Greta Papa is a Greek-Albanian award-winning violinist who has vast experience in solo, chamber and orchestral music performances, with extensive repertoire and expertise in both classical and contemporary styles. Her career took off when she became the youngest member of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, selected by Leonidas Kavakos. Greta took part in many festivals and concert series in Greece, including solo performances including Brahms Violin Concerto, Chausson Poeme, Vivaldi Seasons, Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello, Sarasate Zigeunerweisen with both State Orchestras of Athens and Thessaloniki as well as soloist at Onassis Cultural Centre and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre.
Greta moved to London to study her Masters with Andrew Watkinson at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with full scholarship, obtaining her MPerf with distinction. While she was at the GSMD she worked with prominent string quartets such as the Endellion and Takacs.
She was also granted a full scholarship to study with Stephanie Gonley at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, for the Artist Diploma and Advanced Professional Diploma with distinction.
Greta has performed with orchestras such as the LSO, ECO, ACO, BBC NOW, working with conductors a such as Sir Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, Michael Tilson Thomas and others.
In 2021, Greta formed the Waldstein Quartet performing in notable venues across England such as Wigmore Hall and Dartington Summer School. Following this, Greta formed the Waldstein Piano Trio with cellist Miguel Angel Villeda and pianist Christos Fountos. Since then, the trio has won several international chamber music competitions such as Vienna International Competiton in Musikverein, Medici International Competition in London, Amadeus International Music Awards in Mozarteum, Maurice Ravel International Competition in Paris, Grand Prix Virtuoso in Beethoven Haus as well as the Cavatina Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition at Wigmore Hall when they were the only group from the London colleges of music that won among others.
In 2023 the trio was invited in Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, to work with acclaimed chamber music groups such as Gryphon Trio, Parker Quartet, Jack Quartet and Eybler Quartet.
Greta plays a Pressenda violin, generously loaned by Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
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Derbyshire UK- born Lizzie Ball has been performing as a violinist and vocalist internationally in classical, jazz, improvisation for nearly two decades, and is in busy demand as a collaborator, solo artist, project leader and mentor. She holds an MA as an Instrumental Scholar (reading Music) from St John’s College, Cambridge University, and two postgraduate diplomas in solo performance from the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London. She is most known for her creation, in 2012, of Classical Kicks Productions, to bring classical music out of the concert hall to a wider audience, with diverse performers, and key concerts including at UK festival -Bestival and a residency at Soho’s famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club (both upstairs and main house). In 2020 was made Guest Director of Vilnius based dynamic young chamber orchestra, ‘Mikroórkestra’. She has worked regularly as soloist/orchestra leader for a variety of artists, projects and tours including Hugh Jackman (as leader of the orchestra for his acclaimed 2019 The Man, The Music, The Show European Stadium Tour), The Sixteen, Nigel Kennedy -as Leader of his Orchestra of Life for over 8 years, Ariana Grande and Liam Gallagher.
Lizzie’s recent work as a ‘violinist composer’ with violin, a loop pedal, some basic software plugins, creates a one-woman orchestra approach. She scores creative productions which include a heavy interplay between immersive visuals and sound design. In 2018 she created with theatre producer and director, Emily Blacksell, ‘Corrido: A Ballad for the Brave’, about the life and times of artist Frida Kahlo, premiering at the V and A Museum alongside the historic Frida Kahlo exhibition ‘Making Herself Up’ in 2018, in which Frida’s own clothes and personal items were exhibited for the first time outside of Mexico. She has also recently collaborated on an audio-visual production about climate change called ‘All the Ends of the World’ with The Sixteen and videographer Heather Britton. Alongside her performing work, Lizzie is passionate about creating new ways of teaching and mentoring music professionals.
