After a day of auditions, when we had listened to 13 amazing players, we found ourselves having to pick only 4 for the big Final day on April 13th. We are so excited to be working 4 fabulously talented young soloists:
Basil Alter playing the Korngold Violin Concerto
Mio Takahashi playing Prokofiev 1st Violin Concerto
Emily Ambrose playing the Hummel Bassoon Concerto
Alice Knight playing Mozart’s 2nd Horn Concerto
Sadly, 24 November was our last concert with Principal Cellist Jenny Sturt – she has been amazing to work with and we will miss her so much. However, it’s more of an au revoir as Jenny will be our soloist in our March concert – sure to be a great evening!
We are delight to announce that Elliott Bailey is stepping into the Principal Cello role.
Recently graduating from the Royal Academy of Music where his string quartet held the chamber music scholarship to study with the Doric Quartet, Elliott has freelanced with English Touring Opera, Welsh National Opera, The Hallé, Northern Chamber Orchestra (as principal cello), and Chineke! amongst others, which has taken him on international tours to the US – most notably Lincoln Center, and all around Europe.
An active chamber musician, he plays Wigmore Hall recitals with renowned bass player Leon Bosch, has featured several times on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ live broadcasts, and has played many chamber music festivals including Petworth and Clapham festivals. Elliott is also keen on session playing and has recorded the sound track to BBC’s Luther as well as being the featured cello soloist on Nainita Desai’s ‘Tales on Kenzera’, and has appeared on the Graham Norton Show and Jonathan Ross show with the Sugababes and RAYE.
After 30 fantastic submissions for our competition for emerging composers, and a great workshop final with three composers who all brought something special and very different, it was time for a very difficult decision.
Following much consideration, we are thrilled to announce the winner – Nicholas Gawley’s Vienna c. 1825, colourised. We can’t wait to work with Nicholas on the piece which will be performed in our concert on 22 June, 2025.
The three finalists – Pierre Fontaine, Eric Davis and Nicholas Gawley
We are excited to work with Finalist Eric on his piece To the Bone. We asked Eric to tell us a little more about himself and his composing.
I am a multidisciplinary composer and performer originally hailing from Austin, Texas. Now based in London, I am completing Master of Music degree at the Royal Academy of Music under the direction of Helen Grime and David Sawer. I initially began my studies as a mechanical engineer and French Horn player, before finding my way into composition while at the University of Oklahoma. I enjoy working in small motivic spaces, generating intricate and interconnected pieces from limited source material or strict programmatic guidelines. Much of my recent and upcoming concert work explores the relationship between music and memory, across both acoustic and electronic mediums. Recent collaborations include work with the Riot Ensemble, PHACE ensemble, Trio Immersio, and the Sydney Contemporary Orchestra.
We are excited to work with Finalist Pierre on his piece Bransle. We asked Pierre to tell us a little more about himself and his composing.
“After receiving a general music education in the conservatory, I decided to pursue a career focusing on classical composition. One of Nadia Boulanger’s last student, Dr. David Conte, happen to be a teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and introduced me to the music of Maurice Ravel, Debussy, Chabrier … and I realized that they all wrote dances. Being very deeply attached to my roots in French Massif Central, Italy, Martinique and Ireland, I decided to write my own dances, in homage to the past, and the culture of these regions. As a result of this, I recently finished my Dance Suite (six European dances), while honoring three commissions due in early 2025, orchestrating for the cinema, as well as teaching. As I am writing the libretto, a secret dream would be to write a full scale ballet based on a modernized ancient myth … .”
We are excited to work with Finalist Nicholas on his piece Vienna c. 1825, colourised. We asked Nicholas to tell us a little more about himself and his composing.
My initial path into composing was through pop music songwriting and arranging in my
teens, where my first experiments with notated music were located. At some point I fell
down the rabbit hole of classical music, first falling in love with Mahler and the
Impressionists, then finding the music of Stravinsky and the Second Viennese School. Since
then, I’ve explored the whole range of post-1900 music, trying to combine the best
innovations of that music with a lyricism derived from my activity as a choral singer. I was
able to indulge both of these interests when I wrote (and staged!) a chamber opera last year,
which I hope will be a stepping stone to future operatic projects.
I am currently a master’s student in composition at RAM, taught by Helen Grime and David
Sawer. Before this I studied Music at the University of Cambridge.
We’re excited to be able to announce our programme for the 2024/5 season – it’s going to be amazing!!
We would love to hear from experienced string players who might want to join us for a concert or more permanently. The dates for the season can be found at Rehearsal schedule.
We’re a friendly group (with a lot of good cake) playing to a very high standard with Principal Conductor Christopher Stark, our professional leader and the young professional players leading the strings. We perform three main concerts each season and two side-by-side workshops with Camden children. We also take great pride in providing opportunities for young professional musicians at the start of their careers.
We perform and rehearse on Sundays. Rehearsals are at Camden School for Girls and the 3 main concerts are at St John’s Waterloo.
Players taking part in events are eligible to enter our Soloist of the Year competition and win the chance to be our June 2025 soloist.
Interested? Get in touch on ersoinfo@gmail.com
An amazing evening of wonderful opera with our 5 favourite singers Guy Beynon; Phoebe Rayner; Jack Dolan; Michael Temporal Darrell and Dominic Felts under the baton of conductor Chris Stark. Our cast brought the characters life with expert direction by Jasmine Ricketts and it was clear that our appreciative audience had a great time! (Photographs by Gabriella Meade)
Ravel’s comedic opera L’Heure Espagnol tells the tale of a clockmaker whose unfaithful wife attempts to see other men while he is away, leading to them hiding in, and eventually getting stuck in, her husband’s clocks. It’s hugely funny! Join us for a very affordable evening with tickets only at £12 in advance and £5 for students/children. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/607742#
We are thrilled to be working with Jasmine Ricketts as our Director in our production of Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnol. Jasmine will be helping us to bring this comedic story to life for our audience.
Jasmine is a Movement and Stage Director, Choreographer and Facilitator, working across opera, theatre, film and community spaces. After graduating from the University of Exeter with a BA in Drama, Jasmine went on to study an MA in Choreography at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She has also received training from New Adventures Dance Company, Gecko Theatre, and Central School of Speech and Drama. Highlighted credits include: Captain Blood’s Revenge (Into Opera); Rain and Zoe Save the World (Jermyn Street Theatre); Venus and Adonis (Blackheath Halls Opera); Eugene Onegin (Buxton International Festival); Paul Bunyan (ENO); The Day After (ENO).
ERSO 