The Maestro
Lev Parikian, conductorLevon Parikian - Conductor

Levon Parikian studied conducting with George Hurst and Ilya Musin. Since completing his studies, he has pursued a freelance conducting career, and is much in demand as Guest Conductor with orchestras in Britain. He currently holds Principal Conductor posts with several London-based orchestras, and is Principal Conductor of the City of Oxford Orchestra and Artistic Director of The Rehearsal Orchestra. He works extensively with students and youth orchestras, including the Royal College of Music Junior Sinfonia, the National Youth Strings Academy, and Royal Holloway University of London, where he also teaches conducting.

Levon lives in South London and his hobbies include making retaliatory hoax calls to call centres, cycling headlong into bendy buses, and wondering why he came upstairs.
 

Adrian Charlesworth - Leader

Adrian is a freelance violinist working with a range of ensembles: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, various chamber orchestras and quartets, opera, ballet, big bands and film backing tracks, both in the UK and abroad.

Adrian was privileged to play for Her Majesty's 80th Birthday Luncheon at The Mansion House, and also for The Queen of Pop, Kylie Minogue! He teaches the violin at the famous St Paul's School, coaches The National Children's Orchestra and is on the board of The Rehearsal Orchestra. He also has an MSc in Medical Immunology.
 


The players

The rest of us come from diverse backgrounds: students, retired people, teachers, software engineers, accountants, architects and many more. We have several music college graduates and players from all over the world: Iceland, The Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Chonon Lewis, one of our violinists, is an accomplished composer and we have performed his works on several occasions.

Some of us have been in the orchestra for years, some have joined much more recently. The age range is wide and there are plenty of young members. Many of us live in the north London area, but a significant number travel in from other parts of London and from much further afield - the wilds of Hertfordshire and Essex. What we all have in common is that we are passionate about music and our orchestra. As well as playing music together, we have a very strong social scene which includes post-rehearsal drinks and regular nights out.


 

The soloists

Crispian Steele-Perkins - TrumpetJoanna West
Joanna West played the violin from the age of three at which time she demanded lessons from her mother! Later teachers have included Frederick Grinke, Howard Davis and also the renowned Hungarian Kató Havas. Joanna gained an MA in music from Clare College, Cambridge and was a member of the European Community Youth Orchestra. She continued her postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music and Indiana University, for which she was awarded scholarships by the Countess of Munster Trust, the Turner Exhibition Fund, the Alper Trust and the Wingate Foundation.

Joanna has been a member of the 1st violin section of English National Opera. She also led the chamber group Abacus which was a finalist in the Béla Bartôk Competition in Rome. Performing with pianist Maria Krivenski, she did a series of concerts culminating in a South Bank debut at the Purcell Room in 2003. She regularly leads the group Harmoniemusik at the St Columb Festival in Cornwall as well as the Nevill Holt opera orchestra in their summer festival.

She combines her freelance work with a busy teaching schedule and is much in demand locally both as a violin and piano teacher.

A passionate gardener, Joanna has also trained as a garden designer at Capel Manor College.
 

Jonathan WestJonathan West
Jonathan West started learning the horn at the age of 9. In his teens he studied privately with Hugh Seenan and Douglas Moore. After taking a degree in engineering at King’s College London, Jonathan studied music for two years as a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music under Douglas Moore. Jonathan decided against attempting a career in music and returned to engineering while continuing to play the horn as an amateur.

In 2006 he performed Mozart’s 4th Horn concerto with the Boots Orchestra in Nottingham, and the following year led the horn section of the Djanogly Community Orchestra in Nottingham in a performance of Schumann's Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra.

He is a regular player with the Hounslow Symphony Orchestra and Hillingdon Philharmonic Orchestra. He also plays with St. Clements Wind Ensemble, who have performed his arrangements for wind ensemble of Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 and Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody in concerts at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
When a student in London, Jonathan followed in his parents’ footsteps and joined the Brent Symphony Orchestra for some years, and so came to understand the high regard they had for its conductor Harry Legge. He was very pleased and honoured to be invited back to participate in Mahler’s 1st Symphony at the Centenary concert last season.

