Anna Tetsuya - Soloist
Piece Played: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2
Date Performed: 13th July 2019
Anna Tetsuya is an active pianist, accompanist and harpsichordist. Following her undergraduate degree in music at King’s College, London, she completed her Masters in Music degree at the Royal College of Music in 2009, studying piano accompaniment and Harpsichord performance. There, she received regular coaching from Julian Jacobson, Roger Vignoles and Robert Woolley and has participated in numerous masterclasses, amongst which included Dame Emma Kirkby, Lewis Kaplan and Davitt Moroney. She performs regularly in venues in and around London, which has included concerts at Royal Albert Hall, Cardiff Millenium Centre, St. Martin in the Fields, recitals at Chichester Festival, and harpsichord recitals at Handel House Museum. At the RCM she was awarded the Alisdair Graham accompanist prize for English Song Competition and won first prize as part of Stadler Trio at RCM Woodwind Ensemble Competition.
Highlights of her performances include Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’ with Chamber Academy Orchestra in 2015 and in Redhill in 2013, Mendelssohn double concerto with Anete Graudina and Winchmore String Orchestra, and world premier performance of One Sun One World by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon at the Royal Albert Hall. As an accompanist, she has collaborated with many singers and instrumentalists and as a repetiteur in various opera companies. She is a regular accompanist for Buckland and Betchworth Choral Society and in addition, she is in demand as a ballet pianist playing at Royal Academy of Dance and other school across London and Surrey. As a harpsichordist, she is a member of Dei Gratia, a Christian Baroque Ensemble, whose aim is to proclaim the gospel through 18th century sacred repertoire. With Dei Gratia she has performed all across the UK in various concert series, including recent performances of Handel’s Messiah in Oxford and Reading and Bach St John Passion in London and Denmark
Petros Moschos and Dimitris Karydis - Soloists
Piano Duo Antithesis, Greek born, Petros Moschos and Dimitris Karydishave been collaborating since 1997 when they were studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Their musical vibrancy, unique ensemble playing and technical brilliance has been highly acclaimed by an ever-widening international audience.
They have been the recipients of many top prizes and awards at major international piano duo competitions. Prizes include:
-Bronze Medal, Murray Dranoff International Competition 2003, Miami, USA
-First Prize, Donostia Hiria International Competition, 2003, Spain
-Second Prize (First Prize not awarded) Schubert Competition, 2001, Czech Republic and Aloise Slosila Special Prize for best performance of Schubert
-First Prize, V. Bellini Citta di Caltanissetta International Competition, Italy, 2000
-First Prize, Rovere d’Oro International Music Competition, Italy 1999
-Athens Academy of Letters and Arts, Award for artistic activity, 2000 and 2001
They have performed in Germany, Italy, England, Switzerland, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Ireland, Ukraine, Israel, Canada, Venezuela, and USA. Performances have included concerts at the Brno International Festival, Janacek Festival, Athens and Epidavros Festival, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Philharmonic Hall in Odessa, Olympia Theatre in Miami, Teresa Carreno Theatre in Caracas, South Bank Centre, Fairfield Hall and St. Johns Smith Square in London, and concerto appearances with Janacek Chamber Orchestra, University of London Symphony Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Israeli Festival Orchestra, Florida Classical Orchestra, Brampton Symphony Orchestra and others.
The Duo recorded their first CD in 2000, which included works by Mozart, Brahms and Schubert and was co-produced by Bavarian Radio and Genuin Musikproduktions. The second CD, The Carnival of the Animals, was a highly successful collaboration between the Duo Antithesis and the Nuremberg Youth Orchestra for educational purposes. They have also recorded for Czech, Israeli, Hellenic, Bavarian radios and BBC 3.
Petros Moschos and Dimitris Karydis, studied in Athens with Dimitris Toufexis and Aliki Vatikioti and in London with Frank Wibaut and James Gibb. They both hold Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degrees from City University, where they have also been Honorary Visiting Fellows. They are currently teaching piano at Morley and CityLit colleges and they run a Piano
Sofia Presta - Leader
Sofia Presta started to play violin at the age of eight, with Professor Carola Vizioli. In 2007 she entered the JuniOrchestra of Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and was soon leading it. She has performed under conductors Simone Genuini, Ciro Visco, Mario Brunello, Fabio Biondi, Diego Matheusz, Antonio Pappano and Joel Levi, taking part in events like “Ravello Festival”, “Festival dei due Mondi”, and “I violini della speranza”.
She played in Prometheus Chamber Orchestra and World Youth Orchestra. From 2009 she also studied at “Conservatorio Santa Cecilia” in Rome with professors Camillo Grasso and Maurizio Pepe, completing with full marks in 2016. She has played first violin in a quartet for the AMREF initiative and as viellist in ensemble. She has won awards in 2015 at the “San Vigilio in … Canto” national competition and the “Premio Clivis” international competition.
She is currently studying a Masters degree in violin performance at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with professor Krysztof Smietana and regularly participates in masterclasses by professors Ruggero Sfregola, Marco Fiorini, Roberto Gonzales-Monjas and Dora Schwarzberg