One of the most outstanding pianists of his generation, Llyr Williams brings an extraordinary musical intelligence to all his work, as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician.  In 2005 he made his Proms début with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jiri Belohlavek, opened the Queen’s Hall series at the Edinburgh Festival and appeared with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields at the Barbican’s Mostly Mozart Festival.  This year he returned to the Edinburgh International Festival for the fourth time, appearing with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä as well as giving an extraordinary peformance of Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata and Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet.

During the last year Llyr Williams has appeared with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Hallé.  He performs regularly with Sinfonia Cymru and last autumn directed a Mozart Concerto from the keyboard as well as continuing the complete Beethoven Concerti series, culminating in 2006 with a 10th Anniversary Concert with Bryn Terfel.  Future plans include a tour of the United States with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, recitals throughout the UK including the Wigmore Hall on 30 March 2007, as well as concerts with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia and the London Mozart Players.

In 2005 Llyr Williams was awarded the MIDEM Classique ‘Outstanding Young Artist Award’ in partnership with the International Artist Managers’ Association. His first commercial CD featuring Chopin’s Préludes was released in March 2006 on the Quartz label.

Born in 1976 in Pentrebychan, North Wales, Llyr Williams read music at Queen’s College, Oxford, graduating in 1998 with a first class alpha degree. He went on to take up a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music where he won every prize and award.  From 2000-02 he was a ‘Shinn’ Fellow at the Academy, coaching singers and studying conducting.  He was also an active member of the Live Music Now! scheme for several years.  In 2002, Llyr Williams joined the Young Concert Artists Trust scheme.

Llyr Williams received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2004.

www.victoriarowsell.co.uk

Jamie Prophet is the Principal Trumpet of the BBC Philharmonic with whom he has performed as soloist many times.  While still an undergraduate at the Royal Northern College of music, Jamie became the Associate Principal Trumpet with the BBC Philharmonic and after five years was promoted to Section Principal.  Jamie has also appeared as guest principal trumpet with many of Britain’s finest orchestras.

One of the most outstanding trumpet players of his generation the International Trumpet Guild described Jamie as ‘…. displaying a great overall mastery of the trumpet in terms of sound, technique and stamina, in addition to his terrific musicianship.’  Born in 1980, Jamie began his playing career with the Bodmin Town Band where at the age of sixteen he was playing principal cornet.  While at school, Jamie won four Most Outstanding Instrumentalist awards at the BASBWE festivals in Manchester.  A former member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, he later joined the European Union Youth Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis. 

Jamie studied at the Royal Northern College of Music under John Miller.  He won several awards including the Cecil Kidd Prize for Trumpet (twice), the Goronwy Evans Memorial Prize for Outstanding Players and performed the Hummel Trumpet Concerto with the RNCM Chamber Orchestra.

As an Endorsee of Yamaha Trumpets, Jamie travels all over the UK giving recitals, concertos and masterclasses.  Recent Yamaha events have included performing at the Classicallive weekend in London; he also performed as guest soloist for the gala concert of the Bristollive week.  As a chamber musician, Jamie has performed with the Halle Brass Quintet, the Ian Bousfield Brass Quintet in Germany and is a founder member of the Alliance Brass Ensemble alongside the great Dr Roger Webster.

A very diverse player, he has recorded Handel’s ‘The Trumpet Shall Sound’ with Bryn Terfel for television, played lead trumpet in the hit show ‘Saturday Night Fever’, appeared as soloist with the Black Dyke Band in concert and on record to huge critical acclaim and most recently as soloist with the New York Salvation Army Staff Band in Philadelphia.  He has even performed the ‘Post Horn Gallop’ with Basil Brush conducting him!  On the other side of the spectrum, Jamie enjoys considerable success with his jazz quintet ‘Excess Prophet’, having backed and performed alongside jazz greats such as Pete King, Alan Barnes, Jacqui Dankworth, John Etheridge, Steve Waterman and Art Theman.

Jamie is a tutor of trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music.

The Salzburger Nachrichten called her “an amazing talent” following her Salzburg Mozarteum debut in January 2005, directing Mozart's second concerto from the violin with the Kremerata Baltica.

Since then Alina Ibragimova has joined the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, performed Mendelssohn with the Philharmonia and Sir Charles Mackerras, Beethoven with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda, Sibelius with the BBC Scottish Symphony and Osmo Vänskä, Bruch with the BBC Symphony and Edward Gardner, toured with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica, appeared at the Salzburg and Verbier festivals, and given solo recitals at the Musée du Louvre Paris, for NHK Television Japan and as part of BBC Radio 3’s Bach Christmas festival.

Recent performances have included concertos by Bach, Berg and Hartmann, and her Wigmore Hall debut, which included a new solo Partita written for her by Huw Watkins.

Alina's debut CD was released by Hyperion Records on 01 September 2007.

www.alinaibragimova.com