Distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, and passionate musicians, it is with great honor and admiration that we introduce Jeremy Young, the esteemed Head of Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).

Jeremy Young stands as a beacon of excellence and inspiration in the realm of chamber music education. With a career marked by dedication, artistry, and unwavering commitment to musical excellence, Jeremy has become synonymous with the highest standards of pedagogy and mentorship.

As Head of Chamber Music at the RNCM, Jeremy Young brings a wealth of experience and insight to his role, guiding the next generation of chamber musicians with wisdom, passion, and boundless enthusiasm. His innovative approach to teaching, coupled with his profound understanding of musical repertoire and interpretation, has earned him the admiration and respect of students and colleagues alike.

Under Jeremy's leadership, the chamber music program at the RNCM has flourished, nurturing young talent and fostering a collaborative and dynamic musical community. Through his mentorship and guidance, students are not only equipped with the technical skills necessary for success but also instilled with a deep appreciation for the art of chamber music and its transformative power.

Beyond his role at the RNCM, Jeremy Young is a celebrated chamber musician in his own right, having performed on stages around the world with renowned ensembles and artists. His passion for music and his dedication to the craft are evident in every performance, inspiring audiences and musicians alike.

As we embark on this musical journey together, let us extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation to Jeremy Young for his invaluable contributions to the world of chamber music education. His tireless dedication, profound artistry, and unwavering commitment to excellence serve as a guiding light for us all, inspiring us to reach new heights of musical achievement and artistic expression.

Nicholas Trygstad, a luminary in the realm of classical music, assumes the pivotal role of Head of Strings at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. With an illustrious career spanning continents, Trygstad has established himself as a distinguished cellist, pedagogue, and leader in music education. Renowned for his captivating performances, he has graced prestigious stages worldwide, earning accolades for his profound musicality and virtuosic skill. As Head of Strings, Trygstad brings his wealth of experience and passion for excellence to the forefront, shaping the next generation of string musicians with his innovative teaching methods and unwavering dedication. His commitment to nurturing talent and fostering a vibrant musical community cements his status as a transformative figure in the world of classical music education.

Ashley Wass stands as a distinguished figure in the world of classical music, renowned for his exceptional talent as a pianist, his insightful interpretations, and his remarkable leadership as the Director of Music at the Menuhin School.

Born with an innate musical gift, Ashley Wass began his piano studies at an early age, demonstrating extraordinary promise and dedication. His passion for music led him to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he flourished under the guidance of world-class mentors, honing his skills and developing a deep understanding of musical expression.

Throughout his illustrious career, Ashley has captivated audiences around the globe with his virtuosic performances and profound musical insight. His repertoire spans a vast range of styles and periods, from the Baroque to the contemporary, showcasing his versatility and artistry as a pianist of exceptional caliber.

In addition to his achievements as a performer, Ashley Wass has distinguished himself as a dedicated educator and mentor. As the Director of Music at the Menuhin School, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his role, inspiring and nurturing the next generation of musical talent with his passion, wisdom, and unwavering commitment to excellence.

Under Ashley's leadership, the Menuhin School's music program has thrived, fostering a vibrant and dynamic musical community that celebrates creativity, collaboration, and artistic expression. His innovative approach to music education, coupled with his profound dedication to nurturing individual talent, has earned him the admiration and respect of students, colleagues, and audiences alike.

Beyond his role at the Menuhin School, Ashley Wass continues to inspire and delight audiences as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. His recordings have garnered critical acclaim and accolades, further solidifying his reputation as one of the leading pianists of his generation.

As we celebrate Ashley Wass's contributions to the world of classical music, let us recognize and applaud his enduring commitment to excellence, his profound artistry, and his unwavering dedication to nurturing the next generation of musical talent at the Menuhin School.

So-Ock Kim, an esteemed professor at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), is a virtuoso violinist of international acclaim. With a career spanning decades, Kim has enraptured audiences worldwide with her exquisite performances and profound musicality. As a dedicated educator, she imparts her wealth of knowledge and experience to aspiring musicians at RAM, shaping the future of classical violin playing. Kim's passion for music and her unwavering commitment to excellence serve as a beacon of inspiration for students and colleagues alike, solidifying her legacy as a true master of her craft.