Lizzie has over 2 decades of workshop/outreach projects experience, alongside her performing commitments. Lizzie used the extra time in the pandemic created by work cancellations to qualify as a Transformational Coach. Lizzie has since established her own creative business, Set Your Stage Coaching, to widen the possibilities of her teaching work in the area of creative mentor-coaching. In 2021, she was appointed as the Violin Professor for Britten-Pears Foundations acclaimed ‘Aldeburgh Young Musicians’ scheme, and was awarded an ‘Enterprise Award’ from the Royal Philharmonic Society of UK for her enterprising approach to creativity. In 2018 she was awarded an Honorary MA Degree from the University of Derby for her services to music, and is currently an Associate Artist for Lichfield Festival until 2025.
Anna Kosinska is Assistant Concertmaster of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since her solo debut in New York’s renowned Carnegie Hall, she has performed regularly in the world’s most prestigious venues, including Vienna Musikverein, Tonhalle Zürich, The Charles Bronfman Auditorium Tel Aviv, Cadogan Hall London, Berlin Philharmonic, Lincoln Centre New York and Warsaw Philharmonic.
She is a major prize winner of many international violin competitions, including The International Violin Competition Carnegie Hall, New York, The International Violin Competition in Lugano, Switzerland. She was also awarded multiple scholarships, including Sholarship of the President of the Republic of Poland, Sholarship at the Music Institute and Society in Warsaw, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Poland, Music and Art Govermental award of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Anna Kosińska recorded for Naxos, Decca, ARD, ZDF, Medici and Polish Television TVP.
Anna is a member of The Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Guest Co-Leader of the Malta Philharmonic and Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, guest violinist in Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin.
In the words of celebrated violinist Anne-Sophie-Mutter, “The world needs well-rounded, broad-minded musicians. Give back to society whenever you can.” Miranda’s wide-ranging career epitomises this, spanning an international diary of orchestral concerts and historically informed performance (including Instruments of Time & Truth, Ex Cathedra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, live BBC radio broadcasts). She has spent many seasons in the theatre (RSC) and opera (Glyndebourne, London Coliseum) and as a Wagner specialist with Longborough Festival Opera. Her discography includes recordings with OPO, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and Hanover Band. Her award-winning work as a project-leader for OPO’s Outreach team has brought music to around 1000 children so far, and she is extremely grateful for the generosity of OPO sponsors who fund this valuable work in Oxfordshire hospitals and schools. She is Head of Strings at St Helen and St Katharine, ranked Oxfordshire’s top independent girls’ school (The Times, Parent Power). Miranda enjoys a longstanding commitment of over 20 years to OPO.
Born in London in 1979, Ruth Rogers began violin lessons at the age of five. In 1997 she was awarded a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music to study with Itzhak Rashkovsky. She graduated in 2001 with First Class Honours and was awarded the Tagore Gold medal – the College’s highest accolade – by HRH The Prince of Wales. From 2008 until 2012 Ruth was the co-leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and in 2015 was appointed as one of the Leaders of the London Mozart Players. She regularly guest leads the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and has appeared in principal roles with the Hallé, Philharmonia and RLPO. She has led orchestras under the batons of such maestros as Daniele Gatti, Sir Colin Davis and Sakari Oramo. As chamber musician, Ruth has performed at the Aldeburgh and Bath Festivals with the Tate Ensemble, and is a member of the Iuventus String Quartet and the Aquinas Piano Trio. She has appeared at the Wigmore Hall with the Nash Ensemble. Ruth appears regularly with the Oxford Philharmonic.