Jonathan writes about the horn and music-making on his blog Horn Thoughts.

 

Crispian Steele-Perkins - TrumpetCrispian Steele-Perkins
Crispian is a trumpet soloist who is world-renowned for the quality of his performances and wide-ranging musical experience. On graduating from the Guildhall School of Music, Crispian spent his early career playing with the English National Opera and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He then spent 15 years working in recording, TV and film studios, developing a body of work which is universally recognizable today, from Handel to James Bond themes and pop classics. His interest in collecting and restoring antique trumpets led him to begin performing on them - you may have heard Crispian’s playing introducing the BBC’s ‘The Antiques Roadshow’. His unique performances and recordings on genuine historic instruments led Continuo Magazine to describe him as ‘the world’s leading player of the Baroque trumpet’. Playing alongside some of the world’s greatest singers, Crispian’s purity of tone and artistic subtlety has received critical acclaim for more than three decades. Recordings of Handel’s ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ with Dame Kiri te Kanawa and ‘Eternal source of Light Divine’ with James Bowman are familiar to many.

More recently his performances with Emma Kirkby, Lynne Dawson, Carolyn Sampson, Bryn Terfel and Lesley Garrett have firmly established his reputation. His work in the studios has included more than 80 film, TV scores and commercials, appearing alongside Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Bob Geldof, Sir Harry Secombe, Kate Bush, Elaine Page, Chris Rea and Lulu. His many solo recordings extend from Purcell to Gershwin and his largest ‘live’ audience was 133,000 at the Edinburgh International Festival.
  Anett Jobbágy, sopranoAnett Jobbágy
Anett Jobbágy graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in 2004 where she studied singing with Dénes Gulyás. She has won several scholarships and prizes such as the Annie Fischer Scholarship in 2004 and 2006, the Konya Scholarship in 2004, the Simándy National Singing Competition in 2002 (first prize), the Gyurkovics Maria National Singing Competition (second prize) and the Erkel Ferenc International Singing Competition where she won first prize in 2004.

She has participated in several masterclasses given by Claus Ockher, Evgeny Nesterenko, Jeanne Henney, Walter Moor, Andrienne Csengery, Katalin Schultz and Katalin Hegedus-Gonzi. Anett gave recitals and participated in chamber concerts across Hungary and also in Stuttgart and in London between 2003 and 2007.

She performed contemporary pieces by László Sáry, György Kurtág, György Orbán and András Szöllősi as a soloist with Hegyvidék Chamber Orchestra Budapest, with the conductor Géza Gémesi. Between 2006 and 2009 she performed oratorios as a soprano soloist, for example The Creation, The Seasons (Haydn), Regina Coeli, Exultate Jubilate (Mozart), Tibi soli peccavi (Donizetti), Psalm 95 (Mendelsson), Marienoratorio (Walter Franz) with the Pannonia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Franz in Austria.

Anett participated in several opera tours for children in Hungary between 2005-2007. In 2007 the Joseph Weingarten Scholarship awarded Anett a one-year postgraduate course at BCU Birmingham Conservatoire where she studied with Rita Cullis. Anett sang Suzanne’s role in the Conservatoire ‘Opera Scenes’ in 2007, participated in Noelle Barker’s masterclass, took part in the Conservatoire’s West Side Story production and won third prize at the Mario Lanza Opera Prize in 2008.

She worked with Robert Houlian the Irish conductor in 2008 as a soprano soloist in the New Year’s Concert in Szombathely, Hungary. Anett moved to London in 2009 and started teaching music and singing to children.

  Emmanuella Reiter violaEmmanuella Reiter, viola
Born into a family of musicians in Jerusalem, Israel, Emmanuella Reiter began her musical studies at the age of three with her father.

After lessons in violin and piano at the Conservatoire National de Région de Nice, France, Emmanuella entered the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, USA. In January 2001, discovering her passion for the viola, Miss Reiter entered the class of Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory in Boston. There she received her Bachelor and Master Degrees, and served for three years as teaching assistant to Kim Kashkashian.

