The Players
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William Conway - Alexander Janiczek - Krysia Osostowicz - Catherine Marwood - Rosemary Eliot - Douglas Boyd - Yann Ghiro - Ursula Leveaux - Angela Whelan - Neil Fellows - Joanne McDowell |
William Conway - Artistic Director
William Conway is well known as both conductor and cellist. As a cellist he is principal with Chamber Orchestra of Europe and held the same position with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for many years. He is also much in demand as a chamber musician and teacher. He has recorded extensively.
As a conductor his work encompasses many ensembles and orchestras including most major Scottish orchestras, Northern Sinfonia and further afield - Sofia Philharmonic, de Filharmonie of Flanders, Zagreb Philharmonic and Phoenix Symphony. He regularly works with youth orchestras both here and abroad including the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester.
As artistic director of Hebrides Ensemble he combines playing and conducting and fulfils his strong commitment to new music, which was recognized when he was awarded a Composer’s Society award for an outstanding contribution to the promotion of contemporary music.
Alexander Janiczek - Violin
Alexander Janiczek was born in Salzburg and studied at the Hochschule Mozarteum. Formerly leader of the Camerata Salzburg with whom he also appears regularly as director and soloist, he has enjoyed a similar position with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra since 1999. As a soloist he has performed with many of the major orchestras throughout Europe and has been guest at many festivals both in Europe and the USA. Alexander plays the “Baron Oppenheim” Stradivarius of 1716 which has been put at his disposal by the National Bank of Austria.
Krysia Osostowicz - Violin
Krysia Osostowicz studied violin at the Yehudi Menuhin School and in Salzburg with Sandor Vegh prior to taking a language and art history degree at King’s College, Cambridge. Former leader of the acclaimed ensemble Domus, she now leads the Dante Quartet string quartet which she founded in 1995 and is now recognised as one of Britain’s leading chamber groups. Her distinguished profile as a soloist and chamber musician includes concertos with the BBC orchestras of Scotland and Wales, and appearances with such artisits as Radu Lupu, Steven Isserlis and Ernst Kovacic. Krysia has made a number of critically acclaimed and prize winning recordings for Hyperion and Virgin Classics and broadcasts frequently for Radio 3.
Catherine Marwood - Viola
Catherine won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where she became a founder member of the Fairfield String Quartet. The quartet won an international competition, performed all over Britain and Europe, broadcast many times for the BBC and recorded on the Hyperion label. For ten years Catherine was principal viola of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and appeared many times as soloist with the orchestra and also as joint soloist with Ernst Kovacic and Yuri Bashmet. She premiered and recorded Strathclyde Concerto No.5 for violin, viola and orchestra and joined her brother Anthony for a performance of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. (She won the National Recorder Competition at the age of fourteen). Catherine is the violist of the Hebrides Ensemble and teaches viola at the RSAMD.
Rosemary Eliot - Flute
Rosemary Eliot is principal flute of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She was a medallist in the Shell/LSO competition and the first British flautist in the European Community Youth Orchestra where she worked with Abbado and Karajan.
Douglas Boyd - Oboe
Douglas Boyd was born in Glasgow and studied in London and Paris. He has made many commercial recordings and appears frequently as soloist with major orchestras and at music festivals throughout the world. He has been principal oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe since its foundation.
Yann Ghiro - Clarinet
Yann Ghiro was born in 1971 in Nice and began clarinet lessons at the age of eleven. After studying for six years at the Paris Conservatoire where he gained first prize in clarinet and bass clarinet Yann furthered his studies at the Julliard School of Music in New York graduating in 1996 with his masters degree. On his return to France he became principal bass clarinet in the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris whilst also appearing regularly with Paris opera, Orchestre de Paris, Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1998 Yann has been living in Scotland where he is currently the principal clarinet in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He often performs with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as guest principal and is a teacher at the RSAMD.
Ursula Leveaux - Bassoon
Ursula Leveaux studied in London,Amsterdam and The Hague. As a student she was a member of the European Community Youth Orchestra and was the Gold Medal Winner of the Shell-London Symphony Orchestra Scholarship. Since !987 she has been Principal bassoon with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She appears regularly as Guest Principal with major orchestras throughout Europe and is also in demand as a performer of Baroque and Classical bassoon. She performs frequently as Concerto Soloist and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies wrote his Bassoon Concerto-Strathclyde Concerto No.8 especially for her. She is a busy chamber musician and is a member of the Nash Ensemble of London as well as the Hebrides Ensemble. This year she has been invited to participate in the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival in the USA.
Angela Whelan - Trumpet
Angela Whelan is a graduate of the RSAMD. Since making her solo debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1996 she has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the LSO, Philharmonia, RSNO and the BBCSSO with whom she is also a regular guest principal. She is also a member of the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble with whom she has made number of recordings as soloist.
Neil Fellows - Horn
Neil Fellows studied at Edinburgh University and the Hochschule für Music in Hamburg. Much of his playing career has taken place in Germany where he has lived and worked since 1975, playing with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Westfälische Symphony and the Kiel Philharmonic where he has been principal horn since 1978.
Joanne McDowell - Percussion
Joanne McDowell studied with Martin Gibson and Pamella Dow at the RSAMD and with Kurt Hans Goedicke at the RAM in London. She won the Shell LSO competiton for timpani and percussion in 1996, performing at the Barbican with the London Symphony Orchestra and the same year won the LASMO Staffa award. Joanne has performed with all of the major Scottish orchestras and with the English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music and the London Mozart Players to name but a few. Recent highlights include performing with Cecilia Bartolli in Italy and with the Nigel Kennedy Quartet in Switzerland.