Faculty
PIANO
PAVEL TIMOFEYEVSKY
Pianist and composer Pavel Timofeyevsky is the Co-founder and Course Director of the Philomel Music Academy. Born in Russia, he was educated at the Royal Academy of Music and has made England his home. He is the Artistic Director of the Philomel Project Concert series, currently in residence at the Francis Crick Institute, London.
Pavel has appeared in major concert venues worldwide, such as the Wigmore and the Royal Festival Halls in London, the Shanghai Oriental Centre for Arts and New York’s Kaufman Music Center. As an international performer, he has appeared in concert tours and on television and radio in Russia, China, the US, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus, India, Kenya and South Africa. His varied discography has featured on the Music-Chamber and Toccata Classics labels.
Pavel is the recipient of several prestigious music awards and national competition prizes, including the Myra Hess Award for Piano and the BBC/Guardian Young Composer of the Year Award for Composition.
A keen and eloquent speaker, Pavel enjoys giving lecture-recitals and he carries this passion and enthusiasm into his teaching. As a much sought-after tutor, he was the Founder and Director of the acclaimed Oxford Piano School and is regularly invited to give masterclasses in Russia, China, the UK and Europe.
NAFIS UMERKULOVA
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Nafis Umerkulova started performing from the age of seven and soon became a laureate of the “Sog’lom Avlod Uchun” National Piano Competition in Tashkent, the International Balys Dvarionas and the Nikolai Rubinstein Piano Competition. Nafis continued her education in London at Purcell School, Royal Academy of Music, and at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Passionate both as a soloist and a chamber musician, Nafis regularly performs in the UK and abroad. Her numerous performances in the UK include recitals in Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Glasgow City Halls, Manchester Bridgewater Hall, Birmingham Symphony & Town Halls.
Nafis is highly enthusiastic about teaching and regularly dedicates time to sharing her experience with younger students. She is currently a member of the piano department at the Purcell School and the London Russian Music Academy.
PAUL CIBIS
Educated in Hanover, Berlin and London, pianist Paul Cibis has performed solo and duo recitals at festivals in his native Germany, France, the UK, the US, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and appeared in electronic media around the world, including the BBC, WDR, 3Sat, ORB, HR, RTHK and CCTV.
As an educator, Paul Cibis teaches masterclasses for pianists in Germany, UK, US, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. He is a founding member and current chairman of the international Peter Feuchtwanger Society.
Paul Cibis studied piano with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling (Hanover), Peter Feuchtwanger (London) and Graham Johnson (London) and read Musicology and Philosophy at university in Berlin and at Royal Holloway, University of London.
From 2005 to 2009, Paul was a vocal coach at Trinity College of Music in London. He was also an adjudicator at the Hong Kong Music Festival in 2009 and 2014.
MITRA ALICE THAM
Mitra Alice Tham’s first public performance was at the age of three, with her international debut at the age of eight in Japan. Originally from Malaysia, she has won many prizes at international competitions, including the Rosario-Marciano Preis for the most eminent artist personality, the Russischer Musikpreis for the best interpretation of Russian music, the coveted title ‘The Excellent Player Award’ at the prestigious Asia Oceania Festival held in Thailand and the ‘Young Millennium Pianist’ of Singapore.
She has been the recipient of many scholarships throughout her studies in the UK, Europe and America and has performed to luminary dignitaries including HRH, The Prince of Wales, who described her performance as ‘brilliant and excellent’. She gave the London premiere of Leroy Anderson’s Piano Concerto where The Classical Music wrote “…Tham’s flying about the piano with great bounce and gusto”. She was specially invited to be a guest at a Reception “A Celebration of Young People in the Performing Arts” given by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Mitra was commissioned to compose the anthem for Malaysia national project: Melaka Gateway. This launch was presided by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, with Mitra on the podium conducting. She regularly gives recitals, masterclasses, seminars and adjudication in South East Asia and the United Kingdom.
NIKA SHOOT
Russian-born Veronika Shoot moved to the UK at the age of five when her father, Vladislav Shoot, became the composer-in-residence at Dartington Hall. She performed her first piano recital at the Dartington International Summer School music festival when she was just seven. She studied with full scholarships at the Yehudi Menuhin and Purcell Schools of Music, Royal Academy of Music and Royal Scottish Conservatoire, from which she graduated with distinction.
Veronika has performed as a soloist and chamber musician on many renowned world stages and is a prize-winner and Laureate of numerous international competitions.