Internationally regarded pedagogue, Dr Robin Wilson is Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music London and the Yehudi Menuhin School in the UK. He regularly serves on the faculty of the Keshet Eilon International String Mastercourse in Israel, Valdres Sommersymfoni in Norway and Morningside Music Bridge at The New England Conservatory in Boston. He was Head of Violin at The Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne for nine years, and previously held appointments as Lecturer in Violin at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of Queensland and the Australian Institute of Music. Robin is regularly invited to serve on juries of international competitions and give masterclasses throughout Australasia, Asia, Israel, Europe, UK and the USA. Current and former students are major prizewinners of many international competitions, including first prize (2018) and second prize (2021) of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. They perform internationally as soloists and hold principal and tutti positions with many orchestras in Australasia and around the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic.

Robin has performed at major venues and festivals throughout Australia, USA and the UK, is regularly broadcast on all the major radio stations throughout Australasia, and has released solo and chamber music recordings on Decca, ABC Classics, Vexations840 and VDE-Gallo, including the complete Schubert Sonatas for Violin and Piano and two discs of violin encores. A member of the acclaimed Ironwood ensemble who have toured internationally, he is a former leader of the ARCO Chamber Orchestra and member of the Australian Octet, and has appeared as guest violinist with many leading Australian ensembles such as the Omega Ensemble, Ensemble Liaison, Australia Quartet and Nexus 2MBSFM Virtuosi, and has played with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Orchestra of the Antipodes and Pinchgut Opera.

Holding a PhD from the University of Sydney, Robin’s research into the performance practice of Brahms’s music was awarded the prestigious Geiringer Prize from the American Brahms Society and he has presented lectures and recitals at major institutions throughout the USA and UK, including Stanford and Yale Universities. In 2018 he received a National Award from the Australian String Teachers Association for outstanding services to the Australian string community and in 2022 was made an AUSTA Patron.

Robin studied in Sydney with Alice Waten and Janet Davies, and with James Buswell at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He plays a violin made by the Gagliano family in Naples in 1784.

Marco Galvani is a composer and educator based in London. Choral music has been at the core of Galvani's musical output, including commissions for accompanied and a cappella ensembles alike. His work On Christmas Morn was performed by The Sixteen in venues such as Glyndebourne, Cadogan Hall, Sage Gateshead and Birmingham Symphony Hall during their Christmas Tour 2017. Galvani was subsequently commissioned for Stella Caeli by The Sixteen, which was released on CORO in 2018.

Since 2014 Galvani has been working as an Associate Composer with SANSARA resulting in the recent Resonus Classics release 'Invisible Cities', a single composer feature disc including commissions from The Queen's College Choir, Oxford, and Southern Cathedrals Festival, alongside electronic refractions. This sequence of choral works includes pieces from the beginning of Galvani's collaboration with the choir up to the present day, with the album blending electronic and acoustic sounds.

Galvani's recent work has furthered this combination of analogue and digital, including projects such as Play the Stars, commissioned in association with theatre company Leo&Hyde for Liverpool Light Nights 2021 in collaboration with virtual reality artist Rosie Summers. Similarly, Galvani performed live electronics and synthesizers for his sci-fi opera Helena alongside singers and performers from Zeitgeist Ensemble, as part of the Tête à Tête festival 2021. This opera expanded on themes explored in Galvani's second opera Autopilot Saves Model S from 2017, performed at the Oxford Maths institute by Faded Ink Productions, which concerned recent developments in AI and transportation technology.

Eun Cho made her debut as a concerto soloist in South Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 13 and, since arriving in London to study at RCM in 2011, has gone on to perform recitals in numerous venues around London with different projects including the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera House, Cadogan Hall, Southbank Centre, Kings Place, St. James’ Piccadilly and Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall amongst other esteemed venues in England, Italy, Germany, and South Korea.

