Magnificent performance. I was moved to tears.
What a wonderful evening. Set in a very intimate yet grand venue and the sound produced by 4 incredibly talented musicians was amazing. My daughter loved the surprise.
Martin André
Martin André enjoys working equally in the opera house and the concert hall, all over the world. Martin is also the co-founder and director of the Islington Festival of Music and Art. After learning the violin and piano at the Yehudi Menuhin School, he studied music at Cambridge University, and made his professional début conducting Aida for Welsh National Opera in 1982. He has now reached the landmark of 40 years conducting of operas and concerts in nearly 30 countries around the world! Martin André has a very wide operatic repertoire, but is particularly known for his Janáček, Verdi and Mozart. He has the rare distinction of being the only conductor to have performed for all the major British opera companies. He has been regularly appearing in the following countries: Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa and USA. In the symphonic world, he also has an extremely varied and long list of repertoire, but particularly enjoys the works of Mozart, Nielsen, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. He has enjoyed long relationships with Limburgs Symfonie Orkest (Holland), Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música (Portugal), Collegium Musicum Bergen (Norway) and Orquestra Clássica da Madeira (Portugal). He has worked with many of the major British orchestras, and abroad in Australia, Israel, Mexico, as well as with other orchestras in Holland, Norway and Portugal. Martin created the National Youth Orchestra of Portugal, (named Momentum Perpetuum), which he managed for 5 years, including a triumphant tour of Italy: the first Portuguese orchestra of any kind to visit Italy. From 2010 until 2013, he was Artistic Director of Teatro Nacional de Saõ Carlos, Lisbon. As such, he was the Chief Executive of 2 major Portuguese Cultural Institutions: the National Opera Company and the National Symphony Orchestra. Martin continues to enjoy his close association with Portugal, making frequent visits to the orchestras in Porto and Funchal, Madeira. |
Joana Ly
Portuguese violinist Joana started playing violin aged 4 and soon joined the Aveiro Conservatoire of Music where she studied with Ana Sofia Mota until she finished school.Continuing her studies, her main teachers were Radu Blidar(Royal College of Music, London), Gordan Nikolic (Codarts, Rotterdam) and Paul Wakabayashi (chamber music – ANSO, Lisbon). She also participated in Masterclasses for solo and chamber music, given by distinguished Professors including Daniel Rowland, Leonid Kerbel, Zoltan Santa and the Chilingirian Quartet. As chamber music is one of her main passions, Joana was a member of the Sattler Quartet, Corran Quartet and now co-manages Artisti con Brio and is co-founder and co-director of the Islington Festival of Music and Art. She attended many festivals such as Harmus Festival, Stift International Festival, Aurora Chamber Music and Lake District Chamber Music. Joana has been a member and guest in several orchestras including Garsington Opera, London Mozart Players, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia, Opera North, Orpheus Sinfonia, Philharmonia Amsterdam, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and Chipping Campden Festival Academy Orchestra. Her interest for historical performance has led her to some festivals such as Dartington, EUBO Mobile Academy and Freiburg Barockorchester Academy where she had the opportunity of studying with wonderful violinists such as with Petra Müllejans, Margaret Faultless and Adrian Butterfield. She also plays regularly with period ensembles such as Brandenburg Sinfonia and Feuersinfonie (Utrecht Oude Muziek Fringe Festival). In 2016 she received a Career development bursary from Help Musicians UK and performed complete Beethoven Sonatas in a four-concert cycle in London. Whilst studying in London, Joana was a recipient of the Gulbenkian Scholarship and was grateful to have the support of the Harrison Frank Foundation, for the loan of a Maurizi violin. |