Passionate about musical education and exposing young people to music in a way that stimulates a personal connection, Veronika harbours a thriving community of students. She has created and run numerous collaborative projects for workshops in schools, combining music, art, storytelling and movement. Currently an Ambassador for SaMM Music School, Veronika has taught at Dartington International Summer School and at London’s Russian Music Academy.
Veronika is a certified Yoga teacher with a passion for sharing the practice with musicians, having discovered its positive impact on music-making, well-being and focus. It is now fully-integrated into her life - she has received her teaching qualification from Himalayan Yoga Valley and teaches weekly “Yoga for Musicians” sessions on the Exhale music and learning mastercourse.
WIND
ANNA KONDRASHINA
Russian flautist Anna Kondrashina has been hailed as one of the most communicative, exciting and inspiring performers of her generation. She was educated at the prestigious Gnessin School of Music and the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, going on to receive a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. A prizewinner of the prestigious Kobe International Flute Competition in Japan and the Nicolet International Flute Competition in China, she has recently been awarded the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Silver Medal.
Anna’s international career includes solo performances with the Buchmann-Mehta Symphony Orchestra and the Kobe City Chamber Orchestra and performances with numerous esteemed ensembles, such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, London’s Arch Sinfonia Orchestra and Persimfans Orchestra in Russia. She has worked with notable conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Trevor Pinnock, David Afkham and Daniel Oren. In 2018, Anna was selected to join the London Philharmonic Orchestra Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme and was awarded a place on the Philharmonia Orchestra MMSF Instrumental Fellowship Programme.
Anna regularly appears at the most prestigious venues around the world, including the Wigmore Hall, St. James’s Piccadilly, St Martins in the Field, the Royal Festival and Queen Elizabeth Halls, London, the Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo and she has collaborated with renowned artists including Rachel Podger, Denis Bouriakov and Vag Papian. Since 2017, Anna has been a Concordia Foundation artist.
SHELLEY LEVY
Clarinettist Shelley Levy graduated from the University of Cape Town with a performer’s diploma and was awarded a prestigious Swiss government scholarship to study at the Geneva Conservatoire (‘Premiere Prix de Virtuosité’), before continuing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her teachers have included Oliver De Groote, Thomas Friedli, Walter Boeykens, Thea King and Michael Whight.
She won the Oudemeester Competition for Wind Instruments, the Natal 75th Anniversary Prize for Orchestral Instruments and the wind category of the ATKV Forte Competition in South Africa and was a woodwind finalist in the Royal Overseas League Competition in London.
As an orchestral freelancer, Shelley has played with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. She has given numerous solo and chamber-music concerts in South Africa, Europe and Canada, also giving concerto performances with all the major symphony orchestras in South Africa and chamber concerts at the Demetria Festival and Sani International Festival in Greece. Her UK performances include concerts in the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall. She has been broadcast by BBC Radio 3 with Leto Ensemble.
Shelley has recently released a CD of all Hans Gal’s works for clarinet and string on Toccata Classics record label, which featured in Gramophone magazine with a positive review.
NAOMI SULLIVAN
Naomi Sullivan has a varied career performing as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. After studies at Chetham’s School of Music, Royal College of Music and Northwestern University she performed in the UK as a soloist for the Countess of Muster Recital Scheme and as a chamber musician for ‘Live Music Now!’ and for the Park Lane Group Young Artist Series.
Naomi is currently performing with Sounding Cities - a project that explores urban environments through music and visual artists. After a tour of South Africa in 2017, Sounding Cities has been part of the Bechstein Series at Wigmore Hall, The Goodman Gallery opening night (with thanks to Kudzanai Chiurai) and has performed at galleries in Birmingham and London. She also plays with the improvisation group Mind Fire. Naomi has recently joined the award-winning Laefer Quartet. Other chamber projects include syzygy (a quartet Naomi co-founded in 2009) and Flotilla, led by Kyle Horch (www.flotilla.org.uk).
As an orchestral musician, Naomi has worked for many UK orchestras including Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and most recently with Chineke!
Naomi has been Head of Saxophone at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire since 2008 and also teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She regularly works with young musicians from schools and educational projects in London, Birmingham and further afield. Naomi has given masterclasses at the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Trinity Laban, Chetham’s School of Music, the Purcell School, Aldborough Young Musicians, as well as conservatoires and festivals across Europe and the USA.
