soloists

Michael Collins, clarinet

Michael Collins’ dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship have made him one of today’s most sought-after soloists. He has performed as a soloist with many of the world’s major orchestras, including the Philadelphia, NHK Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, City of Birmingham Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, BBC Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra. Since his first performance at the BBC Proms, Collins has returned to the festival more often than any other wind soloist, including several appearances at the renowned Last Night of the Proms. As a chamber musician, he has a long standing relationship with Wigmore Hall, having enjoyed many residencies at the prestigious London venue, the next being in 2010/11.

Indisputably one of the leading clarinettists of his generation, Collins has formed close alliances with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Carlo Maria Giulini, Neeme Järvi, Tadaaki Otaka, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Leonard Slatkin and Mikhail Pletnev. He has special relationships with many of the worlds leading chamber orchestras, including the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia, with whom he has developed a particularly close relationship. Building on his long established role as soloist with these orchestras, in recent years Collins has begun to work with them increasingly as director and conductor, something that has become central to his career. His successes with London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia, BBC Scottish Symphony and Johannesburg Philharmonic are testament to the persuasive musicianship and galvanising leadership that is evident in his conducting.

Collins is a recent recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award, placing him amongst past recipients of the award who include Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida, Murray Perahia and Andras Schiff. The award was made in recognition of the pivotal role that Collins has played in expanding the clarinet repertoire, commissioning and premiering repertoire by some of today’s most highly regarded composers. He has given world and local premieres of works such as John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons, Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto, Brett Dean’s Ariel’s Music and Turnage’s Riffs and Refrains. Commissioned for him by the Hallé Orchestra, Collins has given further performances of the Turnage with the Residentie Orkest, Royal Flanders Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Malmo Symphony and London Philharmonic. Last season he gave the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s clarinet concerto Ornamental Air with the North Carolina Symphony and, subsequently, with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and Tasmanian Symphony.

Michael Collins’ many recordings include John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons with the London Sinfonietta, conducted by the composer, a London Winds’ Ligeti disc for Sony Classical (nominated for a Grammy award in 1999), a disc of Brahms, Schumann and Frühling clarinet trios with Steven Isserlis and Stephen Hough for BMG and a Gramophone Award winning recording of Elliott Carter’s Clarinet concerto, with the London Sinfonietta and Oliver Knussen for Deutsche Grammophon. His most recent release with his quintet London Winds’ is the first recording in a new partnership with the label Onyx, in which they marked the 2006 Mozart anniversary year with a disc of Mozart wind serenades.

Kitty Cheung, violin

Past leader of the University of London Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong-born violinist Kitty Cheung gave her solo recital debut at the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre at the age of 15. She has performed in over 25 countries throughout Asia, South Africa, Europe, North and South America, and has appeared as a soloist with Hong Kong City Chamber Orchestra, Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Medical Association Orchestra and Greece Symphony Orchestra in Rochester NY. She has also performed in many broadcasts worldwide such as BBC radio 3, and was featured in the RTHK Radio 4 programme "Young Music Makers".

Kitty has performed in the London Symphony Orchestra under the LSO String Experience Scheme, New York String Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and Hong Kong Sinfonietta in La Folle Journée Festival, Tokyo and Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, China. Also an active chamber musician, she enjoys giving recitals and leading educational workshops with her chamber ensembles in various concert venues such as Chamber Tots in Wigmore Hall, as well as community projects in many schools, hospitals and elderly homes.

Kitty began her violin studies at the Hong Kong Yip's Children's Choral and Performing Arts Centre with Qui Xing-Ye, Li Hao-Yee, Ho Hong-Ying, and Professor Lin Yao-Ji from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She later gained her Bachelors degree with high distinction under the tutelage of Professor Charles Castleman at the Eastman School of Music, where she was also awarded the John Celentano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music and Performer's Certificate. She is now studying with Professor David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She completed her Masters degree with distinction, and is currently continuing with her Master in Music Performance (Guildhall Artist) degree with the generous support of the Edwin Evans Award. She is a recipient of many scholarships including the Hong Kong Bernard Van Zuiden Music Fund awarded by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and a winner in many competitions.

Tom Poster, piano

Tom Poster's diverse and rapidly developing career combines the complementary roles of concerto soloist, solo recitalist and chamber musician across an extensive repertoire in a range of major international venues. He has been described as "an unparalleled sound-magician" (General-Anzeiger), "a pianist of distinction" (The Times), and as possessing "great authority and astounding virtuosity" (Est Républicain). Since his London concerto debut at the age of 13, Tom has appeared in a wide-ranging concerto repertoire of over 25 major works, with orchestras and conductors including the BBC Philharmonic/Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Scottish Symphony/James Loughran, China National Symphony/En Shao, Southbank Sinfonia/Vladimir Ashkenazy, St Petersburg State Capella Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Swan and the European Union Chamber Orchestra. He has given solo recitals at the Barbican Hall and St John's Smith Square; in Bonn, Hamburg, Lugano, Paris and the Channel Islands; and at festivals in Brighton, Chester, Edinburgh, King's Lynn, the Two Moors, Windsor and Spoleto (the last by personal invitation of the late Gian Carlo Menotti).

In 2007, Tom won First Prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition, where he also received the prize for the best performance of the specially commissioned work by Judith Weir. He was a major prizewinner at the Dudley and Epinal International Piano Competitions in 2003, and winner of the keyboard sections of the Royal Over-Seas League and BBC Young Musician of the Year Competitions in 2000. He has broadcast extensively on BBC Radio 3, BBC 2, Classic FM and the Sky Performance Channel, and has recorded works by Thomas Adès for EMI. As pianist of the Aronowitz Ensemble, he is a member of the BBC's New Generation Artists scheme, appearing at the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls, the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and City of London Festivals and the BBC Proms. He has also collaborated with Alison Balsom, Natalie Clein, Nicholas Daniel, James Gilchrist, Guy Johnston, Tasmin Little, Willard White and the Endellion, Bochmann, Brodsky and Medici Quartets.

Tom is well-known for his readiness to face a challenge: he has on several occasions been asked to step in at the last moment for indisposed artists, recently rushing across London to give a rapturously received performance of the Grieg Concerto at only three hours' notice. A dedicated communicator, he has given masterclasses at a number of festivals, was Artistic Director of Sophie's Silver Lining Fund Music Festival in Chacombe, has appeared as Reciter in Walton's Façade at Musicfest Aberystwyth, and is also a successful composer. In 2005 he was a guest at the reception at Buckingham Palace given by the Queen in celebration of the British music industry, and in 2007 he gave a performance to the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

Born in 1981, Tom studied with Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he held a Postgraduate Fellowship, and at King's College, Cambridge, where he gained a Double First in music.