Emmanuella has participated in many festivals around the world, and has performed with artists such as Ida Haendel (at the Wigmore Hall), Peter Frankl and Vladimir Mendelssohn.

Emmanuella frequently performs solo and chamber music in France, England, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. An experienced chamber musician, she has been a part of prize winning string quartets.

Miss Reiter has recorded with Arsis in the U.S.A., Hessischer Rundfunk in Germany and has appeared on Boston’s WGBH classical music radio. In 2005, Emmanuella recorded the duet for violin and viola by Zigmund Schul in the Dvořák Hall, Prague, as part of the Terezin Music Anthology.

Her passion for teaching has recently led her to writing a thesis: Karen Tuttle’s heritage: The Theory and Practice of Co-ordination, a technique developed by Karen Tuttle, a pupil and assistant of William Primrose, to help prevent and overcome playing-related injury as well as a way to express musical line, gesture and sonority while playing the viola. From September 2009 Miss Reiter has been teaching at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

Emmanuella has been based in London since 2006, has performed with all of London’s most prestigious orchestras (London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony), has appeared with the Goldberg Ensemble, has been guest principal of the Manning Camerata, and has recently been appointed in the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Miss Reiter’s dedication for chamber music has led her to start the Jigsaw Players Chamber Music Series, a very successful concert series in Wimbledon.
  Jonathan Ayling, celloJonathan Ayling
Jonathan Ayling leads a musically active life as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. He is a member of London Philharmonic Orchestra and has played guest principal with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, RTE National Symphony Orchestra and Camerata Salzburg.

The winner of the John Barbirolli Memorial Prize and the Royal Orchestral Society Award for “outstanding promise”, Jonathan appears regularly as concerto soloist and recitalist. He has given many premieres, including the European premiere of Xenakis’ “Hunem Iduey” for Yehudi Menuhin’s 80th birthday concert. Recent recordings include live performances of both Shostakovich cello concertos for Dunelm Records.

As a member of the Tate Ensemble, Jonathan has performed at the Aldeburgh Festival, Wigmore Hall and Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. The Tate Ensemble has broadcast for Radio 3 and recorded for Metier Sound and Vision. Jonathan is a member of the LPO Soloists and regularly performs in their Chamber Contrasts series at Wigmore Hall.

In great demand as a teacher and coach, Jonathan gives classes at the Royal Academy of Music, London College of Music and Kings College, London
 

Elaine McKrill, sopranoElaine McKrill
A graduate of the RAM and winner of the Mastersingers Wagner Singers Competition 2003, Elaine currently studies with Anna Reynolds in Germany.

Her Wagner roles include Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (Chemnitz); Brünnhilde in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung (Mastersingers, Edinburgh Players Opera Group); Gutrune in Götterdämmerung and Brünnhilde in Siegfried (Scottish Opera); Isolde (Edinburgh Players Opera Group); Sieglinde (Scottish Opera, ENO cover); Ortlinde (Royal Opera at Covent Garden, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Salzburg Osterfestspiel, Mastersingers); Third Norn (Stuttgart); Wellgunde and Helmwige (Longborough Festival); Siegrune and Second Norn (State Opera of South Australia 1998); Freia (Chemnitz); Adriano in Rienzi and Kundry in Parsifal (Palace Opera, The Rehearsal Orchestra).

Her other engagements have included the title roles in Dvorák’s Vanda and in Manon Lescaut, Abigaille in Nabucco, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Elettra in Idomeneo, Tatyana, Fiordiligi, Béatrice, Lesbia in Gli Equivoci, Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia and Emma Hamilton in Stuart Greenbaum’s Nelson.

Highlights in 2007 were her peformances as Brünnhilde in the complete Ring Cycle in Chemnitz and Ortlinde in both Sir Simon Rattle’s new Ring Cycle at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and also with Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Future plans include Ortlinde with Zubin Mehta in Valencia (where she will also cover Brünnhilde) and her return to Chemnitz. Elaine will sing Brünnhilde (Siegfried) in concert with Lionel Friend conducting in November and has also been invited back by the Northern Wagner Orchestra to sing Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung.



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