Woodwind

Sara Minelli ‘clearly a formidable exponent of the contemporary flute repertoire’ (Music Web International) and ‘avirtuoso player with real mastery of avant- garde technique’ (British Music Society), is a flautist and a flute teacher.

Her albums New Resonances and Where Song Was Born were released with critical acclaim appearing in the Flute Journal, Guardian, British Flute Society, British Music Society magazines.

Sara has played extensively as a soloist in the UK and abroad, including at London Contemporary Music Festival, Fairfield Halls, Kings Place, the National Gallery, Vox Feminae (Israel), Klangspuren (Austria), Les Moments Musicaux de la Touraine (France), Pontino Festival (Italy)

She has collaborated with the Composition Faculty at Royal College of Music (London) and is a member of GAMO Ensemble for Contemporary Music (Florence)

Sara’ s recognition as a soloist includes the International Valentino Bucchi Prize. She was selected to perform in the Klangspuren International Ensemble Modern Academy and received the Artists International Development Fund Award from Arts Council of England.

Sara is the dedicatee of many works for flute by important composers. She has given workshops at Royal College of Music (London), Conservatoire “G. Verdi” (Milan), Tel Aviv University.

http://www.saraminelliflute.co...

Saxophonist Jamie O’Donnell has been working as a performer and educator since attending the Guildhall School of music and Drama in 1992. He took lessons with with Jean Toussaint, Bob Martin and Rick Margitza. For the last 20 years he has traveled to New York and Rome as a student of Jazz pianist Barry Harris, delving deeply into the music of Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.

Known as a player firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, Jamie has performed with many fine musicians including Gareth Lockrane, Gwilym Simcock, Matt Fishwick, Bob Martin, Anita Wardell, Robert Anchipolovsky and many others. Most recently, Jamie was performing at Ronnie Scotts alongside fellow alto players Greg Abate (US) and Alan Barnes in a tribute to the late, great saxophonist (and Jamie’s hero) Phil Woods. He is a founder member of the Paradise Festival in Cyprus and his own quartet play regularly at festivals around Europe.

As an educator, Jamie currently teaches jazz at the Hall School in Hampstead. As part of the Association of Music in International schools. he led student combos in Kuala Lumpur, Rome, The Hague and other cities around the world . In 2008, Jamie received a commission fo compose a piece for an International Honor Jazz Band at the International School of Luxembourg.

Jamie has a huge passion for playing and for teaching and he is proud to count a number of professionals amongst his past students.

Thomas is currently in his final year studying in London, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His principal instrument is the recorder, but he is also a talented baroque flautist, as well as an early keyboards player.

As well as being a dedicated educator, he enjoys a busy schedule filled with exciting performance opportunities. Recent highlights have included playing in the ENO's Olivier Award winning production of ‘Noye’s Fludde’, as well as playing alongside members of The Academy of Ancient Music in a series of concerts and touring with Opera North as the Principal Recorder player for a production of ‘The Greek Passion’. He also successfully auditioned and completed the Wigmore Hall’s Chamber Tots scheme, leading educational workshops for toddler and young children.

Over the last three years, Thomas has taken part in lessons and masterclasses both as a soloist and as part of an ensemble with various people, such as Maurice Steger, Rachel Podger, Karel van Steenhoven and Dorothee Oberlinger. In his first year at GSMD he was selected to play the principal recorder part in the school’s opera; a production of ‘Venus and Adonis’ by John Blow, and has since been asked to play again for both Charpentier's 'Orphée descendant aux enfers' and Carissimi's 'Judicium Salomonis'. He has also toured across Austria and Switzerland as a member of the critically acclaimed ensemble Apollo's Cabinet, playing both the recorder and the harpsichord.

As well as performing, Thomas is a keen arranger and composer, and was commissioned by The Worshipful Company of Woodturners to compose a fanfare for the Lord Mayor of London, which he had the opportunity to perform and present to the Lord Mayor on multiple occasions.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCTXb2AZ3KYMie7EZR1yH4kg

Being inspired by Jazz in his early years, Chris graduated from Middlesex University with a 1st class honours in Jazz Studies in 2004. Since then, he has been an active member of the thriving music scene in London covering genres far and wide; ranging from electro pop and left field rock to African folk and free improv. Being involved in this vast array of styles has allowed Chris to develop a unique voice both as a musician and composer. This has led to critical acclaim and awards for a number of bands, performances at prestigious venues and festivals, as well as numerous TV and radio sessions broadcast around the world.

As well as developing technical ability along with awareness of harmony and theory, Chris encourages students to embrace improvisation and explore music through their instrument; drawing a link between the music that one feels as a listener and the music that one plays as a young musician.

With Mercury-nominated Led Bib set to release their sixth album and recording dates scheduled for a number of other bands (Let Spin, Metamorphic, Arun Ghosh, Namvula) all in early 2017, Chris will also be undertaking an MA in Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music, continuing his own development as a performer, composer, and music educator.

Led Bib

http://www.ledbib.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=225ymLT5N2s

Namvula

http://www.namvula.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5nxnUehhWY

Arun Ghosh

https://soundcloud.com/arunghosh/sufistomp

Let Spin

http://letspinband.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDDrd0LEwxQ&index=4&list=PLRAPAne7g7pn_PxEnWvAYUlxdjos2e7kW

Metamorphic

http://www.metamorphic.org.uk/

https://metamorphic.bandcamp.com/track/what-is-real

Martina is a versatile flute player and enthusiastic teacher from the Czech Republic. She trained in Classical Flute and Jazz Flute Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has freelanced with orchestras, touring the UK with Czech National Symphony Orchestra, or Scandinavia with City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and playing flute and piccolo in theatre pits in ballet and opera productions. Exploring her interest in groove and improvising, she is currently specialising in Brazilian music, performing with Rhythms of the City samba band as a percussionist and with Offbeat Collective as a flautist.

She has taught students of different levels and ages, helping them achieve their musical goals and discover their creative potential. She has lead creative music workshops for The Music FunDation in Prague and taught a seminar on Creativity in Music at the Teplice Conservatoire.

Award winning saxophonist and recorder player Tom Ridout was predicted by Jazzwise Magazine in 2012 as an upcoming jazz musician to watch out for. A finalist in the 2016 BBC Young Musician Jazz Award, graduate from the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, winner of the Lancaster Jazz Festival Youth Jazz Commission 2018, Help Musicians Peter Whittingham Jazz Awardee 2021, and a recent member of NYJO, Tom is a prolific composer who fronts his own bands playing his original compositions.