STRINGS
FREDERIQUE LEGRAND
Frédérique started playing the piano at the age of 3 and the cello at 9, studying at the Valenciennes and Lille Conservatoires and then at London’s Royal College of Music, under the instruction of Alexander Boyarsky, where she was awarded a scholarship to pursue her Masters degree. She was nominated as an RCM ‘Rising Star”, resulting in performances at the renowned Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall. Frédérique was selected as the Mills Williams Junior Fellow 2011 and studied for her Artist Diploma. Also in 2011 she was offered the Postgraduate Performance Award by the Musicians Benevolent Fund.
She has performed as a soloist on many occasions, playing the Elgar, Gulda and Sollima Concertos, the Brahms Double Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with various orchestras in London and internationaly. In August 2011, she performed the Larcher Cello Solo Sonata at the pre Proms 2011 as well as a piano trio in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert hall, broadcast by the BBC.
Frederique was a member of the Hera Quartet, performing in the Proms 2010 with Huw Watkins at the Wigmore Hall, Elgar Room, South Bank, St James Piccadilly and Cadogan Hall, and the A Piacere Piano Trio. The Hera Quartet won the String Quartet Competition at the RCM in 2011 and the Helen Just and Susan Connell Prize and were invited to play at the Chiligrian Festival in West Dean.
Frederique has also worked, composed and played regularly with bands such as Outside Royalty, Young Knives, Stephane Corbin, playing keyboard and electric cello for recordings and at festivals such as Glastonbury, V festival, Channel 4, BBC 3, Cranberries Tour 2010. She was invited to work with Maestro Lorin Maazel at his summer festival in America, where she enjoyed working with Timothy Myers, Han Na Chang and many other inspiring musicians.
In 2018, Frederique performed a Michael Nyman opera with the Ligeti Quartet and participated in an exciting programme of chamber music at the Lauderdale House Festival in London with the Insieme Ensemble as well as performing French music in a series of recitals in Macedonia over the summer. In addition to being a session player, Frederique has prepared students for NYO, NYSO auditions and Junior Departments for further and professional training.
Frederique developed an interest in teaching methodology and has organised several cello courses. She was invited to teach regularly at the Menuhin School and until 2015 held the position of Cello Deputy. She was a member of the faculty at the Oxford Cello School from 2006 to 2019.
AISTE DVARIONAITE
Since early childhood, Aistė Dvarionaitė was surrounded by the sounds of live music performances, prominent artists visiting her parents’ home, and dozens of talented students. As the fifth generation of the famous Dvarionas's dynasty, Aistė boldly carries on the traditions of musicianship.
Aistė’s professional training started when she was just four. At the age of six she was already giving recitals with national orchestras. Aistė Dvarionaitė studied at the National M.K. Čiurlionis Arts School and completed her post-graduate studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Dvarionaitė attained excellence under the supervision of and advice from many famous violinists, such as Prof. Jurgis Dvarionas, Prof. Zenon Brzewski, Prof. Alexander Fisher, Prof. Marina Jashwili, Prof. Wolfgang Marschner, Prof. Sergey Kravchenko.
She has delivered dozens of solo recitals around Europe with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lithuanian Music Academy Chamber Orchestra, and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble. Her performances radiate maturity, warmth, love, and elegance.
The artist once said that ‘Music is the essence of my life’. Aistė has been generously sharing her passion for music with young artists from around the world and has taught numerous international violin masterclasses in Spain, Sweden, Germany, Poland, France, and Belgium. Currently, Aistė is teaching in the UK at the Purcell School, a specialist music school for young artists. Her students perform successfully on international stages, taking part in prestigious competitions and masterclasses. In 2020, Aistė joined the Jury Panel of International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists.
Aistė is following the mission once described in this quote from her grandfather, Balys Dvarionas: 'I believe in a musician’s vocational call to promote beauty, good, and harmony'.
KATYA LAZAREVA
Katya Lazareva is an acclaimed violist specialising in solo and chamber repertoire. Born in 1985 in Belarus, she is a recent graduate of the Royal College of Music’s Artist Diploma course in Performance, led by the Professor of violin and viola, Yuri Zhislin. In 2012 she won a scholarship from an Anatole Mines & Anthony Elt Award towards her studies at the Royal College.
Since moving to London in 2009 she has performed at a number of solo and chamber recital venues including at Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, the Orangery in Holland Park, Beck Theatre, Bridewell Theatre, St. John’s and St. Peter’s Church in Notting Hill, St. Alfege Church in Greenwich, All Saints Church in Kingston, Guildhall School of Music and Drama; and at various festivals including “The Little Proms”, the “Earl’s Court Festival”, and with the “Schnittke” string trio in the Netherlands.
