jordan.

 

VASELINA MILEVA (VIOLIN)

Born in Bulgaria in 1985, Vaselina took her Bachelor degree in violin at the Sofia State Academy of Music while she studied with Boian Danailov, Dora Ivanova and Angel Stankov. As a solo performance, she played at Universiada Halland, Lyumomir Pipkov Hall and the Bulgaria Chamber Hall, including composition by Bach, Mozart, Gluck, Paganini, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

Vaselina had several performances with orchestras such as the Mendelssohn violin concerto with the Academy Orchestra in 2003; the Prokofiev violin concerto D-Dur op 19 with the Vratzha Symphony Orchestra in 2004; the Shostakovich violin concerto no 2 op. 129 in 2004; the Mozart violin concerto D-Dur in Ruse, Sofia and Vienna in 2005; and Tchaikovsky violin D-Dur with Plovdiv’s Philharmonic in 2006.

As an orchestral player, she performed with the Junior Orchestra “Sofia” in Switzerland, Canada and Italy in 1999-2000, and the classical FM orchestra in Spain in 2007. Vasilena has received many prizes, including Second Prize and Prize Laureate in Dobrich town, Special Prize at the Young Talents Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria, Encouraging Prize from “The Earth and The People” competition in Sofia, and the Unesco Premium.

She has had master classes with violinists such as Minchev, Milanova, Altenberg, Krisa, Kish, Ozim and Shahm. Vaselina has participated in festivals in Varna, Vienna, Semering and Budapest. She was awarded an Entrance Scholarship for the PG diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in 2007, under the supervision of Howard Davis.

 

LINN LILLSUNDE (VIOLIN)

Linn was born in Sweden in 1981 and started playing the violin at the age of 10. She joined several youth orchestras, and led the Stockholm Youth Symphony Orchestra 2000-2002, which took her to Austria, Portugal and Iceland. Linn began her fulltime music studies in 2000 at the Birkagarden School in Stockholm, her violin teacher being Gert Crafoord (former leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm).

In 2002, she started her undergraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, studying for Tale Olsson (leader of the Tale Quartet) and Sten-Johan Sunding (first violinist in the RPhO in Stockholm). Linn has been participating in master classes with, among others, Thomas Brandis, Terje-Moe Hansen, Peter Herrestahl and Magnus Eriksson.

After getting her BMus (Hons) degree in June 2006, she is currently on the MMus course at the Trinity College of Music, studying for Mayumi Fujikawa, who was awarded the second price at the Tchaikowsky competition in 1970, and since then has been a soloist with all the major orchestras in Europe. Linn has received scholarships from the Egerup Foundation, the Johnson Foundation and the Helge Ax:son Johnsons Foundation.

She is a fond chamber music player, part of a pianoquarttet at the Trinity College of Music and the Baroque ensemble Rococo, receiving chamber music coaching from outstanding cellist Richard Markson.

Linn leads the Swedish Lotus quartet, which regularly gives concerts throughout Sweden. She has given several solo and chamber music performances in Sweden and London (the Bloomsbury festival, MacLaren Hall, Blackheath Halls and Theatre Studio, the Trinity College of Music), including being a soloist with orchestra.

Besides her classical studies, Linn is also studying jazz violin for Omar Puente. While still living in Sweden, she has played with different world music groups, with which she has made several recordings.

 

ALESSIA MANKOVSKAYA (SINGER)

Alessia was born in Belarus. She studied piano and choir conducting at the Minsk Junior College of Music, and later singing at the Musical Theatre Department of the Russian Academy of Dramatic Arts (Moscow). Alessia is now studying with Hazel Wood at the Trinity College of Music (where she is doing her Masters degree), aided by a Butler’s scholarship for 2006/2007 and the Ofenheim scholarship for 2007/2008.

She has been invited as a soloist of the Trinity College of Music Chamber Choir, conducted by Stephen Jackson. A dramatic mezzo-soprano and actor with considerable professional experience on the operatic and theatre stages as well as in the concert hall, Alessia’s performances have included the role of Marceline in The Marriage of Figaro in the Stanislavsky Opera House (Moscow), and an appearance as soloist in Tippett’s Crown of the Year at the Spitalfields Summer Festival 2007 and the Leeds Lieder Festival 2007.

 

AKIKO NOZAKI (PIANO)

Akiko Nozaki was born in 1981 in Oita (Japan). She started her musical education at the age of 3 by attending the Yamaha Music School.

After having studied various courses there, she began to learn solo piano with Reiko Ishibashi. She completed her degree in Musashino Music University in Tokyo. During her fourth year, she was chosen to study in the special solfège class.

Working with the singer Alesia Mankouskaya with whom she won the first prize of the English Song Competition for Voice and Piano at Trinity College of Music, in 2007 and the Elizabeth Schumann Duo prize for Lieder 2007. She received the Mehroo & Byram Jeejeebhoy Prize for Piano in 2007.

She has also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance at Trinity college of Music in London and is now studying for a Masters in Music at the same College with Simon Young as her solo piano teacher.

A ballet enthusiast, she is associated with a number of ballet schools in London such as the English National Ballet School.

 

JOSE MANUEL GANDIA (VIOLIN)

Jose Manuel Gandia was born in Avila in 1981. He studied violin and chamber music with the Russian violinist Olga Vilkomirskaya in Badajoz, finishing his Bachelor degree with High Distinction.

He is now studying a Master of Music in Music performance (Viola) with Rifka Golani at Trinity College of Music and has been awarded with the Trinity College of Music Award for 2007-2008.

He won the fourth prize for solo strings in the International Music Competition, Padova (Italy) 2007 and the second prize with the Meridian Trio in the North London Chamber Music Competition 2007.

He has recently joined the ‘Vertigo project’ ensemble with the Belorussian mezzo-soprano Alessia Mankovskaya and the Japanese pianist Akiko Nozaki, giving regular performances in venues like Regent Hall, Blackheath Halls, Charlton House, St Alfege Church.

He is also commited to experimental artistic works which lead him to collaborate with dancers and choreographers of Trinity Laban, for the “Dead sea” performance in June 2007.