From 2011 to 2015, Eun had the honour of studying in a very small class with the world-renowned cellist, and student of Mstislav Rostropovich, Natalia Gutman, first part-time (alongside her studies at RCM) at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole and then continuing as a full-time student at Konservatorium Wien from 2014.

In December 2022, Eun made a successful debut as guest principal cello with the Birmingham Royal Ballet for their world-famous production of the Nutcracker at the Birmingham Hippodrome. She is also co-director of Cello Project Korea which was formed in 2015, founder member of The Cellists of KNUA, which regularly sell out concerts at Seoul Arts Center in Seoul and other performances throughout South Korea.

Other appearances as concerto soloist include performances with the Serbia Radio & TV Orchestra, French Chamber Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic, Daegu Philharmonic, Seoul Symphony & Sejong Philharmonic.

South Korean pianist Victor Lim is an active soloist, chamber musician and song accompanist. He has appeared in many major venues in the UK such as the Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall and St. Martin-in-the-Fields and his performances have been broadcasted on BBC Radio 3.

Victor is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Michael Dussek. He previously trained at Wells Cathedral School with John Byrne and Richard Ormrod then at the Royal Northern College of Music with Graham Scott, Jeremy Young and Murray McLachlan. His studies have been generously supported by the ABRSM, Help Musicians UK and the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Victor is a founding member of the Louko Piano Trio who were the winners of the Hirsch, Nossek and Christopher Rowland Ensemble of the Year Prizes at the RNCM as well as the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Chamber Music Competition in London. He also regularly performs with pianist Ryan Drucker with whom he won the RNCM Piano Duo Prize.

As a dedicated teacher, Victor ran the classical music course at the Millfield Summer School for several years and is a Leverhulme Fellow of Pro Corda, the largest chamber music education organisation in the UK. He has given masterclasses around the UK as well as in China, Singapore and South Korea.

British/German violinist, director and festival director Jack Liebeck, possesses “flawless technical mastery” and a “beguiling silvery tone” (BBC Music Magazine). Jack is the Royal Academy of Music’s first Émile Sauret Professor of Violin and Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. “A diverse and interesting program, giving voice to many of the festival artists, this was a terrific offering for this year’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music.” (Limelight Magazine). Jack’s playing embraces the worlds of elegant chamber-chic Mozart through to the impassioned mastery required to frame Brett Dean The Lost Art of Letter Writing and he has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and chamber musicians. Jack’ fascination with all things scientific has led to two new concertos being written for him and regular collaborator Professor Brian Cox - Dario Marianelli’s Voyager Violin Concerto and Paul Dean’s A Brief History of Time commissioned by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in commemoration of Professor Stephen Hawking. In summer 2023 Jack gave the online premiere of Taylor Scott Davis’ new concerto for violin, choir & orchestra To Sing of Love: a Triptych with the VOCES8 Foundation Choir and Orchestra conducted by Barnaby Smith as part of LIVE From London, commissioned for Jack this will be released on album in 2024.

In the 25+ years since his debut with the Hallé, Jack has worked with major international conductors and orchestras including Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, Leonard Slatkin, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Sir Mark Elder, Vasily Petrenko, Brett Dean (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic), Daniel Harding (Swedish Radio), Jukka Pekka Saraste (Oslo Philharmonic), David Robertson (St Louis Symphony), Jakub Hrůša and many orchestras across the world including Belgian National, Queensland Symphony, Moscow State Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Indianapolis Symphony and all of UK orchestras.

Recent orchestral appearances include Queensland Symphony with Elena Schwarz, Uppsala with Rebecca Miller, Philharmonia with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, BBC Philharmonic, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Bournemouth Symphony with Jamie Phillips, BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Jac Van Steen, and Opera North with David Greed. Recital touring includes performances across Europe, USA and Australasia for festivals and venues such as Wigmore Hall, Savannah Music Festival, Portugal Festival de Música dos Capuchos, Arts and Lettres, Vevey, Inons Festival (CA), Leeds International Piano Competition, multiple UK festivals as well as his own Australian Festival of Chamber Music and Oxford May Music festival which celebrates the synergy between art, music and science.