She is a member of various London orchestras, such as “I Maestri”, “London Chamber Players”, ”Arcadia Mundi’’, “Firebird” and “Russian Virtuosi of Europe”, performing at such places as Cadogan Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, St. George’s Hanover Square, St. Paul’s Covent Garden, Royal Festival Hall and St. Giles-in-the Fields Church. . She also played with “Melos Orchestra”, “London Art Orchestra” and “London Arte Chamber orchestra”. In early 2013 took part in a co-principal bursary scheme at the Rehearsal Orchestra and performed solo with the “Tudor Orchestra”, conducted by Owen Leech. In 2011, Katya played as a soloist with the “I Maestri” orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Chorzelski, in St. Mattheus Church.
From 2010 she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD) where she was generously awarded a full scholarship by the Guildhall School Trust, and a full academic year scholarship by the Leverhulme Trust. While studying at GSMD, Katya took part in a number of orchestral and opera projects, including with members of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, Katya was awarded a Master’s of Music degree in Orchestral Performance.
Katya has taken part in master classes with such outstanding viola-players as Yuri Bashmet, Yuko Inoue, and Yuri Zhislin. She has also performed in orchestras conducted by such renowned conductors as Colin Davis, James Gaffigan and James Judd. In 2010-2012 she was a student of the professor and member of the Belcea quartet, Krzysztof Chorzelski. She has attended the Lake District Summer Music Academy and had lessons with Yuko Inoue, Garfield Jackson and the Chilingirian Quartet.
Katya began her musical training at the Republican Musical College at the Belarus State Academy of Music with T.P. Bodneva and then with Prof. L.L. Lastovka at the Belarusian State Academy of Music. Between 2003 and 2007, Katya was a laureate of the E. Kohu, International Music competition in Chisinau, Moldova. In 2004 she won second place at the International Competition for Strings in Kiev, Ukraine.
In 2009 Katya won 3rd prize with her quartet at the International Chamber of Music competition in Smarghon, Belarus. Katya actively took part in the cultural life of her country performing as a soloist with the Belarusian Philarmonia and as a member of the philharmonic soloists’ ensemble “Classic Avangarde”. She frequently played as a soloist with the State Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus and with the student chamber orchestra at the Belarusian Academy of Music, including at Barcelona. In 2004, Katya won an exhibition from a special president fund for the support of talented youth.
From 2004 until 2009 Katya was a student of the Chamber Music Summer School “Musica Mundi” in Belgium, where she had lessons with members of the “Kuss” and “Talich” quartets.
Katya plays viola made by luthier Luis Claudio Manfio in 2012.
AMY TRESS
Violinist Amy Tress enjoys a busy career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Winner of numerous awards including Oxford University’s Gibbs Prize for the highest 1st class Music degree and the Royal College of Music Violin Competition & Unaccompanied Bach Prize, Amy has regularly appeared at major concert venues across the UK such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall.
Amy’s concerto performances with orchestra have included Brahms, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Korngold, Schnittke Concerto Grosso and the Bach Double, as well as Ravel’s Tzigane, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade and Sibelius’s Humoresques.
Having studied Music at Christ Church, Oxford, Amy won a scholarship for a Master’s and Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music, with Professor Maciej Rakowski. Subsequently she studied with Professor Pavel Vernikov at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, Italy. Amy has participated in many solo and chamber music festivals, including IMS Prussia Cove, Wye Valley Chamber Music, Keshet Eilon in Israel, Marryat Chamber Music Festival, Mendelssohn-on-Mull Festival and Academie Internationale de Maurice Ravel. She teaches at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and Eton College, Windsor. Since August 2014 Amy has directed her own course, La Mariette Junior Masterclasses in France.
VOICE
THOMAS HUMPHREYS
Thomas Humphreys studied at the Royal Academy of Music. Roles include Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), L’araldo maggiore (Isabeau), Der Peruckenmacher (Ariadne auf Naxos) for Opera Holland Park, Jake Wallace (La fanciulla del West) for Grange Park Opera, Tarabotto (L’inganno felice) for West Green House Opera, Servo di Flora (La Traviata) for Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Marcello (La boheme) for the Merry Opera Company.
Thomas has been in demand as a soloist across the country at venues such as the Barbican, Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, St. John’s, Smith Square, St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Most recent concerts include the solos in Ein deutsches Requiem (Brahms) at the Barbican, Requiem (Faure) at Cadogan Hall with the RPO.