Matthew Denton has performed for more than 20 years as the leader of the Carducci String Quartet, winning prizes at international competitions including the Concert Artists Guild (USA), Kuhmo (Finland), Charles Hennen (Holland), Osaka (Japan), Bordeaux (France) and London (UK). He has recorded over 25 CDs for labels including Signum, Naxos, BMG, Somm, Nimbus and has performed at major concert halls around the world. In 2015 the Quartet won a Royal Philharmonic Society award for ‘Shostakovich15’ – a project which included a performance of the complete Shostakovich quartets in one day, at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Matt studied with Felix Andrievsky at the RCM and then continued as a Junior Fellow, studying with members of the Amadeus, Alberni and Chilingirian Quartets. He is a violin professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Matt plays on a historic Brother’s Amati violin from 1603 – ‘The Hurwitz ex Cooper
A disciple of the legendary Soviet violinist Boris Goldstein, Adrian Adlam is a violinist of great versatility who combines careers of performing, conducting and teaching with equal passion. He has appeared as a guest concertmaster with leading European orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hague Philharmonic, the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the Scottish BBC Symphony Orchestra, working with many of the most eminent conductors of our time. He has broadcast for both radio and television, while his CD recordings have included major chamber music works by Spohr, Beethoven, Bartok, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. His recording of the complete violin sonatas by Carl Nielsen received a supersonic award, and his recording of the Schubert octet was voted surround sound audio DVD of the year in Germany. His live broadcasts of the Bartók Solo Sonata and Berg violin concerto on Deutschland Radio Berlin were received enthusiastically and described as a mature ‘combination of technical expertise with musical integrity’. Following a recital at the Wigmore Hall, Adlam’s playing was described in the Strad magazine as ‘florid, lyrical and majestic’. As Artistic director of the International Freden Music Festival in Germany he has been responsible for the commissioning of over thirty new works for chamber ensemble and orchestra from a wide pool of internationally established composers. The festival was recently awarded the German Praetorius award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the arts.
Nemanja Ljubinković began his musical studies at the age of 6 in Belgrade with Dejan Mihailović, giving his first recital aged 10. He was the prize-winner at the International Yamaha Competition, Città di Genova Violin Awards and the Jeunesse Musicale Competition. He studied in Munich at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater with Anna Chumachenko, and he regularly worked with Zakhar Bron, Ida Haendel, and Igor Ozim. As a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician he has performed with the Bayerishe Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Bayerische Staatsoper, München Kammerorchester and Bayreuth Festipielhaus among many others. He is also a member of the award-winning chamber ensemble Double Sens in Paris, with whom he has recorded four albums exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon.
Anna Croad is Sub-Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic and enjoys a varied freelance career which encompasses playing in many major London orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra and Guy Barker’s Big Band. In lockdown Classic FM chose to share Anna’s solo violin premiere of sister Libby Croad’s unaccompanied solo violin composition, ‘Essence’ which went on to receive over 25k views. Anna enjoys performing a wide range of musical styles and has been privileged to perform and be engaged to record and tour with artists including the late Luciano Pavarotti, Yo-Yo Ma, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Adele, Hugh Jackman, Simply Red, Emeli Sande, Gregory Porter and Lana del Rey. Anna co-founded her highly successful contemporary string ensemble, ‘Blue Topaz Strings’ which perform for private events and have entertained well-known figures including Her Majesty the Queen, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jamie Oliver at venues including Wembley Stadium, Ronnie Scott’s, Kensington Palace and The National Theatre.
Emanuela Buta is Sub-Principal First Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic. Born in Romania, Emanuela studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music under Maurice Hasson and Philippe Graffin, and won the Doris Faulkener Solo Violin Award and the honorary Diploma of RAM. At 7, Emanuela performed solo with the Arad Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania, and won the National Romanian Solo competitions between 1999-2001. She has made television appearances with the Myrios Quartet, and has toured Europe, Middle East and Far East both as a soloist and chamber musician as part of Femusa ensemble and on several occasions has lead Sinfonia Cymru. In 2005, Emanuela won the National Youth String Quartet Competition as a member of the Azzura String Quartet. As part of the Myrios Quartet, she has performed at festivals including the Soviet Chamber, Slav, Windsor, Swaledale and Norfolk & Norwich. She was invited by the conductor Gianandrea Noseda to play in his Settimane Musicale orchestra in Stresa, Italy in 2006 and 2008. Emanuela coaches chamber music at Junior Guildhall and Pro Corda and enjoys a busy freelance career internationally and in London working with the Philharmonia, BBC Concert and Royal Philharmonic orchestras.