JAMES GEIDT
Born in Northampton, James Geidt is a recent graduate ofthe Opera Course at the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Glenville Hargreaves and Jonathan Papp, having previously been a Choral Scholar in the Choir at New College, Oxford.
As a student at the Royal Academy of Music, James was a soloist for the RAM/Kohn Foundation Bach Cantata Series and was a finalist in the 2019 Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks award. James won the Joan Chissell Schumann Lieder Competition in 2016.
Operatic roles to date include Gaspar in Donizetti’s Rita for Opera South, The Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for the Vache Baroque Festival, Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Le Comte in Massenet’s Chérubin, Forester in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, L’horloge Comtoise and Le Chat in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges and Cadmus in Handel’s Semele all for Royal Academy Opera. In 2021 James joined Garsington Opera as one of their Alvarez Young Artists.
In concert,, James has appeared at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Palau de la Música Catalana, Cadogan Hall and the Three Choirs Festival.
Current and future engagements include Handel’s Messiahat the Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Madrid for Edward Higginbottom, J.S. Bach’s St John Passion in Hereford Cathedral, Fauré Requiem in Exeter Cathedral, Mendelsohn’s Elijah for the Amersham Music Festival and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs in Gloucester Cathedral. This Summer, James returns to GarsingtonOpera as an Alvarez Young Artist where he will be covering the role of the Hunter in Dvořák’s Rusalka.
PASTORAL
ALINA PRITULENKO
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Alina Pritulenko began playing the piano at the age of five. She started performing from the age of seven in concerts and festivals, taking part in masterclasses and becoming a laureate of International Competitions such as “Le Muse” in Napoli, Italy and “Iste’dod” in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
In 2008, she began her musical education at the Republican Specialized Academic Lyceum of Music, studying with piano professors Irina Arustamova and Gulnora Umarova. In her final year, she auditioned with five UK conservatoires and was accepted by all of them, three on full scholarships.
After graduating in 2019, she continued her education at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and was awarded “Alfred and Therese Kitchen”, “Trinity College London”, “Bagri Foundation” and “The David and Margaret Lipsey” full scholarships. She is currently studying with the Head of Keyboard Department Professor Sergio De Simone, Martino Tirimo and Mikhail Shilyaev and she participates in numerous masterclasses with Joaquin Achucarro, Gabriel Kwok, Deniz Arman Gelenbe, Pablo Galdo, Alessio Bax and others.
Alina has given her last recital in Trinity Laban, completing her bachelor’s degree. She is commencing her master’s degree in September 2023.
PAYNOR TSATE (WIND)
Paynor Tsate is currently studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he was awarded a scholarship. His professors include Naomi Sullivan, Anna Brooks and Andy Tweed. Playing saxophone, clarinet and piano, Paynor is always looking to increase his musical versatility.
From 2010-2017, Paynor attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department in London with Sarah Markham, before studying at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester with Carl Raven from the Royal Northern College of Music. He has played with various orchestras and groups, including Chineke! Juniors, National Youth Musical Theatre and Conservatoire Sax Quartets at venues spanning the Royal Festival Hall, Ronnie Scotts, the 606 Club and the Royal Albert Hall.
LIYA LI (PIANO)
Liya was born in Uzbekistan. At the age of 9, she joined the Republic Specialist Music and Academic Lyceum in Tashkent and in 2011 was a finalist in the James Waterhouse Piano Competition, her first international competition. She joined the Purcell School of Music in 2013, studying with Professor Tatiana Sarkissova, and went on to graduate with a Bachelors Honours Degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2016, where she is currently in the final stage of her Master of Arts, studying with Professors Fali Pavri and Sasa Gerzelj-Donaldson. She has taken masterclasses with great pianists such as Dmitri Alexeev, Vladimir Ashkenazi and Steven Osborne.
As a classical pianist, Liya has performed at prestigious venues across the UK, such as Milton Court at the Barbican Centre, St Martin’s in the Field, RNCM Concert Hall and RCS Ledger Recital Room, and at Fazioli Hall in Italy. She is a regular performer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s annual Piano Festival, performing both as a soloist and a chamber musician.
Instrumental music has been an influential part of Liya’s career, with chamber group performances at the Wigmore Hall, St Luke’s LSO and at St Martins-in-the-Field. She has also performed at the SEC Armadillo, Theatre Royal in Glasgow and the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, as the vocal lead and pianist in a church band.